Sombra gets blown out of Equestria after failing to take over the Crystal Empire. Only he lands in some strange land that he is unfamiliar with; someplace called Skyrim.
Everyone knows that Sombra, the Tyrant of the Crystal Empire, got blown apart by the power of the Crystal Heart, but has yet to resurface. What everyone doesn't know is that he got blown across the sea of worlds, leaving fair Equestria behind. The problem is that when he awakens he has no idea who he is or where he ended up.
Will Sombra be able to let go of the past, and his hatred, in order to save a world he's never seen before? Or will the citizens of Tamriel have another villain to worry about?
Sombra had been so close to conquering the Crystal Empire after spending the last thousand years planning for every outcome that could have happened. He had lurked in the shadows, placing all sorts of traps around the boundary, making sure that the entrance to the Crystal Heart was well hidden, testing his door of horrors, and going as far as to make the giant staircase to nowhere. Even if somepony had made it that far he had a special trap waiting to ensnare whoever came to claim the Crystal Heart, where they would remain until he decided what to do with them.
His plans had succeeded past his expectations. Thanks to his constant battering on the shield he had no doubt that the Princess controlling it, the mare Cadence, was too weak to hold him back when he entered his old kingdom. His earlier fight with her precious husband, the brave and foalish Shining Armor, rendered him useless as Sombra had tainted his horn with black crystals, blocking his magic. He had even managed to trap the arrogant apprentice of his old enemy, the ever so arrogant Princess Celestia, in a special prison with the Crystal Heart that would prevent her from escaping.
The only flaw in his plans had been the fact that a baby dragon, riding on the back of a very weak Cadence, had gotten his claws on the Crystal Heart and had placed it back where it belonged. Despite his thousand years of planing Sombra had not expected Celestia to use a dragon, a baby dragon at that, to acquire the Crystal Heart and use it against him. The moment the heart was restored to its proper place Sombra and his darkness were expelled from the immediate area, restoring the empire to the shine it had before Sombra had come for it.
The ponies of the Crystal Empire watched him disappear, the pieces of his armor scattering around him while his horn hung in the air above his head. Instead of immediately landing so he could plot his revenge on the new alicorn that had ruined his plans and the ponies that helped her, Sombra found himself adrift in a tunnel of pink energy. The Crystal Empire continued to grow smaller and smaller until all he could see was Equestria itself, which was also getting much smaller. He could see the stars around him, which made him wonder if he was being cast into the moon like Luna had been during her banishment.
As he closed his eyes he knew that whatever had happened to him, thanks to the blast from the Crystal Heart, it was all the Crystal Princess' fault.
---------------------------------------
He had no idea how long he had slept for, but when he bothered to open his eyes he was greeted with the sight of some sort of dimly lit cave. There was some cracks in the ceiling of the area he was in, giving him some light, but all he could see was a bunch of grey colored stones. Somewhere in front of him was a small stream of water, but he had no idea exactly how far away it was or if there was something guarding it. He knew that bears guarded their water sources to the death and would be ready to fight anything that came near them.
He wasn't in any shape to do anything at the moment, as his body was in pain for some reason. He didn't feel any broken bones, but when he wanted to move one of his legs he couldn't get the limb to reply at all. Whatever he had done to himself he wasn't going anywhere for a good long time. He closed his eyes, allowing the shadows to overtake him as he drifted off to sleep.
---------------------------------------
He slept for what he assumed was a few hours, but he was interrupted by the sound of something hitting the ground nearby and shaking the entire cave. Somewhere ahead of him he heard the sound of a bear growl, like it had been surprised by the shaking, but he didn't hear it get closer to his position. Now a minute later the cave shook again, only this time he heard an echoing sound of something breaking and crashing to some sort of wooden bridge. He heard the bear growl in confusion this time, as if it was considering leaving the cave it had been in for who knows how long, before it gave up and stopped growling.
Somewhere past the bear he heard the sound of metal hitting a stone wall and the sound of giant spiders screeching as they fought with something else. A few moments later the cave was quiet again, which told him that whoever was fighting had finished and was likely moving near the bear's location. Then he heard the sound of two voices trying to whisper to each other, one male voice telling the other to either sneak around the bear or shoot it with a bow. He had expected to hear the bear growl in pain and the sound of a fight break out, but all he heard were the sounds of something light hitting the ground before moving again.
"Ralof," a voice, clearly female, whispered, "are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Aye Raika," the male replied, his voice louder as if he was closer to him, "Hail my fellow Nord, you had best get up before the cave comes down on top of us."
"Wh...what?" he rasped, as if he hadn't spoken a single word for almost an entire year.
"There's a dragon attacking Helgen," the male continued, as if it was urgent for them to leave, "we need to leave before he buries all of us alive!"
Wha...what dragon?" he coughed, trying to open his eyes and find that he was greeted with a blurry vision.
"Gods man, are you deaf?" the male asked, almost annoyed with him, "If we don't get out of here soon then we'll all be buried alive. Then no one will be able to warn the Jarl that there's a dragon on the loose."
"Ja...jarl?" he rasped again, wincing as the ground shook for the third time and heard the bear growl in pain as if a large boulder had crushed it.
"Oh to Oblivion with this," the female voice said, grabbing the right side of his body, "Come on and help me with this fool Ralof. If we don't get out of here soon that dragon will bury us alive and I would rather not leave someone who's hurt behind."
"Talos damn it all," the male angrily said, grabbing on to the left side of his body, "Fine. Let's get this fool to Riverwood."
"Thank you Ralof," the female replied, turning her attention to him as he started to fade out, "What's your name?"
"I don't....I don't know," he replied, allowing the darkness to pull him down once more.
Afternoon was falling over the burning town named Helgen as three figures emerged from a cave not too far away, two of them having to carry the third between them. They had been captured by their enemies, brought before the headsman, and were ready to be executed when a giant black dragon swooped in and wrecked the place. Neither of them were sure if they were even safe from the dragon, but they knew that they had to move in case it was still around the area.
The first person was a middle aged man with fairly tanned skin, blond shoulder length dreadlocks, and a suit of blue colored chain mail that had seen a few battles. He carried an iron axe, that was looped through his belt, a wooden bow, and a quiver that contained the few iron arrows that he could recover. The moment they escaped from the cave he let go of the nord that they were carrying and hid behind the boulders near their position, watching out of the dragon.
The second person was a young slender cat like creature with a white colored fur that covered her entire body, while she sported the same armor as the man. While her partner sported a single weapon she carried two iron swords at her side and an iron greatsword on her back, just in case she ever needed a back up. She had her light brown hair pulled over her head, so she wouldn't have to worry about a stray strand getting in her eyes, and a few golden rings looped through them.
"Jeez this guy is heavy," the cat girl commented, now having to carry the full weight of the unconscious nord they had rescued, "Come on Ralof, let's drop this guy off in Riverwood and warn the Jarl of Whiterun about that dragon."
"We won't have to worry about the dragon for a while," the man, Ralof, replied, returning to her side and taking up the left arm of the nord, "Ulfric should know what the coming of the dragon means, which means that after we drop off this poor sod in Riverwood I'll be making my way to Windhelm."
"I'm sure that your sister will be wanting to speak with you before you leave," the cat girl continued, as they started lugging the man down the road, "She'll want to know if Ulfric escaped, how many of our fellow Stormcloaks made it out of there, and request that we speak with the Jarl."
"Her name is Gerdur," Ralof told her, sighing as he thought about the old friend he had left behind, "Its a shame that Hadvar couldn't see the error of his ways and escape with us. I guess its about time I introduce you to Gerdur and see if she'll take this guy off of our hands..."
Standing at the fork in the road ahead of them were three people wearing leather armor, each of them holding a weapon in their hands. Two of them were nords that were much older than Ralof was, but the third was a pointed eared elf, sporting a bow that had an arrow nocked and ready to fire. Ralof knew exactly what they were and just couldn't believe their luck.
"Be careful Raika," Ralof said, taking on the full weight of the nord as his partner released her hold on him, "bandits around these parts are notorious for having another member of their band hidden somewhere nearby in case they need backup."
"I'm familiar with how bandits work," the cat girl, Raika, replied as she pulled out both of her swords, "Do you think I can make it down to the fork before you put an arrow in that elf's skull?"
"Is that a challenge?" Ralof asked, leaning the nord against a boulder as he pulled out his own bow, "Tell you what; you let me take that elf and any other bandits that might be behind us and I'll let you take the two down there."
As Raika made her way down the road Ralof pulled out an arrow and nocked it, pulling the string back as he aimed for the elf's arm before pulling up a bit and aiming at her head. He cast a brief look behind him, scanning the treeline for any signs of another bandit that might try sneaking up on him and the fallen nord. Once he was sure that there wasn't anyone behind him he returned to the elf and carefully watched Raika walk down the road.
"Hold there," one of the nords said, holding out an empty hand as Raika neared them, "this is our road, see? Your going to have to hand over two hundred gold for the privilege of using our road. If your not willing to pay then we'll just loot your corpse."
"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry," Raika replied, tossing one of her swords like it was a spear and piercing one of the nord's shoulders, "I don't have time to waste on the likes of you."
Before the elf had a chance to defend herself an arrow pierced her right shoulder, causing her to drop her bow, followed by a second arrow that struck her in the chest. The remaining bandit raised his sword and blocked the incoming attack, trying to push Raika back so he could swing his own weapon at her. She spun around and let his sword hit her greatsword, using it as a base to throw the bandit off guard before her sword was planted firmly in his chest. Once she was sure that there weren't anymore bandits in the immediate area she recovered her second sword and preceded to search the bandits for anything useful.
"Find anything that might help us?" Ralof asked, lugging the nord down to where Raika was.
"About twenty pieces of gold, two dozen iron arrows, and an iron ingot," Raika replied, casting a look down the road to where she assumed the bandit's camp was and noticed something, "I see a wooden wagon that they must have used to carry their firewood from camp to camp. Think we can use it to transport our fallen friend here?"
Ralof cast a look in the direction that Raika was looking in, spotted the wagon she was talking about, and then cast another look at the nord he was lugging around. He could see where she was going with this and wondered how far they could get their friend before his armor ended up cracking and ruining the wagon. He guessed that they could take off the armor and put both it and the nord in the wagon, then cart them down to Riverwood before finding his sister.
"Let's get this fool in that cart and get to Riverwood," Ralof said, resting the nord against another boulder while Raika sprinted for the camp, "You know what my sleeping friend? Your much more trouble than your worth. I only hope that your an ally to the Stormcloaks and not an Imperial loving milkdrinker."
Raika returned with the wagon a few minutes later, but when she stopped they had to unload the few pieces of firewood that were leftover from the bandit's load. They heaved the nord onto the boards and continued to push until his entire body was off the ground, leaving the two of them sweating just a bit. After a short five minute break, and a minute collecting every single one of the bandit's weapons, the two of them started down the road yet again. Ralof held the wooden handles tight as Raika held a bow at the ready, just in case any more bandits decided to come at them.
Fortunately for them all they ran into was three wolves, one of which received an arrow to the face while its brothers were carved up by Raika's swords. As the sun was setting ahead of them most of the villagers in Riverwood were heading into their houses, locking up for the night before starting at it again in the morning. Fortune continued to smile on them as Ralof spotted his sister Gerdur walking across the street, no doubt heading home like everyone else.
"Gerdur," he said, his sister stopping and turning to face them.
"Brother?!" Gerdur replied, embracing her brother with open arms, "Mara's mercy, its good to see you! But is it safe for you to be here? We had heard that Ulfric had been captured."
"Gerdur, I'm fine," Ralof said, beckoning with a hand to Raika, "We're both fine. This is my comrade Raika, she helped me escape the Imperials not long ago."
"And who's this?" Gerdur asked, pointing to the unconscious nord, "Another one of your comrades?"
"We're not exactly sure which side he's on," Ralof replied, scratching the back of his head, "we found him in a cave as we were escaping Helgen. His armor looks beat up, like he's been in some sort of fight recently, he's got a couple of wounds on his arms, and I'm positive that he had some sort of weapon near him. Is there someplace safe where we can speak about Helgen?"
"Yes, my house," Gerdur said, turning around as she led them towards her residence, "Tell me brother, did Ulfric escape?"
"Aye," ralof replied, pulling the wagon to a stop by the side of his sister's house, "It'll take more than the Imperials and a dragon to stop Ulfric Stormcloak from taking back Skyrim."
With the help of Gerdur and her husband, a man named Hod, they managed to pull the fallen nord into the house and gently laid him in one of the spare beds, or more like the only one fit for a single person. The four of them worked on him throughout the evening and well into the night, Ralof and Gerdur taking some time to talk about what happened at Helgen. Raika stayed by the nord's side, spending some time gently removing the steel plate armor that he wore and treating any wounds that he might have on the rest of his body.
The only strange thing she noticed, besides his ashy grey toned skin and the pitch black shoulder length hair, was that the nord was sporting a curved unicorn horn on his forehead. A crimson colored horn at that.
--------------------------------
Morning reared its ugly head and with the first rays of light came a stir from the nord, who's moaning brought Gerdur over to check up on him.
"Easy there friend," Gerdur said, helping the nord up to a sitting position, "easy. You've been in a fight and my brother brought you here to rest up."
"Ugh..." the man replied, weakly opening his eyes to an unfamiliar sight, "Where...where am I? Who...who are you?"
"Your in Riverwood at the moment," Gerdur told him, pouring some water into a cup for him to drink, "in the Hold of Whiterun. As for how I am, my name is Gerdur. Now maybe you can tell me what your name is?"
"I...I don't remember," the man said, holding up a hand and immediately pushed himself against the bed frame, "What is that?!"
"That's you right hand," Gerdur said, surprised that the man didn't even remember that, "and your fingers are the slender bones you see at the end. Just how much do you actually remember?"
"No...nothing," the man replied, moving his hand in front of his face and studied his fingers, "My entire memory is blank, as if my entire past has been erased. I can't even recall my own name."
"If it helps I heard you repeating 'Sombra' almost all night long," Gerdur said, helping the man take a drink in case he accidentally spilt the water, "I don't know what the name means to you, but I hope that you were somehow remembering your own name in your sleep."
"I just don't know," the man said, just as some strange cat like creature came through the door way, "What is that?"
"Hmm?" the cat replied, looking over at him and Gerdur, "Me? I'm a Khajiit. You know, the native race that hails from Elsweyr?"
The silence hung in the air, making it painfully clear that the nord had no idea what the Khajiit were, where Elsweyr was, or even who he was. Raika sighed; she had hoped that the man would have remembered something, anything, at all that could have helped her understand who he was.
"I'm afraid that I don't know what your talking about," the man said, shaking his head, "My memory is blank. Its empty."
"Well Sombra, I feel sorry for you," Raika said, receiving a stunned look from both Gerdur and the nord, "What? You kept repeating that name in your sleep, so I figured I might as well call you by it. Besides, I visited the cave we found you in and whatever weapon you were carrying is long gone."
She moved to the table that was sitting near the bed and patted a suit of armor that was resting on the wood, giving the man a smile as she turned to him again.
"First we'll teach you how to walk again," Raika continued, "then the two of us will take a walk to Whiterun so we can exchange some of the loot I recovered from some bandits yesterday. Once we're done I've got an adventure planned for the two of us before I report to Windhelm."
Sombra had no idea what was going on, but he knew that he was being roped into someone else's adventure because she had saved his life and was expecting him to repay her. Only problem was that he had no idea how to swing a sword, or any weapon for that matter.
"You want me to do WHAT now?" Sombra shouted, wobbling on his legs as he stood on the ground near a lumber mill.
"I said that I want you to run at this log," Raika repeated herself, for what seemed like the tenth time that morning, "and swing your sword at it like your swinging at a bandit or a wild animal."
Gerdur and Raika had spent the last three hours teaching Sombra how to walk again, demonstrating exactly what they meant by walking from one spot to another. Raika showed him exactly how to move his legs, the proper way to walk normally, how to jog and run, and, more importantly in her eyes, how to properly hold a weapon. Gerdur mostly tried to show him how to walk up a steep incline, using the ramp of her lumber mill as a practice area while she produced more wood.
It had taken two long, excruciating hours, filled with Sombra falling into the river, tumbling down the wooden ramp, slipping over the wet ground, and tripping over his own legs before he managed to get a handle on the basics. When he took hold of the weapon given to him, a steel sword he was told, he nearly dropped it under the sheer weight of the metal used to make it. Raika held a similar sword in her right hand, which happened to be the sister blade of the one he was holding, and she spent the third hour showing him how to swing it. Of course that meant that she spent a good portion of that hour testing and disarming him before she made him pick up the sword and start again.
Now Sombra stood there, sweat running down the side of his face, staring at the log that had been propped straight up for him to use as a test dummy. He wasn't even sure that he could manage a run at the log AND swing the sword before he dropped it.
"Raika dear," Gerdur said, leaning over one of the rails as she watched the nord, "I know your planning on taking Sombra with you, but how long do you think he'll last in his current state? Be truthful with me."
"Honestly I don't know," Raika replied, tearing a piece out of her sweet roll, "I'm hoping that some of our training will restore some of his memories, if even a little bit, so that he'll remember something useful to him. In his current state I think he'll last until we reach Whiterun, where I'll deliver the message to Jarl Bulgruuf the Greater that there's a dragon on the loose. He's bound to send some guards here, but once he's done so I'll be making my way to Windhelm to join Ralof and Ulfric in the war effort. I'm fairly sure that neither one of them will want someone who is weak on his knees, cannot hold a sword straight to save his life, or even cast a healing spell to aid his allies.
I'm sorry Gerdur, but I personally don't think that Sombra is what the Stormcloaks are looking for in a fighter."
"It would be best if he wasn't involved in the war anyway," Gerdur sighed, watching Sombra run towards the log and completely miss his swing, tumbling into the water yet again, "at the rate he's going the war would be the death of him. And I do believe that it is your turn to drag him out of the river this time."
Raika threw the last of her treat into her mouth as she walked down the ramp, turned the corner, and approached the area where Sombra had fallen in. She bent down on her knees and grabbed his left hand, pulled him out of the water before making sure he hadn't swallowed any of the river water. Once she got some of the water out, and making sure that he was breathing normally, she turned around and picked up the sword she had given him.
"That...that was an impossible task," Sombra groaned, spitting out what was left of the water he had swallowed, "You can't expect someone to run at an enemy and just swing at them like that."
"Actually, I can." Raika replied, helping him onto his feet, "Bandits will attack fleeing enemies like that if they're certain they had win, so will the guards of any of the nine Holds. I've had to do it several times against bandits who thought that they could escape. You just need some more practice before you master all of the maneuvers."
"Enough about practicing," Sombra moaned, feeling all of his muscles scream with just the thought of additional practice, "I'm tired and the thought of continuing is making my muscles ache. Please tell me we're leaving so we can start the adventure you wanted me to accompany you on."
"Aching to kill something are we?" Gerdur asked, joining the two of them for a moment, "Look Raika, I know the guards that protect the gates might be unreasonable, but I have found an excuse that will get you past them that is not related to the dragons."
Gerdur pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, one of the many wanted posters that the guards distributed to all the inns within their designated Hold. "Bulgruuf's steward has placed a bounty on the bandits of White River Watch, which happens to rest just to the east of Whiterun. You go to their camp, slay the Bandit Leader and his underlings, claim whatever treasure you find, and get back to the gates with the excuse that you've cleared that bandit lair out and have come for the reward. The guards will be sure to let you in."
"I like the way you think Gerdur," Raika smiled, accepting the paper while pulling out her own map, "Its a small detour, but it will make it better than coming up to the gate and saying that we have news about Helgen and a dragon."
Sombra was terribly lost during their conversation, but what he gathered from it all was that someplace called Helgen had been attacked and destroyed by a dragon not too long ago. Apparently Raika was at Helgen when the ordeal happened and during her escape she had found and rescued him from a cave. He didn't know much about the guards of the Holds, whatever those were, but he would have thought that something as violent as a dragon burning a village to the ground would be worth letting them past the gates. But if Raika wanted to waste time dealing with some bandits so they'd have a better excuse to enter the city then he would follow her decision and not speak against it.
"When you get to Windhelm I want you at my brother's side," Gerdur said, watching Raika gather the rest of the weapons she had Sombra using earlier, "I would like it if you could make sure that the both of you made it out of the war with your hides intact."
"Don't worry so much Gerdur," Raika replied, wrapping her arms around Gerdur for a moment, "Ralof and I will make it to the end of the war and then we'll all get to relax at long last."
"You have best get going dear," Gerdur said, releasing her friend as she stared at Sombra, "Make sure that Bulgruuf get's the message before you do anything else. And see to it that your friend finds something else to do that's not involved with the war."
"Come Sombra," Raika said, shifting her gaze to the gate at the northern entrance to the village, "Its about time that we get that message to Whiterun."
Sombra moaned and followed Raika down the road, across a stone bridge, and down another road that curved around a hill three or four times. He noted that she still carried the two steel swords with an even larger two-handed style one hanging off of her back, but she had been unwilling to share with him. He assumed that she would be giving him something to defend himself with once they dealt with whatever bandits were guarding the entrance to their lair, White River Watch she had called it. He knew that he wouldn't be of much help if he just stood back and watched, but there had to be something he could do to help her when they reached their destination.
As they came along the last curve in the road they were stopped by three men dressed up in light brown armor, each of them baring an angry scowl on their faces. The men said something about interfering with their Imperial business before they drew their swords and lashed out at them. Raika was ready, drawing her two blades in under five seconds and parrying the two closest to her, pitching them backwards before planting her foot in the third man's chest. She put down the two men who had attacked her first before firmly planting both blades in the third's chest, ending the fight before Sombra could even move.
"Foolish Imperial milkdrinkers," Raika said, sheathing her own swords before she collected the dead soldier's weapons, "every time they see one of my brothers or sisters they draw their weapons and attack without reason."
"Wait, they do this all the time?" Sombra asked, kneeling by one of the bodies, "Why do they attack you like this?"
"Because I'm a Stormcloak," Raika replied, shaking her head as she mentally counted the weapons she had collected, "The Imperial Legion is here in Skyrim to force the rest of the Nords to obey the White Gold Concordat, the treaty that was signed years ago when the Empire was nearly destroyed by the Aldmeri Dominion. The elves made the Emperor forsake the man turned Divine that founded it so many centuries ago, the mortal named Tiber Septim. According to legend he became the Ninth Divine, Talos, who was worshiped by the nords as the God of Man.
The Aldmeri Dominion couldn't stand for a mortal to share a place with the eight other Divines; Akatosh, Arkay, Dibella, Julianos, Kynareth, Mara, Stendarr, and Zenithar. So they decreed that Talos was not a Divine and that all worship of him was forbidden, which also meant that those caught worshiping him were punished. Ulfric Stormcloak would not stand for the nords forsaking Mighty Talos and siding with the elves that made the Empire too weak to rule themselves. And so the Stormcloaks were born, which brought the Imperial Legion into Skyrim and split the region between the two forces."
"How did you fall in with them then?" Sombra asked, not really finding anything that could help them.
"I was born in Windhelm and I was raised by the Stormcloaks," Raika sighed, raising to her full height, "so when I call them my brothers and sisters I mean it more than anyone else. I truly believe that Tiber Septim was invited by the Eight Divines to join them, making the Eight into the Nine and becoming the being known by others as Talos. I will gladly fight side by side with my brothers and sisters, so that we may free Skyrim from the taint that is trying to take us down with it.
Here, I can't have you walking around without something to defend yourself, nor can you expect me to continue fighting all of your battles for you."
Sombra looked towards her and saw that she held one of the soldier's steel swords in her hand, placed in the sheath so he wouldn't cut himself whenever he was running around. He smiled and accepted the weapon from her, fumbling around with it as he wondered where he should put it until he decided to just leave it on his left side. It felt strange for him to have a weapon now, seeing how Raika was hoarding all of the weapons from every person that she was putting down.
Finding their way to White River Watch was easy after they reached a fork in the road, seeing how Sombra could easily see someone walking somewhere on the eastern mountain. All they had to do was fight their way through a gauntlet of bandits, not to mention the path through the entire cave. As they approached the cave Raika pulled out her swords, already prepared to take down whoever stood in their way, so Sombra followed her lead. It became all to clear that there were some guards outside waiting for them when one of them fired a warning arrow their way, one that landed just a few inches in front of Sombra's right foot.
"Skyrim belongs to the nords!" the bowman shouted, pulling out another arrow while his partner got closer to them, "Your kind doesn't belong here cat!"
"You deal with this guy," Raika said, beckoning to the bandit that was approaching them, "I'm going to give that blasted bandit a piece of my mind."
Before Sombra could react Raika ran towards the bandit and dived between his legs, causing him some confusion, before continuing to where the other bandit was. The bandit held his iron axe at the ready, clearly expecting Sombra to attack him and was already prepared for whatever was coming. When he saw that Sombra wasn't really going to make a move he lowered his guard and swung at him, causing Sombra to jump back before he was injured. Just as he was about to raise his sword to fight back the bandit swung his axe and cut a faint line through the shoulder piece of his armor, giving him a light wound.
"So the strange nord can't even lift a sword to save his life!" the bandit happy said, noticing that the blood on his axe was black and not red, "Black blood? What gives?"
There was a spark in Sombra's eyes as he dropped the steel sword he was carrying, aimed the palms of both of his hands at the bandit, and let whatever was happening happen. Not a moment later black lightning leapt from the palms of his hands and struck the bandit hard in the chest, knocking him right off of his feet. The bandit hit the wooden ramp, that Raika had ran up moments ago, hard against his head and his body went limp. A few seconds past before whatever had come over Sombra faded away and the lightning that had been gathering around his hands simply vanished, leaving him with a killer headache.
"Sombra, you okay?" Raika asked, rushing to his side the moment he fell to his knees, "I thought you didn't know how to cast any magic spells."
"Ugh...I'm fine...somewhat anyway," Sombra moaned, shaking his head as he wondered what had brought the headache on, "and I didn't know how to even use magic."
"Well, whatever that bandit did to you I guess it brought out some form of memory," Raika replied, pulling out some wrappings so she could easily cover up the cut on his shoulder.
"Wait," Sombra said, something dawning on him, "whatever happened to the bandit you were fighting?"
"Oh, him?" Raika asked, pointing back up the ramp, "I put him down moments before your bandit managed to deliver this cut to you. Had I known you were going to actually let him hurt you I would have cut his knees out so it would have been an even fight. And if your feeling a headache from using magic it means that you used up too much of your magicka and either need to drink a blue potion or just let it pass on by."
"Do you happen to have one of those potions with you?" Sombra asked, pulling himself onto his feet before moving to pick up the weapon he had dropped.
"Unfortunately I don't." Raika replied, pulling herself up, "Neither do most bandits, so I guess you'll have to wait it out. Now, let's go clear out the rest of these bandits before they come to investigate where their friends went."
Clearing out the bandits meant that they had to deal with a blind guard as soon as they entered, three more in what could have been their commons area, and then four more of them that were trying to tame a feral wolf to their will. Raika hacked, slashed, and bashed her way through the enemies that got close to her, while Sombra stayed behind her and dealt with whoever tried to run away. It wasn't easy fighting two bowmen near the wolf, but Raika proved that she was as skilled with a bow as she was with a sword. By the end of it all she had three more steel swords, two iron axes, an orcish bow, two hunter's bows, sixty golden coins, and a string of steel daggers.
"Why are you collecting all these weapons?" Sombra asked, just as they finally found the exit they were looking for, "I know you can use two at a time, but I don't see the reason behind all the ones you have in that backpack."
"Some of them I'll sell to the shopkeepers when we reach Whiterun," Raika replied, seeing a nord, dressed up in full steel armor, waiting for them in a chair, "and other pieces I'll keep for myself in case one of mine breaks. Plus I could always help armor up the rebellion by simply gifting them all to Ulfric or Ralof the next time I see them."
"So you're the fools who have been killing off my brigade," the bandit leader said, raising to his full height as Raika drew her new bow, "I must say, it is impressive that you managed to wipe out every single one of my men before reaching my summit. Many of Whiterun's guards would have fallen before they even entered the cave, if they had the guts to come here and take us down for themselves. But nooooo, they send out wanted posters of us and drag innocent soldiers into their own battles, giving me and my men plenty of time to hone our skills.
The two of you have proven that there are still capable warriors in this land that are worthy of a fair and decent fight to the death, where the winner claims whatever the loser has on them. After our fight I'll have to scour the countryside, spending my time searching for new recruits to fill the holes that you have put in my operation. Its a shame that you aren't bandits yourselves, then we would have welcomed you with open arms and brought in more plunder for everyone. Oh well, I guess its not important anymore. Not when there's a fight to be hand between the three of us."
During his little rant and speech the bandit leader had turned his back on them, allowing Raika the time to silently pull out two of her newly acquired steel arrows and nock them on her bow. By the time she had the string pulled back she was waiting for the most appropriate time to loose the arrows, but then considered waiting until the foolish bandit simply turned back around. Once he turned back to face them she let the arrows fly, one of them piercing his left shoulder while the second tore through his armor and his heart. The force of both attacks was enough to send him stumbling backwards, where he promptly fell off the cliff.
"Well, I guess that's that," Raika said, not sure what just happened, "I've hunted bandit leaders down before, but that was the first time that one of them actually took the time to speak to me. Well, let's see what this big chest has and then we'll head back towards Whiterun."
As it turned out the chest had fifty golden coins, a dozen iron arrows, a plain silver necklace, another iron axe, and a steel sword that was glowing red.
"A fire enchantment!?" Raika happily said, slipping the items into her backpack, "Now if I could find another enchanted weapon that compliments it nicely then I'd be in business. Come Sombra, we must make haste to Whiterun's gates."
They spent the next hour retracing their steps through the cave, emerging where the two guards had been before they were greeted with the fallen body of the bandit leader. Raika quickly searched his body, snatching the arrows she had used before removing the steel armor and light blue glowing steel sword he was carrying. Whiterun was surrounded by large wooden walls, old pieces of wood that must have been standing for centuries and hadn't fallen apart after so much time had past. Sombra couldn't see much of the city thanks to the walls, but from the parts he had seen it seemed like the entire place are huge.
Before they even got the chance to get closer to the city Raika drew her bow as she spotted three warriors trying to take down what appeared to be a giant. She didn't recognize the warriors, but she readied one of her arrows, pulled back the string, and let an arrow fly right into the giant's left shoulder. The moment it was dazed by her arrow the warriors cut out its knees before the third warrior, an archer, put the beast out of its misery.
"Hail friends," one of the warriors, the archer, said, "What brings the two of you to fair Whiterun?"
"We just cleared out the bandits at White River Watch and killed their leader," Raika replied, approaching the fallen giant and ripping her arrow out, "so we're here to turn in the bounty to the steward."
"You defeated Hajvarr Iron-Hand?" the archer exclaimed, "That bandit has been nothing but trouble for Whiterun, so it's good to hear that someone's finally dealt with him and his lot. Jarl Bulgruuf will want to hear about this immediately. Follow me."
Before either Raika or Sombra could object the woman began walking towards the ramp that would lead up to the gates of Whiterun, causing them to walk fast to catch up with her. As they walked under two different arches, one of which had a large wooden bridge for them to cross, Raika could feel the eyes of the guards watching her every move. When they reached the gate they found two guards waiting for them, one of them standing in front of them.
"Aela, what is the meaning of this?" the guard asked the woman, "You know that the Khajiit are forbidden from entering Whiterun as per the stewards orders."
"You might want to recheck that guard," the archer replied, gripping the guard by the neck of his armor, "This khajiit has defeated old Hajvarr Iron-Hand and his bandits. The Jarl must be told this news."
"Hajvarr Iron-Hand? Defeated?" the guard said, clearing sounding as if he was already persuaded to let them in, "Your right, the Jarl must be told. Carry on then."
The archer smiled and set the guard down, who must have been used to dealing with her so much as to not raise a weapon against her and returned to his position.
"Friends," the archer said, pushing open the gates, "welcome to Whiterun."
Whiterun, as it turned out, was very similar to Riverwood, but what was different was that the entire city was larger than the village and most of the shops were on the right side of the stone street. On the left side there were several large wooden structures, those that Sombra assumed were just houses, while there was a turn with even more of them. Somewhere in the distance sat a rather large wooden structure that looked too huge for one person to live in and must have overlooked the entire city.
Unfortunately before they could enjoy any of the scenery Sombra and Raika were presented with some man arguing with a women that was wearing an apron and some sort of red dress.
"We'll pay whatever it takes." the man said, handing a parchment to the woman, "But we must have more swords for the Imperial soldiers."
"I just can't fill an order of this size on my own." the woman, clearly a blacksmith by the way the conversation was going, "Why don't you swallow that pride of yours and ask Eorlund Gray-Mane for help?"
"Ha! I'd sooner bend my knee to Ulfric Stormcloak." the man continued, though he appeared disgusted with that statement, "Besides, Eorlund Gray-Mane would never make steel for the Legion."
"Fine, have it your way." the woman replied, sighing in defeat as she tucked the piece of parchment away, "I'll take the job, but don't expect me to work a miracle."
"I'd advise the two of you to steer clear of the Gray-Mane's and the Battle-Born's," Aela told them, making her way down the street as they followed her, "as you have seen the Battle-Born's have cast their lot with the Imperial Legion. The Legion are a bunch of honorable warriors, though I wonder if their methods are a little...extreme. The Gray-Mane's hold true to the old ways and have sided with the Stormcloaks, making them a hated enemy of the Battle-Born's and the Legion.
The Companions have had to deal with members on both sides of the argument, but the war has nothing to do with us and we would prefer it if it stayed that way."
She continued to tell them about the main city of the Hold, but Sombra really wasn't in the mood to listen to anything that wasn't important to their adventure. The important thing was that they had gotten past the gate guards, only they had the help of someone else and that hadn't been part of the plan. He was pretty sure that if they continued on their adventure he was bound to remember something important to him. Though he had to admit that the city was actually beautiful for a city that was supposed to be in a frozen wasteland, despite the decaying tree they eventually passed.
Raika, on the other hand, cringed every time one of the guards or townspeople gave her a disapproving look as they passed them by, even the children did it. She knew that being a khajiit meant that she was generally labeled as a thief or assassin, but since she was wearing the Stormcloak uniform the Battle-Born's looked like they wanted to rip her apart. The only reason none of them bothered to take a step towards her was because the guards were waiting for her to either steal something or get into a fight with someone. She didn't come all this way, go through the agony that was Helgen, just to get captured doing something stupid in Whiterun.
"That there is Dragonsreach," Aela told them, pointing up to the large wooden structure that loomed over the entire city, "Jarl Bulgruuf the Greater can be found inside, sitting on the throne while he listens to his steward Proventus talk about what's happening in his Hold. His housecarl, a dunmer by the name of Irileth, will no doubt stop you before you reach him, so simply tell her your intentions and she should let you pass without delay.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I am needed back in Jorrvaskr before Kodlak Whitemane, our Harbinger, realizes that I haven't returned with the others. I hope that our paths cross again one day."
Before either of them could thank Aela for her time she simply walked away from them, leaving them to begin the journey up to the gates of Dragonsreach. Raika sighed and began the journey up the stone stairs, ignoring all the looks that the guards gave her as they descended down the pathway. Sombra looked around for a moment, finding his eyes locking with a strange priest to his right, before he decided that it was time that he caught up with Raika. They quickly made their way up the stairs before they came up to the wooden doors of the palace, which they promptly opened as soon as they neared them.
As soon as they climbed another set of stairs they were presented with a male nord sitting in a wooden chair at the back of the room, talking with another male. They appeared to be talking about something terribly important, but whatever it was they couldn't tell as they were too far away to hear anything. Approaching them was a dark skinned female, likely the dunmer called Irileth that Aela had told them about, though she had a sword drawn as she neared them. Sombra moved a hand towards his own weapon, but Raika grabbed his hand and shook her head no, causing him to withdraw before the elf noticed.
"What is the meaning of this interruption?" the elf asked them, clearly annoyed by the fact that they had gotten into the palace, "Jarl Bulgruuf is not receiving visitors at the moment."
"I have a message for the Jarl," Raika immediately answered, taking a step forward as Sombra stayed behind her, "it's about Helgen being destroyed."
Before the elf could even say anything the man on the throne looked up and loudly said, "It's all right Irileth. I want to hear that she has to say about Helgen."
Raika passed the elf without a moments delay the moment the Jarl called her forward, leaving Sombra to follow in her shadow as they neared the throne. From what he could tell there were at least four guards in the Jarl's immediate area, watching over their leader like a hawk in case someone dared to attack him.
"Now, what's this about Helgen being destroyed?" the man, no doubt the one Gerdur and Aela had called Jarl Bulgruuf the Greater, asked them as they stopped before him, "I heard from a guard that there's a rumor that a dragon destroyed Helgen. Maybe you can shed some light on this."
"The rumor is correct Jarl Bulgruuf," Raika told him, ignoring the angry glares from the guards, "I had a great view of Helgen while the Imperials were trying to cut off my head. Plus they were getting ready to execute Ulfric Stormcloak and the rest of my brothers and sisters they captured, but then the dragon swooped in and destroyed Helgen."
"By Ysmir," the Jarl said, looking at the people who had gathered around him, "Irileth was right. What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls? Against a dragon?"
"My lord," Irileth spoke up, "we should send some troops to Riverwood at once. It's in the most immediate danger, if that dragon's still lurking in the mountains..."
"No," the other man, Proventus, countered rather suddenly, "the Jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation! He'll assume that we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him."
"Enough, both of you." Bulgruuf commaneded, causing both Proventus and Irileth to shut up, "Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once. I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my Hold and slaughters my people."
Irileth nodded before heading towards the door, leaving Proventus to hang his head down as he walked over to a chair, sat down, and pulled out some papers to look over.
"Well done. You sought me out, on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it. Here, take this as a token of my esteem." Bulgruuf told Raika, handing over a pair of steel gauntlets that happened to be sitting on a stand near him, "There is another thing that you could do for me, suitable for someone with your particular talents. Come, let us find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons and...rumors of dragons."
Bulgruuf personally lead them to the eastern wing of his palace, where they were greeted with the sight of a very messy area with three separate work stations and dozens of books scattered about. Standing with his back turned to them was someone wearing a blue robe, mumbling something about magic while staring at a page in a rather large tome.
"Farengar," Bulgruuf said, causing the man to jump at the noise and turn around, "I think I've found some people who can help you with your dragon project. Go ahead and fill them in with the details."
"So the Jarl thinks the two of you can be of some use to me?" the wizard asked, just as Bulgruuf returned to the throne area, "oh yes, he must be referring to my into the dragons. I could use someone to fetch something for me, which really means that I need someone to delve into a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or may not be there."
"Ugh, just tell me where we're going and what we're looking for," Raika moaned, clearly not interested in something that she had been roped into.
"Straight to the point, eh?" Farengar replied, raising an eyebrow slightly as he stared at Sombra's horn, "I, ah, learned that the stone tablet is housed in Bleak Falls Barrow, a Dragonstone that shows the locations of ancient dragon burial grounds. Go to Bleak Falls Barrow, find this tablet - no doubt interred in the main chamber - and bring it back to me. Simplicity itself."
"Great, Bleak Falls Barrow," Raika said, turning to leave, "I'm glad that I already know where it is thanks to Gerdur and Ralof. We'll return when we have your stone."
As the two of them left Farengar turned to his personal library, where he had another visitor, an even stranger one than the red horned nord he had just seen, waiting in the chair. This person had a slender build to her body, which was covered in a set of leather armor, a pair of leather bracers, and leather boots. The female nord had long pink hair that flowed passed her shoulders, a strange pair of large white wings on her back, and a long white horn on her forehead. She had a longsword with her, but at the moment it was sitting against the wall as she read one of the books that Farengar had painstakingly collected.
"I may have found an associate of yours Tia," Farengar said, causing the woman to turn in the chair to face him, "He's a nord that's wearing a steel plate suit of armor and has a steel sword attached to his belt. Apparently he's traveling with a khajiit that's wearing a blue chainmail suit of armor."
"I don't know anyone like that," the woman told him, twisting back around so she could return to the book.
"Well, he's got a red curved horn coming out of his forehead," Farengar replied, determined to get some response from her, "just like the white horn you have."
"Curved red horn...Sombra!" the woman exclaimed, getting out of the chair and grabbing her weapon, "Farengar, it has been an absolute pleasure spending some time with you, but I'm afraid that its time for me to move on. And I'm taking my book with me."
Farengar stood there as Tia returned to his man work area, slammed the large tome he had been reading closed, pocketed the book in her bag, and finally moved on towards the main door. He had spent hours trying to understand the complex spells that the book contained, and right when he had been close to understanding the first spell the book was snatched from his grasp. Now all he could really do is take a seat, open one of his many books, and catch up on his reading.
"So, where is this Bleak Falls Barrow?" Sombra asked, as the two of them descended down the stone stairs outside the palace.
"Back near Riverwood," Raika replied, sighing as she stopped near the decaying tree, "The first fork in the road that we had passed by would have taken us up to the barrow, if we had turned left instead of right. So all we need to do now is retrace our steps and get that Dragonstone. Once we deliver the stone to Farengar I'm heading to Windhelm, so you'll have to decide your own fate after this."
Sombra remained silent, choosing to listen to the sounds of the townspeople and the guards as the two of them made their way towards the main gate. The guards would begin to hail him as they passed, but the moment they noticed Raika their mouths would shut up and whatever they were saying was lost. The townspeople glared at him, whispering remarks about his choice of travel companions or how he could stand being with someone who was going to rob him blind. The moment they were outside Whiterun he finally started to relax, though he could tell that Raika was still annoyed by what all the people had said as they passed.
Retracing their steps wasn't too hard, not when they had to pass by the giant's dead body, three fallen Imperial soldiers, and some unfortunate wildlife that got on Raika's bad side. Before they got all the way to Riverwood Raika had Sombra stand watch so she could go behind a tree and change armor real quick. While she was doing that Sombra sat on a large boulder, staring out at Whiterun as the evening slowly made way for the night. As he watched the road he noticed a woman turn around the corner and get closer to his location, but before he could shout a warning towards Raika he noticed that the woman had a white horn and white wings.
"I finally caught up with you two," the woman said, taking a deep breath as she finally stopped, "wait, where's the khajiit you were with earlier?"
"Right here," Raika said, appearing behind the woman with her steel armor on and both weapons drawn, "No one but a Stormcloak would even care about someone like me, but I have never seen you around Windhelm. Who in Oblivion are you and why are you following us?"
"My name is Tia," the woman replied, not even phased by the fact that there were two swords behind her, "I'm an adventurer and I overheard that the two of you were heading to Bleak Falls Barrow. I've never had the opportunity to travel through the barrow myself, but I figured that you might want some extra help clearing the place out."
"So your a mercenary?" Raika growled, "Just looking to profit from our hard work and take whatever you think is fair."
"Please, I care little for treasure," Tia told her, not even appearing to feel threatened by Raika, "I care more about the knowledge that the barrow and the word wall at the end holds. I'm not asking you to share any of the treasure with me, merely to let me gain whatever knowledge that I can. I get some information to add to a book of mine and you get an extra fighter to help clear out anyone that might hinder your progress."
"Fine, have it your way." Raika sighed, sheathing her swords as she stepped in front of Tia, "I see your sporting a pair of wings. Weren't you afraid that I might have done something to them?"
"Someone else might have felt that way," Tia replied, staring Raika in the eyes, "but I've been threatened a lot during my life and eventually I just started to ignore most of them. I'd never let anyone get so close as to actually harm me or my wings, but that doesn't mean that people haven't tried in the past. Oh, silly me, I didn't catch your names."
"I'm Raika and that's Sombra," Raika replied, almost immediately while preventing Sombra from saying anything, "Come on you two; we have a barrow to clear out and an ancient stone to find."
Raika lead them up the pathway that was supposed to take them all the way up to the barrow, but what she had neglected to mention was that the path was on the edge of a cliff. Before they even got close to their destination they were stopped by a group of bandits, one of which hung behind the others with a bow at the ready. Tia was at the ready almost immediately, drawing her weapon and cutting a long diagonal cut that stretched from one bandit's right hip bone all the way to his left shoulder bone. Before the second bandit could react Tia brought her sword down on him, cutting right through his leather armor as his body fell to the ground. As the third bandit, now sufficiently scared for her life, tried to run Tia threw a fireball at her back, causing a small explosion that tossed the bandit into the side of the mountain.
Sombra had never seen anyone besides Raika move that fast, but from what he had seen Tia was at least twice as fast as Raika was and was definitely twice as deadly. He could tell that Raika was impressed, or what he believed was impressed and could have been something else entirely.
"How did you do that?" Raika asked, stunned by fast her new ally had put down three bandits.
"Hmm?" Tia hummed, sheathing her sword, "Oh, this? It took me some odd number of years to master the art of quickly finishing off my enemies, but its not something that I can easily teach to someone else. Now, let us move on before winter claims us."
Raika took a moment to gather the bandit's weapons, two iron swords and a hunter's bow, before catching up to Tia and Sombra as they rounded a corner. When they finally reached the gate of the barrow, found by the large stone pillars that rested before a large iron door, they had to deal with three more annoying bandits. This time Raika had her bow at the ready the moment they were spotted, loosing an arrow the exact moment one of the bandits was in her sights. Once she had dealt with the first one she climbed up the stone stairs and loosed two more arrows, pinning the remaining bandits to the ground.
After gathering her arrows, plus the bandit's weapons, Raika smirked at Tia as they opened the iron gate, as if she was saying that she was one upping her. Tia didn't seem to mind Raika's look at all, not when there were several more dead bandits and dead rat creatures scattered about in front of them. Near the back of the chamber were two more bandits, though they hadn't noticed the gate open and were involved in some sort of heated discussion. According to what they overheard, before putting them down, there was supposed to be at least two more members of their group somewhere ahead of them.
As Tia and Sombra moved down the stone stairs, with their weapons drawn in case of an ambush, Raika turned one of her sword on the wooden chest the bandits had been standing near, smashing open the wood and allowing her to collect the few coins that had been stored inside it. Eventually they came across another bandit, a puzzle that involved rotating stone pillars, several more rats, and a giant spider before they found another bandit wrapped up in webs. The moment they freed the bandit, so they could acquire the claw his comrades had mentioned, he turned and bolted into the depths of the barrow, waking up whatever was down there.
"What was that?" Sombra asked, gulping as his hold on his sword began to weaken, "I don't think that we'll like whatever all that moaning is."
"That would be the Draugr," Raika replied, taking her steps lightly as they descended deeper into the barrow, "the ancient nords buried many of their honored dead in barrows like this, all across Skyrim's landscape. However, many of them have somehow come back to life and are now attacking anyone who dares to disturb their sleep, making it dangerous for anyone to explore any of the barrows. Thanks to that bandit we'll have to fight our way through the rest of the barrow."
Sure enough they encountered several walking corpses in the next chamber, well preserved by whatever methods that the ancient nords used before burying their dead. One of them stood over the still body of the bandit, but the three of them were not deterred by the sight. Raika and Tia fought the draugr head on, leaving Sombra to attack from behind whenever he felt he could get away with swinging his sword and hitting them. Once the group of draugr was dealt with Sombra searched the bandit's body until he found the claw his partners had mentioned, before he jumped to his feet and joined the others.
They had to pass through several more large chambers, some of which were filled with various types of traps, and fight at least a dozen more draugr's before they passed by a waterfall. Unfortunately they had to pass through four more chambers, two of which were filled with fire traps, and fight another group of draugr before they reached a strange door. There was a rather large circle on the center of the door, filled with three rings that surrounded a circle in the center. On both sides of the wall they found murals that must have depicted the fallen warriors of the barrow fighting some creature that existed in the nord's ancient lore.
While Raika and Tia argued about how to bypass the sealed gate and get at the treasure that must be resting behind it, Sombra stared at the golden claw he had taken from the bandit. It appeared to be shaped like a dragon's claw, that much he could gather from holding it up to the murals on the walls, but what it was used for eluded him. He was about to give up when he noticed that there were three symbols etched on the bottom of the claw's palm, three animals that looked like the symbols on the door.
"Try rotating the rings," Sombra spoke up, causing the two to look back at him, "The outer ring should be a bear, the middle ring a moth, and the inner ring a owl."
Tia looked at the door and realized what he meant, turning the three rings until the three animals he had mentioned were in the order he had suggested. Still the door remained silent and unmoving, but Sombra stepped forward and pressed the claw against the iron circle in the center of it all. A few seconds passed before the three rings moved on their own, revealing the same symbol before the door began to move down towards the ground. Sombra had a moment to remove the claw before some of the pieces were broken, but he had been fast enough to avoid any damage to the artifact.
"Nice job Sombra," Tia remarked, patting him on the shoulder before pulling out her sword, "We should proceed with caution, just in case something else is alive down here besides us."
Ahead of them was a rather large cavern, a rather fair number of bats, and, strangely enough, absolutely no enemies that jumped out to attack them. Despite the fact that they seemed alone both Raika and Tia had their weapons drawn, in the off chance that there was something else with them. Eventually they came before a giant stone wall that was covered with etchings, a large wooden chest, and what appeared to be a large stone tomb.
"Ah, one of the ancient word walls that the nords of old wrote in the Dragon Tongue," Tia remarked, running a hand over the smooth surface of the wall, "let me see here...'Here lies The Guardian, Keeper of the Dragonstone, and a force of eternal rage and darkness.' Huh, not what I was expecting the nords of old to write."
"So if this is where the Dragonstone is supposed to be then where is the Guardian?" Sombra asked, looking around for another draugr that they might have missed.
"Does anyone else hear that?" Raika asked, approaching the wall before streams of magic surrounded her, "What the?"
The moment the magic was gone the tomb behind them was blown open, the top hitting the ground somewhere near the iron door they had passed. Out climbed another draugr, but this one was dressed up in more than the rags that the others had been wearing and was holding a sword that looked like it was surrounded by the cold. Before Sombra could raise his sword the creature swung at him, but found it's attack blocked by both Raika and Tia. It was almost unfair for them to team up on the draugr, with Raika disarming it within second of their fight starting and Tia cutting its legs out a moment later. Within a minute of the draugr awakening the two of them had put it down, leaving a stunned Sombra staring at the two of them.
"Now then," Raika said, picking up a rather large slab of stone that the draugr had been carrying, "let's get the Dragonstone back to Farengar so he can help the Jarl with his dragon problem."
Defeating the draugr guardian had been painless and easy, but finding the way out of the cavern was even easier than Raika had been expecting. As she soon discovered all she had to do was walk up a set of stone stairs, turn into a small tunnel, and pull an ancient lever to reveal a hidden passageway. Once she knew where the exit was she returned to the large chest that had been left untouched, where she finally got the chance to see what treasure had been waiting to be claimed. All she found inside was a simple iron shield, an ancient two-handed axe that was surrounded by the cold, an ancient greatsword, and twenty gold coins in change. Nothing terribly exciting from the ancient nords.
While Raika was busy with her plunder Tia and Sombra stood near the word wall, one transcribing the translation into one of her books while the second stared out at the open cavern. Tia didn't mind that she wasn't getting anything else from this venture of theirs, that's what she had sighed up for after all, but she was concerned that Sombra hadn't done much more than simply open the door. She knew who he was and what he was capable of doing, but it appeared that he had no memory of his past and had no idea of the power that had once coursed through his veins. She resolved to help teach him how to fight and regain certain pieces of his memory, even if it took her the next few years to do so.
Sombra, on the other hand, just continued to stare out at the open cavern, taking in all of the stone structures that the ancient nords had built so many years ago. He was disappointed with himself, disappointed in the fact that he had just stood back while Raika and Tia had taken care of all the draugr they had come across. Ashamed by the fact that the draugr guardian had gotten the drop on him and had nearly put him down had the two women not stepped in almost immediately to save him. He barely knew how to use the sword Raika had given him and knew almost no magic spells, but the only spell he did know took way too much out of him. At the very least he was more of a pack mule, waiting until he came across something that neither of his companions could figure out so he could figure it out and they could move on.
"How's the transcription coming along Tia?" Raika asked, keeping her distance from the stone wall in case some strange magic tried to lash out at her again.
"Just about finished," Tia replied, writing the last few words into the book before slamming it shut, "I wanted to make sure that I got the language this was written in, the symbols used, and what it all means in case this barrow was ever brought to ruin. Now that I've got everything written down we might as well leave. That is, unless you want to fight more draugr before we leave."
"No thank you," Raika told her, making her way to the large stone stairs, "The exit is open these stairs, so let's get back to Whiterun before Farengar wonders if we bailed on him."
Sombra sighed and followed his companions up the stairs, around a corner, and through a hidden tunnel before they finally escaped from the barrow. When they emerged from the barrow they were greeted by the sight of the land shrouded in night, with a moon hanging somewhere over their heads. Raika seemed to know where to go, seeing how she decided to avoid the lake in front of them and keep to the side of the mountain, keeping the sight of Whiterun in her vision. Eventually they left the mountain and returned to the plains that rested all around the mighty hold, continuing until they reached the main road. After about ten more minutes of walking they finally reached the front gates of Whiterun, only to be stopped by one of the guards that always stood before the gate.
"Hold there khajiit," the guard said, stepping in front of Raika, "I'm going to have to ask you to turn around and leave Whiterun."
"Look, I'm on official business for Jarl Bulgruuf and his court wizard Farengar," Raika replied, ready to dish out whatever she needed to get back into the city, "If you want to disturb them and ask if I'm on business for them then be my guest, but I'm sure that the both of them would be really annoyed with you for holding me back."
The guard thought about it for a second before allowing the three of them to pass into the city, but that didn't stop him from glaring at Raika as they walked passed the gate. As soon as they were inside the city Sombra noticed that the blacksmith was nowhere to be seen and the young fellow who was chopping wood was missing. None of the shop keepers were around and it seemed like all the buildings, with the exclusion of the local inn, were locked up for the night. Instead of turning up to where Dragonsreach was Raika opened the door to the inn, beckoning for the two to join her inside.
The patrons of the inn stopped what they were doing the moment Raika and her companions entered the Bannered Mare and only resumed what they were doing when she had taken a seat near the door. Tia and Sombra joined her, one sitting with her back turned towards the rest of the room while Sombra took the last seat with his back towards the wall. A woman came by to ask if they wanted anything for supper, to which Raika simply ordered three servings of whatever stew they had that night. As the woman left them alone Raika let out a long sigh that she had been keeping back, much to Sombra's surprise.
"I hate nords sometimes," Raika said, low enough so only Tia and Sombra could hear her, "all it took was one khajiit taking some food from someone a thousand years ago to label the entire race as a bunch of thieves. Unfortunately, most members of my species are thieves and that doesn't help me when I want to enter a hold city that isn't Windhelm. I work hard, fight for what I believe in with my entire being, and I would never think of stealing something unless I was forced, FORCED I tell you, to do it.
You two aren't like the rest of the nords I've met during my travels, you don't seem to care what everyone else thinks about me because of my race. I know its not fair to you Sombra, seeing how you many think different of me whenever you get all of your memories back, but I'm kind of glad I met you. Tia, I can tell by the look in your eyes that you wont judge anyone, even someone who's been labeled as a thief by everyone else, until you know them as a person. I don't think that even if you knew who someone really was that you would judge them, you would just befriend those who need someone and pay little attention to those who wish harm on you."
"Raika," Tia said, placing her hand on her shoulder, "I have been threatened, labeled, judged, and even attacked by all sorts of people during my life, but I have never let any of that bring me down. Just ignore the people who are annoying you the most and allow your friends to guide you through your life, so that you can tell others that not everyone of your race follows what they're labeled as."
"Thank you Tia," Raika replied, giving her companion a smile as the server placed three bowls and spoons on the table for them, "So, what is tonight's stew anyway?"
"Just some apple cabbage stew sweetheart," the server replied, "Make sure that you remember to pay Hulda for the meals before you leave, or we'll have the guards haul you off into the Dragonsreach Dungeon before you know it."
As the server left them alone Raika reached into her coin pouch to draw out some coins, but Tia shook her head and placed a small pouch on the table.
"Thirty coins for a small meal," Tia commented, pulling her spoon over before steering up some of the stew, "as thanks for suffering through my presence and even accepting me into your fold. If you plan on traversing several more barrows I'd be honored to travel along side you."
"Tia..." Raika sighed, pulling herself together before she lost her composure around so many people, "I don't think that Ulfric will mind me not returning to Windhelm for some time, seeing how we've got a dragon that's burning towns to the ground on the loose. We'll help the Jarl and Farengar out and see if we can't best this flying beast, but once the dragon menace is taken care of I'll need to return to my lord before he starts to wonder if I've been killed in action."
Sombra stared down at his bowl and aimlessly steered the spoon around, creating a small ripple in the liquid as he considered his future. The only people who truly knew him were making plans on a grand adventure and it didn't seem like they were even considering bringing him along. Nor could he blame them, seeing how he had almost no idea on how to defend himself and was likely to get them all killed on accident. He guessed that he could always go back to Riverwood and take up a job for one of the merchants that lived in the area, until he got some of his memory back to make a better decision.
Tia noticed Sombra's depressed state as he mindlessly spun his spoon around, letting the stew go cold to the point that there was no reason to bother eating any of it. If she was to bring him back from the deepest reaches of his memories then he needed to travel along side them. She only prayed that Raika was willing to listen to her before they left on another of the Jarl's errands and believed that he could prove to be an asset in their adventure.
As the evening gave way for the night Raika rented the only room that the innkeeper had available for the night and the three of them got themselves arranged in what was available. Raika, having rented the room herself, was given the bed, leaving Tia and Sombra to take two of the chairs for their own beds for the night. Sombra just settled into his chair and eventually let sleep overcome him, while Tia pulled out a book and read a few pages before turning in herself.
When morning arrived, made noticeable by the fact that most of the patrons had left the inn, Sombra awoke to find himself in an empty room. As he pulled himself out of the chair and stretched his arms he knew that Raika and Tia had already begun their grand adventure and had left him behind. He sighed and walked down the stairs, expecting to find an almost empty seating area and found Tia sitting at the same table they had sat at the previous night. He knew it was her automatically, seeing how she was the only nord he knew that had large white wings and a long white horn.
"Tia!?" Sombra asked, his voice causing the woman to turn his way the moment he spoke, "What are you still doing here? I thought you and Raika were leaving to give Farengar the Dragonstone."
"I...managed to talk her into waiting for you," Tia replied, giving him a smile as she stood up, "I convinced her that you had, in your own way, helped acquire the Dragonstone and at least deserved to be there when she delivered it to Farengar. So she's selling off most of the junk she's collected so far, just so she can collect more junk from whatever bandits and creatures the three of us run into on our adventure."
"Wait...the three of us?" Sombra asked, confused as to why the khajiit had even considered changing her mind on bringing him along.
"Aye," Tia remarked, as if she was pleased that she had changed Raika's mind, "I'm going to teach you the finer points of how to use your sword and how to fight without depending on either of us. That was the condition that Raika placed on me in order for you to continue with us, and I'll be damned if I can't turn you into a proper fighter in time."
That was when the inn's door opened and Raika walked in, a smile on her face as if she had made a good deal of coins from all the items she had collected. When she noticed the two of them standing there she simply kept her smile on and approached them without a moment's delay.
"Are the two of you ready?" Raika asked, her eyes darting to the innkeeper and her helper, "Farengar will be expecting us to return soon and I think it's best that we don't keep him waiting much longer."
"Lead the way Raika," Tia replied, offering her a friendly smile in return, "How much did the shopkeepers give you for all the items you sold them?"
"At least three thousand septims," Raika said, as they stepped into the fresh air of the marketplace, "The blacksmith drove a hard bargain for the weapons, but eventually I decided that it wasn't worth the time to argue with her and accepted the price she offered me. Belethor, the owner of the General Goods Store, was more then willing to bend his prices just a tiny bit for the items that I offered him. I've got roughly five thousand septims now, but that could change sometime in the future."
They quickly made their way up to Dragonsreach, ignoring the glares that each of the guards gave Raika until they reached the large wooden doors. As soon as they entered Sombra noticed that the elf from before, Irileth he believed her name was, was standing near the door and barely gave them a glance as they passed her. They climbed the stairs and turned into Farengar's study area, which was now riddled with even more open books than their previous visit.
"I am amazed Farengar," Tia remarked, drawing the mage out from his private room while she wandered around the room, "Your studies into the arcane arts has improved since I left, though I was unaware that you had to have so many books open to get anything done."
"Oh very funny Tia," Farengar moaned, taking a seat in his chair, "I wasn't studying the aspects of magic; rather I was researching possible leads for my dragon research. The Jarl is determined to find the dragon that burned Helgen to the ground and make sure that the holds are safe from it."
"And to do that I'm assuming you need the Dragonstone?" Raika asked, setting the stone slab on the table in the only open space she could see, "I'll tell you right now, it wasn't easy getting this thing."
"The Dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow!" Farengar exclaimed, forgetting that Tia was even there and focused on the stone slab, "You actually found it?! With this I could advance my studies into the dragons and possibly determine how to defeat one, should one ever come near Whiterun in the future."
"Farengar," Irileth called, coming to a stop in the doorway, "You have to come quick, there's been a dragon sighted nearby."
"A dragon?" Farengar exclaimed, somehow more excited about a living dragon than the stone Raika and her companions had risked their lives to recover, "How exciting. What was it doing?"
"Come with me and you'll find out," Irileth told him, turning to Raika and her companions, "the three of you should come along as well."
Irileth lead them out of the study and up a flight of stairs to a floor that would have overlooked the bottom floor, had there not been a large wall blocking the view. Waiting for them was none other then Jarl Bulgruuf and one of his guards, who happened to be drenched in sweat as if he had run a great distance.
"Go ahead soldier," Irileth told the guard, "tell them what you told me."
"We saw a dragon near the western watchtower," the guard said, recounting what he had seen, "coming from the south. It was fast...faster than anything I've ever seen in my entire life."
"What was it doing?" Bulgruuf asked, clearly concerned that his city could be under attack at any moment, "Was it attacking the watchtower?"
"No, my lord," the guard immediately replied, "It was just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my entire life...I was afraid that it would come after me for sure."
"Good work son, we'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for some food and rest," Bulgruuf told the guard, turning to Irileth not a moment later, "Irileth, you had better get some guardsmen and get over there before the dragon moves on."
"Don't worry, my lord." Irileth said, "I've ordered some men to gather near the gates. We'll deal with the dragon, if he's still at the watchtower."
"Good, don't fail me." Bulgruuf said, turning to face Raika, "There's no time to stand on ceremony Raika, I need your help again. I want you and your companions to go with Irileth and help her fight the dragon if it shows up. You survived Helgen, so you have more experience dealing with dragons than anyone else here. But I haven't forgotten the service you did for me by retrieving the Dragonstone for Farengar. As a token of my esteem I have instructed Avenicci that you are now permitted to purchase property in the city, and please, take this weapon as a gift from my personal armory."
The Jarl handed Raika a two handed steel battleaxe, one that happened to glow with a dim red glow that Raika happened to know quite well. It was another enchanted weapon, a fire one like the weapon she had found in a bandit chest with Sombra not too long ago. During all of this Sombra noticed that Tia had a slight frown on her face, almost as if there was something about what the Jarl had said that had displeased or annoyed her. He had no idea what could be bothering her, seeing how Raika was the only one among them that had any experience with dragons. Even if she had been bound up by her enemies at the time.
The moment Raika had the axe she beckoned for Tia and Sombra to join her, descending the stairs as she made her way towards the doors of Dragonsreach. Once they were outside they made their way towards the main gate, where they passed Irileth and the guardsmen that she was speaking to. After passing them it was only a matter of traversing the curves of the main road and turning right so the could get closer to the burning tower.
"Was it supposed to be burning?" Sombra asked, as they drew ever closer to the burning stone structure.
"No, it wasn't," Raika replied, gripping her new weapon as they stopped a short distance away from the tower, "It seems like the dragon decided to cause a little destruction sometime after the guard came running to Whiterun. There's no telling how many of the guards he's already killed, how many are left standing, or even if he's still in the immediate area somewhere. When Irileth and the guards get here we'll start our investigation, but be prepared to fight anything in case some bandits come near us or that dragon returns."
Sombra waited near the others, twitching nervously as he just waited around for something, anything, to happen in their immediate area and kept his hand on his steel sword. He had no idea if he would be of any use against a dragon, seeing how just one of them had destroyed an entire city by itself, but he was determined to do something useful for once. He still wished that he knew more then a single magic spell, but he didn't trust himself to use it when there was no telling if he could get it to work this time. He noticed that Raika just continued to hold her new weapon, quietly eying it as if she was studying the way it had been constructed for herself, but all Tia did was pull out a book and continue reading.
Who in their right mind brings a book to a battlefield and reads as if there's nothing to worry about?
"It sure looks like he's been here," a voice said, just as Irileth and a team of six guards arrived, "Be careful men, there's no telling if that dragon is still around."
Together the group neared the burning tower, spreading out as they looked for signs of survivors or even a clue as to where the beast could have gone in the time it took them to assemble. Whatever walls there had been to protect the tower had long since been destroyed, reduced to large pieces of rubble that dotted the immediate landscape around the tower. It was painfully clear that the dragon had done quite a number on the area, making some of the guards shake in fear and wonder if they could stand a chance against such a creature.
"No, get back!" a voice shouted as a lone guard emerged from the tower's doorway, "The beast is still here somewhere. Kynareth save us, here he comes again."
The moment those words left the guards mouth a loud roar filled the air, silencing all activity as the guards looked around for the source that could have loosed such a terrifying sound. Before their eyes was a dragon, flying much faster than anything they had ever seen before in their entire lives, until it was a rather large beast that filled them with pure terror. Sombra stared at the light brown creature as it dived into a group of guards and tossed them all into the air, as if they were mere toys in the dragon's eyes. He fumbled in drawing his weapon, but it really didn't matter as the dragon didn't seem to care about him as he focused on the guardsmen all over the ruins.
"Come on men, make every arrow count." Irileth shouted, loosing an arrow right into the dragon's right wing.
The dragon landed right in front of Irileth, causing her to jump to her right before she was consumed by its fire breath, but it continued to follow her despite the others around it. Raika took advantage of the distraction and swung her weapon right into the dragon's hind leg, cutting a gash that must have angered the creature by the roar that it loosed. Several of the guards regained themselves and loosed their own arrows into the dragon's sides, some of which harmlessly just bounced off its hide while the rest buried themselves deep. Tia took a chance to cut into the dragon's tail, which caused it to thrash around before heading her way, to which she leapt over it before it got the chance to even touch her. She failed to notice that Sombra was near her backside, because he ended up getting struck by the tail and was thrown into the wall of the tower, hard enough to make him cough up some blood.
Raika threw a glance to Tia before getting in the dragon's line of sight, intending to make sure that the dragon kept his gaze on her and didn't hurt anyone else in the area. The dragon roared his head to breath a gout of flames on her, but she ducked under him and delivered a cut to his neck area, cutting off his chances of breathing more flames for some time. That clearly angered the beast, because it forgot the rest of the guardsmen and focused solely on her, following her to a ruined ramp and away from the tower itself. She knew it would give Tia a brief moment to drag Sombra somewhere safe without the dragon taking advantage of such a weakness, but she hoped that she would return quickly.
"Don't you dare die on me Sombra," Tia moaned, dragging him up the stairs before leaning him against a wall on the inside of the tower, "Come on, wake up and smell the crystals before that dragon roasts us alive."
She had a healing spell in her right hand, trying to clear whatever damage the dragon's tail and his collision with the tower had done to his body, but wondered if she might accidentally awaken something inside him during the process. Her silent question was answered just a few seconds later, as his eyes slowly opened and she noticed that there was no change in them at all.
"Sombra," she asked, drawing him to his full height, "do you remember how to Shadow Walk?"
"Sh...Shadow Walk?" Sombra replied, feeling lightheaded as something came up in his memory, "I...I think so, but how would it help us?"
"I'll tell you about the spell later," Tia remarked, glad that he remembered something that could be of use to them and was in perfect shape, "but what you need to do is slip into someone's shadow and get onto that dragon's back. It wont be easy, as you might go from one guard to another in an instant, but I have faith that you can pull it off and permanently ground that dragon."
Raika moaned as she dodged another swing of the dragon's claws, but she was getting tired from all the running she was doing and her side hurt from the last time the dragon had hit her. The guards were scattered about, clearly afraid of the dragon and had decided that she and Irileth were going to fight alone while they healed their wounds before coming back in. She was about to wish for Tia to rejoin the fight, but then she notice her companion emerge from the tower with her weapon drawn and Sombra standing directly behind her. Not a moment later Sombra suddenly vanished, almost as if he hadn't been standing near Tia at all, before appearing behind Irileth. Somehow he had gotten from where Tia was standing to where they were in a few seconds, but if Raika was confused then the dragon was surely pleased with even more sport.
Before the dragon could even turn towards Sombra he vanished again, only this time he had somehow gotten on top of the dragon's back and raised his weapon up high. Sombra gripped the handle tight and brought it down hard on the dragon's right wing, allowing the metal to dig into the rough hide and open a wound that would prevent the dragon from flying for some time. Before he could swing it at the other wing he sensed that the dragon was ready to shake him off, so he buried the sword in the dragon's back and was thrown off before he could secure his grip on it. He landed between Raika and Irileth, but his landing was much softer than his collision with the stone tower and he got up without too much harm to his body.
"What was that?" Raika asked, watching the dragon squirm as it tried to remove the sword.
"No time to chat," Sombra huffed, clearly tired from all the effort it took to cast the spell twice, "I may have just given us a way to deal with the dragon before he burns the rest of us down. All I need now is some way to regain some of my magic and a storm cloud of some kind."
The moment the words left his mouth the clouds began to turn into the black storm clouds, almost as if some deity was listening to him as was willing to lend him a helping hand. Tia joined them while all this was happening and passed a small blue bottle into Sombra's hands, clearly knowing that he needed it to pull off whatever he had planned. He downed the potion and enjoyed the rush of magic that it brought with it, but before he got too caught up in the rush he remembered the dragon and moved himself to the highest point around. He dared not use the top of the tower, because he feared that he might fall after casting his spell, so he chose the ruined wall that gave him a clear view of his steel sword. Once he was ready he raised his hand to the black clouds, causing the gathering to spark even an even blacker lightning, before bringing it down towards the dragon, casting the spell.
The sky flashed in a fury of rage as several pieces of black lightning coursed from the black clouds in the sky and crashed down into the steel sword, which then coursed through the dragon's nerves and joints. The dragon roared in pain as the lightning ate at it from within, but the pain was short lived as the guards seized their chance and released a fury of arrows into the beast's underbelly. Before it had even a chance to get back at them Raika leapt off the ruined wall and buried her battleaxe in its head, ending whatever it had planned in one fell swoop.
As the sky finally returned to normal and Tia caught Sombra before he hurt himself even more the dragon's body began to burn, the scales turning to dust as something magical escaped from the rotting corpse. Whatever it was crashed right into Raika, knocking her off her feet as the entire corpse was just a large pile of bones, arrows, and whatever had been left in his stomach. One thing was for certain, they had just killed a dragon and saved a city from destruction.
"I can't believe it," one of the guardsmen excitedly said, as the entire group crowded around Raika, "your Dragonborn!"
"Look, I don't know what your talking about," Raika finally said, pulling herself off the ground and dusting her armor off, "all I know is that we slew a dragon and all the magic it had just burst out in every direction."
"Aye, that would have been it's soul." the guardsmen continued, nodding his head as if he understood her confusion, "Only the Dragonborn can slay a dragon and absorb its soul, which is what I wager you did just now. The only way you can tell if you absorbed some of its power is to Shout, just like the dragon had done."
"Oh for the love of..." Raika growled, turning to the guard with a flash of annoyance in her eyes, "FUS!"
Raika had no idea what she was doing or even why she was going along with what the guard had suggested she do, but when she had expected nothing to happen a gust of wind escaped from her lips and knocked the guard off his feet. The remaining guards oohed and aah-ed as they gathered together to speak about what the use of the 'Thu'um' and the return of the Dragonborn could mean for all of Skyrim. The guards even went so far as to invite Irileth to their conversation, to which she remained on the outside of their gathering and bluntly told them that she didn't need the help of a mythical Dragonborn to save Whiterun.
During their conversation Raika bent over to help Tia carry a magically weakened Sombra and the three of them made their way back to Whiterun, leaving the guards and Irileth behind. None of them spoke even a word as they grew closer to the gates, not when some strange voice carried over the air and only mentioned the name 'Dragonborn' for all to hear. The guard ushered them into the city, through the marketplace, and up to the door of Dragonsreach before either Raika and Tia could even object. It was clear that the Jarl was to be told about the dragon, before they could treat Sombra for any more wounds he might have sustained from his fight with the dragon.
"Good, you've returned." Proventus remarked as they entered the main chamber, "The Jarl will want to hear what happened at the watchtower and I know that Farengar will want to overhear every detail you can give him."
Raika sighed at the mention of the court wizard, knowing that he had an obsession with anything and everything that had any relation to the dragons and what had happened to them. Now that so many people have seen a living dragon Raika had no doubt that Farengar would be spending the next few days asking around and taking down notes so he could complete his 'dragon research' as he called it. Once they were done with the Jarl Balgruuf Raika planned on being as far away as she could get from Whiterun, just so she could avoid Farengar and whatever questions he might have. She only hoped that Tia and Sombra had the same plan as her so they could avoid the wizard before he could corner them.
"So what happened at the watchtower?" the Jarl asked, just as Raika approached the throne while Tia stood back and held Sombra up, "Was the dragon there?"
"When we arrived the watchtower was destroyed," Raika promptly responded, her eyes moving about as she noticed Farengar appear by the stairs, "but Irileth, the guardsmen, my companions, and I killed the dragon. When we killed the dragon I somehow absorbed a fraction of its power and released some type of magic, causing all the guards to call me 'Dragonborn'."
"So it's true." Balgruuf almost whispered in awe, "The Greybeards really were summoning you."
"Didn't you hear the thundering sound as you returned to Whiterun?" one of the warriors standing near the throne asked, "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."
Raika, having grown up with the Stormcloaks, knew the stories that revolved around Tiber Septim before he became the Ninth Divine Talos better than most of the nords that lived in Skyrim. He had been one of the fabled Dragonborn's, able to fight dragons and tear their souls out if you believed some of the more insane stories, but he founded the Empire and started a dynasty of Septim Emperors. That line ended a little over two hundred years ago, when the last Septim Emperor gave his life to stop the Oblivion Crisis and saved all of Tamriel from complete destruction. So, with all this information already under her belt, Raika chose to ignore the entire conversation between Proventus and Hrongar, until the Jarl told the two of them to shut up so he could speak.
"You have done a great service for me and my city, Raika." the Jarl said, bringing surprise to her face, "By my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. It is the greatest honor that's within my power to grant. I assign you Lydia as your personal Housecarl and this weapon from my armory to serve as your badge of office. I will also notify my guards of your new title, so you wont find getting past the gates to be much of a problem anymore."
Raika had been expecting another steel battleaxe, exactly like the one she had used to kill the dragon that they had fought, but she was surprised by what he handed to her. The length of the weapon was the same as the weapon she currently carried, but the wicked curve of the blade and dark green coating revealed that it was truly an orcish battleaxe. The orcs prized all of their weapons and armor, so the fact that the jarl had even a single piece, one that he was giving to her, was something that she wasn't even expecting.
"But where are my manners?" the Jarl asked, smiling as he signaled to one of the guards, "I can see that you and your friends have sustained some damage from the battle, so I insist that you stay the afternoon and night in Dragonsreach. You deserve some rest after everything you went through today and it looks like your friend might need it more than you do."
Raika had completely forgotten that Sombra had been hit hard by the dragon's tail, but she had expected Tia's healing spells to patch him up long enough for them to truly treat his wounds when they were safe. She and Tia followed one of the guards up the stairs and around a corner, coming to one of the spare beds that the Jarl kept around in case anyone got hurt in Dragonsreach. Once Sombra was on the bed Raika pulled off the steel plate armor, for the second time in her life, and stared at the nord's bare chest, finding that he had broken several of his ribs during the fight. There were several bruises scattered about, no doubt from him hitting the stone wall of the watchtower. Just as Raika moved to pull over one of the healing bottles from her pack Tia placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Allow me to heal him," Tia said, her left hand lighting up with a yellow haze around it, "Your potions might be able to relieve some of the pain that he's feeling at the moment, but I know several advanced healing spells that might be able to heal his bruises and maybe even mend the bones."
"Fine, if your determined to waste your mana on him then be my guest," Raika sighed, dusting off her knees as she stood back up, "If you'll excuse me, I need to have a chat with this Lydia, find out what the quickest route to High Hrothgar is, and then maybe get a good nights sleep before we leave tomorrow morning. Besides, that dragon we slew wasn't the one that destroyed Helgen, which means our mission hasn't changed at all. I'll be back the moment I have everything I need, so don't bother waiting up for me."
Tia sighed for a moment before reaching inside herself, seeking the powers that she had put away so she could walk amongst the people of Skyrim without drawing too much attention to herself. If she was to heal the bruises that Sombra had sustained, not to mention the broken ribs that Raika had pointed out to her, then she was going to have to resort to using a small fraction of that power. There were several times in the past that she had used the same power to heal several wounds she had sustained, but she was deeply worried that Sombra might remember the touch of her magic. She was running the risk of awakening his memories way too early, but there was no better way to heal him that was available to her at the moment and she didn't have time to waste searching for one.
With a second sigh passing through her lips Tia closed her eyes and focused her attention to the wounds, hoping that she could heal most of them before Raika returned with their new addition.
Three hours passed before Tia, now drenched in her own sweat, finally cancelled her spell and pulled herself onto her feet, looking over Sombra and staring at what her magic had done to him. All of the bruises he had sustained had simply vanished, completely healed by the magic she had poured out, but she had been surprised when every single broken rib had been healed with no scarring leftover. Sombra might not remember her or her magic, but it seemed like his body had somehow known exactly who was healing him and had simply let her do what she wanted. Now that she was done all she had to do was wait until he woke up to see if anything had changed in him.
"I don't believe it," Raika said, approaching the bed as she looked over the nord's now perfect form, "I simply cannot believe it. I don't know what spell you used, but I was not expecting you to completely heal his wounds. You even got rid of the small scars that were left over when I found him in a save not too long ago."
"I admit that I may have gone a little overboard," Tia replied, stretching her arms, "but this means that he'll be more than ready for our journey to High Hrothgar. This is, if we are actually heeding the summons of the Greybeards and traveling to wherever their sanctuary is."
"I'll heed the summons," Raika said, casting a look behind her to her new housecarl, "Look, there's something I wanted to talk to you about and I was wondering if you'd follow me to Dragonsreach's Great Porch in a bit. I just need to have Lydia do something so I don't have a pair of watchful eyes on me all the time."
"Why not have her watch over Sombra then?" Tia asked, painfully aware that the women was within earshot and noticed that she wasn't even looking their way, "I'm sure that I healed everything I could find on Sombra, but there's no way of knowing how long he'll be asleep this time. Last time he woke up he thought we had already left him behind, so maybe let him know that we're still here without telling him ourselves."
Raika sighed and walked over to Lydia, who immediately snapped to attention the moment that she was spoken to, and a short discussion followed. Lydia looked at Sombra and sighed, clearly indicating that her first real assignment was not something that she was expecting it to be, but seemed to swallow her disappointment. Clearly she had no idea who Sombra was and what he had done, but the citizens of Skyrim were only seeing a different side to the nord that Tia knew quite well and that was enough for now. Raika motioned for Tia to join her and they passed through a rather large set of wood doors, walking into a large open area that served as the back room of the entire palace. They walked until they came up to the end of the porch, where they could overlook the entire open plain of Balgruuf's hold and gaze upon the night sky once again.
"So, what's your deal with Sombra?" Raika suddenly asked, as she leaned on the side of the overlook, "I've seen the way that you look at him every now and then and I can tell that you have some connection to him. Furthermore, I know for a fact that there aren't any spells that could have healed those wounds as fast as you did, so spill the beans 'Tia'."
"Fine, I guess since I'll be traveling with you I might as well tell you the truth," Tia sighed, leaning against a wall as she considered how to best tell her tale, "Well for starters my name isn't Tia, its Celestia, and I'm somewhat of a leader where I come from. Sombra and I are from a place called Equestria, a peaceful land that I'm sure that you've never heard of before. I came to Tamriel for two reasons; the first was to find the Dragonborn and help him or her put an end to the dragon menace. The second reason was more personal to myself...I came here because this was the only place that Sombra could have been blown to and I wanted to heal him."
"What does he even mean to you?" Raika asked, still trying to understand her connection to the mysterious nord that had been following her for the last few days, "I know that you know something about him and I want to know it."
"To know my connection to Sombra I would have to tell you our entire story from the beginning," Celestia replied, dodging the hardest question as best as she could, "About a thousand years ago, maybe a little more than that, Sombra had been the kind king of an empire, leading his citizens through a peaceful time in Equestria's history. My sister Luna and I noticed the empire after a few weeks, but while my sister chose to ignore them I drew closer to them and eventually met Sombra one cold winter night. He invited me into his castle, shared some of his countries food with me, and even went as far as to invite me to stay around for some time to get to know his citizens. Originally I planned on spending at least two days at the Crystal Empire, getting to know the king I had just met and understand the customs that his citizens had been building.
In the end I ended up spending three months in the Crystal Empire and while I knew my place was at my sister's side in Canterlot I couldn't deny that I had fallen in love with Sombra. So I drafted a short letter that was to be delivered to my sister, telling her where I was, that I was okay, and that I might not come back to Canterlot for some amount of time. Luna was outraged that I was leaving her alone to spend some time with somepony I had just met, but how could I leave the Crystal Empire when I was learning about its history and fell in love with its ruler? I couldn't leave him, not when he had admitted his own feelings for me. Eventually I became accustomed to the way things were run in the empire, but I had never gotten around to truly leaving Canterlot behind and living with Sombra for the rest of my life.
Another nine months passed before my sister came to the empire and I expected her to be absolutely furious with me, but when she arrived I found that she was slightly curious as to why I had chosen to spend so much time there. I took the first opportunity that presented itself to have Sombra and Luna meet, which was after his daily morning meetings with several of the ponies that helped organize his empire. The two of them really hit it off and I could tell that Sombra had somehow broken through my sister's stubbornness, so while they might never have the same connection Sombra and I had I could tell they would be best friends. We showed Luna around the Crystal Empire, let her meet the ponies that Sombra ruled, and even gave her a taste of what the empire could offer. By the end of the day Luna was beginning to see that Canterlot and the Crystal Empire had the potential to become great trading partners, despite the fact that Sombra and I were planning on eventually getting married..."
Raika could sense the hesitation in Celestia's voice when she mentioned the plans that she and Sombra had planned and almost put in motion over a thousand years ago. From what she could tell the two of them had really hit it off and had planned on spending the rest of their days together, but she wondered what could have happened that tore the two of them apart.
"Celestia," Raika said, putting a hand on her shoulder as she got used to using the new name, "what happened between the two of you?"
"Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony, happened." Celestia sighed, painfully recalling what had happened so many centuries ago, "The mischievous spirit was, at one time, known for being extremely violent and prone to ruin whatever he touched. One day he came to the Crystal Empire and attacked without any warning, catching all of us off guard. Since the empire wasn't a military empowered place there wasn't any guards to fight him, so Sombra, Luna, and I gathered ourselves and met him on the battlefield. It would have been such an easy victory for us if we had the sense to bring the Elements of Harmony with us so we could have beaten Discord before he could have done any lasting damage, but we had left them in a secure hiding place.
Discord wounded Luna during the fight, but being an alicorn meant that she could withstand a certain amount of pain before she had to pull herself back and leave us to fight the spirit. When Discord hurt me even worse than he had done to Luna, however, it proved too much for Sombra to bare and he lashed out with all the hate that he had for the creature, causing him to retreat from our fight. The use of such powerful dark magic caused the hate within him to overpower him, changing Sombra from a hind hearted stallion into an evil ruler who wanted nothing more than to conquer all of Equestria. Luna and I were eventually forced to seal him away so he couldn't harm anypony else, but midst all of the chaos I lost the stallion that I had fallen in love with.
Over the last thousand years I spent every spare moment scouring the ancient tomes left behind from some of the greatest minds in all of Equestria's history, hoping that they might have left a clue as to how I could break the hold that Sombra's hate had on him. I considered using the Elements of Harmony on him whenever he returned, but I was concerned that the ancient energies might destroy him instead of heal him. When the Crystal Empire returned and Sombra was defeated I searched all over for him, but all I could find was the signature of magic that could have only pulled him out of our world and I knew immediately where he could have gone. So I left my sister in charge of Canterlot and came here, leaving behind my world so I could heal the one stallion who means the entire world to me and found him here, with you."
"How long do you think it would take to heal his heart?" Raika asked, gazing upon the night sky once again, "And do you honestly believe that you can undo all that hate by yourself?"
"Love conquers all Raika," Celestia smiled, gazing upon the night herself and finding a small moving dot coming their way, "and I suspect that I can get most of his memories healed in a few days now that my sister will be joining us."
Raika noticed the speck in the night sky moments before something...or rather, someone...landed on the porch grounds behind her. The newcomer, another nord, looked similar to Celestia, but she looked like she was a few years younger than Celestia was, her horn and wings were dark blue colored instead of white, and she was dressed up in leather armor. While Celestia's hair was pink colored this nord's hair color was more blue colored and attached to her back was a steel greatsword, one that shimmered as the women stood up.
"Raika, may I introduce my sister Luna," Celestia said, just as her sister folded up her wings and turned to look at them, "Luna, this is Raika. She's the Dragonborn."
"Huzzah, the fun has been doubled," Luna replied, bowing her head to Raika before turning back to her sister, "Let's get the part started!"
"I don't understand." Raika said, tilting her head to the side as she studied the younger women, "There's no 'party' here, and even if there was one I'm not sure someone like me would even be invited."
"Geez, its just an expression." Luna replied, letting out a sigh as she faced the open sky, "Ah, the mystical scent of Tamriel, how I have longed to fly the ancient skies and fight the enemies of the land once again. By the looks of things it seems that we're in Skyrim, the ancient homeland of the nords and, from what I could gather from the legends I heard last time I was here, the dragons. If the Dragonborn has come again then that means that the dragons have awakened and she's been called upon to fight them once again."
"Wait... how do you...?" Raika started to ask, but stopped as she wondered how much Luna actually knew about Skyrim and the dragons, "Exactly how much do you know about Skyrim and how do you know your in Tamriel?"
"I was last in Tamriel during the time they called 'The Oblivion Crisis'." Luna replied, the tone of her voice telling Raika that she was remembering something, "That was a time of my life that I was proud of. Before the daedra attacked and the Emperor was assassinated I was a pit fighter, known throughout Cyrodiil as Nightmare, the Queen of Knights. Over the course of my fights I grew bored with the fighters that came to challenge me, only sparing my opponents because I believed that they still had more to learn and had come nowhere close to earning the 'good deaths' that they sought. Eventually I gave up my position as the Champion of the Pit, to some upstart orc I believe, and wandered down to the river, where I stayed for a week as I contemplated what I should do next.
That's when I met Rend Org'resh, a fine orc warrior who had been wrongly imprisoned in the Imperial Jail and pardoned by the late Emperor Uriel Septim VII, who chose to give him a royal mission. Rend didn't trust me, and I couldn't really trust him, but we saw the warrior side in each other and he asked if I was willing to join him in the mission he had been handed as the dying wish of an Emperor. I decided that my time in the Imperial City was over and gladly followed Rend on his quest, seeing the sights of Cyrodiil and reading up on all the books I could get my hands on. Our quest led us to some walled city called Kvatch, where we bravely entered an 'Oblivion Gate', defeated the forces that greeted us on the other side, and saved those that remained from having to deal with the daedra.
Rend was hailed as the Hero of Kvatch and we easily rescued Martin Septim, the last surviving heir of the Septim line, but I didn't not leave until I had eradicated every daedra that had made it into the city. We made sure that Martin was safe, even going as far as to move him to someplace called Cloud Ruler Temple and beginning a lengthy quest line to find the missing King's Amulet. During our time we fought the followers of Mehrunes Dagon, dealt with countless Oblivion Gates and the creatures within them, and even decoded a secret message that lead us to our goal. Even then we had to chase the Amulet through a province of Oblivion before we could retrieve it and put a stop to the invasion that was bound to happen.
During our time together Rend and I began to trust each other and I eventually told him the secret of who I was and where I was from, swearing him to secrecy to keep Equestria from the eyes of the Empire's mages. He didn't care that I was from someplace he had never heard of before or what I had done before he met me, but he cared that I would go out of my way to help him save his world. Rend and Martin gathered their army and fought the daedra in the Imperial City, where I lended a hand and led the cities guards against the enemy that intended to destroy Nirn. Despite all our attempts to stop the invasion Mehrunes Dagon still entered Tamriel, breaking the sky open and forcing me to consider releasing my full power to save everything. Martin, on the other hand, decided to use the power of the King's Amulet and sacrificed himself to stop the invasion and sealed the ripples that Mehrunes Dagon had caused.
Once the city was repaired and the commotion had died down Rend asked me if I was willing to stick around and teach some of the guards the techniques I used, but when I told him that my time in Tamriel was up he didn't hold anything against me. Then I left Tamriel behind, returning home so I could relax and plan my next adventure in case I ever returned."
"And you only returned because your sister came here?" Raika asked, rubbing her temples as she tried to understand everything that Luna had just told her, "Why did you come here?"
"Didn't my sister tell you?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow as she faced Raika, "She came to find and heal Sombra while making sure that she found and gave aid to the Dragonborn. I came to Skyrim to aid her in her quest, which means whatever she wants to do I will follow her lead. Sombra's one of my friends and I'd like to be able to talk to the stallion we knew before Discord came anywhere near him."
Raika moaned and took a seat on the ground, wondering how she had gotten to this point in her life. She was the legendary Dragonborn, the only person who could permanently kill a dragon by tearing out and absorbing its soul, she had become the Thane of Whiterun by slaying a dragon, and had acquired four companions that were making her head hurt. Lydia was an okay person, but she didn't know what to think about the three who claimed they were from someplace called Equestria, which one of them had no idea they were even from there. Celestia was a fine warrior and spell caster and, if she believed the tales that were written on Nightmare during the third era, Luna was an accomplished warrior and a capable mage. Sombra...all he was good for was carrying around some of the supplies and fighting if they managed to get overwhelmed by enemies.
Raika was concerned that if the evil that Discord, whoever he was, had awakened inside Sombra woke up then all of Skyrim would be facing a threat that could be as bad as the dragons themselves.
"My Thane," a voice called out as Lydia approached the edge of the porch, "the nord that you asked me to watch woke up. He asked where you and Celestia went, but I have no idea who this 'Celestia' is supposed to be."
Celestia and Luna reacted before Raika could even get a single word out of her mouth. They were at the wooden door within seconds, leaving Raika to walk back to the door by herself and wonder exactly how Sombra had remembered Celestia's true name so quickly. She was sure that he had simply connected the dots between Celestia's true name and the name that she had been using the entire time she had been around him. As she followed her companions back into the area they had left Sombra in she was greeted by a very strange sight, a small wavy line of pure magicka that was coming out of his left eye. His right eye was just fine she noticed, but the look on his face told her that he was trying to keep whatever was inside him from breaking out.
"Here, let me help you." Luna said, kneeling beside Sombra as her horn lit up, "Focus on my sister and we'll get you through this."
Celestia bowed her head and pressed her forehead against Sombra's, allowing their horns to cross without causing any harm to either of them and giving Luna the time to begin whatever spell she was working on. For a moment it didn't seem like either of them were doing anything at all, but then Raika began to notice that the golden and azure colored magic gathering around the two sisters. A third magic, one that was bright red colored, joined them by wrapping around Sombra, but Raika noticed that the purple energy from before was beginning to finally recede, disappearing back to whatever hole it had come out from. A few seconds after the purple magic vanished the three different magics that surrounded the three nords vanished as well, leaving three seemingly normal people behind.
"I haven't used that spell in ages," Luna sighed, wiping some sweat off her forehead before getting onto her feet, "We've sealed the most of the dark magic deep inside him, so there shouldn't be any concern for it breaking out anytime soon. Of course if worst comes to worst there's always the chance that an enemy could knock him out and shatter the seal that we just worked. He will remember some of his memories now, but which ones we wont know until he decides to tell us."
Raika turned to head to one of the beds, but when she cast a look at Sombra he seemed out of his, as if the pain of holding back the 'dark magic' had taken so much out of him. It was a miracle that Luna and Celestia knew exactly what to do in such a situation, which just have meant that they had some experience with the mysterious dark magic in their own world. Luna didn't seem so certain that the seal they placed would hold for long, but she failed to elaborate as to how long the seal would hold without someone, magical or otherwise, tampering with it.
"I'm glad you followed me to Skyrim Luna," Celestia said, taking a seat after making sure that Sombra was sound asleep, "I don't think I would have had the strength to finish the sealing spell after all the magic I poured into healing the wounds he sustained in our previous fight."
"I'm glad I could be of some use already," Luna replied, turning to one of the beds, "I would very much like to hear the tale of the wounds that he sustained and exactly what he was fighting that could have inflicted them, but for now I must get some sleep. Flying from my point of entry to this location took a lot out of me."
Raika sighed before letting her head hit the pillow, figuring that she had enough of both sisters for one day and would wait until the following morning before trying to understand them.
---------------------------------
Morning reared its ugly head as Sombra moaned, forcing himself off the bed and nearly fell over when the sunlight hit him in the eyes. The first time he had awoken in someone else's bed it had been such a pain because he had no idea where he was, no idea how to even move his body, or even who he was. As he straightened himself he took a brief look at the area around him, finding four empty beds around him that reminded him of the time when he thought that Raika and Tia had left him behind. Only this time he found a note on the table in front of him, one that peeped his curiosity as it was addressed to him and not one of the castle maids that was running around somewhere.
Dear Sombra,
Do not be alarmed, we aren't leaving you behind to fend for yourself. Luna, whom you have yet to meet, has decided to purchase some raw materials so she can craft some better weapons for you to use, seeing how the one you used against the dragon is pretty much ruined now. Raika and Lydia, our newest companion, are selling off the most of the junk they collected from the dragon and a small group of bandits that was lurking somewhere near Whiterun. Last I heard from them they were being talked into purchasing a small house somewhere in the city, but I think Raika will put off buying a house for some deal of time.
While the others are busy with their assorted tasks I will be spending some time crafting some additional magic potions, so we can avoid being drained of magic if another dragon shows up. I should be the first to return to Dragonsreach, but in the event that I'm not then one of the others will check up on you and make sure that your perfectly ready for the journey to High Hrothgar.
With love,
Celestia
Sombra smiled, thankful that they had at least left him a note telling him that he wasn't going to be forgotten about and left behind, but remained confused as to the signature. His memories, what little of them he could now remember, told him that 'Celestia' was someone he had met one stormy night and had offered her a place to stay and something to eat. Tia, on the other hand, was someone he had met while on his journey with Raika, who had proved that she was highly skilled with a blade and was highly curious about the dragons. There was no way that the two women were connected and even if they were he would be able to tell the difference between them... in theory anyway.
"See Lydia? I told you he'd be awake by the time we returned." a voice behind him said, causing him to turn around and see Raika and another women standing by a doorway, "At least he's recovered enough so we can get our journey started."
"Let's not rush things my Thane," the women said, eying Sombra as if she was looking for something that would prevent them from leaving, "who knows how long he'll be able to stand before he collapses?"
"He looks fine to me Lydia," Raika replied, setting her sights on the note Sombra was holding, "Your one lucky man Sombra; not only did your girlfriend come to Skyrim to find you her sister came along for the ride. I can't think of many women that would leave everything behind to find the one that they love the most or even leave their lives behind to help their sister out in her quest. Both of them are helping me out, so you'll get to spend a lot of time with the two of them. Hopefully they'll heal the rest of your memories so you can remember exactly who you were."
"We had best be off my Thane," Lydia spoke up, "Luna said that she believed the weapon was going to be ready by the time we were ready to leave and Celestia wanted to make sure that the binding was as tight as it could possibly be. I didn't understand most of what they said because it sounded like they were talking about magic and not blacksmithing, but it seemed that whatever they were talking about was important."
"Those two know more about magic than most mages I've met," Raika said, turning back to the doorway, "All I know is that Luna was trying to make something that, as she explained it, could 'contain the power of dark magic for some time'. Celestia seemed to believe her, so I guess we should put our faith in her and see what they create."
Sombra shook his head as he joined the two women, keeping his eyes on the guards as they passed them and noticed that all of the guards seemed to nod their approval. Apparently word of a khajiit killing a dragon and saving Whiterun must have gotten around, seeing how no one gave Raika a hard time as they made their way out of Dragonsreach. Some of the guards even went out of their way to hail her as they passed, coming to attention and saluting her as she walked by them. As they walked Sombra thought he would have felt some pain somewhere on his body, from the fight with the dragon, but all he felt was his muscles moving and no pain flashes at all. Someone had gone through a lot of healing to make sure that he was in perfect shape again and all the facts pointed to the mysterious 'Celestia' that the note mentioned.
Stepping out of Dragonsreach brought them to the cloudless skies of Whiterun, where they could easily smell the wood burning and the scent of someone, somewhere in the city, cooking something. As they walked down the stone steps Sombra immediately noticed two more women standing next to a withering tree, one of which he immediately recognized as Tia and the other he assumed was her sister, Luna. They appeared to be discussing something, as Tia kept beckoning to the weapon that Luna was holding in her hands and Luna kept shaking her head as if she was disagreeing with Tia. Sombra feared that the weapon was imperfect as they were deciding whether or not to deliver the weapon to the designated person it had been created for, him.
"Ah, there you are." Tia said, breaking away from her conversation with her sister as they neared them, "Sorry if you caught any of that. We were discussing the finer points of how to house the power of Dark Magic before we dispelled it completely, to which I was saying that binding it in a weapon would allow us to erase it over time and not all at once."
"And to what I must disagree with you sister," Luna replied, shaking her head as she held out the weapon, "Housing the power of Dark Magic in a crystal item, such as one of the many soul gems that the people of Tamriel carry with them, and then destroying it will shatter whatever foul energies were inside it."
"Which would make them seek out the nearest host and we'd be back at square one." Tia commented, shaking her head as they apparently finished their argument, "Regardless of what our argument is about we have finished the task that we set for ourselves, as you can no doubt see the weapon in Luna's hand that we spent the last hour working on. A weapon that has been designed to contain the darkness that lingers in your heart, Sombra, and use it up the more you use it. Luna, if you be so kind."
"Here," Luna said, holding the sheath out for him to take, "this weapon was designed after the one you had in a time long since forgotten, so we might not have gotten the designs right at all. Go ahead, draw the blade."
Sombra took hold of the sheath and gripped the handle, wondering how a sword could contain the power of darkness that they believed was lurking somewhere in his heart and body. He slowly withdrew the blade, finding that the sword's blade was as black as the night sky and seemed to draw the sunlight deeper into the abyss that it contained. Even as he held the sword in his hand he could tell that it was evenly balanced, which would allow him to swing with better precision, and he could feel something small within him being dragged into the abyss. He immediately sheathed the blade, wondering what sort of enchantment Tia and Luna had placed on the weapon that could allow it to do what it did.
"Now then," Luna continued, almost as if she hadn't seen the look on Sombra's face, "let's move on to High Hrothgar before someone decides to give us some random quest to complete for them. I had enough of those back during the Oblivion Crisis."
"Hail Thane," one guard exclaimed as he drew closer to the group, "the Jarl posted a bounty on a nearby giant that's harassing our shipments. Feel like taking up your weapons and taking care of him for us?"
"Quickly," Raika loudly said, turning towards the stone steps that would lead them out of Whiterun, "to High Hrothgar and the Greybeards. Adventure awaits us."
Before anyone could respond to the sudden outburst Raika was already moving, followed closely by Lydia, Tia, and Luna before Sombra sighed and ran after them before he ended up losing them.
"Could have at least declined the bounty..." the guard mumbled, turning around to walk up the stone steps to Dragonsreach.
---------------------------
They spent the next four hours walking around the base of the mountain that housed High Hrothgar before they eventually ended up in some town that was called Iverstead. During their journey they were assaulted by two groups of bandits, one of which had been standing guard at some ruined towers and a second group that had been housed in some cave. Both of them had been dealt with, though it gave Raika the opportunity to see how well both of her new companions could deal with fighting anything that could come after them. Lydia, baring a steel battleaxe, wasn't afraid to smash her enemies against the ground, but Luna, wielding her greatsword, moved as if the weapon was merely an extension of herself.
Sombra, once again, could barely stand against the bandits and almost dropped his sword at one point, but Celestia swooped in and pounded the bandit he was fighting into the ground. She wished that he had awoken his memories that showed him how to properly use a weapon so he could fight for himself without having to rely on someone coming to his aid. It was either that or she and Luna teach him how to fight like everybody else, which she was more than willing to do if it came to it.
"So this is Iverstead." Raika commented, staring at the small town as she stared at the bridge that connected the place to the mountain, "I've heard Ulfric Stormcloak mention this place when he retells of his visits to the Greybeards and I'm glad that everyone's doing okay. Let's get moving before someone decides we need to do something for them."
Sombra had no idea why she was avoiding people in need all day, but figured that she had her reasons and decided that he was better off not knowing what was actually bugging her. So they began their ascent up the mountain side, following the ancient stone pathway that had been placed to guide people all the way to the top of the mountain. While three of them had been expecting a simple walk up the mountain they got more than they were bargaining for. as they had to fight off three black furred bears, one rather angry troll, a cluster of wolves that kept snipping at their heels before they were dealt with, and one rather annoying icy wraith creature. Along the way they spotted three hunters, each of whom were making the 'Journey of the Seven Thousand Steps' at their own pace and couldn't be bothered to lend a hand if something came the groups way.
After the two hour long journey around the mountain side they finally came to a stone monastery that seemed to be carved out of the very side of the mountain, and even the loose stones Sombra wagered. Raika held her breath for some time as they made their way up the stone stairs, almost as if she was afraid that by entering High Hrothgar she would be accepting a destiny that she didn't want. Once they reached the doors Raika pressed her hands against the iron doors and gave them a push, only to find that they would not budge at all.
"Oh look my Thane," Lydia said, pointing to a note that rested on one of the iron doors, "It seems like the Greybeards left us a note. 'To whomever it may concern, the Greybeards are out to lunch and wont be back for some time.' I wonder if that means that they're not home at the moment..."
"WHAT IN OBLIVION?!" Raika angrily shouted to the heavens.
The Greybeards were known far and wide throughout all of Skyrim as being the type of people that welcomed everyone, be they Jarl, adventurers, normal citizens of the holds, and even the High King or Queen, to their monastery. The last time they had any visitors was when the young Ulfric Stormcloak came to their doors to learn the Way of the Voice from them, which he then used in the Battle of Markarth. Ever since then they saw no reason to reject people from their holy temple, but fewer people wanted to leave their families to make the journey up the side of the mountain and even fewer still had the experience needed to get passed all the creatures that wandered onto the walkways.
So when they heard the sound of the Dragonborn's Voice awakening, no doubt in the heat of battle when he or she killed a dragon, they almost immediately sent out their summons for them to come to the mountain. They had almost no way of knowing when the Dragonborn would arrive at their doors, unless they used their Thu'um against someone or something that was in their way so they would know how close they were. That was until they decided to go on their lunch break and locked the front doors of their monastery, where not thirty minutes later they could feel the Dragonborn's anger fill the air. They could almost taste it as she shouted at their front doors, no doubt finding it locked despite the fact that she had been invited just yesterday when she had slain her first dragon. Each Voice was unique and different, so the Greybeards could tell some key facts about the Dragonborn before she had even stepped foot inside the monastery.
One thing they all knew for certain, they needed to welcome the Dragonborn into High Hrothgar before her anger brought the entire mountain down around them and the surrounding villages.
-------------------------------------
"I cannot believe they locked us out of High Hrothgar!" Raika continued to fume, despite the fact that none of the others were evening listening anymore, "After we risked our lives, to heed their summons that I get here as fast as possible, how can they just lock us out?"
Lydia and Luna sat on the stone steps behind her, one staring at the cloudy skies while the other was reading her sister's notes on what she had translated so far, but neither cared about the locked door anymore. In front of them stood Celestia, who was just leaning against the stone wall of the mountain, and Sombra, who was sweating thanks to the exercises that Tia wanted him to do. He didn't mind that he was swinging his sword at imaginary enemies to perfect his aim or that he had fired several small bursts of magic at one of the stones they had passed. What he wanted to know was why his memory seemed so fractured that he was starting to think of Tia not as the women she was, but as a beautiful and powerful creature that he could only call Celestia.
There was something that linked the Tia that he had come to know with the mysterious Celestia that was starting to plague his mind and sometimes ruin his concentration.
"Okay, that's enough Sombra." Celestia sighed, staring at him as he finally lowered the weapon that he had been swinging for the last ten minutes, "Take a break before you fall over."
She hated to see her love, the only one that she had fallen for in over a thousand years, reduced to such a state that made him have to go through extensive training to relearn everything that he had forgotten. She meant that every single one of his memories had been either locked away so deep that he had no chances of remembering them or they had nearly been wiped from his mind completely. The way he looked at her reminded her of the way that those who had given up on themselves looked; broken and unable to restore whatever they were missing. He was missing the truest part of his soul and it hurt her to see him suffer in such a manner.
Her student, the young and bright Twilight Sparkle, had asked her several times over the years if she had somepony that she cared about deeply and loved with all her heart, but the response had been once upon a time. She couldn't bare the thought of telling her young student that she had fallen in love with a kind hearted stallion who had later become the tyrant of the Crystal Empire, forcing her and her sister to banish him. She had waited for a thousand years to be reunited with her love, and now she had to help him restore his memory so they could be together at long last.
"Hear that my Thane?" Lydia asked, hearing the slightest click as if someone had unlocked something, "I think someone unlocked the doors."
Raika turned to the door once again and placed her hands on them, pushing open the iron doors and entering the quiet monastery before the others could even move a muscle. As she strode into the open main room her eyes wandered about, looking around for a sign of any of the Greybeards that had dared to lock her out. What she found was one monk, who stood near a pair of stairs and watched her as she neared the exact center of the room, though she heard her comrades entering the room behind her.
"Tell me, what brings you here child?" the monk asked, focusing on her and not the others, "Why have you made the pilgrimage up the Seven Thousand Steps?"
"Because you summoned me," Raika replied, looking around for another Greybeard, "But I would like to know which one of you decided to lock the door and taunt me with a message."
"Ah, that might have been Master Borri," the monk said, putting a hand to his chin as if he had to think about it, "or it could have been Master Einarth. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Master Arngeir of the Greybeards."
"I'm the Dragonborn, Raika," Raika continued, glancing back at her friends, "and these are my friends Lydia, Luna, Tia, and Sombra. I'm the one who came in response to your summons. I assume you wish to teach me the finer points of the Voice and what it means to be a Dragonborn?"
Sombra just stood at the back of the group and watched the monk, who gazed over them as if he was looking for something or someone that happened to be among them. For a moment he could feel the intense pressure of the monk's gaze as he locked eyes with him, which let him know that the monk held a great deal of power within him as he nearly faltered. The next instant it was gone and Sombra felt relief, though he noticed that both Luna and Tia barely moved as the gaze came upon them, as if they weren't effected by it at all. Lydia, on the other hand, immediately fell over, only to be caught by him before she could hit the stone floor.
"Forgive me for testing all of you," Arngeir said, bowing his head as three more monks appeared around them, "I wanted to be sure that we weren't hosting anyone who would use the power of the Voice to do harm to the rest of Skyrim. I must ask that you give us a taste of your Thu'um, Dragonborn."
The moment that the monk asked Raika to give him a taste of her voice she gave him a taste of the power she had learned from the slain dragon, 'Fus', and nearly tore the robes off of him. The only reason it was stronger now was because she was still mad that they dared to lock her out of the monastery and there was no telling how long it would take for it to cool down. The monk straightened himself before staring at her again, as if he was deciding what he wanted to do with her and the raw power that she contained.
"Come, Dragonborn, we will teach you the second word in Unrelenting Force," Arngeir said, turning to lead them out to the outside, "Your friends are welcome to stay here and rest their weary legs while we impart our knowledge to you."
Raika figured that this was how it was supposed to be, seeing how the Greybeards seemed so scared that someone could come along and use their secrets to cause harm to the province. She quickly told Lydia to stay behind and followed the monks out the back doors, leaving the rest of them to do whatever they wanted until she returned. Lydia moved to one of the empty chairs, set her weapon next to it, and took a seat before she fell asleep and made the others shake their heads. Luna headed to one of the tables and continued her reading, allowing her sister come time to do whatever she wanted with Sombra before Raika and the monks returned.
Celestia, on the other hand, moved to one of the empty rooms to the right of the main chamber, hoping to find someplace where she and Sombra wouldn't be disturbed for some time. If she tried to teach Sombra how to properly fight with the sword they had given him it would take them at least a year for him to get through the basic moves that he had learned once upon a time. In order for them to have another skilled swordsman in their ranks, or a mage if she dared to unlock more of his magic, she needed to bring some of his memories back to the surface. The only drawback was that by unlocking his memories she might trigger the darkness that rested inside of him and bring something more terrifying than the dragons into Skyrim.
"Tia?" Sombra asked, following the women into the empty room, "What are you doing in here?"
"I'm going to help you remember how to fight," Celestia said, pulling him into the center of the room and making him sit on the stone floor, "At the rate your going Raika's going to leave you behind, despite the fact that she agreed that your following Luna and I, not her. We need to show her that you can contribute to the group's success and not fall behind us all the time."
"And just how do you plan on unlocking my memories?" Sombra asked, staring into her eyes, "I cannot recall anything since the time I woke up a few days ago."
"That's where I will help you," Celestia said, her pink eyes shining just a bit as Sombra began to fade out, "We'll unlock your memories, together."
That was when Sombra fell into the depths of his mind, his body going stiff in Celestia's hands.
-------------------------
When Sombra came to he found himself in some sort of hazy place, where all he could see was some sort of mist that made it nearly impossible for him to see anything around him. He could feel the presence of Tia somewhere near him, but thanks to the mist he had no idea where she was, what she was doing, or how she was going to help him recover his memories. He took a small step forward and fell right through the mist, dropping out of the sky and descending towards a snow covered land that seemed to stretch on endlessly in every direction. He expected the impact with the snow to hurt a lot, but when he actually hit the snow he found that there was absolutely no pain and pulled himself out quite easily.
When he looked in front of him, however, he found something so strange and bizarre that he refused to believe that what he was seeing was something that actually existed. Standing in front of him was a huge kingdom, what he assumed was a kingdom, that appeared to be made completely out of some sort of crystal and shined as the sun hit it. The largest structure sat in what he assumed was the center of the kingdom, so he assumed that it had to be some sort of palace. Before he moved even a step someone approached him, but when the person appeared Sombra was shocked by what he saw. Standing on the inside of the kingdom's border was a grey coated stallion that was clad in some sort of steel armor and wore a red cape on his back, but what caught Sombra's eyes was that the stallion had a horn coming out of his forehead.
A horn that looked exactly like the one that Sombra had on his forehead.
"Who are you?" the stallion kindly asked, his voice sounding as if he was a kind and just ruler, "Why have you come to the Crystal Empire?"
This is an Empire? Sombra thought, making ready to respond to the stallion when he realized that the stallion wasn't looking at him. Rather, he seemed to be staring at something had was behind him, so he turned around and was surprised for a second time.
Standing next to him was another horse, only this one was larger than the stallion was and, unless he was mistaken, he was sure that this one just happened to be a mare. The white coated pony was wearing a set of golden jewelry on her hooves, around the base of her neck, and even had a crown set on the top of her head. Where's the stallion had a simple black mane the mare had a mane that consisted of blues, greens, and pink, but where the stallion only had a horn the mare had a longer horn and a pair of large wings. On her flank was what appeared to be the symbol for the sun, but whatever it meant was lost on him.
"I am Princess Celestia of Equestria," the mare answered, walking right past Sombra as if he wasn't there at all, "I heard rumors that there was an Empire out here in the Frozen North and I wanted to see it with my own eyes. I must say, this place is beautiful."
"Its not everyday that we get guests up here," the stallion said, "Let's get you out of the cold and get something to eat, then maybe we'll take a tour of the rest of the Empire before you have to depart."
"That sounds lovely," the mare, Celestia, said as she approached the barrier, "So, does my host have a name?"
"I am Sombra," the stallion replied, causing Sombra's blood to run cold, "King of the Crystal Empire."
"Well met then King Sombra," Celestia said, following the stallion past the barrier, "I must admit, I have never encountered such a spell that erects a special barrier that could make the perfect conditions to sustain a colony. Much less an empire of this size."
"I said the same thing when my friend Starswirl the Bearded showed me this place," Stallion Sombra told her, smiling as he faced his shining empire, "He told me that there is a strong magical force within the Frozen North, where the palace was built on top of and the buildings surrounding it soon after. The ponies here needed a ruler when we discovered them so, with Starswirl's help, we set up some rules, trained the guards that you see, and even enforced the barrier to provide a much nicer climate. These days we have a nice temperature that keeps us nice and warm, while making sure that we have the proper conditions to grow the crops that sustain our empire. Last I saw of Starswirl was five years ago, when he said that he needed to make a visit to a faraway kingdom to visit some old friends before he attempted a new spell he had been working on, but I haven't heard from him since."
"Starswirl's been here?!" Celestia asked, following the stallion towards the outer houses, "Last I saw of him was when he visited my sister and I in Canterlot, during which he showed us a few of the spells he had been working on for the last few years. He told us that he was going to be visiting someplace in the Frozen North, an empire that neither of us had known existed in the first place. My sister Luna didn't want to come, so you won't have to worry so much about someone you don't know coming after me."
Nord Sombra pulled himself out of the snow, quickly brushed all traces of the white substance, and followed the pair of ponies towards the empire, all while he tried to understand what was happening in front of him. He had no idea who this 'Starswirl the Bearded' was supposed to be, but it seemed like he was someone - somepony he corrected himself- that was important to this world. He must have been some sort of mage or wizard, similar to Farengar of Whiterun that he had met when Raika wanted to warn the Jarl about a dragon that was burning the hold. He was sure that this Starswirl was some sort of Arch-Mage, but it seemed as if he was missing and that nopony knew where he was.
"You have a sister?" Stallion Sombra said, "I guess that would make sense, seeing how Starswirl told me that there were two sisters who moved the sun and the moon each and every day. Judging from your Cutie Mark you must be the sister that controls the movement of the sun, which means that your sister, Luna, is the one who controls the movement of the moon."
"I must say, Starswirl certainly told you enough about me and my sister for you to realize who I was." Celestia remarked, giving a smile to the stallion, "But enough about me, I'm more interested in learning about you and your empire."
"Like I said, I found this place thanks to Starswirl about five years ago," Stallion Sombra said, approaching the first crystalline structure, "the locals didn't know what to make of us, two strangers, unicorns no less, appearing out of thin air and asking them about their strange empire that existed in the middle of nowhere. All of these houses, you see, were here long before anypony even found this place, so nopony truly knew anything about the mysterious structures or the magic that keeps the barrier up. These ponies had no idea that their empire was sitting on some very powerful Ley Lines, the lines that connect all of Equestria's magic together, and I was more than willing to lend them my aid in figuring it out.
After intense study I discovered that an artifact know as the Crystal Heart not only rests in the Crystal Palace, but it alone powers the barrier that keeps all of us safe from the harsh winter wind. This place was so gloomy when we arrived that I thought there would be no way for us to cheer these ponies up, but when the Crystal Heart was activated the place became so full of life. Ponies began to rejoice and almost immediately they began to hail me as some sort of savior that gave them their lives back, despite the fact that all I did was activate the artifact that they didn't know existed.
Starswirl convinced me to stay here and lead these ponies into a prosperous future, while making sure that I studied the vastness of the Ley Lines that I now stood upon. What he wanted was for me to study the lines and understand the nature of magic that we found here, but eventually I gave all of my studies up so I could make sure my new ponies had a place to rest their heads. I made sure that I had easy access to the Ley Lines, in the unlikely event that somepony came to try and take the empire away from, but I have never needed to use that magic.
These ponies treat me well and I, in turn, made sure that they were safe from everything that could possibly harm them. It has been an interesting five years, but if somepony asked me if I would ever leave the empire I would tell them 'no'. Now that I have spent all this time with these ponies I couldn't think of leaving them alone, not when there's nowhere else for me to go besides the cold winter that surrounds us. Better to stay here, with the ponies that respect me, and make sure that we have a thriving empire that not even winter can touch."
"Why King Sombra, your a scholar," Celestia commented, nodding to the ponies as they walked towards the tallest structure of all, "and that means that Starswirl put a lot of effort into making sure you were well trained."
Nord Sombra took in the sights as he followed the pair towards the Crystal Palace, still surprised that nopony had noticed the specter following the royal pair. He suspected that, due to some strange type of magic, he was rendered invisible to everypony around him and that, in turn, allowed him to study the empire that he previously ruled. Or, maybe, it was his eyes that were playing tricks on him and he and the stallion didn't share anything more than a name. He followed them into the Palace, around several twists and turns, before coming to some sort of throne room, which he knew by sight thanks to the throne made of crystal near the back on the room.
"Forgive me Princess Celestia," Stallion Sombra said, dipping his head just a bit, "but I have an experiment that I was working on that I had to leave behind when I was told of your coming. If you will allow me a few minutes I'll make sure something hasn't happened to it and then I'll be back before you notice me missing."
Princess Celestia merely nodded before turning her attention to the room she was in, allowing both Sombra's to make their way to a chamber that only the stallion knew about. When he reached the chamber he pushed open the door and slipped inside, locking the door tight behind him. A locked door, however, could not stop the Nord Sombra from passing through the wooden frame and entering the chamber. What he found inside the chamber was a second unicorn stallion with a light grey coat, a light blue cape that covered most of his lower body, a long white beard, and a hat over his head.
"I see you have met Princess Celestia," the stallion commented, not even turning around as both Sombra's entered the chamber, "I'm sorry that you had to leave our experiment to oversee her arrival, but she cannot know I am here."
"And why is that, Master Starswirl?" Stallion Sombra asked, standing directly behind the other stallion, "I actually enjoyed sharing the Empire with somepony who hasn't had the chance to learn about it. How goes the experiment?"
"Fine, just fine," the second stallion, the mysterious Starswirl, replied, "My portal is almost complete and my time in Equestria is drawing to a close. I'm afraid that soon you won't be able to draw my infinite wisdom, so I have written most of my knowledge in this singular library for you and you alone. If you wish to let somepony else gaze upon my knowledge you'd have to manipulate the spell on the door, but until then I recommend leaving it alone."
"I shall put it to good use," Stallion Sombra said, bowing his head despite the fact that the other stallion wasn't looking at him, "When will you be leaving?"
"If I can hold on, maybe a week." Starswirl immediately replied, putting down a quill, "Go, attend your duties as the King of the Crystal Empire and I'll discuss my final project with you later."
Stallion Sombra nodded his head and exited the chamber, but Nord Sombra found that he could not move another inch in any direction. The stallion turned around and his eyes locked with Sombra's, almost as if he could somehow see him.
"Ah, it is you old friend," Starswirl chuckled, "and, at the same time, it is not you. I can see that most of your memories are missing and, even now, you cannot remember who and what you were with the help Celestia and Luna have given you. For you to remember everything I must forcefully unlock them for you, so forgive me if this hurts."
A bright light engulfed Sombra, covering his entire body as his mind as assaulted by a continuous surge of memories, visions of a life that he had been forced to forget. He screamed his throat raw as he clamped his hands on the sides of his head, unable to take his eyes away from all the events that played out before his very eyes. Eventually he let loose one last scream and found himself sitting back in the monastery that his friends had stopped at for Raika, only with the women Tia sitting next to him and her arms wrapped around him. Or, as his restored memories revealed to him, Princess Celestia.
"Princess Celestia," Sombra whispered, drawing her attention to him as he smiled, "I remember everything."
And with that Sombra collapsed from exhaustion, right in the arms of the mare that he loved with all his heart.
Raika, now baring the lessons of the Greybeards and their instructions, returned to the main chamber of the monastery to find almost everyone where she had left them. Lydia was still fast asleep in her chair, which meant her weapon was still sitting by her, while both Luna and Celestia were sitting at a table across from her. The sisters appeared to be discussing something that they had found in one of the books they had open, no doubt arguing their points on it like they did with everything else. The only person she didn't see immediately was Sombra, which struck Raika as odd since Celestia was usually somewhere near the nord at all times.
"Where's Sombra?" Raika asked, stopping by the royal sisters and likely interrupting whatever they were talking about.
"He's out front," Celestia replied almost immediately, almost sounding sad, "He needed some time to sort through his memories and remember exactly who he is. Not even I can help him right now."
Raika sighed and moved towards the large iron doors that would lead her back to the stairway in front of the monastery, wondering exactly how the nord might have restored his memories. She threw open the doors, welcomed the cold winter air once again, and walked down the steps until she found the nord standing near the edge of the cliff. Sombra was staring out at Skyrim, taking in the sights as he seemed to be figuring out who he was, whatever Celestia had meant by that. He still wore the armor she and Ralof had found him in, but the weapon that Celestia and Luna had crafted sat on a rock near him, almost like he had forgotten it was right there.
"Hey there Sombra," Raika said, noticing that he barely noticed her approach and didn't turn to her call, "Tia tells me that you recovered your memories and I was hoping that you might share something with me."
"Celestia," Sombra corrected, his eyes locked on the sight of Whiterun in the distance.
"Excuse me?" Raika asked, feigning innocence to the fact that she had known Celestia's true name and had purposely not told Sombra what it had been.
"Her name is Celestia, not Tia." Sombra said, letting out a sigh as he turned to face Raika, "When I first met her she introduced herself as Princess Celestia of Canterlot, the alicorn that controlled the Sun, and sister of Princess Luna, the alicorn that controlled the Moon. It wasn't until later that she told me that Luna called her by her pet name, Tia, sometimes and that few ponies knew that name even existed. In all the time I've known my sweet Celestia I have never called her by her sister's pet name, until I lost my memories and you introduced her as such."
"So you did recover your memories," Raika exclaimed, surprised that he had somehow done what she had deemed nearly impossible, "that's great."
"Not all of them I'm afraid," Sombra replied, turning back to the open area in front of him, "I remember everything leading up to the day that Celestia and I were to be married, but after that there is this black hole where the rest of my memories are supposed to be. Then the next thing I remember is waking up in that cave, feeling the earth shake as if something was trying to destroy everything above me, and seeing you for the first time. The rest of my memories you know, as you shared most of them with me."
Raika knew just a tiny bit about what he had done during the time between Discord's arrival and his departure from his home world, but Celestia had elected to not tell her everything. She couldn't tell him anything more about himself because she didn't know any of it, but that didn't mean that she couldn't learn it as he did. All she was concerned about at the moment was could he still fight and actually contribute to the group.
"I might be a little early in asking this," Raika started, picking her words carefully, "but I was wondering if you might have uncovered how to properly fight with a sword."
The moment the words left her mouth she found the sword that Sombra wielded, the one crafted by Celestia and Luna, was in his hands all of a sudden. Sombra seemed to be staring into the blade itself, as if he was trying to discover the magic that went into creating it so he could either undo it or replicate it somewhere else.
"I remember more than fighting with my sword," Sombra said, sheathing the blade before belting it to his side, "I remember a variety of spells that I learned over the years, how to properly fire a bow, and some other odds and ends that help out in a fight. But enough about me, we have an adventure to get underway."
Raika smiled and the two of them went back into the monastery, where they found the rest of their friends gathered around the table and a map of Skyrim. Lydia covered her mouth with a hand as she yawned, before pointing to somewhere on the map as if she was explaining something to Luna and Celestia. Raika managed not to laugh as she realized that Lydia was showing the sisters the situation of the civil war, which was currently at a standstill until Whiterun decided which side to join.
"My Thane," Lydia said, welcoming them to the table, "before we leave I decided to share with these two the situation that Skyrim faces, in case they wanted to help out in the war effort. But other than that they recommended that we get underway."
"We need to head to Ustengrav," Raika said, placing a finger near someplace called Morthal, "the Greybeards want me, and that includes you guys, to recover an artifact called the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, the founder of the Way of the Voice. Seeing how Ustengrav is another nordic ruin we'll have to deal with the draugr and maybe some walking skeletons, but with our assembled group we shouldn't have to worry about them. I suggest that we leave soon so that catch one of the carriage drivers before they leave Iverstead."
Celestia and Luna were quick to agree with Raika, so not a few moments later the group was walking out of the monastery and began the journey back down the mountain. As they traversed the seven thousand steps again they didn't have to worry about being attacked by any stray animals or trolls, seeing how they dealt with all of them on their trip up earlier that day. The three hunters they had met were still where they had previously found them, praying to the shrines and maybe hunting some animal that passed them by. As they entered Iverstead Raika spotted the carriage arriving and immediately hailed the driver, paying out the price for him to deliver them to Morthal.
During the ride to Morthal Sombra sat right next to Celestia, resting his head on her shoulder as they stared out at the passing scenery, including the gates of Whiterun. Luna smiled at them, glad to see that her sister was finally happy to have the stallion that her heart connected with the most back in her hooves...or hands at the moment. He may not have remembered all the dark deeds he had committed after Discord hit them, but she was glad that they didn't have to deal with that problem at the moment. Lydia spent most of their ride reading one of the books that one of the Greybeards let her take from the monastery, only with the promise that it be returned in due time. Raika, on the other hand, merely kept an eye out for any problems that would prevent them from reaching their destination, like maybe some more bandits or another dragon.
Eventually they arrived in Morthal and were greeted by the townspeople standing outside a building, shouting at the guards about some unfortunate deaths that seemed to have happened sometime before they arrived. While the guards were distracted Raika led the group north, getting as far away from the gloomy town as they could so she didn't have to deal with being accused of something she didn't do. They wandered through a swamp like area, looking for the signs of a ruin that could very well be anywhere while fighting some rather large spiders that crossed their path. After about two hours of wandering through the swamp, half of it spent staring at the map of Skyrim, they finally found the sunken entrance to Ustengrav.
Unfortunately the entrance was surrounded by five living people, each wearing a black robe over their body, and five seemingly dead bandits that moaned every now and then.
"What in Tartarus is this?" Sombra asked, leaning against the rocky wall as they formed their plan of attack.
"Necromancy," Raika spat, clearly hating even talking about the subject, "Some mages think its okay to bring the dead back to life in their service, leaving them to wander the world of the living and kill whoever their master wishes. Most mages in all of Tamriel dislike the reanimation of the dead and go as far as to destroy the Necromancers whenever they reveal their ugly heads. Even the College of Winderhold, where almost all the mages in Skyrim learn about magic, forbids the use of the dead in their lessons and even remove students who break that rule. Though I've never seen more than two necromancers together at any moment, so having five in the same area is very unusual."
"Luna and I can take the two necromancers in the back," Celestia was saying, pointing to the two robed figures she meant, "thus disabling their minions and allowing us to get closer to the entrance. Lydia, I trust that you can use that weapon of yours to disrupt the necromancer closest to us while Raika and Sombra deal with the other two. Once we've taken care of these mages I have no doubt that we might encounter one or two more inside the barrow itself, but we'll have to see about that when we get inside."
The moment Celestia was finished speaking she and Luna were on their way, giving the others no time to object to how they had planned their attack strategy. Sombra let out a chuckle as he silently drew his sword, Celestia was acting like the mare he had met back in the Crystal Empire that fateful afternoon.
The necromancers in the back, startled by the noise of beating wings, barely had time to issue commands to their minions before Luna and Celestia were on top of them. As the other three necromancers turned their heads towards the commotion Lydia burst out of their hiding spot and slammed the head of her battle axe into her target's minion, causing the dead to return to the grave. Before they were left out of the fun Raika and Sombra entered the fray, quickly finding their individual targets and engaging their minions. Raika, having more experience with necromancers, easily dispatched her target's minion and pinned the caster to the ground, but Sombra moved with grace and cut his foe's legs out before sending the unfortunate soul back to its resting place.
"Sombra, your necromancer is getting away," Luna shouted, causing Sombra to glare at the fleeing women.
The necromancer was used to having her minions hack and slash her enemies to pieces so she could reanimate them for the growing army all the necromancers were working towards. She wasn't used to seeing her minions torn to pieces by some stranger, whose band managed to tear apart the others and their own corpses. So, while her friends and enemies were distracted by the fighting, she turned to the south and immediately began to run for her life. And she might have succeeded, had one of her enemies not spotted her and called out to one of the others, the nord that had torn her own minion to pieces. She turned around in time to see him completely vanish, as if he had been just another summoned creature, but before she could even relax she found a sword blade sticking out of her chest.
"You should not have run my dear," Sombra sadly said, slipping the women's dagger out of her right hand as her body went limp, "I hope you achieve enlightenment in whatever plane you find yourself in."
As the others cleaned up the area, collecting the weapons, armor, and gold of the fallen, Celestia smirked as she watched Sombra finish up with his opponent. She could tell just by watching that he was acting more like the stallion she had known, using his magic and weapon as if they were merely extensions of himself. And as he finished off the necromancer she saw his mouth move, likely wishing the fallen warrior some form of enlightenment or something, exactly like he had done in the past. The stallion she had known was back in business.
"Here," Sombra said to Raika, handing over the dagger as she counted her new weapons, "this is the only weapon I could find on my opponent and knew you'd want to add it to your collection."
"Oh, thanks." Raika replied, accepting the dagger and placing it with the other weapons, "Let's see here; several steel daggers, seven iron axes, one silver sword, and, not surprising, two staffs of unknown magical origins. Well then, I guess it's time to descend into the ruins and find that horn."
They descended into the ruins without any problem, but before they really got very far they found two more necromancers waiting in the first chamber, who had no idea they had company. Before anyone made a move to deal with them Sombra held up a hand and stopped them, allowing the magic to gather before a bow appeared out of the shadows. He gripped the bow tightly, weighing it in his hands before pulling out a steel arrow and nocking it, letting out a sad sigh as he pulled the string back. A few seconds later he released the arrow, sending it flying into the chest of one of the necromancers and causing the other one to fall on his back in terror. Sombra nodded to the others and Raika was the first to react, copying Sombra's move and pinning the remaining enemy to the wall with her own arrow.
They moved deeper into the ruins, turning from fighting necromancers to fighting the draugr that the necromancers had foolishly awoken while they were digging. The true undead were relentless in their attacks, almost as if all of them had been awoken in a fury that was brought on by the necromancers awakening them and trying to bind them to their wills. Raika was glad for Celestia doing whatever she had done, because whenever she watched Sombra fight he fought as well as the sisters did and was quick to heal anyone if they got hurt. Celestia had told the truth to her, she promised that she would awaken who Sombra truly was and now they had someone who was pulling their weight.
Eventually they came to a wide open chamber, one that split in two directions, while they could hear the tell tale signs of a waterfall somewhere in the area. Raika led them around the walls, fighting more skeletons until they came to the base of the waterfall and found a second word wall at the end. Raika frowned as the magic slammed into her body, but instead of falling over she held her ground until the magic settled down inside of her.
"A moment, if you will," Luna said as Raika turned to head back up, "My sister is collecting all the words of power that she comes across, in order to aid you and any other Dragonborns. Give her a moment to collect the translation and we'll be on our way."
Raika nodded and took a seat near the water, giving the sisters as much time as they needed while taking a break and soaking her feet in the water. Lydia stood behind her Thane, her eyes scanning the water in case a draugr sprung out of the depths and tried to attack them. Sombra, on the other hand, closed his eyes and leaned against the stone wall, listening to the sounds around them as Celestia worked on the translation.
"Ah, let's see here," Celestia said, her translation book open to a new page, "'Noble Nords remember these words of the hoar father - it is duty of each man to live with courage and honor lest he fade unremembered into darkness.' Strange, the ancient nords aren't really telling us anything that might actually help us out."
Raika sighed and pulled herself up, leading the group back up the sides of the chamber until they came to another puzzle that involved stones. Only this one was designed to have the stones light up as someone stood near them and immediately begin to fade the moment that someone stood away from it. Raika had everyone stand back for a moment before standing near the first stone, causing it to light up before she sprinted through the other two stones. The moment the other two stones were lit up the gates in front of them were open, but before they closed Raika suddenly vanished and appeared at the top of some stairs as the gates closed.
"A decent shout from the Greybeards," Raika said, watching them figure out how to get through the trap themselves, "Wuld, from the Whirlwind Sprint shout, allows me to travel some distance in an instant."
"Decent for you," a voice said behind her as Sombra stepped out of the shadows, "but the shadows could have easily gotten all of us through without having to waste your breath."
True to his word the other stepped out of the shadowy portal he had opened in the wall, which made Raika wish that he had told her he knew how to do that. She could have saved her breath and already be at the horn, but she couldn't fault him for not sharing since he was just remembering everything himself. She sighed and they pushed even deeper into the ruins, coming to one more water filled chamber that shook moments after they entered. They watched as a walkway rose out of the water and connected their side to the other side, to which Raika immediately ran across in case it was designed to descend back into the water.
She saw the stand that Arngeir had described, so she would have known where to find the horn in case they had actually made it to the end of the ruins. But where the horn was supposed to be was a simple piece of paper. She picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it, staring at a note as the others approached.
"Dragonborn--
I need to speak to you. Urgently.
Rent the attic room in the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood, and I'll meet you there.
--A Friend"
Raika held the note for a second, trying to understand what the note was even implying, but when the truth dawned on her her fury from before returned. Someone had stolen the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller and was calling out the Dragonborn, no doubt intending to ransom the treasure for all the gold that she had. Raika growled, it seemed like there was someone that she was actually going to have to kill and she hoped that the others let her deal with whoever was messing with her.
As soon as the group entered the back room to the chamber Raika told them exactly what she had discovered, letting them know exactly why she was furious this time. They had wasted hours searching for the horn, hours that could have been spent hunting the dragon that leveled Helgen, only to come up empty in their search. Someone had beaten them to the punch and left them a calling card, one that Raika chose to interpret as a ransom, and exchange of something for the horn. She basically opened the large chest in the room, took out the curved orcish sword, and a large sack of gold before moving on to the tunnel that would lead them back to the surface.
"Whoever took the horn shall suffer my Thane," Lydia promised, brushing the cobwebs out of the way as they traveled back to the surface, "and if we don't outright kill them for this crime then we might consider time in the Dragonsreach Jail. No one steals from the Thane of Whiterun and gets away with it."
Sombra knew that, while being the Thane of Whiterun, Raika had no claim on the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, which had been resting in the province of Morthal for some unknown amount of time. If anything the people of Morthal had a claim to the Horn, followed closely by the Greybeards since it was their founder that it had belonged to. He knew Raika wanted the horn back and he was willing to help her out, but killing whoever had the horn was the wrong thing to do, not that he was going to tell Raika that now. Better to wait for her to calm down and see some sense before talking to her again.
When they finally got back to the surface Raika led them back to Morthal, coming across two wolves that dared to get on her bad side and growled at her. Raika, in no mood for games, drew her two swords and ran at the wolves, screaming at the top of her lungs as one wolf met his end at the end of her swords. The second, now concerned for its own safety, turned to flee before she got closer, but Raika slammed into it and put the beast out of its misery. Raika got up from the corpse and sheathed her blades, but even the rush of the fight wasn't enough to cool her anger just yet.
Despite having a few hours pass since they're arrival the carriage driver was still sitting where they had left him, so Celestia was quick to enlist his aid in delivering them to Whiterun. As they departed Raika stared at the gloomy town, her anger filling her eyes and causing her to grind her teeth as the buildings slowly disappeared into the distance. Luna, Celestia, and Sombra kept to themselves, choosing to enjoy the scenery and whatever animals they saw instead of being sour that they failed to acquire the horn. Lydia was still spouting the nonsense that whoever stood in Raika's way was going to suffer or be imprisoned in jail, but she was mostly ignored by the others.
A few hours passed before they were brought close to Whiterun and its massive walls, but as they drew closer they passed by a seemingly abandoned fortress. Or they would have thought it was abandoned, had there not been three armored warriors standing in front of the gates and firing upon whoever was inside the fortress. Moments later they were forced to move to the sides of the entrance as some stony creature barreled out of the fortress, passed by the warriors, and slammed right into the side of the carriage, causing the group to fall out of their seats as the horse, and the driver, disappeared into the distance.
Raika could not believe that some creature dared to interrupt their quest and quickly rose to meet it with both of her weapons drawn, only to find that the creature was a gargoyle. It roared in her face, but she held her ground and hacked both of its arms off before driving the points right into the core of its very being. As it crumpled into rumbled she turned and looked up at the fortress, looking for the vampire, as gargoyles only served the blood sucking fiends, that had summoned it. She marched right up to the entrance of the fortress, not even bothering to see if the others were alright, and leaned against the wall near the warriors.
"What's going on here?" Raika shouted, making it clear that the incident had only increased her anger.
"We're members of the Dawnguard," one of the warriors said, nocking a strange arrow into an even stranger bow, "and we received word that a group of vampires have made Fort Greymoor their home. We've been recruiting new members into our order and we were dispatched to deal with this particular group. Apparently they have been sneaking into Whiterun at night and are biting people every night, as if they're trying to turn the city into a place ruled by the dead."
"Look, I've been having a bad day so far and these guys summon a gargoyle that hit my carriage," Raika replied, "so, I'm going to go in there, find whoever summoned that creature, and I'm going to kill them and their friends until I'm sure I got them all."
"Yeah, about that," the second warrior, the one closer to the entrance, said, "I think your friends are more eager to get those vampire's then you might be. And that includes the one with the strange red horn."
Raika turned to see Sombra advancing towards the fort's entrance, the bow he had earlier floating behind him as he drew the blackened sword he carried. He wasn't bruised from the fall, but where Raika expected to find a look of fury on his face all she found was the same calm look that he seemed to wear half the time. Just seeing how calm he looked made Raika even more angry, wondering how he could even be calm after a bunch of vampires tried to kill them with a gargoyle. Then Sombra turned his gaze towards her and sighed, stopping in front of her as he pressed the blade's hilt against her left hand. A moment passed without anything happening, but then Raika felt her anger just bleed out into the blade and she eventually calmed down.
"What...what happened?" Raika asked, feeling as if a cloud had been removed from her vision.
"I took all your anger and added it to the sword," Sombra replied, turning to look at the fortress, "Your anger at having the horn stolen was blinding you to the fact that we were completely innocent when the gargoyle hit our carriage and drove the driver away. You were ready to risk everything, your quest and all of Skyrim, just to deal with a pack of vampires that unfortunately have taken our time from us. I decided to take what anger I could from you and the sword seemed to obey my silent command to take what I could, as long as it was touching. Now you can see properly again."
"And just what are you doing, my precious little morsel?"
Raika could tell that whoever spoke was not Celestia, because she had never called Sombra her 'precious little morsel' in all the time that they had been around each other. Sombra, who seemed to know that the voice was not Celestia's either, merely jerked his chin upward, causing Raika to look up and spot someone staring down at them. The person in question was another nord, but this one, clearly a female, was slightly shorter than all the other nords that Raika had met over the last few days. Then she realized that the nord wasn't fully grown and, with the blood red eyes, she figured out that the teenage nord was a vampire.
"Ah, I shall enjoy taking a bite out of your magic," the vampire continued, clearly unaware of Sombra pulling his bow into position as she daydreamed about what she was going to do, "then, once I master what I get from you, I'll conquer the vampire world and be heralded as the next Queen of the Vampires."
"Then eat this," Sombra calmly said, the arrow flying from his bow and knocking the vampire square in the chest hard enough to launch her into the air.
Before the vampire even landed Sombra grabbed the two strange bows that the warriors were carrying with his magic, bolted some sort of magical projectile into them, and advanced into the open fortress as two more vampires tried to rush him. The magic flew into their chests and sent them flying past the rest of their fellow vampires, who turned towards Sombra and bared their fangs at him. Sombra smiled as one of them leapt at him and tried to claw his eyes out, to which he responded by slashing the beast across the chest and causing it to crash against the ground. Two more charged at him, but they too fell as his blade moved with the grace that he had previously known and left him with just one more target.
This vampire took advantage of him fighting the others to score a claw wound across his chest, but Sombra had been expecting something sneaky like that. The moment the vampire sneered like he knew he was going to win Sombra called upon the magic around him, gathered the crackling dark energy around his left hand, and thrust it against the vampire's chest. At first the vampire thought that nothing bad could happen to him and showed Sombra a mouth full of fangs, but then the magic tore right through his body and crashed him against the stairs behind him. Sombra gave himself a smile and sheathed his weapons, watching the young vampire finally land on the ground in front of him, her eyes dimmed and still.
"What the?!" Raika asked, having witnessed the nord dispatch all the vampires like they had been nothing.
"You should have told us your friend was a mage," one of the warriors said, collecting their weapons that Sombra had used, "Had we known we might have come up with a strategy to deal with all of these vampires so we could have all had some glory."
"I wasn't sure he remembered all of that," Raika said, still stunned by what Sombra had done, "but at least we got rid of those pests."
What she didn't say was that until this morning Sombra couldn't lift a sword properly or even cast a simple fireball spell, but after Celestia helped him he was a different person. Now he was a formidable warrior and a powerful mage, which is somewhat along the lines of what Raika had thought he was and could not see. Despite the fact that he wasn't smiling very often Sombra seemed to have the air that he was former royalty and that his position had allowed him some training, which he used to fight her enemies. The only thing she was concerned about was when he uncovered the last bit of his memories and descended into the monster that both Celestia and Luna had mentioned in the past.
Despite the warriors claiming to want to share the reward with them, thus making them travel to someplace near Riften, meet the leader of the Dawnguard, and likely join the order, Raika declined their offer and watched them disappear into the distance. She and her friends continued on their quest, moving towards the same pathway that Raika and Sombra had taken to get to Bleak Falls Barrow. Seeing how they had traveled this particular path several times in the last two days there were no more creatures to bare their path, which pleased Raika to no end. It only made her wonder who in Riverwood could have snuck into Ustengrav, made it past the draugr, and had stolen the horn without getting themselves killed.
The moment they entered Riverwood Raika immediately spotted Gerdur heading home from the lumber mill, to which she simply greeted her with a bow of the head that was repeated back to her. The Sleeping Giant Inn was mostly empty, save for the bard who sat in his chair and drank his ale, and the two owners who stood near the back of the inn. Raika wasted no time in drawing closer to the pair and asked them about the attic room, which she knew from previous experience didn't exist, and was offered the side room. Raika struck an agreement with the lady and had the others sit on the benches while she took to the room in case her mysterious 'friend' showed up. Not a few moments later the lady she had struck the deal with came marching up to the room, walking past the doorway and pulled out what looked like a horn.
"So, you're the Dragonborn I've heard so much about. I believe that your looking for this," the lady said, holding out the horn as Raika swiped it from her hands, "The two of us need to talk..."
"No," Raika replied, staring into the lady's eyes, "If you have anything to say to me then you might as well say it to my friends as well."
"Oh for the love of Talos," the lady said, sighing before beckoning for her to follow, "Fine, if it will make you follow me then I'll share my secrets with all of you."
The lady led Raika to her room, telling her partner to 'mind the fort' or something as they passed by him, but Raika beckoned for her friends to join her and they eventually gathered in her room. The moment that Sombra closed the door behind him the lady opened her wardrobe and revealed a hidden staircase that led below the inn. Once at the bottom they gathered around the wooden table that the lady had no doubt constructed sometime in the past.
"Let's keep the introductions brief so we can get to the matter at hand," the lady said, beckoning to herself, "I am Delphine, one of the few surviving members of the Blades. It is my duty to find the Dragonborn, if you are her, and help her stop the dragons from coming back to life."
"I am Raika," Raika replied, "I'm the Thane of Whiterun and the Dragonborn you've been seeking. This is Lydia, my housecarl assigned to me by the Jarl of Whiterun. These three are Princess Celestia, alicorn of the Sun, her sister Princess Luna, alicorn of the Moon, and King Sombra, the ruler of the Crystal Empire."
"I'm not a king," Sombra quickly amended, not wanting to give their new ally any strange thoughts, "The three of us are from another world, but we won't bore you with the details."
"Look, I don't care what allies you have gathered around you," Delphine countered, shaking her head ever so slightly, "be they other worldly or not. What I care about is that you are truly the Dragonborn and not some Thalmor spy sent to send me to my death in the river."
"But I am the Dragonborn," Raika argued, shaking a fist at the women, "Tell me what I would have to do, who I would have to kill, in order for you to believe that I am who I say I am."
"Simple," Delphine said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, "I need you to kill a dragon and steal its soul."
Silence descended upon the room, making it clear that Raika had no interest in killing a second dragon that might not be the one that burned Helgen to the ground. She wanted to find that black dragon and rip his heart out, so that way all of Skyrim could know peace without something trying to burn them all.
"Look, I've had a tiring day," Raika groaned, looking back up at Delphine, "Just tell me where to go and we'll find out if there's a dragon to be slain there, that is if your staying here and expecting us to bring back something."
"No need for that," Delphine said, a small grin appearing on her face, "I'll be joining you once you decide to leave the inn and take down that dragon. We had best get some sleep before the night gets too old, as there's no telling what we could meet on the road tomorrow."
Raika moaned again and moved back to the stairs, clearly wishing to get some sleep that she desperately needed at the moment, but she wasn't alone. Celestia, Lydia, and Sombra joined her, heading back up the stairs so they could visit the rooms and get some sleep. Luna, on the other hand, stayed by Delphine for a moment and whispered something about talking about the Blades in the future. Raika didn't want to worry about anything else at the moment and once she got to the bed she was asleep in moments.
Nighttime in Skyrim was anything far from peaceful, but Raika was somewhat glad that she and her friends had someplace safe to rest their weary legs for the night. It meant that they didn't have to camp out in the wild or have to worry about bandits coming to ransack their camp, both of which she was used to thanks to her service in the Stormcloak Army. Ralof and the others had taught her some valuable skills that would make it easier for her to survive in the wild, but there were times where she would preferred to stay indoors. It didn't matter if she slept indoors or outdoors, as she always kept her weapons close to her in case someone decided to try and rob her in the middle of the night. That night she allowed herself to finally relax and drift off into her dreams, hoping that they weren't as messed up as what her reality was slowly becoming.
Luna smiled to herself as everyone eventually drifted off to sleep, their dreams appearing to her in the dream world while she ate one of those sweetrolls she noticed Raika eating all the time. Raika's dream, she noted, was filled with she spending the evening with a group of her comrades, the Stormcloaks, and cheering on about their latest victory over the Imperial Legion. Lydia's dream was basically her spending the most of her time beating her Thane's enemies into the ground and burning the corpses, which made Luna raise an eyebrow in thought. Her sister's dreams were what she expected to find, Celestia either spending time teaching her student the finer points of magic or scouring the libraries of Equestria to look for her love. Then, as she watched the scene unfold, the searching turned to Celestia and Sombra spending the evening on top of some hill, drinking some wine and sharing a laugh.
Sombra's dream, on the other hoof, was completely shrouded by darkness, preventing even Luna from piercing the veil to see whatever he dreamed about. She would have to keep an eye on him over the next few days; she didn't want to lose her friend to the darkness in his heart a second time.
---------------------------------
When morning arrived Raika moaned and pulled herself out of the bed she had slept in, stretching her arms as she welcomed the new day with a yawn. She had the feeling that someone - or somepony if her theory was correct - had spied on her dreams while she was asleep and knew what she had dreamed about. Luna was the princess of the moon, and the moon meant that she ruled during the night, during which her subjects were asleep and she could watch over them. Regardless if she was right or not Raika didn't like the feeling that there was someone, be they former pony or not, who could spy on people's dreams.
When she emerged from the room she was greeted by a strange sight; Lydia and Delphine pouring over a map of Skyrim, Luna tearing apart a sweetroll, and Celestia and Sombra sharing the morning meal together.
"Ah, Dragonborn, your up," Delphine said, waving a hand at her in the fashion to call her over, "Your housecarl and I were discussing the best course of action in regards to getting all of us to Kynesgrove. I suggested that we walk there, but she keeps telling me that we should rent a carriage to get us to Windhelm and then walk the rest of the way."
"And I am right!" Lydia growled, defending her suggestion to the end, "If there is to be a dragon attack on Kynesgrove then we should get there sooner rather then later."
"But the Thalmor have spies everywhere," Delphine pointed out, pointing a finger at an area near Solitude, "I did not spend all these years making sure I was safe, just for some upstart to throw it all away without any concern for our safety. The moment the Thalmor discover that the Dragonborn has returned they'll make sure that she's out of the picture so they can conquer all of Skyrim."
"Look, we can deal with the Thalmor later," Raika moaned, not happy that she has to deal with an argument so soon after waking up, "Get us a carriage so we can get to Windhelm and deal with the dragon that you're claiming will be there. If we get there and a dragon doesn't show up then we'll take the Horn with us back to the Greybeards."
"Fine," Delphine sighed in defeat, "Your the Dragonborn, so I'll forgive the fact that you are unaware of the struggle between what remains of the Blades and the entirety of the Thalmor. However, you want a carriage, so we'll get a carriage. Just be ready to strike in case we get hassled by our enemies."
---------------------------------
Not even an hour later the group, having made the way to Whiterun before taking a break, were riding in a carriage and were well on their way to Windhelm. Thanks to Delphine joining them, now geared up in a suit of leather armor she had stashed away in case she ever needed it again, they were at the capacity the driver was willing to take at one time. Raika insisted that the former equestrians shared one side of the carriage, so she could keep one eye on Sombra in case any of his darkness started to seep out of him again. Delphine didn't seem to mind sitting near the edge of the carriage in the event of an attack, but she was still sour that she was breaking all her safety measures she had spent years putting in place.
During the ride Raika was tempted to tell Lydia to kick Delphine out of the carriage, but figured she'd keep her around to use as bait in case there really was a dragon to fight. She just prayed to Talos that the dragon that was supposed to be at Kynesgrove was the one that attacked Helgen, so she could end this nightmare before another town was destroyed.
"Looks like we've got company," the driver said, just as the carriage came to a halt.
Standing in front of their carriage were eleven bandits, most of them wearing the traditional leather armor that every bandit that Raika has run into had worn. Their leader this time was a female elf who held a bow in her left hand and an arrow in her right hand, though she was wearing a suit of steel armor that looked like it had seen several battles. The bandits carried a variety of weapons, ranging from bows and arrows to axes, maces, swords and shields, and even the larger two handed weapons. Raika let out a small whistle, these bandits were heavily armed and she wasn't going to walk away until she had every weapon they held.
"Stop right there," the bandit leader shouted, nocking her arrow as she spoke, "This is a robbery, so I want each of you to pile all of your gold, jewelry, magical trinkets, and weapons in the crates that my boys will be bringing to your carriage. Now I don't want any funny business, just give us what we want and we'll let you move on your way. But if you so much as raise your weapons against us we'll be sure to put whoever the offender is down as a lesson to all of you."
Just as the words left her mouth a bolt of lightning shot out of the trees and blasted the bandit closest to the leader square in the chest, knocking him off his feet and causing his still body to hit a tree.
"Whose out there?" the elf shouted, knowing that the attack had been caused by someone else and not the carriage riders, "Show yourself coward!"
Raika was expecting the mage, for that was the only type of person who used magic, to stay hidden and take out the remaining ten bandits before showing him or herself, but instead of remaining hidden the mage revealed herself. The young lady wore a light purple cloak that covered the clothes she was wearing and had a similar colored hat that she wore on her head. Her hair was colored light blue with a stream of an even lighter blue hanging around it, but her hair also revealed that she had a blue unicorn horn. Raika knew that, at that moment, they had found another equestrian and she seemed to be helping them out.
Then Raika noticed that several more images of the young lady revealed themselves, surrounding the group of bandits and ignoring the carriage completely.
"Mirror's Image," Celestia muttered, placing a hand on her chin as she watched, "I wonder..."
"You asked Trixie to come out," all eight of the mages said in unison, making it impossible to tell who was the real one and who was the fakes, "and so Trixie has come out. Trixie will say this once; either leave these fine people alone and flee with your lives or your fate shall be the same as your fallen friend. Be warned, once you make your decision there will be no going back."
"Damn you to Oblivion," the leader shouted, pulling back her bow string and firing at one of the mages, only to watch the arrow slip right through her, "Bandits, ATTACK!"
As the bandits broke rank all eight mages pulled their magic into their left hands, leaving their right hands free to block any attack with a long cylinder weapon with a crystal at the end. One of the mages was impaled by two of the bandit's swords, but just before the image turned to dust the magic slammed into the first's chest before leaping to the second one. Magic flew all around the circle, cutting into bandits as their weapons found their homes in the smoky forms of the mages that they were fighting. Eventually only the bandit leader remained, but not one of the mages was left standing and it made her raise an eyebrow as she scouted about for the real mage.
That was before a bolt of lightning shot out of the tree behind her and tore into her body, knocking her to the ground as the real mage finally revealed herself.
"Trixie told you to run," the mage said, putting the bandit leader out of her misery, "and you should have listened. Clear the bandits at Lost Knife Hideout, done and done."
"Hail fellow traveler," Raika said, jumping over the side of the carriage and walking up to the mage, "I thank you for the timely aid. If I might inquire, what will you do with all of their weapons?"
"Trixie has no need for their weapons," the mage replied, turning to face Raika and looked passed her to find two familiar faces staring at her, "Princess Luna! Princess Celestia! Trixie had no idea what either of you were in Skyrim, otherwise Trixie would have offered her service's to you sooner."
"Peace my dear," Celestia said, "Had either of us known you had left Equestria we would have come for you. Maybe you'd like to share how this turn of events came about one day, but unfortunately we are pressed for time."
"Then allow Trixie to aid you," the lady said, a spark appearing in her eyes, "Trixie has learned some interesting spells that may come in handy on your quest."
"I have only one condition for you joining us," Raika said, facing Trixie and staring into her eyes, "Please stop speaking in third person. Its going to drive me insane."
"Trixie will-I mean, I will try." Trixie replied, immediately catching her error, "Allow me to gather my stead and I'll catch up with you."
Raika nodded and went back to collecting the weapons that the bandits had carried, mentally counting every blade so she when she delivered them to Ulfric she could give him the number of each type she collected. Raika had no idea who this Trixie was supposed to be, but from what she had seen she could tell that Trixie was skilled in the art of magic like the others. She was honored to have another addition to her growing group, even though Trixie had sworn her services to Celestia. Her only concern was that she was going to be outmatched by every single former equestrian that they met.
After collecting the weapons and gold Raika returned to the carriage and the driver got underway again, carefully avoiding the smoking corpses that Trixie had left behind. Luna and Celestia smiled at each other, silently sharing a look that told Raika that they both knew the young mage they had bumped into. The others remained silent, though by the look on Delphine's face it was clear that they could not afford to be stopped like that again and it made Raika consider dropping her again. As the carriage moved past another empty fortress a horse rode up next to them, but they stayed their hands as they realized that it was only Trixie.
---------------------------------
"Ah Kynesgrove," Delphine said, stretching her legs after riding in a carriage for the last few hours, "We're here at last."
All Kynesgrove was was a simple inn that seemed out of place, though to the left of the inn were several tents that contained workers that worked somewhere near the inn. The moment the group arrived the carriage driver bid them farewell and rode off into the distance, clearly spooked by something that was near them. The workers they noticed ran right past them, some of them looking like they were scared for their lives and that you shouldn't be there anymore. All that told Raika was that Delphine had been correct, a dragon was nearby and it was freaking out everyone in the nearby areas.
"No no no," a women said, running up to them with fear in her eyes, "there's a dragon attacking the barrow. Run while you still can!"
"Wait," Raika said, grabbing the women by the arm before she slipped away, "What color were the dragon's scales?"
"They were black," the women shouted, tearing her arm out of Raika's grasp before running away, "they were as black as the night itself."
Raika's eyes widened at the mention of black scales, her mind flashing back to when she was about to be executed in Helgen and a dragon, whose scales had been black, attacked. This was the dragon she had been chasing the moment she agreed to tell Jarl Bulgruuf about the attack on Helgen and started this crazy quest. Now she had it where she wanted it, so she could end its violent rampage and bring some peace back to Skyrim before beating the tar out of the Imperial Legion. She drew her weapon and charged up the hill, her eyes scanning for the dragon that was responsible for all her current headaches and finding nothing.
That was before she noticed the burial mound on the ground, the vile energy flowing out of it and into the sky, and a dragon who ignored their arrival. A dragon, she noted, whose scales were black.
"Sahlokniir!" the dragon roared, the mound's energy pulsing in response, "Ziil gro dovah ulse! Slen Tiid Vo!"
The moment those last three words left the black dragon's mouth the mound erupted, throwing ground and stone into the air as the skeletal form of a dragon dragged itself out of the mound. To Raika's horror the dragon's body began to reconstruct itself, the flesh and scales returning to it until the entire dragon stood there in all its glory. The newly reborn dragon looked up at the second dragon and spoke in its ancient tongue, to which the black one quickly replied and caused the reborn dragon to look at the group. Before Raika could tell the black dragon to stop so she could kill it it flew away, disappearing into the clouds and leaving with another problem.
Before the dragon could roar at Raika two fireballs hit it square in the face, causing it to turn and find Trixie prepared to fight it with her magic at the ready.
"Come at me you beast," Trixie shouted, lightning flickering across her hands, "I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am ready for you."
The dragon roared and moved to swallow her whole, but Trixie smiled and leapt onto its head, moving towards his back before it could shake her off. Delphine shouted some ancient Blades war cry, pulled out her bow, and placed an arrow square in the dragon's side, further distracting it from Trixie. The dragon swung one of its wings and Luna simply backed up, letting the wing pass her by before sending a chill at the dragon's right side. Celestia, knowing her sister's plan ahead of time, moved to the dragon's left side and released a stream of fire at his side to counter the effects of her sister's magic.
Raika, seeing how annoyed the dragon was becoming, gripped her weapon tight and swung at the beast, leaving a light gash in its chest as it got into the air. It allowed the beast to get away from the sister's magic and limited them to attacking with either spells or arrows, but it had no intentions of forgetting that Trixie was holding onto it. Sombra, sensing that the dragon might do something drastic to remove Trixie, moved behind Raika and shadowstepped up to the sky, driving his weapon into the dragon's back the moment he appeared. Before the dragon plummeted out of the sky and hit the ground Sombra grabbed Trixie and pulled them into the shadows, appearing on the ground behind Raika.
"Want to put an end to him Dragonborn?" Delphine shouted, loosing another arrow at the beast, "We don't have all day before he leaves to find easier prey."
Raika looked at Sombra and he pulled the two of them into the shadows, leaving Trixie behind as they reappeared on the dragon's back and felt him shift in the air. Raika groaned, pulled herself up onto her feet, charged up the dragon's back until she was at his head, and drove her weapon right into his skull. As the dragon fell from sky Sombra grabbed Raika's leg and moved them once more, appearing behind Trixie in time to watch the dragon hit the ground hard. The assembled group waited until the dragon's thrashing ended before drawing closer, but once Raika was close enough the body returned to the skeletal form it had been earlier and its soul collided with her body.
"And that," Raika said, collecting her weapon before facing Delphine, "is why I am the Dragonborn."
"Fine, so your the Dragonborn," Delphine said, kicking at one of the large bones of the slain skeletal dragon, "but this doesn't change anything. There's a dragon out there that's resurrecting the others and they are attacking everyone in Skyrim, tearing into both the Imperials and the Stormcloaks. Only the Thalmor gain from seeing Skyrim torn apart at the seams, so we're going to have a little fun and see what their truly planning. Meet me back in Riverwood as soon as you can, I'm afraid that things are only going to get worse from this point on."
Raika and her group watched as the crazy women left them by the smoking corpse, not even bothering to say goodbye to the one person that could help her. Raika sighed and silently wished that she had told Lydia to push the women off the cart earlier so they could have been rid of her so long ago. She was even annoyed that the dragon hadn't even gobbled her up. Maybe by the end of all this madness she would finally be rid of Delphine and the plague that seemed to be slowly eating away at her.
"Look, I've had enough of being the Dragonborn for awhile," Raika finally said, removing a piece of hair from in front of her eyes, "While we are so close to Windhelm I'm going to visit Jarl Ulfric and deliver all the spare weapons that I've gathered. With some luck he'll be in a good mood today and I might be able to get some bonus time off so I can deal with this blasted dragon infestation. If not then you won't be seeing me for some time."
"Want one of us to come with you to vouch for what you've been doing?" Celestia asked, dusting off her wings while the other equestrians looked towards her.
"No, I can handle myself at this point," Raika replied, waving a hand in the air as she turned towards Windhelm, "Besides, you all deserve some time off and I wouldn't want to keep you from doing something more interesting. Just be sure to be back outside of Windhelm before the day ends and I'll be able to tell you what my fate is to be."
"Wait...is she serious?" Trixie asked, watching the Dragonborn, and the women that called herself her Housecarl, walk away.
"Unfortunately she is," Luna answered, letting out a sigh as she pulled out a map of Skyrim, "I've tried to argue my points with her several times, but it seems like we're better off doing something without her for now. Maybe we should find another group of bandits to deal with or raid one of the ancient burial grounds again. Hey Sombra, do you have a preference as to what we do?"
The equestrian in question was sitting on a rock nearby, staring out as he watched the pair disappear into the distance. He was silently hoping that she would be able to return without much delay, but from what he's learned about her leader, the mysterious Ulfric, he had no idea what could happen. He figured that there were plenty of places nearby for them to visit, do battle with whoever was standing guard, and collect treasure before Raika returned to them. All he cared about was making sure that Celestia was safe from harm, so he would follow her anywhere.
"I have none," Sombra replied, barely looking over his shoulder as he continued to stare at where Raika was heading.
"Wait a minute," Trixie said, something crossing her mind the moment that Princess Luna had mentioned who their companion was, "you don't mean King Sombra, the Tyr..."
Before Trixie could voice the rest of her sentence Luna's magic clamped her mouth shut, but after that Luna dragged her away from Celestia and Sombra. Once Luna was satisfied with the distance between them and the other group, being only a large boulder and a fallen tree, she released Trixie from her hold and let her stand up.
"I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but why did you cut me off?" Trixie asked, waving a hand to where Sombra was sitting, "And further more, why in Tartarus are the two of you traveling with the Tyrant of the Crystal Empire? He enslaved the ponies of the Crystal Empire and when he knew he was going to be defeated he sealed the away until the day he could return."
"Yes, I am aware of what happened to the Crystal Empire," Luna replied, resisting the urge to slap Trixie across the face, "but this Sombra isn't the same one that you've heard about. Right now Sombra is at the height of his memories, back when he was the kind and fair ruler of the Crystal Empire that the Crystal Ponies adored and respected. Back before Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, disrupted our world and struck out at the Empire, twisting Sombra into the being you choose to know him as."
"You speak as if you know who he used to be." Trixie said, "Almost as if you were there the day you claim he was turned from this 'kind and fair ruler' into the monster that the rest of Equestria knows him as."
"That's because I was there," Luna whispered, barely allowing Trixie to catch her words, "My sister was going to marry Sombra and move to the Crystal Empire, but then Discord had to come and ruin everything. Celestia and I did battle with the vile being, but he got lucky and struck my sister down, causing the hate inside Sombra to awaken and darken the skies. The intense primal power of his hatred was enough to chase away Discord, but it shattered the stallion he used to be. In the end Celestia and I were forced to return to the Crystal Empire a few weeks later and seal Sombra away, giving you the history everyone else knows.
We're hoping that we can reform Sombra without having his darker memories, those baring his vile reign over the Crystal Empire, ever surfacing. Right now he's as calm as a cat that's waiting to pounce on something, but the moment those memories are awakened we'll have a fiendish creature to deal with. We honestly have no idea what's going to happen if, and when, he awakens the rest of his memories, but we're hoping that the stallion we know will break through the hold that the darkness has on him."
"Question," Trixie interrupted, painfully aware that interrupting a Princess of Equestria was a terrible idea, "but if you and Princess Celestia came here, doesn't that mean that Discord could potentially come here as well?"
"I hope to Tartarus that he doesn't show up," Luna moaned, not liking the idea of Discord showing up and ruining all their hard work, "There's no telling what he would do if he suddenly found himself in Tamriel or came here of his own free will like we did."
Sombra, who had been staring at the city Raika and Lydia traveled to, was fully aware of the large storm clouds that continued to build over the walled city. It was an unnatural storm cloud, as they generally took more than a few minutes to build up and start with the rain and lightning. This storm wasn't just casting lightning in every direction, but the way the clouds looked Sombra knew that there was something unnatural about the way they were swirling around the center. Then he felt it; magic so raw, so chaotic, that he could only describe it as chaos incarnate.
"Anyone else feeling this?" Sombra shouted, staring back at the others as they finally noticed the storm.
"By Starswirl's beard," Celestia said, her eyes widening as she realized what was happening, "HE's here."
--------------------
Just minutes earlier Raika, followed closely by Lydia, was welcomed back to Windhelm by the guardsmen, knowing full well that she was on their side and not some common thief. As she walked from the main gate to the Palace of the Kings she was hailed by several of her fellow Stormcloaks, to which she raised her hand in reply. Windhelm was the only city in all of Skyrim that she felt safe in, as her brothers and sisters in arms treated her more fairly than the guards of the other holds. Even the guards in front of the Palace hailed her return as she pushed open the gates and took in the sights of the chamber in front of her.
The table in front of the throne was set for a large party, almost as if Ulfric was expecting company later that day and was preparing ahead of their arrival. The steward, the nord she had come to know as Jorleif, was standing beside the empty throne, as he usually did all day every day until the night was upon the city. Neither Jarl Ulfric or his second in command, the Imperial hating nord named Galmar Stone-Fist, were anywhere near the throne, which told her that they were near the map, planning their next move. To her surprise Ralof was sitting on a bench in front of the table, tearing into what looked like a piece of chicken.
"Ralof!" Raika exclaimed, stopping near the nord as he noticed that he wasn't alone anymore.
"It is good to see you again Raika," Ralof said, setting down the piece of chicken as Raika sat down next to him, "I take it that Gerdur made you tell Jarl Bulgruuf about the dragon?"
"Yeah, and he wasn't too pleased to hear about it." Raika replied, remembering what the Jarl had done as soon as she told him the news, "Then he had me help his Court Wizard recover a 'Dragonstone' before he asked me to help his guards deal with a dragon that was attacking one of his watchtowers."
"No way," Ralof said in awe and fear, remembering the black dragon from Helgen, "I'm surprised to hear that one attacked Whiterun, but it makes sense after it destroyed Helgen."
"I'll spare you the details," Raika continued, "but it turns out that I'm the mythical Dragonborn that's supposed to stop the dragons. Truth be told all I want to do is find the black dragon that burned down Helgen and put an end to him, as it seems like he's the cause of all the problems we're having. Other then that I wanted to make sure that Jarl Ulfric got my shipment of weapons that I acquired from my various foes over the last few days."
"I knew you'd have something for us," Ralof said, pulling over a crate that was just sitting over by the wall, "Well then, let's see what you've got for us this time."
Raika smiled and began to pull out every weapon that she had acquired so far, dropping all types of weapons, ranging from iron daggers to the orcish bow she had found, into the small crate. As she did so Ralof signaled for the guards to bring a few more crates, which was always necessary whenever Raika returned from any of her adventures. It didn't matter what type of weapon it was, she always collected them and brought them to further her cause, which Jarl Ulfric was always grateful for. When she finally stopped pulling weapons out all she was left with was her own bow, her two swords, and the greatsword that she always carried. She did manage to completely fill at least six crates, to which Ralof and the guards let out a laugh.
"Oh Raika," Ralof said, slapping his friend on the back, "only you would collect every single weapon you came across and give them to the cause. I have no doubt that Jarl Ulfric will be pleased when he sees..."
"When he sees what?"
Raika turned around and came face to face with the Jarl of Windhelm, the Leader of the Stormcloak Rebellion, Ulfric Stormcloak himself. He stood at the head of the table, clothed in his fine fur suit and carrying the steel axe that he used as a weapon at all times. While he was kind and fair to those who followed him they also knew that he could be as cold as the stones that surrounded them all. He was a hard man to read, but she knew of his mastery over the Thu'um and his abilities in battle, which made her thankful that she never had to face him in battle.
"Ah, Raika my dear, I am glad that you have returned to us." Ulfric said, placing a hand on her shoulder as he noticed the piles of weapons, "So this is what Ralof was speaking of, the amount of weapons that you have brought to aid our brothers and sisters in our fight against the corrupt Empire that would rather forsake Talos than fight for him. These weapons will go a long way in making sure that we'll be able to finally convince the other Jarl's that the Empire has no further place in Skyrim. Now, I also heard that your the legendary Dragonborn."
"Yes my lord," Raika replied, bowing her head a bit, "I'm on the trail of the dragon that's responsible for all of this chaos and I thought that I had better return to your side and..."
"...and you'll be continuing that search," Ulfric finished, catching her by surprise, "Only the Dragonborn can kill the dragon whose scales are as black as the night itself. Raika, I give you leave to hunt down this dragon and destroy it before any more harm can be brought to Skyrim and her people. Feel free to return to us from time to time and gift more of these weapons to your brothers and sisters, who will use them to purify Skyrim."
"Hehehe, did someone mention...CHAOS?!"
Leaning on a wall on the other side of the room, roughly halfway up the wall anyway, was a nord that was dressed up in a suit with a pair of brown pants. His right shoe was green colored while his left shoe was light brown, though his right glove was light brown and his left glove was golden yellow. He had a pair of wings growing out of his back, but while the right one was a light blue pegasus wing like the Princesses had his left wing was a large purple bat wing. He also had a short light red tail, similar to those attached to the dragons Raika had seen, attached to his spine. He even had two horns growing out of his head, one being a light blue goat horn while the other was a natural horn that belonged to a deer. His eyes were bright red surrounded by a dull yellow color, though they didn't distract from the small grey beard or the tooth that hung from his mouth.
"Who in Oblivion are you?" Ulfric asked, drawing his axe as the guards followed suit.
"Oh Oblivion, I must remember to visit my dear friend Sheogorath while I'm here," the nord said, completely ignoring Ulfric's question as he summoned a goblet full of what looked like wine and took a sip, "But if you must know I am Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Not that you puny nords would know what either of those are anyway."
Raika's blood ran cold the moment the nord told them his name, the same name that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna spoke of with little love. This wasn't another Equestrian that had found their way to Skyrim like the others, but the being responsible for the near destruction of Harmony had the sisters not put a stop to him. It took two powerful immortals to contend with this creature, so Raika wasn't liking their chances at the moment when said immortals weren't near them.
"Okay then 'Discord', why are you here?" Ralof asked, standing beside Ulfric as both he and Raika drew their weapons, "I take it your not here to join the Stormcloak Rebellion?"
"Oh no, it is much funner to watch you tear yourselves apart," Discord said, stepping down to the stone floor, "So much unclaimed chaos floating around thanks to this struggle of yours, but that's not why I came to visit..."
Before he got any further a guard ran at him and thrust his sword right into his chest, burying the blade deep inside him as it pinned him right to the wall. For a moment the guard thought he had dealt with the threat, but then Discord's left hand reached out, grabbed his left shoulder, and suddenly the guard was stone statue. Discord then preceded to split his body in half around the sword, allowing the parts to reattach behind the statue before moving around as if nothing had happened. Raika had never seen anyone, other than the Princesses, move as fast as that or kill as fast as that, and she knew they were in trouble if he turned on them all.
"Now then, if there are no more distractions," Discord continued, almost as if the incident had never happened, "The reason I came to this remote plane of existence, to walk amongst all you frail nords once more, is to fulfill my ancient vendetta against someone else that came to this world."
Raika knew of one person, or rather one Equestrian, that Discord had come to settle the score with and it began to tie a knot in her stomach as she wondered what he had planned for Sombra. She silently hoped that the Equestrian's were far away at the moment, so this latest arrival would have to search for them instead of finding them almost immediately. Maybe while Discord was busy speaking she could slip away, find the others real quick, and warn them that one of their enemies had followed them to her world.
"I'm going to kill Princess Celestia at long last."
"Wait a minute, your going to kill Princess Celestia?"
Raika had no idea it was her speaking the words, not until the being known as Discord looked in her direction and made eye contact with her while sipping from his goblet.
"Ah, you know of her." Discord remarked, taking a step closer as the guards came between the two of them, "Now gentlemen, either you stand aside and part ways or I'll be starting my own statue garden with the lot of you."
The guards, knowing the power behind his threat, looked over to their Jarl, who cast a weary glance over to the unfortunate soldier who had been turned to stone, before motioning for them to lower their weapons. The guards cast a quick glance between themselves before sheathing their weapons and moving to the sides, parting ways and keeping their distance from the false nord.
"Yes, I know about Princess Celestia," Raika replied, hesitating a second before she sheathed her own weapons, "She and her sister came here to Skyrim, to look for someone that they called Sombra. From what little I was told they wanted to be sure his evil was finally contained and destroyed."
Raika hated lying to people, as it was just another aspect that they associated with the khajiit's, but in her current predicament she saw no choice but to tell such a blunt lie. She didn't know much about the being that stood before her, but she was hoping that he couldn't tell that she was lying and would accept whatever story she was going to weave together. Maybe she could even convince him to leave the rest of the Stormcloaks alone, as he already expressed his disinterest in their war with the Imperials.
"I should have known she would tell THAT story again," Discord laughed, slapping his right knee with his spare hand as if something was funny, "the one where she and her precious sister had to 'defeat and seal away the stallion that enslaved the Crystal Empire'. Please, she told her beloved student Twilight Sparkle the same thing before sending her and her friends into harms way to make sure that Sombra was defeated. Oh, but the true story is much more complicated than that and you would have had to have been there to know what actually happened that fateful day.
Dear Celestia and I are age old rivals, a pair that have fought since the founding of Equestria and a fight that Fate has decreed must have a victor at some point. Each of us was given a single goal to fulfill, one that we could use every resource at our disposal to ensure that we succeeded. To make things more interesting and fair Celestia's sister, the angry mare known as Luna, was invited to join her sister in the game, so that the Sun and the Moon could tackle Chaos itself. Their goal was to reform me, to turn me from a being that existed to cause Chaos whenever and wherever I wanted at everyone's expense, into a being that would use my powers for the greater good of the world. My goal was much simpler, all I had to do was destroy Celestia."
"That still doesn't explain why you want her dead," Raika reminded him, hoping that he didn't lash out at her and turn her to solid stone like the poor guard.
"It is she who can control Harmony by herself," Discord snapped, the sound of lightning following his voice, "Our world is a place where Harmony is abundant, where the Sun is raised and set by one mare and the Moon is raised and set by a second. Where the 'power of friendship' can overcome anything and everything that chooses to interfere and where Love can overcome hate and fear. The Sun, the Moon, Love, and Magic; the four cornerstones that keep Equestria's Harmony in balance. All I have to do is destroy just one of them and the world will spiral into a realm of complete Chaos."
"Which is why you want to kill this 'Princess Celestia', isn't it?" Ralof inquired, causing the being to turn his gaze upon him.
"Right you are, and for that I won't destroy you...YET." Discord smirked, returning his gaze to Raika, "But after fighting for so long Celestia decided to disappear on me, vanishing to someplace that I either had not yet discovered or someplace that was protected from my sight. That's why she stayed peacefully in Canterlot from time to time, it was built by the unicorn named Starswirl the Bearded and charged with runes that would prevent me from entering for many years to come. Then, when I watched Princess Luna leave Canterlot after a year of silence, I decided to follow her and eventually discovered a place that I had never noticed before..."
"The Crystal Empire," Raika gasped, not in awe, but in dread for what the being was about to say next.
"Yeeessss!" Discord grinned, wider than any human creature Raika had ever seen before, "There I discovered that my enemy had forgotten about our struggle and was living peacefully with the King known as Sombra. Oh, they were madly in love with each other, but with the impending wedding I discovered a weakness in the empire's love barrier, that on a wedding day between two ponies the barrier would shimmer to the point where it was almost nonexistent. So I waltzed into the Crystal Empire and began to rain chaos everywhere, on anypony that I could find, before the Princesses came to fight me.
They were arrogant to think that I wouldn't be watching their every movement, waiting for the perfect time to strike out at them while they sulked in Canterlot and grew weaker. In their arrogance I cast down Princess Luna and delivered what should have been a death blow to Celestia had her foolish husband to be not interfered. Somehow the stallion saved the Princess from certain death, but he barely waited a second before striking out at me for ruining everything. His hate, his anger, and his sorrow were so strong that I broke his mind and unleashed the vile creature that everypony in Equestria came to fear."
"After dealing with him they sealed you away," Raika replied, having heard the fate of the being once already.
"I was...arrogant to think that they could not find the Elements of Harmony," Discord spat, standing just a few steps in front of her now, "but that is another story for another time. Now tell me, where are Princesses Celestia and Luna?"
"Solitude," Ulfric answered almost immediately, causing Discord to cast a look his way, "I have heard rumors that two female nords, one named Tia and one named Luna, were heading in that direction. Maybe you'll find them there."
"No time like the present," Discord shouted, tossing the goblet away, which turned into a small pile of dust, "Do spread some chaos for me and Sheogorath to enjoy."
Before any of them could respond the being turned into a pink cloud and flew through one of the open windows in the back of the palace, that had somehow been opened. Raika and the guards took a moment to relax in case Discord suddenly returned, but when it was clear that he was gone they breathed a sigh of relief. Raika's moment was short lived, as she remembered that her new friends were in danger and needed to be warned immediately.
"You have the look of purpose in your eyes sister," Ralof said, patting her on the shoulder, "Go, find Sombra and his allies before that...monster can."
Raika nodded before tearing her way out the door and across the grounds of Windhelm, barely noticing the guards that she passed before she was halfway across the stone bridge outside the city. She could have sworn that she heard something about a serpent shaped dragon heading off towards the west, though she had no doubt about who it was. She climbed up the hill that Kynesgrove laid in the middle of and was quite pleased to find that her Equestrian friends were right where she had left them.
"Guys...I've got...bad news..." Raika huffed, trying to catch her breath as soon as she came to a stop.
"We know," Luna replied, obviously trying to control her emotions, "We, and by that I mean Tia and myself, were hoping that our ancient struggle wouldn't follow us into this world, but it seems that we were wrong. The Spirit has followed us into Tamriel, so we must complete our mission before he completes his. Raika, we need to get back to Riverwood as soon as possible."
"There's a carriage outside Windhelm," Raika recalled, also catching that Luna couldn't call Discord by his name, "but why didn't you call the Spirit by his actual name?"
Luna's gaze back told her everything she needed to know; that the moment they spoke Discord's true name Sombra's remaining memories would resurface. Raika was dreading the day that the evil Sombra, the one that Celestia and Luna came to make sure never awoke again, broke through the barriers. His hatred alone was powerful enough to take over an entire empire, so it made her shudder at the thought of what he would do in Skyrim.
--------------------
Getting a carriage wasn't too much of a problem for the group, though finding Lydia after Discord's appearance took quite a few minutes of their time. The ride to Riverwood, on the other hand, ended up taking most of the afternoon away from them, though it gave Raika plenty of time to consider what Discord had said. Discord didn't come to Skyrim to hunt Princess Luna, King Sombra, or even the mage known as Trixie down. He came with the express purpose of destroying Celestia.
If the being of chaos was going to chase Celestia to the ends of Skyrim then they needed to stop the dragon threat before he managed to interfere. They needed to talk with Delphine, who Raika still hated with a passion, and learn everything that she knew about the dragons and the fact that they were coming back from the dead. From what she already knew the mad woman was certain that the Thalmor were behind everything that was happening, but Raika couldn't come to the same conclusion without compelling proof. The type of proof that, if shared with the leaders of both factions in the war, could spell disaster for the Thalmor and their agents throughout Skyrim. She liked the idea that she could turn both the Imperials and the Stormcloaks on the Thalmor, but knew that it was an impossible dream.
When the carriage finally arrived in Riverwood Raika was the first to jump off, followed closely by Luna and Trixie, leaving Celestia, Sombra, and Lydia to do whatever they wanted. The patrons inside the inn looked up as the three of them entered the building, but quickly returned to their drinks as they made their way across the floor. Delphine's business partner looked at them as they entered Delphine's room, barely wasting a moment before he closed the door behind them. Within moments the three of them were walking down the stairs to Delphine's secret hideout, to which Trixie was surprised to find under an inn.
"Ah Dragonborn," Delphine greeted, turning round to see them, "I knew you would see reason and come seeking..."
"Look, we don't have the time to listen to you rant," Raika cut her off, "Skyrim is, unfortunately, host to yet another creature from Equestria and he's hunting one of my friends down. They won't leave until we deal with the dragon problem, which we cannot solve until we find a way to kill that blasted black dragon. You were telling me about this great plan of yours that involved the Thalmor."
"Ah yes, the Thalmor are holding a party in their embassy," Delphine replied, appearing irritated that she had been cut off, "I have an associate that can smuggle some weapons and armor into the embassy before the party begins, but once your in you'll have to make due with whatever else you find. All you need to do is make your way to the main study, look around for whatever evidence you can find, and get out of there before they catch onto you. Once your out of the embassy we'll meet up somewhere safe so we can plan our next move. Any questions before I leave to make the arrangements for your invitation?"
"You expect me to do this alone?" Raika asked, surprised that the woman would have her do something so dangerous by herself.
"Yes, I do," Delphine replied, crossing her arms, "Look, I know you have some decent friends that are willing to follow you to the end of your quest, but if I were to send in more than two of you I'd be risking the operation. Even acquiring a second invitation would be hard, even if you had someone else that would be willing to follow you into the embassy."
"Might I suggest sending Sombra in with you?" Luna spoke up, catching them both by surprise, "He's in the stage of his memories where he's recovered most of his former life, so as the royal postures and when is the best time to excuse yourself. He could prove to be the perfect distraction, giving you the chance to make your way through the embassy to find whatever information you'd be looking for. Then, when the guards come and break up the party, he could follow the group outside and slip away unnoticed with his Shadowstep ability."
"Oh for the love of Talos," Delphine moaned, taking out a sheet of paper and making a note as to what she needed to know about Sombra, "Fine, I'll try to get my hands on a second invitation, but don't get your hopes up."
The three of them remained in the hidden area of the inn while Delphine left them alone, giving Raika time to finally ask Luna what was bugging her so much.
"Luna, there's something I need to tell you." Raika said, turning to face the Princess of the Night, "While I was in Windhelm I managed to converse with the being your guys call Discord. He told me, my brothers and sisters, and my Lord Ulfric Stormcloak that he came to Skyrim to settle an old grudge between him and Celestia. Luna, he's here to kill your sister."
For a moment Luna said nothing, allowing Trixie to show her own surprise by wearing a shocked expression on her face, before she said anything. What Raika was expecting was some sort of rage and explosion that would bring her back to her days as the Nightmare, Queen of Knights, that she had been told about. What Raika got was laughter as Luna held her sides, almost as if she thought that what Raika had just told her was outrageous.
"Forgive me Raika, it was mean to laugh at you," Luna said, wiping a tear away from under her eye, "but to be honest and blunt, Discord lied to you."
"WHAT?!" Raika exclaimed, "But he told this story about the two of you fighting him and running away from him until he found you in the Crystal Empire."
"Calm yourself Raika," Luna said, patting her on the shoulder as she tried to hold back more laughter, "Discord told you that story so that you and your allies would cause some panic, which in turn spread chaos, while he was around. The more chaos he creates the greater his influence over the world becomes until he begins to change everything to suit his...unusual lifestyle. Trust me on this Raika, all he cares about is spreading chaos and making sure that we can't undo the damage he's caused. My guess is that he's only here to spread chaos and bring the rest of Sombra's memories to the surface, which would distract Celestia from our quest."
"Do you think Sombra will even go through with this?" Trixie innocently asked.
"I know he'd do it if Celestia asked him to," Luna replied with a smile, either from the laughing she had done or the plan she had in mind, "and I know just how to ask her."
--------------------
The following morning Sombra and Raika approached the woman named Delphine, after dropping some armor off at Delphine's assistant for Raika's mission. Raika was pleased that Delphine had managed to secure a second invitation to the Thalmor's party, an invitation that bared Sombra's name on it. He honestly had no idea how Celestia, his love and joy in this harsh place, had convinced him to go with Raika to this party, nor did he had any idea how to act as a diversion for her to get away. All he was going to do was join her in the party area, hopefully find something that could distract everyone else, and then get away before someone noticed him.
"Your lucky Dragonborn," Delphine said, patting a stack of fine clothes sitting next to her, "It wasn't as hard to acquire the second invitation as I made it out to be. Now, if you two will put these party clothes on and get on the back of the carriage we can get this party started."
Sombra sighed and picked up his stack of clothes, hesitating to remove his steel armor and sword, but knew that the Thalmor would stop him the moment he entered if he was armed. Within seconds his armor laid in pieces around him and the sword was leaning against the wall of the mill, though the clothes somehow fit perfectly. Trixie, having gathered her own moving caravan for the escape route somewhere down the mountain, was ready to stash the equipment that they didn't need in some crates. Lydia, not receiving her own invitation, was forced to stay with Trixie, to act as her bodyguard in case any guards inquired why they were on the road. Luna and Celestia would be joining them, acting as sentries to warn Trixie in case the guards came or Raika and Sombra came up to leave.
"I hate to leave my armor behind while I'm in enemy territory," Sombra remarked, dropping the pieces into a crate, "but I really hate to leave you alone while our enemies are hunting us."
"I'll be fine Sombra," Celestia said, pecking a kiss on his cheek real quick, "The four of us will be waiting by the cave exit that Delphine somehow found and connected to the embassy. Its impossible to get into the embassy that way, but it should serve as a great escape point for the two of you. Get into that embassy and do whatever you need to before getting back to us."
"I will my sweet Celestia," Sombra replied, catching a barfing glance from Delphine, "Never doubt the power of our love."
Celestia nodded and watched the pair, now clothed in the appropriate attire for the party, climb onto the back of the carriage before Delphine nodded to the driver. The driver got the horse to start moving and soon the carriage was disappearing up the side of the mountain, where they knew the embassy was supposed to be. After a few minutes of waiting Celestia climbed onto the back of Trixie's caravan and they got underway, following the carriage's path for some time until they had to diverge from it. Celestia hoped that Sombra and Raika would succeed and get back to them as quick as possible.
--------------------
Sombra sighed as the carriage passed through the golden gates of the embassy and came to a halt in front of the set of stairs that would lead them inside. Raika, on the other hand, let out a huff before jumping off the carriage's back and landing on the soft snow that waited below her, only to turn around and smirk at him. As Sombra climbed off the carriage he noted that the snow was barely coming down at the moment, with the potential to turn into a snowstorm later on. He thanked the fact that he remembered most of his time in the Crystal Empire, memorizing the weather patterns when he wasn't busy in the Crystal Library. If the storm actually came later on then it would provide decent cover for Raika to move around.
"Your invitations please," a guard said, suddenly appearing beside them before they could even reach the stairs.
"Sure thing," Raika replied, producing her invitation as Sombra followed suit.
"Let's see here," the guard said, snatching Raika's invitation almost immediately, "'Elenwen, First Emissary of the Aldmeri Dominion to the Kingdom of Skyrim, Requests the pleasure of the Company of Raika Snow-Heart at a reception on 28 Heartfire, 201 at the Ambassador's Residence. Regrets only, Formal Attire Requested.' Ah, all this seems in order."
Raika forced a smile as she accepted the guard returning her invitation, angry that Delphine had somehow discovered her last name without her even telling the woman. Not many people outside the Stormcloaks knew her last name and it seemed unlikely that Delphine had found one of her brothers or sisters to ask them. She'd have to ask the woman how she discovered her last name later, gulping as she watched Sombra hold out his invitation for the guard to take.
"Now you sir," the guard continued, gently taking the piece of parchment before reading, "'Elenwen, First Emissary of the Aldmeri Dominion to the Kingdom of Skyrim, Requests the pleasure of the Company of King Sombra at a reception on 28 Heartfire, 201 at the Ambassador's Residence. Regrets only, Formal Attire Requested.' Wait, your a King?!"
"Yes," Sombra gently said, taking his invitation as soon as the guard offered it to him, "I take it everything is in order?"
"Oh, yes your majesty," the guard replied, bowing before him as he gestured to the front door, "Please, don't let me keep you and your fetching companion waiting any longer."
Sombra nodded to Raika and moved towards the door, barely pausing before she stepped in front of him and opened the door so they could enter the building. As soon as they were inside they were greeted by another elf, only this one decided to make small talk as she welcomed them to the party. Before either of them could practice their cover stories, that they had spent a good deal of time practicing before getting on the carriage, the elf excused herself so she could deal with the elf that was passing out the wine. Raika heard a joke ending as the elf walked away and as a group of people laughed aloud she caught one voice that sounded familiar, one that she recognized almost immediately.
A voice that filled her with a sense of dread.
"Well look who it is!" Discord said, stepping out from a group and taking a sip from a cup of wine, "Sombra, King of the Crystal Empire. The last time I saw you was when I decided to crash your wedding day. Boy were you pissed off at me, so much so that you snapped and struck out at me with your Dark Magic. For a while I thought we'd destroy each other, but lucky for me the Princesses saw fit to turn your gaze towards them. Ah, I'm sure that brings back some good memories for the both of us."
Sombra lowered his head for a moment and Raika knew that he'd be experiencing a rush of memories, no doubt the ones that Celestia and Luna were dreading the arrival of. For a moment nothing seemed to happen to him, but as she watched she noticed that strands of pure magic, purple colored magic, began to gather around his eyes. Strands that began to weave themselves together until he had a small wave of dark energy coming off of each of them, with an eerie green color surrounding his now red eyes. The only other thing she noticed was that several of his teeth grew to points.
"Yeeesssss," came the eerie reply, with a voice that sounded like something scraping on a crystal's surface, followed by what seemed like laughter from a being that enjoyed torturing others.
Raika knew that, in that instant, Skyrim was utterly screwed.
"I must thank you for bringing me back, Discord," Sombra said, lifting his head back up and grinning at the Spirit of Disharmony, "You have no idea what its like to be trapped deep inside a weaker and more frail version of yourself, trying to fight your way back to the surface. Twice I tried to resurface and take over and twice I was stopped; once by a memory of Starswirl the Bearded and another time by the Royal Sister's themselves. They even went out of their way to avoid saying your name, rightfully fearing that it would allow me to finally regain what I had lost."
"So does that mean you'll let me go?" Discord asked, lifting the cup up to his mouth and taking another sip.
"Noooo," Sombra laughed, darkness surrounding his feet as the other guests backed away from him, "I may be somewhat - graceful - that you freed me from my weaker self, but you still attacked me on the day of my wedding, no matter how foolish it might have been for me to marry Celestia, and I will never forgive you for that."
"Oh for the love of Chaos," Discord moaned, nearly dropping his cup before correcting himself, "Will you please get over that already? Even after a thousand years of being sealed in solid ice your still no fun."
Before Discord could say anymore the darkness surrounding Sombra rushed forward, turning from its smoky form into a solid piece of crystal the struck Discord hard in the chest. Not only did it hit him hard enough to break through the clothes he was wearing, but it lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the wall behind where he had been standing. Several of the guests gasped while a few screamed in horror that someone just died in front of them, the guards drawing their weapons as they approached Sombra. Several arrows found their way into Sombra's shoulders, chest, and legs, but after a few seconds the darkness simply absorbed the arrows until they were all gone and he was unharmed.
"Now look what you did," Discord complained, pointing his left hand to his fallen cup, "I was planning on finishing that off before you rudely attacked me and pinned me to the wall. I don't suppose you could have, I don't know, waited for me to finish?"
"In the name of the Aldmeri Dominion stop right there!" one of the guards said, holding his bow level at Sombra's head as the others prepared a second barrage of arrows.
"You should stop while your ahead," Sombra laughed, the darkness swirling around him once more, "I offer you all a choice; either leave with your lives intact for me to enslave later or die in the crossfire. I will not suffer any interruptions with my fight with Discord."
One guard, not caring that Sombra wanted to fight Discord alone, rushed towards the nord, shouted something about him being a heretic, and drove his sword into his chest. Or rather, he tried to. The moment that he thrust his sword forward the darkness that surrounded Sombra flew towards him, turning into a spiked crystal pillar that he was impaled upon. Sombra tsked and let several more waves of darkness fly through the air, pieces of crystal pinning some of the unfortunate guards to the walls in pain while some of them were struck in the heart and died instantly.
Raika, grateful that a distraction had been created, followed her elf companion into the kitchens, determined to complete her mission while the guards were busy dealing with Sombra. She'd find a way to heal him after she got what she needed.
"These clothes won't do me any good in battle," Sombra commented, noticing the tears in the fabric from where he had already been hit, "Time to bring in some good old fashioned armor."
Discord watched Sombra hold his arms out as the darkness wrapped around them, twisting the delicate fabric into the cold steel armor that he almost always wore. His shoes became the infamous metal boots that he used to pin his enemies to the ground and terrorize them enough to corrupt them into what he desired. Attached to his belt was the same sword that he had carried long before his fall from grace, only twisted by his intense darkness. Moments later his lush red cape emerged from the darkness, wrapped around his neck and almost flowing to the ground. Before the darkness receded Discord noticed that Sombra's iron crown appeared on his head, completing the transformation from simple nord to the King of Darkness.
"Normally anypony else would be scared," Sombra commented, eying Discord carefully in case the Spirit did anything, "but not you Discord. We have fought before, so I know your planning something to really get us off on the right start."
True to his word lightning coursed through the air and collided with Sombra, crashing him into a wall before a second destroyed the area and threw him outside. Discord snapped the crystals off of himself and flew outside, his eyes scanning the ruined carriages as he looked for his enemy amongst the elven soldiers. For a moment he thought that Sombra had fled already, choosing to run instead of fighting him, but then he recalled a similar tactic he used against him in the Crystal Empire. He barrel rolled to the right, barely avoiding a giant spiked crystal pillar with Sombra standing on it, an evil grin sitting upon his face.
The darkness surged forward, dozens upon dozens of crystals hailing down upon Discord until he crashed on the ground outside the gate behind the carriages. The crystals that missed him sailed into the forest, hitting the ground and either not hurting any of the wildlife or pinning something to the ground and killing it. Discord, brushing most of the crystals off as if they were minor specks, charged back into the air and collided with Sombra, gripping onto his enemy and throwing him down towards the ground. Sombra hit the staircase hard, but the darkness enveloped him and soon he was standing tall once more, this time his weapon was at the ready.
Discord flew down at the ground and released the magic upon Sombra, willing the stones to uproot themselves and rise into the air before falling down on his enemy's head. Dust filled the air and Discord was forced to look for his enemy yet again, but this time he was careless and a second giant spiked crystal pillar slammed right into him, knocking the wind out of him. Before he had time to bring up a weapon, any weapon for that matter, Sombra appeared from the crystal and thrust his sword right into him, causing him to fall to the ground and crush the last carriage that was there.
"I must say," Discord moaned, pulling the sword from his gut and tossing it to the ground, "this isn't as fun as the last time we fought."
That was before a third spiked crystal grew out of the ground behind him and pierced his chest from behind, growing until he was no longer touching the ground at all. Sombra stepped out of the shadows behind him and picked up his sword, sheathing it as he admired his work after being locked away for so long. He knew all the guards had been dealt with for the moment, so there was nothing standing in his way from starting a new dark empire in this cold land.
--------------------
Celestia hated the waiting. She, Luna, Trixie, and Lydia had no choice but to wait for Raika to come out of the hole in the mountain with whatever information she could acquire. If Raika had already left the party to start her search then Sombra should have already left the party and be on his way down the road. Lydia, having nothing better to do then listen to the sounds of the wildlife, pulled out one of the few books that Raika had left behind and started in on it. Trixie and Luna got to discussing the finer points of magic, no doubt because Trixie wanted to learn more spells that would eventually aid them.
After about half an hour of waiting she felt something dark, something evil, fill the air and she immediately knew exactly what was responsible for the disturbance. The problem was that it was too soon for Sombra's darker memories to awaken...unless he had bumped into Discord and they had been forcefully awoken.
"Luna," Celestia said, making sure her armor was in place as she picked up her sword.
"I felt it too sister," Luna replied, gathering her equipment, "and if we wish to contain this darkness we must act immediately!"
"Where are you two going?" Trixie asked, watching the two Princesses spread their wings and take to the skies before disappearing into the distance, "I guess we'll wait till they return."
It didn't take the two of them very long to find the crystal pikes that told them that Sombra had been fighting someone, but Celestia's heart sank when they arrived and found the place littered with crystal fragments. Sitting among them was one spike that an unusual nord was resting on, one that Celestia suspected was Discord, but then she saw Him. Standing at the top of a flight of stairs, clad in the steel armor and lush red cape she had seen so many times before, was none other than the darker Sombra.
"So, the Princesses have returned," Discord coughed, finally pulling himself off the spike as the sister's passed right by him, "I had best get out of here before this gets ugly."
"So, you have finally come back to me," Sombra said, his voice causing Celestia to cringe, "How does it feel, Celestia, to see all your hard work shatter before you? How does it feel to see the stallion you tried to bring back sink further into the darkness? How does it feel to have to fight me one more time, knowing that you can never defeat me without losing the stallion you love?"
"Silence monster!" Luna shouted, dashing through the air and crashing her sword right into his chest, "Tia, if you want to save Sombra we need to deal with him now!"
Celestia, knowing that fighting the stallion of her heart was hard, pulled out her sword, moved in front of Sombra, and, with a heavy heart, stabbed him from the other side. Not even seconds later they were repelled, their swords forcefully ejected from Sombra's body as he faced the two of them. Before either of them could react pillars of dark crystals shot out of the ground, forcing them into the sky as Sombra followed them up there. Celestia allowed her magic to course through her sword's blade and cast it outward, allowing it to crash into Sombra and force him out of the air. Luna, seeing the attack, flipped around in midair and flew down to Sombra's falling body, piercing his chest yet again as he crashed against the ground.
Luna, knowing full well the amount of times it took them to wound Sombra before his healing ability stopped working for a while, backed away from him as he stood up, watching the wounds seal themselves up.
"So, your going for the same battle style you used when we last fought," Sombra commented, allowing the darkness to spread out and cover the ground around him, "I, on the other hoof, will not fall for the same tricks that lead to my defeat. This time I shall defeat the two of you before you can leave."
--------------------
Raika, now having to deal with the problem of the elf that had aided her and a nord who had been captured by the Thalmor, was still glad that the fighting had taken all the guards away from their posts. The problem with that was that the only exit that she was prepared to use was locked and she had no idea which guard, be they living or dead, had the key. The solution to her new problem was to retrace her steps and hopefully the three of them could pass through the party before the guards discovered them. That plan was dashed when she saw that there were several large crystal spires in front of the embassy, no doubt the work of the darkness that Sombra had carried within him.
As the three of them neared the battle Raika wasn't surprised to find that Luna and Celestia had come to fight off the darkness, nor was she surprised to watch Discord limp away with a hole in his chest. Then she saw a flash of sunlight collide with Sombra, knocking him from the air as Luna stabbed him in the chest and crashed against the ground. A second later Luna was standing near the gates, just as Sombra pulled himself up and the wounds he had sustained closed within mere seconds. From what Raika could see it seemed like both Luna and Celestia were using roughly half of their power, as there were still party-goer's hanging around to watch the fight.
--------------------
Luna flew up to where Celestia was floating and placed their horns together, focusing their magic together to deal a devastating attack to Sombra, regardless of how he choose to defend against it. He seemed to stare at them while the magic's of the Sun and the Moon pulsed around them, almost as if he was silently mocking them from the ground. Then the magic flared outward, rushing from where they were flying all the way to the ground, tearing open the stones at it collided with Sombra. Dust filled the air as they waited, both silently wondering if their spell had done any lasting damage on Sombra so they could end the fight even quicker.
Before either of them could move Sombra appeared between them, the darkness that wrapped around him surging outwards at them, hitting them hard in their chests. Luna staggered backwards, shrugging off the attack as she faced Sombra and parried the next attack so well that the crystal was split right in half. Celestia, on the other hand, was thrown downwards quite a bit, but she corrected herself and soon she was at Sombra's back, finding her weapon blocked by his own. It didn't seem to faze him that he was fighting the two of them at the same time, but he had done so in the past and had lost after a great deal of time.
"You do realize that your putting off the inevitable?" Luna asked, pressing her weapon harder in the hope of getting at him once more, "We beat you the first time Sombra, we can surely do so again."
"On the contrary," Sombra laughed, as if he found something amusing, "The both of you aren't even fighting me with your full power, unlike the last time we fought. Your too worried about the puny creatures that call this plane home to realize that without your full power you cannot hope to defeat me."
The darkness swirled around Luna and hardened until she was trapped in a crystal sphere, with a few holes so she could breath and witness the end of their fight. Celestia, on the other hand, found Sombra's spare hand around her neck and was violently tossed towards the ground, where she hit the ground hard on her back. She was in pain as she pulled herself up as best she could, but when she tried to fly she screamed in pain as she realized that the fall had broken her left with. Luna, hearing her sister's scream, shattered the prison and threw the shards at Sombra, who simply let them hit him in the chest.
For a moment Luna couldn't understand why he had simply stood there, but then she saw that Celestia's scream had jarred the kinder Sombra to the surface and the two personalities were warring with each other.
"I got you Celestia," Raika whispered, finally finding a great moment to pass through and helped the Equestrian onto her feet, "Let's get you out of here so we can check out that wing."
"Dragonborn!" the evil Sombra hissed, she could tell it was that personality by the voice alone, "You shall pay for this."
Lucky for Raika she noticed that Trixie had abandoned their plan at sitting by the opening in the mountain side, most likely when the sister's had left her and Lydia alone. The Equestrian on the caravan leapt off and helped her get Celestia on board, being mindful not to hurt her injured wing even more than it already was. Once the deed was done Lydia suddenly pushed her out of the way, causing her to fall to the ground and growl in anger, but when Raika looked up she found Sombra's blade sticking out of Lydia's chest.
"Don't make that face my Thane," Lydia coughed, smiling as the blade vanished and she fell into Raika's arms, "at least...I performed...my duties..."
Raika didn't have to look to know that Lydia had died in her arms, but that didn't stop her from at least closing her fallen Housecarl's eyes as she kept her tears from running wild. She turned around to be sure the fighting wasn't still going on and was surprised to find that Sombra was now missing, with Luna approaching the caravan.
"Where is he?" Raika angrily asked, knowing that if she fought Sombra, this evil Sombra, she would likely die in the process.
"They are gone." Luna replied, her eyes glancing over at her sister, "Raika, I don't wish to be rude at a time like this, but we must get a move on before someone delays us further. We can see to your Housecarl and my sister's wing later."
Raika sighed and they got on the back of the wagon, though she carefully wrapped Lydia's body up so they wouldn't have to gaze upon her as they traveled once again. She would be able to mourn later, but for now they had to get off the mountain before the Thalmor and their leader decided to stop them in their tracks. Though now she had to stop an evil dragon from destroying the world and somehow defeat Sombra's darkness at the same time. Her life just got much more difficult.
Trixie, who was not an easy mare to scare anymore thanks to her exposure to the harsh life of Skyrim, was now utterly scared for her life and the lives of her new companions. She could have handled dealing with more bands of bandits, a few cave bears, the occasional questioning by the officers of the Aldmeri Dominion, and a giant or two. She was positive she could have fought another dragon at the moment, so long as she had the backup that Raika and the other provided.
But fighting Sombra, the Tyrant of the Crystal Empire? Even if she knew twice as many spells as she did now and could fight as well as the Princesses did, she suspected that Sombra would still wipe the floor with her.
"Trixie, do you mind stopping for a moment?" Luna asked, catching the mare by surprise, "If we wait any longer I'm afraid that my sister's wing won't be able to heal properly until we get back to Equestria. I need to set the wing now."
Trixie sighed and pulled the caravan off onto the side of the road, making sure that the horse wouldn't go anywhere until she commanded it to move again. Luna pulled out one of the daggers they had packed into the crates and moved it towards the backside of her sister's armor, tearing through the armor with ease. When she reached the area where the wing came out she made sure not to touch the fragile limb, choosing to cut around it before finally pulling the armor off. She was also grateful that they had bought two or three pieces of spare armor ahead of time, so that way they could replace her sister's armor.
"Here sister," Luna said, pulling out a piece of wood that they used to bite down on and passed it into her sister's hand, "be ready. I'll act the moment you tell me to."
"Be gentle dearest sister," Celestia replied, popping the wood into her mouth as she braced herself before giving her head a single nod.
Luna, being the graceful mare she was, gently gripped her sister's wing before popping it back into place. Her sister let out a scream as she fixed her wing, but she wouldn't have to worry about breaking any teeth or screaming her throat raw. Once the grunt work was done Luna pulled out a roll of bandages and gently bound her sister's wing up, so it could set properly and heal as fast as it should be. It was the best she could do while they were in Skyrim and she knew Celestia appreciated her aid.
"I hate to see you in pain sister," Luna said, helping her sister into a new piece of armor, "but we must press on if we hope to save not only Sombra, but the whole of Tamriel. We will find a way to save our beloved friend."
"Th...thank you Luna," Celestia coughed, pulling the wood from her mouth and tossing it into a bag, "Though I may be in pain I cannot help but feel that we haven't seen the last of Discord and his tricks, or the chaos that he's caused."
Trixie, not wanting to get caught by any of the Aldmeri Dominion patrols, moved the reigns and their horse got underway, slowly so she didn't somehow undo Luna's work. Raika had been silent the entire time, no doubt silently mourning the death of her housecarl and watching Celestia's wing get put back in place. Trixie had never seen one of the Princesses of Equestria in so much pain, but she doubted that anyone would believe her when they returned home.
------------------
Dragontooth Crater. A gap in the mountain side that had a cliff overlooking the rest of it. There was also an ancient word wall resting at the base of the cliff. It was a remote place, with little to no travelers, so it made the perfect place for a dragon to lay low, take a nap for a few hundred years, and forget about the troubles of the world. That had been this particular dragon's plan, had someone not suddenly appeared in front of his word wall from the shadows.
Sombra staggered out of the shadows, grateful that Discord had awakened his memories so he could make a clean getaway without drawing too much attention to himself. One of the problems with mass shadowstepping in unfamiliar territory was that it was impossible to predict when he would eventually end up. From what little he could tell of his current location he suspected that he was somewhere close to where he had entered the shadows, seeing how he had expanded most of his magical energies fighting Discord and the Princesses. He was content to find somewhere where he could regain his energy before he made a move, but then he noticed the dragon staring at him.
"Who dares interrupt my slumber?" the dragon shouted, slamming his wing/arms into the ground as he turned towards Sombra.
"I am Sombra, King of the Crystal Empire," Sombra said, drawing his sword and readying his magic, "I've just spent the last two hours fighting with beings that are more powerful than you are. So unless you want to be shackled into being a slave I suggest you fly off before my good mood changes."
"You are no threat to me," the dragon said, drawing closer to the strange armored nord, "I bow my head only to Lord Alduin."
"You will bow to me, in time," Sombra roared, breaking open the ground as crystals shot up all around the dragon.
The dragon, having never seen such a spell in all his years, reared up in surprise for a moment, but then gathered his inner Thu'um and released a gout of fire right at Sombra's face. Sombra, weakened as he was, readied his magic and summoned a wall of crystals to protect himself, admiring the way that the flames bent around them. The dragon was able to smash through them after a while, but Sombra was ready for it as he stepped from his own shadow to the one behind his enemy. When the flames died down the dragon lifted his head in surprise as he realized that its enemy was nowhere to be seen and made a point to start searching the rest of the area.
Before the dragon could find his enemy he noticed the shadows gathering all around him, hardening into giant crystal spikes that made it impossible for him to fly away. It was clear that his enemy was skilled in the single school of magic, but that didn't mean that he was out of the fight just yet. As he prepared to smash down the walls for the second time the strange nord appeared in front of him, though he noticed that the shadows were surrounding him.
"I'm in no mood to play games," Sombra growled, allowing the shadows to gather around him, "You WILL serve me one way or another."
The darkness jumped from where Sombra was standing and slammed right into the dragon, surrounding his entire body before flowing right into his eyes. The dragon saw images of his own personal fears brought to life, images of either the Dragonborn killing him and absorbing his soul, somehow enslaving him against his will, or even his Lord killing him for the fun of it. These fears, brought to life, were impossible for him to conquer, because he knew that he couldn't stand against Lord Alduin and survive. He also knew that, thanks to him being a lesser dragon, that if he found the Dragonborn he or she was likely to kill him and steal his soul. He knew that he was trapped in the darkness and there was no way for him to ever conquer his fear.
Sombra, after what he assumed was ten minutes, finally allowed the darkness to recede from the dragon for two reasons, the first being that he was nearly out of energy and fighting the dragon had taken what little he had left out of him. The second reason was that he wanted to see if he had corrupted the dragon, turning him into a loyal subject that would do whatever he said. When the darkness separated from the dragon Sombra was surprised to find that its scale color had darkened to an ebony color and the same energy that was coming off of his eyes came off the dragon's eyes.
"Slave," Sombra said, causing the dragon to look over at him and bow his head, "you will follow my orders, no matter what I ask when I ask. If I order you to be silent, you will be silent until I command otherwise. If I order you to burn a village to the ground, you will burn the place till there is nothing left. If I order you to kill a company of adventures, you will attack them until they are all dead on the ground. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes my master," the dragon replied, feeling nothing but the urge to follow the nord's orders now, "What is your command?"
"Rest," Sombra coughed, nearly falling to the side before correcting himself, "I require rest. Your orders are to let no one, and I mean no one, interfere with my rest until tomorrow morning. Once I am ready we'll get underway and then I'll make my plans clear."
"As you command," the dragon growled, laying on the ground as Sombra collapsed by the boulder he was near.
------------------
Raika was in a terrible mood long before they ever arrived in Riverwood. It was because her Housecarl, the one assigned to guard her by Jarl Bulgruuf himself, had died thanks to one creature, one being from another world, that couldn't leave the Princesses alone. Worse yet Discord had awoken the evil memories of their friend Sombra, twisting the kind nord, or stallion, into the evil tyrant that had been defeated by Luna and Celestia. Thanks to Discord Skyrim not only faced the threat of a black dragon that was leading an army of dragons and a vampire menace, but the power of someone who commanded the shadows themselves.
What they needed to do was find someway to save Sombra from himself, before the citizens of Skyrim realized what was going on and declared total war on him. To do that they needed to find him, no doubt fight him for a second time, and find someway to break the hold that the darkness held on him. If he fought as well as he had done when he fought Discord and the Princesses then they were in terrible trouble, and Raika suspected that not even the Dragonborn could stop him.
When the caravan reached Riverwood Raika immediately climbed off the back and approached the inn, followed by Luna while Trixie tended to Celestia. The patrons, the few that were there at the middle of the night, saluted them as they entered, but other than that they ignored them for the most part. Delphine's partner nodded in their direction and gently moved his head towards her room, silently indicating that Delphine was in her room and was waiting for them. Raika nodded her thanks and moved towards the room, making sure that there was no one around to witness her entering before closing the door behind them.
"Dragonborn," Delphine welcomed, barely noticing Raika's pissed off mood, "I trust you have some information for me?"
"Yeah, the Thalmor know nothing," Raika replied, glaring down the Blade that had gotten Sombra his invitation, "They're in the dark as much as we are, but their only lead is on someone named Esbern."
"Esbern's alive?" Delphine asked, completely off guard, "He's the last living Blade in existence that knows the ancient Dragonlore of the ancient Blades. If anyone can solve the puzzle of how to stop the dragons from returning its him. No doubt the Thalmor think he's hiding in the Ratways of Riften, so I suggest that you start there."
"I won't be heading out to Riften for some time," Raika replied, turning back to the stairs and only stopping the moment she felt Delphine's hand on her shoulder.
"There is no time for rest Dragonborn," Delphine angrily said, "If we don't stop the dragons from coming back there won't be a Skyrim for anyone to live in. Then its a matter of time until they fly to the other provinces of Tamriel, slaughtering everyone until they are the only living beings left in the world."
"Forgive me for not caring at the moment," Raika growled, pulling off Delphine's hand, "One of my friends died saving me from your suicidal mission into the Thalmor Embassy and another one is unaccounted for at the moment. Thanks to you getting Sombra that invitation he finally met Discord, the being that we were trying to keep him away from the moment that he showed up in Skyrim. Now we've got to deal with an army of dragons, a bunch of vampires that want to kill everyone, and a tyrant that wants to conquer everyone. All you have taught me is that the Blades aren't as honorable as they were when the Oblivion Crisis happened."
"Would you prefer staying in the monastery of High Hrothgar until the end of the world?" Delphine fired back, "The Greybeards fear the power of the Dragonborn and would rather have you not use your power for the greater good of the world..."
"The Thu'um is dangerous in the wrong hands," Raika replied, placing a foot on the steps, "and I agree with them. I may be the Dragonborn, but I'm not going to follow your blasted rules. I'm going to find someplace to rest for the night, get some decent rest for once, and then I'm heading to Whiterun so I can give Lydia the proper sendoff that she deserves. Then, pending any dragon or vampire attacks on the city, I'll visit Riften and find Esbern."
As Raika walked up the stairs Delphine turned towards Luna, forming a plan that would require Luna to convince Raika to head to Riften immediately so she could put a stop to the dragon attacks.
"Luna, you know that Rend would do as his duty demanded," Delphine commented, turning towards the Lunar Princess, "You need to convince Raika that she needs to forget about sending Lydia off and go to Riften to find Esbern."
"I will do no such thing," Luna nearly shouted, pinning the bottom of her sword's sheath against Delphine's chest, "Rend Org'resh was a firm believer in sending off his fallen brothers and sisters that were slain in battle. It was his way of honoring their memory and he taught many of the Blades at the time that it was important to remember those that fight at your side. Do not tell me to force Raika to leave Lydia's body until after the dragons are dealt with, for it goes against what Rend taught me. If Rend was looking down on the Blades at this moment I'm certain that he would be ashamed of what you've become."
"So you won't aid me either?" Delphine replied.
"Raika needs a moment to herself," Luna commented, turning towards the stairs, "and I suggest that you leave her alone before we leave to find this Esbern tomorrow. I swear that if you bother Raika about leaving without seeing Lydia off I'll bring the Nightmare out and we'll see how you fare against the Queen of Knights. Oh, and by the way, Rend Org'resh would be ashamed with how pitiful the Blades have become after all these years."
Luna found Raika outside, sitting next to Trixie with a sour look on her face, clearly telling anyone that she was annoyed beyond the breaking point. She couldn't blame her for feeling angry, as she was angry that Delphine, who claimed to be one of the few Blades left in existence, would just discard the teachings of one of the most legendary members of her own order. She even had the audacity to try and force Raika to forsake her own companion's burial after her life had been saved by said companion. Delphine was lucky that Luna had gotten better at controlling her anger, otherwise the Nightmare would have come out and crushed her in an instant.
"To Whiterun?" Trixie asked as Luna climbed onto the back.
"Yes," Raika replied, closing her eyes for the moment, "We'll find refuge in Whiterun until tomorrow."
Trixie nodded and got underway, barely catching the fact that the Blade they had talked to, the woman Delphine, watched them leave from the doorway of her inn. Personally, she thought that the woman was creepy and was losing her mind, seeing enemies in every shadow when there weren't any. Now that the Tyrant had been awakened there could very well be an enemy stalking the shadows around them that very second, but Trixie wouldn't know the difference. She just hoped that they survived the night without any problems.
------------------
Morning reared its ugly head and Sombra was awoken by the rays of light that hit his eyes, causing him to summon up a giant crystal spike that made it impossible for the sun to reach him for the moment. Now covered in the shadows thanks to his pillar he sat down and let out a sigh, just as his stomach growled at him. He remembered that the last time he had ate anything was the day before around noon, a few hours before he and Raika went to that party. Before he did anything that resembled conquering the known province he needed to get something in his stomach, then he'd start his conquest.
"Feyl dii In," said a voice as the dragon from the previous evening returned to the camp, after dropping a dead deer on the ground, "Zu'u lost drun krenbahlok."
"Excuse me?" Sombra asked, not exactly sure what the dragon had just said to him.
"Forgive me Master," the dragon replied, bowing his head slightly, "I did not know you that you didn't know our language. I said, 'Morning my Master' and 'I have brought breakfast'. This was all I could find in the immediate vicinity."
Sombra stared at the deer and sighed as he let the magic gather around his hands, before allowing the flames to gather around the deer and begin cooking it. Sure, he was the King of Shadows and a Master of Dark Magic, but that didn't mean that he had to eat anything raw like a lot of the nords in Skyrim did. The dragon returned to his corner and laid down, clearly content to let Sombra do what he wanted until he was ready to leave the area. Eventually the meat was ready and he simply ate whichever pieces looked the best, choosing to toss the other pieces over to his new minion so nothing was wasted.
When he was done with the deer he got onto his feet and made his way towards the opening in the mountain, so he could get underway and figure out what to do now.
"A moment Master," the dragon said, causing Sombra to turn around and look at him, "I know of two other dragons, weak willed like I was, that could easily be swayed to join your side. Last I heard that the two of them were heading to Eldersblood Peak, where they planned on staying until Lord Alduin called upon all dragons to attack the Holds of Skyrim. If you wish to meet them I can get us there within the hour."
"Yeeesss," Sombra said, a grin appearing on his face as a plan formed in his mind, "Take me to them and I shall...convince...them to forsake their cause and join mine."
The dragon lowered his head and allowed Sombra to climb onto his neck, getting situated behind the spikes before the dragon took off towards the east. Sombra knew that if he wanted to conquer the province of Skyrim he was going to need a base of operations and a loyal, if subservient, army that he could use against everyone else. He then recalled the sleeping Draugr, the dreaded undead that everyone in Skyrim, be they adventurer or citizen in a Hold, feared to fight. If he could fill their empty shells with his dark magic he was sure that he could create an army to fight for him.
------------------
Morning was a ugly time for Raika and the Equestrians that were still following her, because it meant that the events of the previous evening were truly real. Lydia was dead, Sombra was missing, and Discord, the cause of their current problems, was out there somewhere, waiting to cast his hand into her affairs again. The Jarl had been informed of her Housecarl's death and Raika had been permitted to burn Lydia's body outside the city, just within the sights of the guards. Bulgruuf had let them know that he'd be standing with them, to silently say farewell to Lydia.
While they waited near the pyre Raika noted that the sky was beginning to get cloudy, the type of clouds that meant that a storm was going to happen sometime that day. She silently wished that Celestia could move the clouds for them, but the mare refused to mess with Skyrim's weather for even a minute. She even asked Luna and told her about her sister's answer, but Luna shook her head and told her to leave the weather the way it was. Raika eventually let the conversation die down as the guards approached them, carrying Lydia's body until they were able to place her on the wooden pyre.
"Here Raika," the Jarl said, holding a torch out for her to take, "Lydia was your Housecarl, so you should have the honors."
Raika gently took the torch and stared at it for a moment before letting out a sigh, turned towards the pyre, and tossed the torch at the base of the wood. The logs immediately caught on fire, but as everyone backed up Raika stood there and watched as her Housecarl was consumed before her eyes. The others might not share her pain, seeing how they were from a different place all together, but she was glad that they were here with her regardless.
Several of the guards told stories about Lydia while she was learning how to handle a weapon and how she would follow her orders to the letter until she died. They had figured that she was exaggerating about the death part, but seeing how she was gone now they realized that she had literally meant it. Eventually the flames died down and Lydia's ashes were collected into a urn, one that would be placed in the Hall of the Dead when they returned to Whiterun. Before they got anywhere Raika noticed a strange sight; a nord standing some distance away with three dragons standing behind him.
A nord, she noticed after staring at him for a few more seconds, that had some sort of darkness coming off of his eyes.
"Sombra," Raika muttered, not believing what her eyes were showing her before the ground violently shook below their feet.
Everyone else fell to their knees as Raika watched the area around Sombra burst upwards, giant spires of crystal shooting out of the ground and reaching towards the sky. Her eyes widened as a giant structure made of crystal, looking similar to a palace she had never seen before, grew out of the ground. Celestia and Luna, now standing at her sides, silently watched the structure grow until the ground finally stopped shaking and the crystals turned black. She had a feeling that they knew exactly what was going on and that they were going to tell her at some point in the future.
"Jarl Bulgruuf," Luna said, staring at the corrupted mockery of the Crystal Palace, "we're going to need an army."
Celestia had asked the Jarl of Whiterun to bring an army to combat the darkness that was consuming Sombra before he attacked the province of Skyrim. What she got was some woman by the name of Maven Black-Briar, who she was told had connections to both the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood. She suspected that Jarl Bulgruuf was seeing the arrival of three dragons and a giant crystal structure as the arrival of another enemy that wanted to rule the world. From what she gathered about the woman was that her great plan was to call upon the services of the thieves and assassins that roamed the roads of Skyrim to defeat Sombra.
Apparently the people of Skyrim liked to ignore the experts who knew what they were talking about and do things their own way, even if it lead to more deaths.
"How can they be so dense?" Celestia growled, slamming her sword into the table until it was buried deep in the wood, "How can they not see that Sombra isn't an opponent that you can just sneak up on and take out? Luna and I tried that when we had to liberate the Crystal Empire, but all he did was shrug off the attack and immediately came out at us. They should be listening to us instead of turning to allies that are only coming for their own profits."
"Welcome to the province of Skyrim," Raika remarked, letting out a sigh as she stared at the table, "where the people choose to ignore people who know what their talking about and choose to enlist the abilities of thieves and assassins. I'm hoping that the Jarl will tell Maven off and listen to us, but that's not going to happen. We'll just have to see how everything turns out in the end."
Luna and Trixie stayed near the open window, staring out at the corrupted structure in case any of the fallen dragons came towards the Hold of Whiterun. There was no telling when Sombra would send his forces at the Hold, but Luna knew that any assault on the palace would result in whatever army Sombra had going to war with Whiterun. Even if whatever forces Maven Black-Briar could muster managed to wound Sombra they had no hope of defeating him in combat, not with his control over the shadows. Luna had no love for assassins and thieves, so she was hoping for the Jarl to see some sense before he wasted lives.
"Thane, I have news from the Jarl," a guard said, stopping at the door as Raika turned to face him, "He has approved of Maven calling on the combined forces of the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild to stealthily deal with our latest problem. According to our guest we should be receiving our other guests within the next few hours and wished to tell you to refrain from attacking them."
"I don't believe it," Raika growled, just as the guard left them to their own devices, "for the first time is ages both the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood are protected by the guards. I'd love to run my blades through the members of each faction, but for the sake of Skyrim I'll have to cool my anger for now."
Two hours passed before their guests arrived at the entrance to Dragonsreach, shocking the guards and the maids as fifteen thieves and five assassin's walked in. Raika, having moved to one of the seats surrounding the Jarl's throne, looked up the moment they entered the building and caught the eyes of one of the thieves. The man gave her a small nod as the two groups stopped before the throne, where the Jarl and Maven stood waiting for them.
What caught Raika by surprise was that the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, who she assumed was the leader, was actually a female argonian that had dark brown scales. She wore the same armor as the other assassin's, save for the redguard that was dressed up in his native clothing, but she had an aura of authority around her. She separated from the other assassins and approached the throne, turning to the guard on her right and placing two daggers, her only weapons Raika realized, in a crate.
The thieves' leader, a female dark elf by the looks of it, approached the throne and bowed slightly to Maven, which made sense seeing how Maven controlled most of what the Thieves Guild did. Her armor looked almost identical to the armor that the other thieves wore, but hers was colored black and showed that she was not to be underestimated. One other thief, Raika noted, wore some sort of grey and black colored armor that didn't match the other thieves, but she didn't dwell on it. The elf turned to the guard at the throne's left and handed him a dwarven sword, what looked like an ebony dagger, and a orcish bow with its quiver of arrows.
"Jarl Bulgruuf, may I introduce Stalks-Many-Shadows of the Dark Brotherhood," Maven announced, gesturing to the argonian before moving onto the dark elf, "and Frenda Fierce-Arrow of the Thieves Guild."
"I would prefer either being called the Listener or just Stalks," the argonian said, moving to lean against one of the supporting pillars, "though I would like to know why you called upon both of our guilds."
Maven turned her head to Frenda, fully expecting her to say something along those lines as well, but when the elf offered nothing in return the woman sighed to herself.
"The Hold of Whiterun has a problem that we cannot solve on our own," the Jarl said, staring at the two faction leaders, "One of our, guests, recommended that we gather an army to fight a threat that is sitting right on our doorstep. Her sister claims that the best way to fight this Sombra is to draw out his forces, of which he has none at the moment, with an army of our own, which we do not have. I found that Maven was visiting the Black-Briar Meadery West and asked her if she had any associates that could help us deal with our problem. We'll gladly pay for your services with coin and several chunks of the palace that rests outside our walls."
"I'm all for helping out, but what is this palace you speak of?" Frenda asked, "From the direction we arrived from I sure didn't see some sort of palace anywhere."
"Allow me to show you before you decide," the Jarl said, pulling himself from the throne and moving towards the back chambers of the palace, allowing the large group to follow behind him.
Dragonsreach porch had a great view of the land that surrounded the city of Whiterun, but tonight there was a new addition to the ruins and rotting fortresses. Celestia and Luna, having remained in the large area for the most part, had been staring at the corrupted image of the Crystal Palace and constantly studied it, making sure they still understood the Tyrant. The darker Sombra would have made it nearly impossible for the ground forces to enter the palace, forcing the flyers to attack from the air. Seeing how it was only Celestia and Luna with wings they'd need to hit the Tyrant while an army kept his forces at bay, whatever his army was this time. There could be an opening on the ground floor they were missing, but there wasn't one they could see at the moment.
"There it is, the crystal palace I spoke of," the Jarl said, stopping just behind the sisters with a large company behind him, "As far as I can tell there seems to be no access points from the front area, but that shouldn't be a problem for professionals."
"Shor's beard, look at the size of that thing," one of the thief's said, eying the giant structure before them, "Something of this size could easily fetch a hefty price as crafting ingredients for mages all across Skyrim and Cyrodiil. I'm sure that there is some sort of entrance somewhere at the back side, so all we have to do is look around for it. There are four points where the palace touches the ground, so there are at least two possible entrances we could be looking for."
"The Dark Brotherhood will take great pleasure in dealing with this enemy," the Listener said, tapping her hands against the stone wall while looking out at the structure, "You may come along if you wish, thieves of the Thieves Guild, but make no mistake, we will take the glory for this kill."
"You cannot kill Sombra," Celestia growled, turning to face the arrogant argonian, "It doesn't matter how good you are at hiding in the shadows, because he'll still find you no matter what. My sister and I tried to sneak up on him and he was still expecting us, just as he'll be expecting someone to come after him this time. As much as my sister and I despise thieves and assassins we're not willing to send you all to your deaths over this matter."
"Look, I don't care what YOUR odds at beating this Sombra were," the argonian replied, turning to face Celestia while pointing at her chest, "My Family and I are more than enough to deal with a single enemy, so sit your high and mighty rear down and let someone whose better than you clean up your messes. So stay here and wait till we get back, cause we'll be bringing the head of your enemy back to you."
Sure enough the Listener, her four assassins, and fourteen thieves turned around and made their way out of Dragonsreach, but not before both faction leaders collected their weapons. The only thief that remained was the middle aged man that Raika had spotted earlier, who she suspected was the second in command and tended to stay away from conflict unless it threatened the guild. Celestia had tried to warn them about Sombra, but they had, like Raika expected, ignored her wisdom and rejected her council.
"I take it your the Dragonborn known as Raika?" the remaining thief asked, catching Raika off guard before she nodded, "I received a letter from someone named Delphine, asking me to find someone named Esbern in the depths of the Ratways and deliver him to Riverwood. I had to deal with a couple of Thalmor agents before I could get to him, but he's with this Delphine and she wanted me to pass on a message. She told me that when your done with your friend's 'problem' that your to meet her and Esbern near Karthspire in the Reach."
"That woman is going to drive me mad," Raika sighed, wondering how the woman had contacted the thief so quickly, "Fine, I guess I'll have to see what she wants, after we deal with the threat that Discord has given us."
"Discord?" the thief asked, raising an eyebrow, "I thought the person we're dealing with is named Sombra."
"We are," Raika said, twisting around to look at the structure once more, "Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, came to Skyrim and the moment he met Sombra the memories that Celestia and Luna were keeping back erupted. Gone was the gentle stallion that they were trying to save and in his place stood the Tyrant of the Crystal Empire, a being of evil that even they have a hard time fighting."
"How much trouble are they in?" the thief asked, "I mean my friends and the foolish assassins."
"From what I saw yesterday and what I've heard from the sisters," Raika said, wondering how best to tell the thief that his friends were likely screwed, "I'd have to say that their chances at victory are very slim. Like Celestia tried to tell them, going up against Sombra will likely be like meeting their deaths."
--------------
Nighttime, the best friends of both thieves and assassins, moved its cloak over the land, giving the Listener and the other stalkers of the night the best time to strike. They moved across the land below the black palace, leaping over rocks and crossing streams until they all came to one of the bases that could be their ticket into the palace. Upon examining the first base, the closest to Whiterun, they discovered that there wasn't an entrance to be found and quickly split up to search the other three. Two of the remaining bases, they discovered, held no entrances for them to use, but the fourth base, the one furthest from Whiterun, held a small staircase for them to use.
Once they entered the actual palace they discovered that there was only a single passageway, one that seemed to lead into the very core of the palace. The Listener knew that that was where they were likely going to find Sombra, including whatever traps he decided to place in the time since the structure was thrown up. She silently drew her weapons, making a sign to do the same as they approached the only opening in the hallway, fully expecting something to be waiting for them. When they reached the end they found themselves in a large throne room, with only a single nord wearing steel armor and a red cape standing in the center with his back turned towards them.
"Spread out around him," the Listener whispered to the others, "We will need as many advantages as possible to bring..."
"I can hear you," came an eerie voice that the Listener connected to her enemy, "You might as well come out and play before I decide to put an end to all of you."
Before any of them could react a spike made of crystal shot out of the floor and collided with one of the assassins, tearing through the armor and his chest as it pinned the corpse to the wall. The Listener had never seen someone cast a spell so quickly, not even one that could kill them if they weren't careful. She made sure to move into the open area with half of the thieves, hoping that such a number would keep Sombra distracted from the others still lurking in the shadows.
"Fine then," Sombra sighed, drawing his sword as he faced his foes, "Do as you wish without regard for your own safety, it matters little to me at the moment."
As he prepared to take a step forward an arrow shot out of the shadows and pierced his left shoulder, though the moment he noticed the arrow it was consumed by the shadows. Sombra took a step forward, for real this time, before two more arrows pierced his stomach, though they were swallowed in the long run. The redguard, Nazir, approached Sombra and swung his curved sword at him, catching the others sword and pushing Sombra backwards. Nazir was the superior swordsman, but Sombra was the superior spellcaster and he used it to his advantage as a spike tore through his enemy's chest.
Before the Listener could stop the other assassins they leapt forward and charged at Sombra, clearly consumed by their fury at seeing their mentor fall so easily. Sombra was clearly expecting that sort of reaction, because the moment they were on top of him he seemed to fade into the shadows and they stopped in their tracks. As they turned to look around Sombra appeared in front of one of them and beheaded the unfortunate assassin with ease, causing the other two to close in on him. One of the assassin's pinned his dagger right in the center of Sombra's armor, feeling it dig into the skin as he grinned in delight that the victory was his, but when he looked up at Sombra's face all he saw was the evil they were facing.
Sombra, growing tired of the assassins, threw the one closest to him onto the ground as he spiked the second one right in the chest, but before he focused on the leader he summoned one more spike for the assassin he threw. He cast a casual glance around the area, seeing which thieves were fighting in the light and which thieves were still lurking in the shadows, before letting out a sigh. He tapped his foot against the ground and the hidden thieves were thrown into the open area, some of which were impaled on spikes before they got a chance to move. One thief, he noted, was still on the ground and summoned his magic to destroy her as well, but before his spell could make contact an older man intercepted the blast and crashed to the ground.
"You son of a horker," the female thief, the one the old man had saved, shouted, drawing her daggers as she charged at Sombra, "I'll murder you for this!"
"Wait Vex, you can't take him alone," a second female thief shouted, drawing her bow and pinning an arrow in Sombra's other shoulder before a second tore into his knee.
"Hahahaha," Vex laughed, dancing her blades around Sombra as he parried them quite well, "Oh, would you look at that, you've got an arrow in your knee. Here in Skyrim that usually means that you have to give up being an adventurer or an evil villain and take up a position as a guard in one of the Holds. I guess your reign of terror, as short as it was, is at an end."
"Vex, would you kindly stop harassing this guy?" the other thief shouted, trying a third arrow in the chest before seeing them fade into the shadows, "Geez, what does it take to bring this guy down?"
Sombra, growing tired of playing around with Vex, pushed her back and watched a spike tear through her chest, smirking as the same happened to most of the remaining thieves. The only people he left untouched was the assassin's leader, the thieves' leader, and the dark elf thief dressed up in a different uniform than her leader was wearing. The three women gathered together, choosing to stand united while they planned some sort of attack against him and the darkness he controlled.
"Karliah, you need to warn the Jarl about this guy," Frenda whispered, her hand moving to her dwarven sword, "The Listener and I will do our best to take this guy down, but I have the feeling that we really should have listened to that Celestia women earlier."
"It was been an honor fighting at your side, Frenda Fierce-Arrow of the Thieves Guild," the Listener said, drawing her hand weapons as the other elf ran back down the passageway they came, "By Sithis, your evil ends here!"
"The same can be said to you, Stalks-Many-Shadows of the Dark Brotherhood," Frenda replied, turning her gaze to the nord before them, "Nocturnal guides my hands."
"Very well then," Sombra grinned, preparing himself once more, "I shall send the both of you to the afterlife. Then, when I'm done with all of you, I'll summon my army and declare war on this province."
Frenda, choosing to attack first, jumped in front of Sombra and swung her sword at him, only for Sombra to block the attack and push her backwards. Sombra noted the flames dancing around his blade after the contact was broken, so he assumed her weapon had a fire enchantment on it. The Listener drew closer and let her blades dance around Sombra, choosing to strike out at his backside while Frenda struck from the front side, making him choose who to defend against.
Sombra growled and summoned his dark magic, allowing the black lightning to gather around his blade before tossing it right into Frenda's chest, tearing right through the armor and tossing her against the wall. Then he brought his weapon down on the Listener, who stopped the attack with both of her daggers just above her head. Even as she tried to throw Sombra back she found that his strength was much greater than hers and the moment she shifted her weight his sword tore through her daggers and bit into her shoulder. As the blade shards hit the ground Sombra ripped his sword out of the Listener's shoulder before planting it firmly in her chest, grinning as the life faded from her eyes.
"You'll...you'll never win," Frenda coughed, struggling to get up onto her feet after such a blow, "Skyrim will...hear of this...they will come for you!"
"Yeessss," Sombra said, pulling his sword free as he approached the wounded thief, "I am counting on a war between me and the forces of Skyrim. Its just a shame that you won't be around to see it."
Before she could reply Sombra put her out of her misery, enjoying the thrill of actually fighting something that wasn't immortal like Discord or the Princesses. All he really needed now was to awaken his army, which he would postpone until his enemies actually came for him with their own army. After all, he had plenty of time and could wait as long as possible.
--------------
Celestia had been watching the corrupted palace, watching for any signs that the assassins and thieves had somehow survived the ordeal with Sombra, but she knew that the Tyrant would not spare anyone. She spotted someone emerging from the palace, so she knew that whoever had escaped had done so to either save themselves or to warn the Jarl. Celestia sighed, she just wished that the people of Skyrim listened to her more than they ignored her. Maybe now she'd get the army she had asked for.
"What do you mean your not calling in an army?" Celestia shouted.
The only survivor of the assault on Sombra's corrupted palace, a thief called Karliah, had shared her experience with everyone who was waiting in Dragonsreach. She went into detail as to how Sombra used the shadows to not only reveal where they were, but used it to create crystal spikes that destroyed many of the others. How, even when he was outnumbered, he managed to dance around their attacks and even absorbed all the arrows that they put into his body. She told the group that she had never seen anything like it in all her years of fighting from the shadows, much to everyone's shock.
Celestia had known that going up against Sombra by fighting from the shadows was a bad idea and she had voiced her concern for the others, but she had been ignored. She had recommended bringing together an army to fight whatever Sombra brought against them, but they chose to ignore her and cost Skyrim the lives of at least twenty people. She had thought that, once they saw that ignoring someone who knew what they were talking about, they would reconsider their rash choice and at least ask for her opinions. Instead they spurned her opinions and tossed her suggestion into the trash, or rather the fire as the case was at the moment.
"In case you haven't noticed Skyrim is in the middle of a civil war," Bulgruuf replied, staring down at Celestia, "I can't just simply ask one side to come to my aid, cause the moment I do the other will be baring down upon me and my city will be under siege. I'm sorry, but I cannot risk the safety of my people on an enemy that we cannot beat."
"Oh, the darkness that holds Sombra can be defeated," Luna commented, drawing attention to herself, "When we originally fought Sombra, about a thousand years ago, we did so with the sense that we needed to save the stallion we had known. We had thought to eradicate his hatred, but by the time we got to him it had become a part of his being and made it impossible to separate them. At the time he was consumed by his hatred for Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony, and that alone defined every action he did until he was defeated. Now he'll be fighting with himself, for when he swings at my sister he'll remember who he used to be and his two sides will go to war against each other."
"So your plan to fight him one on one?" Karliah asked, surprised that someone could be so arrogant that they could defeat someone as powerful as Sombra was, "You are insane. I thought I could take Mercer Frey by myself, but then I realized that I needed help to deal with the threat that he had become."
"Its my fault this happened to him in the first place," Celestia said, casting a look over at her sister, "I shall be the only one to face him at this point. Trust me on this my friends, Sombra will summon his army at some point. Seeing how you won't take my suggestions seriously I'll have to strike out at the darkness before an army comes knocking at your gates."
--------------
Sombra, pleased with the battle he had been in earlier, stepped out onto his balcony and stared out at the city of Whiterun, wondering where his fair lady was at the moment. There was one creature in all of Equestria, and apparently Skyrim as well, that his heart belonged to, one mare that had understood him until a single turning point. All his problems seemed to come from the same source, the same cursed creature that would never leave him no matter what realm of existence he found himself in. His problem was the being known as Discord, but his solution to that was to either turn him into a black crystal for the rest of time or to see if Celestia would entomb the Spirit again.
Right now he needed to destroy whatever forces stood inside Whiterun, defeat the Jarl that commanded those forces, and take his lady, wherever she was, as his dark mistress. He gripped the rail of his balcony and felt the darkness of his new palace awaken, directing the magic into the ground towards the army he had brought together. Not a moment later he felt the ground shake once more, just like when he had summoned his palace.
"Yeeesss," he growled, still staring out at the city, "Rise my army. Rise to do battle once more."
--------------
Celestia and Luna, attuned to Sombra's dark magic after so many battles, immediately felt the change in the air moments before the ground violent shook once more. Not wasting any time the sisters, followed by Trixie and Raika, returned to the Dragonsreach Balcony and cast their gazes out at the corrupted palace. The ground below the palace began to crack and spilt until something began to claw its way out of the darkness, something that Celestia recognized as one of the draugr from the barrows she had been in. Then her eyes widened as an army of draugr marched out of the abyss that Sombra's magic had created, ranging from the easy to kill to the ones that guarded the end of a barrow.
"An army of Draugr?" Raika gasped, seeing the sight before her eyes and still not believing it, "Just how many of the undead warriors did he bring with him?"
"It looks like he emptied out several of the nearby barrows," Luna commented, counting at least a hundred soldiers below the palace, "I know the guards can deal with the weaker draugr with ease, but something tells me that they won't be able to deal with the more powerful ones. Sister, let me call upon the Nightmare and deal with these foes."
"Are you certain of this Luna?" Celestia asked, surprised that her sister would do such a thing.
"I am," Luna replied, stepping onto the stone wall of the balcony, "I'll do my best to keep the draugr away from the city's walls, but it will be up to you to take some sense into Sombra before he does something that he'll regret. You are the only one that he will listen to, even if you have to beat him with steel and magic to get him to listen to you."
Raika, who had been listening to the two of them the entire time, was amazed that Luna was talking about fighting such a large number of draugr all by herself. She knew the stories about Nightmare, how she was victorious against dozens of enemies in the arena and defeated plenty of daedra during their invasion, and knew that Luna was getting serious. She could feel the magic in the air as Luna's skin, horn, and wings began to darken until they were almost pitch black. The steel armor she was wearing began to shift, splitting in half to expose her belly area as the colors became some sort of azure color. Her hair grew longer before becoming a flowing mess with what looked like stars dotting around the inside.
"Ah, it feels good to be back," Luna, or rather Nightmare, said, her voice sounding colder than when she was Luna, "Let me get my weapon and I'll gladly do battle with these fools."
At first Raika thought she meant her sword, but the moment she laid eyes on the blade she watched Nightmare's magic spin the weapon around in a circle. The weapon began to glow after a few seconds, seeming to grow in length until it was the same length as one of the ebony weapons she had heard about. When the weapon stopped spinning Raika noticed that the weapon had somehow changed from the normal sword she had been carrying to an ebony battleaxe. Nightmare gripped the weapon and swung it around, cleaving the head of the weapon through the air before slamming the end of it on the ground, hard enough to crack the stone.
Before any of them could comment on her appearance Nightmare leapt off the ledge and allowed herself to fall down to the ground before unfurling her wings. She caught the wind and flew right towards the draugr army, flipping around as she buried her axehead in one of the draugr and landed on her feet. One of the draugr, a Deathlord, gripped his sword and brought it down on top of her, but Nightmare was ready as she yanked the handle in front of her to block the attack. As the draugr behind her moved to cut at her backside she leapt over the Deathlord, allowing his ally to bury his weapon in his chest, before she landed, tore her weapon free, and brought it down on another victim.
"I am Nightmare Moon, the Queen of Knights," Nightmare proclaimed, allowing the draugr to gather around her, "and you bastards have no idea who you are messing with!"
"So that's the Queen of Knights?" Raika asked, watching Nightmare tear into one draugr before moving onto a second, "Luna is acting like a completely different person."
"Nightmare Moon is a different personality and mindset my sister developed," Celestia explained, not wanting to tell them the truth about the Nightmare, "but while she deals with the army I must get over to the palace and deal with Sombra. Trixie, I want you to follow Raika to Karthspire and help her in any way that you can. My sister and I should be alone with Sombra before long, but there's no telling how long our duel will take."
"How do you plan on getting into that palace?" Raika asked, raising an eyebrow, "No doubt that Sombra sealed the entrance that the others used and I doubt that he'll just let you fly over to that balcony."
"I'll be flying," Celestia replied, stretching her wings and amazing Raika once more, "alicorns, such as my sister and I, heal a lot more quickly than your average Equestrian does, so all it really took was my sister snapping my wing back in place for my body to heal itself. I'll need to do as my sister did and call upon all my power to combat the darkness."
Before Raika could ask what Celestia meant by that she noticed that her steel armor began to change into a set of shining golden armor, but with no separation like Luna's had done. Celestia's body, horn, and wings remained the same color, unlike what happened to her sister, though her helm grew some points that almost resembled the points of a crown. Her pink hair, the one thing that Raika thought was normal about her, changed until it had three more different colors to it and flowed as her sister's hair had done. She also kept her sword, but it turned golden and made Raika think it resembled one of those dwarven weapons she had seen. Once the changes had died down Raika was amazed to find that Celestia now looked regal, like the Princess she claimed to be.
"Sombra will be expecting me," Celestia said, stepping onto the stone balcony like her sister had done, "so I had best not keeping him waiting any longer."
Celestia threw herself forward, letting her wings catch the air and allowing her to fly towards the balcony where she knew Sombra would be standing, waiting for her. As she drew closer she spotted Sombra where she expected him to be, but when she got even closer she tucked her wings in tight and hit him right in the chest. She grabbed onto him as they barreled into the open area of the corrupted palace, though it was no longer littered by bodies, before tossing him at one of the walls.
Sombra flipped in the air, let his feet make contact with the crystal wall, and then summoned a giant crystal pillar that served as a bridge for him to cross the room. Once he was near Celestia again he leapt off his pillar and swung at her, grinning as their weapons clashed with each other and sparks flew off of them. Celestia pressed the attack and pushed him backwards before getting in his face once more, barely giving him a chance to catch his breath. Sombra melded into the shadows for a moment, only to reappear somewhere behind Celestia and swing his weapon once more, which she stopped with ease before throwing him backwards.
"It is good to see you again dearest Celestia," Sombra said, allowing the shadows to gather around him, "Surely you can see that it was pointless to send thieves and assassins after me, in my place of power."
"I'll stop you right there," Celestia replied, barely flinching as her magic flowed around her, "I asked them to bring an army to fight your army of draugr, but they rejected my opinion and decided to use these people against you. I'm sad that they had to die, as their deaths proved nothing to the Jarl and his allies, so the duty falls to me. I will restore you Sombra, of that you can be sure."
"Then I will take great pleasure in showing you how wrong you are," Sombra growled, taking a step forward before receiving a blast of sun energy to the face.
Celestia knew to hit him hard and hit him fast, so she had to resort to using her full power against the darkness that had claimed Sombra to have any hope of rescuing him. Her attack fractured part of the eastern wall, but she expected as much when the powers of the sun and the darkness clashed as they had. Sombra got onto his feet before releasing his magic, summoning huge crystal pillars all around Celestia, trying to either pin her to one of the walls or wound her enough to force her surrender.
Celestia, casting a look at the pillars all around her, barely swung her magic around her as the crystals shattered and became projectiles that flew at Sombra. He, keeping to his battle pattern, turned to shadow to allow the fragments to pass harmlessly through him, but the moment he became solid again he found Celestia's blade in his stomach. Before he had time to react Celestia tore her blade out of his stomach before bringing it down on him, slicing right into his armor and left shoulder.
Sombra, using his good arm, forced Celestia off of him, causing her to stagger backwards for a moment and thus giving him time to allow the darkness to patch up his wounds. He slammed his hand against the ground and several large crystal spikes shot out of the floor, one of them clipping Celestia in the side and forcing her backwards. For a moment he stood still, his mind focused the small wound he had inflicted, but then he regained himself and advanced on Celestia. He brought his sword down upon her, but all she did was flip backwards and avoided the weapon as it hit the ground with a dull thud.
The only strange thing that Sombra noticed was that the wound he had delivered had not been healed instantly as all the other wounds had been when they had fought before. He knew alicorn's healed much more quickly, so he wondered why she was toying with him by not using the healing at all.
"I can see that your taking this seriously," Sombra commented, finally realizing that Celestia was at full power this time, "that's good, cause that means we'll be able to get carried away without concern for each other."
That was before a second ball of solar energy collided with him and tossed him at the same wall he had been thrown into earlier, further fracturing the wall and causing pieces of fall on top of him. The darkness surged out of him, picking up the pieces of fallen crystal and tossing them in Celestia's direction, to which she jumped over with ease. Sombra, fully expecting her to do that, shifted through the shadows and appeared behind her, digging his sword right into her side before casting her to the ground. When she landed Sombra locked her feet into the floor, preventing her from moving from that spot without hurting herself even more than she already was.
"I take that back," Sombra said, eying the wounds with concern before shaking his head, "you aren't taking this seriously and it is really starting to bore me. I think you'll just stay there until you decide to fight me seriously, or until I find a way to corrupt your mind."
Celestia knew what was happening to Sombra, having been told by her sister that he had stalled the moment she had screamed when her wing had been dislocated. All she had to do was fight him, thus increasing his anger, all while not healing her wounds to drive her Sombra to the surface. She knew that if she continued to press her full power against Sombra's darkness it wouldn't just destroy the entire corrupt palace they were standing it, but it would shatter Sombra completely. She needed him, the stallion she had fallen in love with, to rise up and beat the darkness that Discord had created so many years ago.
Before Sombra could step away from her Celestia gathered her magic and blasted him in the chest, tossing him backwards and giving her a moment to shatter the crystals around her legs. He got up and spat out some blood, but summoned up dozens of crystal spires, shattered them all into fragments, and sent them flying towards Celestia. She leapt out of the way, which Sombra was expecting, but didn't see that there were even more heading above the first group. Several of them punctured her armor, she was lucky that none hit her organs, and caused her to crash to the ground again, but it wasn't as bad as the last battle they shared.
Sombra moaned at the sight of seeing Celestia wounded, something that didn't happen when he had found both her and Luna over a thousand years ago. Somehow the Sombra she had been traveling with, the weaker Sombra who cared for peace instead of conquest, was fighting back against his hold. Then he connected the dots between everything that was happening; Celestia not healing herself, the constant spacing out when she was wounded, and the desire to stop fighting her altogether.
"What...what have you done to me?" Sombra shouted, shaking as he felt the other side of him trying to gain control.
"Its not what I've done to you," Celestia coughed, watching Sombra from across the chamber, "rather its what you've done to yourself. The Sombra you were before Discord, your true self, is fighting to regain his body and soon you'll find yourself back where you belong, under his control."
She would have said more, but as she watched Sombra she noticed that the darkness was beginning to leak out of his body at an alarming rate. The darkness began to gather together in a spot not too far from where Sombra was standing, bubbling as something began to climb its way out of the abyss. At first Celestia thought it was another draugr, summoned to do battle with Sombra, but as she watched she soon discovered that it was a second Sombra, one made out of pure darkness. Eventually all the darkness separated from Sombra, leaving him to stagger backwards for a moment while the darker Sombra stood up tall.
"Ugh...what in Oblivion happened to me?" Sombra, the stallion she had known, said as he spotted the darker version of himself, "What the...what are you?"
"It is so good to have my own form once again," the second Sombra said, speaking in the same tone as he had done when he was the Tyrant, "You have no idea how annoying it was to control a body whose mind would stall the moment he hurt the mare of his dreams, giving her an opening to hurt me. Now that I have my own body, and no attachments to Celestia for that matter, I can easily destroy the both of you and conquer this pathetic excuse of a province."
"It also gives me the opportunity to destroy you," Celestia said, piercing the evil Sombra's chest with her glowing sword, "Long have I searched for the way to separated the root of Sombra's evil from his body and I discovered it by accident before I left the Crystal Empire to come to Skyrim. The unfortunate part of it all was that he had to, at some point or another, allow the shadows to overtake him once more and become what you made him. He had to see me wounded by the evil that had overtaken him, to feel his true self fight his battles for himself, before he could be separated from you.
Now that the two of you are separated at long last I can finally put an end to Sombra's suffering and give him back the life that was taken from him a thousand years ago. All I need to do is put an end to your existence."
"You'll have to catch me first," the darkness laughed, twisting into shadows to slip off her sword before fleeing into the air, though that was before a red crystal pillar hit it square in the chest.
"I'll be the one dealing with you," Sombra calmly said, though Celestia could see that his eyes were no longer filled by the hatred that she had seen so many times, "after all, you are my darkness and that makes you my responsibility. Come Arbmos, let's finish this once and for all."
Before Celestia could stop him Sombra summoned another pillar and rode it all the way up to where his darkness, which he had apparently named Arbmos for some reason, was pinned to the wall. Once he was closer he summoned more spikes that grew out of the crystal he was on, several of which were designed to prevent Arbmos from escaping his hold. Black crystals grew out of the palace walls, either connecting with Sombra's crystals and exploding or expanding outwards to restrict Sombra's movements. Celestia, not wishing to be in the way of their duel, quickly moved towards the balcony, where she knew she could watch the battle progress with ease.
Sombra leapt from the pillar he was on and landed on the one that had pierced Arbmos, but before he could strike out at his darkness it phased into the shadows and disappeared. Sombra, familiar with his own battle strategy when he was the Tyrant, slid down the crystal as Arbmos appeared above where he had been, his sword sinking into the red crystal. Sombra, reacting more quickly than his enemy, slammed the base of his sword into Arbmos' chest, causing him to fall backwards, before impaling him on one of his crystal spires. Sombra stayed up where he was, choosing to look down at Arbmos as he slowly began to dissolve into the shadows once more.
Arbmos appeared behind Sombra and grabbed him with his magic, before tossing him over the edge in the hopes that he would crash on one of the crystal spires and impale himself upon it. Sombra, on the other hand, faded into the shadows and appeared across the chamber, standing on one of the untouched pillars while he stared at Arbmos. His darkness copied his movement with ease, appearing on another pillar that stood directly across from where Sombra was already standing. Sombra, choosing not to waste any time, brought his hand down on the pillar he was standing on and several more sprouted out of the walls, reaching over towards his foe. Arbmos, being the copycat that he was, followed Sombra's movements perfectly, several identical pillars sprouting out of his wall and crashing right into Sombra's pillars.
As the fragments fell to the ground Sombra willed his magic to gather around him, causing his horn to glow red as he prepared to strike down his foe. Arbmos followed suit, though his horn turned an eerie dark purple as he no doubt was preparing his own spell that would be an identical copy to Sombra's. Sombra could feel the magic in the air as he began to tear chunks out of the walls, though he could see that the same thing was happening to Arbmos' side. He had no doubt that the moment they released their spells the magic that kept the corrupted palace together would come undone and it would fall apart.
"This is it Arbmos," Sombra said, allowing the magic to build into a sphere in front of him, "our last attack. We're both tired from all the fighting and from all the magic we've used up to this point. Let this be the end to our fight, once and for all."
"I will destroy you," Arbmos replied, a sphere forming in front of him, "and when the dust settles you will be broken before your precious Celestia. Then I will take great pleasure in destroying both her and her sister before I begin my conquest of this plane of existence. Soon everyone will fear the name Sombra, just like the ponies of the Crystal Empire had done before we were defeated."
The moment that Sombra released his magic Arbmos copied him, sending the two spheres hurling towards each other fast enough to lose anyone who wasn't used to such powerful magical battles. The moment the sphere's made contact with each other the conflicting energies battered at each other, sending surges of magic outwards. The crystals that lined the walls shattered upon impact, the fragments falling to the floor as giant pieces of the roof began to crack and shatter. The two floated in mid air at that point, their magic conflicting with each other as the entire palace began to fall in on itself all around them.
--------------
Luna, having beaten the army of draugr, returned to the stone balcony where Raika and Trixie had been standing, landing beside the two of them before reverting to her normal form. Then she felt the disturbance in the air as the palace became the home of two conflicting magical energies, though she suspected they belonged to Celestia and Sombra. After a moment she mentally corrected herself; the two sources of magic belonged to Sombra, which meant that her sister had gone through with her plan. As the three of them watched the palace began to fall apart before their eyes, chunks falling off the sides and crashing to the ground around the palace.
Luna was glad that she had gotten out of there before the place had started falling a part, because healing a wound dealt from a huge chunk of crystal wasn't easy. If someone normal, like one of the guards, had been caught under one of those it would have spelled out their end in less than ten seconds. Moments passed before she noticed her sister, decked out in her armor, flying their way, no doubt to get out of the way before the place came down altogether. Before either sister could speak to one another the magic inside the palace exploded, causing the remains of the palace to collapse inwards and become a pile of dull colored crystal.
Sombra, having slipped into the shadows seconds before the magic had exploded, coughed as he appeared beside the wreckage of the corrupted palace Arbmos had constructed. In the end Arbmos hadn't copied him to the end, seeing how he had no idea that Sombra intended to destroy him and bury whatever remained from the blast in such a large tomb. As he stood there for a moment the dark magic that rolled off of his eyes died away, though he was too exhausted to bother keeping the magic going any longer. He took a seat in front of one of the crystal chunks and leaned against the smooth surface, feeling himself drift away as the exhaustion claimed him.
Celestia sighed as she lifted a small cup of tea up to her mouth, sipping from it and savoring the sweetness that danced around her tongue. They had found Sombra, magically exhausted from his fight with his darker side, and had immediately brought him back to Dragonsreach to let him rest. The guards, the ignorant guards, shouted and demanded that the Jarl imprison Sombra somewhere where his 'foul and unnatural magic' could not bring harm to Skyrim. In order for the Jarl to understand why that was wrong Celestia and Luna were forced to tell him how that had happened when they tried sealing Sombra away the first time.
For the second time in the brief time that she had known the Jarl he actually listened to what she was saying and allowed her to watch over Sombra in the balcony area. She was glad he was willing to listen to reason, because trying to seal Sombra away again would have broken her heart even more...and it would have resulted in losing Whiterun to the darkness for some unknown amount of time.
After Sombra had been brought to his new quarters, and Celestia's for some time, she made sure to heal the numerous wounds that littered his body. It was all she could do, as she had no means of transferring her magic into him to awaken him, not without the raw power of her magic tearing his body apart. She had to do things the long way, and that meant that she had to wait until Sombra woke up from his magical slumber. Her only concern was that someone, maybe one of the guards, would come to Sombra when he was alone and did something worse than what Discord had done.
"What would you have me do sister?" Luna asked, leaning on a nearby wall while she observed her sister, "I know you will not leave Sombra behind until he his ready to travel once again, but what about young Trixie and myself?"
And then there was her sister, breaking her peaceful moment as she questioned whether or not she should continue to aid Raika now that Sombra had been rescued from himself. It was a problem that Celestia had considered the moment that she had discovered that Sombra had been victorious. It was also a problem that had plagued her mind ever since she had arrived in Skyrim, determined to find her love and move around everyone that stood in her way. They had given Raika their word that they would help her with the dragon problem, so Celestia saw no true reason to back out of the promise they had made.
"I suggest that you and Trixie follow Raika," Celestia finally said, barely looking up at her sister, "Offer her whatever aid you can when she reaches Karthspire and help her figure out what she needs to do next. I shall make my way to High Hrothgar with Sombra the moment he is ready for travel, whenever he awakens from his magical slumber."
"As you wish sister," Luna replied, picking up her weapon before turning towards the giant doors, "Before I forget, there's also the matter of our old friend Discord still running around Skyrim that we'll need to clean up. If we haven't collected him by the time we're done then we'll need to locate him and drag him back to Equestria, by force if necessary."
Celestia didn't reply, not when she knew that her sister was right about Discord. She had the feeling that the Spirit was near, hiding somewhere in Dragonsreach while he stalked his prey. Sombra, in his rage, had bested the Spirit of Chaos twice, but how that he was in a weakened state Celestia had no doubt that Discord would be coming to settle the score. She intended to be ready for him before he showed up, which is why she kept her sword near her at all times. She took another sip from her cup and stared out at the night sky, grateful that the corrupted palace had been destroyed not so long ago.
"Finally Luna, I was starting to wonder if you guys were coming," Raika commented, pulling herself out of her chair when she saw Luna and Trixie approach the table, "What about Celestia? Isn't she coming with us?"
"Young Trixie and I are coming along," Luna replied, "My sister has decided to stay here and watch over Sombra until he awakens, which even she doesn't know when that will happen. The three of us are more than enough to deal with whatever is waiting for us at Karthspire, without those two pitiful excuses for a Blade harassing us. I swear, if Rend was still around he'd likely kick their flanks by himself."
"Trixie is...I mean, I am more than ready to face whatever stands before us," Trixie said, patting her staff as the two stared at her, "I may not be as skilled as Princess Celestia is, but an Illusionist is always prepared for whatever trials are ahead of her."
"Well, I guess I can understand what she's going through," Raika sighed, picking up her sword before facing the two of them, "but I am still grateful that you guys are even sticking around now that you've somehow managed to restore Sombra to who he was before the madness settled into his mind. I'm sure that we'll see the two of them sometime before we get to the end of this crazy quest of ours."
As the three of them moved down the stairs and headed towards the giant doors that served as the entrance to Dragonsreach Celestia emerged from the balcony. She moved towards the overlook, only to lean on one of the support beams as she watched them reach the door and leave without the guards bothering them. She was glad, as she had no idea what the guards would think of her, her sister, and young Trixie now that they knew how powerful just one of them was. Nor did she have an idea of how the guards, or the Jarls for that matter, would react if they knew that she and Luna could control the sun and the moon.
From where she was standing she got a good look at where the guards were standing, what they were doing, who they talked to, and where they were going if they moved. She knew that if Discord wanted another chance at fighting Sombra, or putting him down while he was weakened as the case was, he'd likely dress up as a guard. It was the perfect disguise that would allow him to bypass the other guards without raising any alarms and do whatever he came to do, if he was here anyway.
While she stared down at the guards she noticed one of them limping as he made his way towards the staircase that would bring him up to where Celestia was. From what she knew of the Holds she knew that the Jarls did not hire or keep guards around that were seriously injured from battle, so some flags immediately sprung up. She gripped the handle of her sword and walked to the staircase, quietly waiting for the guard to appear so she could see what he was planning on doing. When the guard finally reached the top of the stairs he quickly made his way towards the doors that lead to the balcony and immediately passed through them.
Celestia, not waiting to see what the guard could be doing, pulled out her sword and opened the doors with her magic, finding the guard not even halfway across the chamber and looking back at her.
"I should have known you'd be around here somewhere," the guard coughed, pressing a hand to his chest as if he was in pain, "I should have known you'd be near him without leaving him vulnerable to being assaulted by someone."
"Discord," Celestia replied, catching the Spirit off guard for a brief moment, "I see your wound hasn't healed all the way. Must be hard to heal such a terrible wound, seeing how it went all the way through your chest and out the back."
"Oh go to Tartarus Celestia," Discord groaned, the disguise withering away until his nordic form remained, "I'll have you know that your husband, the stallion that your trying to protect with every fiber of your being, is one of the most dangerous threats to Equestria. He needs to be destroyed before he can do harm to everyone else."
"Its because you made him that way," Celestia fired back, her sword at the ready as her magic gathered around it, "It was you who decided to track me and my sister down. It was you who decided to attack us on my wedding day. It was you who decided to strike me down and bring out Sombra's hatred. You deserved to be beaten by Sombra, but in your mind you could not stand losing to a mortal, so the moment that he came to Skyrim you choose to follow him. And look what happened to you; you unlocked his darker memories, unleashed a nightmare upon the realm, and then got your flank handed to you when you tried fighting him.
Accept your defeat with grace for once and stay away from Sombra."
Discord coughed and blood came out of his mouth, which he quickly wiped away with one of his arms before he stared at Celestia. She could tell that he was in pain, that he had chosen to wait till Sombra was weakened and fight him on fair ground instead of healing and fighting at full power. What the Spirit failed to realize was that Sombra's magic would likely tear Discord apart, casting him adrift in the night sky until his essence returned to his stone prison in Equestria.
"You know that I cannot walk away from him," Discord told her, a warn out blade appearing out of thin air before he grabbed it, "I shall make this as quick as possible, before you have a chance to interfere with me."
Before either Discord or Celestia could move a few purple crystals grew out of the floor, trapping Discord in a crystal prison and preventing him from doing anything. Celestia cast a look at where Sombra was laying and found that he was barely awake, one of his arms reaching out for the floor as his hand was actually pressed against the stone. He had heard them talking and had given her whatever aid he could provide, but she wasn't expecting him to encase Discord in a crystal prison.
"Learn...to take...a hint," Sombra moaned, lifting his hand off the floor before rolling onto his back, "That...should last...a few days."
"You shouldn't exert yourself like that," Celestia said, sheathing her blade before laying near him, "but I'm glad that managed to get to him before he could get to you."
"Where's Luna?" Sombra asked.
"She went with Raika and Trixie to figure out how to deal with the dragons," Celestia replied, pressing a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from rushing up, "Your in no position to go anywhere yet my love and I cannot risk your health and well being by traveling halfway across the province. Just rest up a day or two and we'll see if your condition has improved or not."
"Very well...my dear," Sombra said, laying back down on his makeshift bed, "Goodnight then..."
Celestia smiled as Sombra drifted off to sleep, somewhat glad that he had taken the weakened Discord down all on his own, despite the fact that he had barely been awake when it happened. She knew that Discord wouldn't be troubling them again for some time, as whatever curses or prisons Sombra threw around usually stayed as long as he said they would. At least now she knew exactly where the Spirit of Chaos was now, so she could depart him before something dangerous came to interfere with Whiterun.
---------------------
"So Luna, how did you leave Tamriel after the Oblivion Crisis?"
Raika, bored out of her mind thanks to having to endure another boring carriage ride to reach her destination, had decided to ask Luna more about her previous visit to Tamriel. She couldn't very well ask Celestia about any previous visit she might have had, mostly because Celestia wasn't with the group at the moment and the fact that Raika had no idea when the last time she was in Tamriel was. Trixie, on the other hand, she could have asked how she was enjoying her visit to Tamriel, but the look on the young mage's face told Raika that she was enjoying bits and pieces of her journey. As for Sombra, Raika had the feeling that he had started to like his journey, but then that all went downhill the moment that Discord showed his ugly mug.
That meant that Raika had to asked Luna, as she was the only one who could have truly answered the question at the moment.
"I cast a spell," Luna replied, finally answering after having to think on her answer for a few moments, "It may sound simple to you; just gather the magic, maybe say a few magical words or an incantation to tell the magic where I'm going, and then disappear without leaving a trace behind. If it were that simple I would have returned to Equestria after being sent to the moon almost immediately, but I had to think on where the magic would eventually take me. When I thought I understood where I was going I gathered my magic and left the moon, only to appear somewhere in Cyrodiil, which I later discovered was the Imperial City.
But I digress. You did not ask how I entered Tamriel, but rather how I left your plane. As I said, I thought about where I wanted to go, in this case back to Equestria, gathered the magic all around me, and then cast the spell that would send me home. Now for the spell to work it had to be cast by someone who could handle and control massive amounts of magic, such as myself, Celestia, or even Discord. I'm sure that my sister and I can easily combine our magic to create a small gateway for all of us to leave without something else interfering with us."
"And you haven't left because Celestia wants to heal Sombra?" Raika asked, just to make sure she got all the reasons for them staying right yet again.
"Ugh, you are only half right," Luna replied, tired of answering the same question repeatedly, "We also came to Skyrim to aid the Dragonborn, that's you, and aid him or her in their quest to stop the dragons. Now, let us conserve our energy for the task ahead, I'm sure that we'll need all we can get."
Raika wanted to ask another question, but she noticed that Luna had basically closed her eyes and that told her that the Equestrian was going to ignore her until they reached their destination. She thought about asking Trixie her question, but then realized that she likely wouldn't know the answer and held her tongue before the question could leave her mouth. The carriage driver seemed to hum a tune while they got closer to their destination, clearly not caring that they had been discussing other worlds. Raika sighed and closed her eyes, content that either the driver or Trixie would wake them up the moment they got to Karthspire.
---------------------
As the night came upon Skyrim Celestia had somehow found herself sitting at the table in front of the Jarl's throne, sharing a light meal with his many advisers. As far as she could tell there was Farengar, his Court Wizard, Irileth, his loyal and ever present Housecarl, Proventus, his steward, Commander Caius, the Captain of the Guard, and his brother Hrongar, who seemed to serve as a sort of voice of reason. All they, and in turn the Jarl, talked about during the evening meal was the constant war between the Imperials and the Stormcloaks and how it was tearing Skyrim apart at the seams. She had drowned out most of the noise that the conversation had brought to the room, but all that shattered the moment that Hrongar decided to ask her a question.
"Say Celestia," Hrongar called across the room, calling attention to their conversation without a care in the world, "What would you say about enlisting your powers, or those of your beautiful sister and...insane husband, to help safeguard Skyrim and destroy the rebellion before it reaches our gates?"
Celestia sighed, knowing that the moment she had feared since her arrival had come at long last. She knew the moment that she, her sister, or even Sombra revealed their power the citizens of Skyrim would want to misuse their power for their own goals.
"Look, this isn't our fight," Celestia calmly replied, hoping that she could keep them all from erupting into chaos, "we just came..."
"Yes yes, we know," Hrongar interrupted her, pounding a fist on the table he sat behind, "You came to find your beloved, and incredibly insane, husband before offering your aid to the Dragonborn, who happens to be a Thane of Whiterun. The same Thane that has sworn allegiance to Ulfric Stormcloak and will likely rob all of us blind like her brothers and sisters would do in her position. You claim that this 'isn't your fight', but you have allied yourselves with the enemy that will ravage our fair city one day."
"Hrongar, calm yourself," Proventus said, "Celestia and her sister are just visitors to our fair world, and we shouldn't try to enforce our plights on them when we can do this ourselves. We are perfectly capable of finishing this war by ourselves without dragging them into this mess."
"Oh quite you milkdrinker," Hrongar growled, causing Proventus to flinch before turning his gaze back to Celestia, "Look, all I want is for you to lend us your strength and destroy Windhelm. Cut the head of the rebellion off for us and maybe we'll get some peace. Then you go on your merry way and do whatever the Dragonborn wants before you finally leave Skyrim."
"No," Celestia simply replied, crossing her arms before leaning back in her chair and keeping her eyes down so no one else could see what she was doing.
Hrongar, now enraged, shouted something about Skyrim belonging to the nords, as most of the nords did all the time anyway, drew his weapon, and decided to leap right into the middle of the room. Before the guards could raise their weapons to block him he rolled through the fireplace and jumped onto the table that Celestia was sitting at. Once he landed his free hand shot out and grabbed the neck of Celestia's armor, bringing her closer to him as his sword was poised to strike her.
"You WILL destroy Windhelm and kill Ulfric Stormcloak," Hrongar continued, clearly confident that he had her where he wanted her.
"You should watch where you step," Celestia replied, revealing that a thin black crystal spike was mere inches away from his side, "otherwise you'd be in for a nasty surprise."
At first Hrongar thought that the war criminal had awoken and had decided that he was the first person that he would claim before burning down Whiterun. Then, upon lifting Celestia's head up a bit, he discovered that she had the same eerie magic rolling off of her eyes, though not as intense as the criminal's had been.
"Sombra's much more skilled than I am when it comes to using Dark Magic," Celestia admitted, shrugging off Hrongar's hand as the magical mist and spike vanished, "but I will not say it again. None of us will involve ourselves in this civil war of yours, not even if the Dragonborn came to us and asked us to do so."
"My Lord," one of the guards shouted, coming from the staircase, "the war criminal is gone."
"Oh for the love of...," Celestia moaned, tired of hearing her husband being called a criminal, "for the last time, Sombra is not a war criminal. So please, stop calling him that."
"Where did he go?" Balgruuf asked, clearly concerned that his people could be in danger rather then the fact that Sombra was missing.
"I don't know my Lord," the guard replied, "All I found in the chamber was a crystal prison of sorts with a guard trapped inside and a note containing the word Karthspire."
"I suggest you leave the prison alone," Celestia commented, drawing herself up before moving towards the staircase, "as it contains the Spirit of Chaos known as Discord. If you mess with the prison you'll release him back into Skyrim and I'll have to hunt him down again, which I don't have time for right now. Before I am interrupted further I'm going to depart and see if I can't find Sombra at Karthspire."
Before any of the guards had a chance to stop her Celestia quickly made her way to the balcony and approached the stone wall that she had stood by several times in the last few days. Sombra was definitely gone, that much she could tell by just walking in, but she was still glad to see Discord trapped once more. Not a few seconds after she got to the balcony did she spot an arrow flying past her head, telling her that the guards were after her for some reason. Before they managed to put an arrow into her she leapt off the edge of the balcony, caught the wind, and began her journey towards the west.
As she departed she caught several of the guards cursing her out and she knew they'd be looking to throw her in jail for absolutely no reason at all.
---------------------
Raika stretched as she, Luna, and Trixie were dropped off near the entrance to the Forsworn village that laid around the mountain that she needed to get into. The carriage driver, fearing that the Forsworn would get him if he stayed around too long, almost immediately departed the moment they were off the wagon. Not even a minute after the driver left did Delphine and an older man, who Raika assumed was Esbern, approach them with their weapons drawn.
"Ah, Dragonborn, so good of you to join us," Delphine coldly welcomed, clearly annoyed that Raika continued to brush off her commands, "I took the liberty to scout the area and I can tell you that there are about twenty Forsworn soldiers between where we are standing and the entrance to Sky Haven Temple. There's no way to sneak past them, so we're going to have to launch a full scale assault on their forces to get through. Before we being, where is Celestia?"
"Back in Whiterun with Sombra," Raika immediately replied, drawing her bow and nocking an arrow, "I'll say this once; once we're done with this temple I am heading to High Hrothgar to return the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller to the Greybeards. There will be no discussion, no debates, and no arguments coming for you. We're going to simply attack the Forsworn, drive them out of the area if possible, and then see how to defeat the dragons. That's it."
"You ignorant son of a...," Delphine started, but then seemed to think better of it, "I did not spend the last day scouting out the enemy for you to come in and ruin everything. What I wouldn't give if you were more like Tiber Septim."
"Do the Blades not serve the Dragonborn?" Raika asked, raising an eyebrow as Delphine fumed, "You claim that you serve the Dragonborn, which I am in case you haven't noticed, and every time I tell you something you either give me a rude comment or try to do things your own way. No, you do not serve the Dragonborn, rather you serve your own ideals and hope that I'll fall in line with you."
Delphine opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get any words out the ground beneath their feet violently shook, reminding Raika of when Sombra had summoned the giant crystal palace. Clouds began to fill the skies as thunder boomed all around them, but what caught Raika's eye was that the lightning that followed wasn't the usual yellow color. Rather the lightning was black, just like the time when Sombra's magic had kicked in and blasted that one bandit hard in the chest. Then she spotted an opening in the clouds as Celestia, in all her glowing glory, swooped into the middle of the Forsworn camp and impaled someone.
"Their here!" Luna exclaimed, turning to Trixie as she spotted the same look on her face, "Come Trixie, let's have some fun before Tia and Sombra steal all the fun for themselves."
Raika smiled and followed her two companions into the fight, loosing an arrow at the first Forsworn that came her way without a moments hesitation. Celestia nodded her way before hitting her own foe hard in the chest, causing him to back up before she delivered a painful blow to his spine. Luna, on the other hand, went to town on the Forsworn that came her way, her sword hacking, slashing, and parrying as if she was still the Nightmare. Trixie, finding herself surrounded by seven Forsworn, smiled as her magic kicked in, conjuring at least seven copies of herself that did battle with her enemies.
Sombra was the one that, despite being injured during his fight with his dark side, moved with the most grace and agility of all the Equestrians. Lightning flashed from the sky and collided with whoever he chose to target, either charring them to their bones or tossing them into the rocky walls around them. Enemies that got close to him received the edge of his sword, either being cut into without a hint of joy on his face or even a little bit of compassion for those he put down. One unfortunate enemy got too close to him, but before he could harm Sombra a crystal spike grew out of the ground and he was impaled on it.
Delphine, who had seen all of them fight before this point, raised her eyebrows as she watched the five of them lay waste to the entire Forsworn force that had been waiting for them. She could tell that Esbern was equally surprised by how well the group had fought, because the moment all the Forsworn were dead he dropped his sword in shock. There was hope for the whole of Skyrim, and that meant all of Tamriel as well, if the Equestrians stayed to help the Dragonborn out. She and Esbern approached the group for the second time, watching each of them sheath their weapons until her eyes landed on Sombra.
"What's up?" Sombra asked, grinning as the sky began to clear.
"We'll talk about this later," Raika replied, heading up the mountain with the others in tow, "Let's just get this over with."
Raika had been surprised when she saw Celestia pierce the black clouds and descend to the battlefield in all her glory, but nothing could prepare her for what she had discovered next. Somehow Sombra, who had been reduced to a weakened state due to his fight with his own dark side, had gathered the strength to get out of his bed and walk through the shadows until he came to Karthspire. She had no idea how he had managed to find exactly where they had been without being here in person at some point, but Raika was glad that he had come regardless. She was even glad to see Celestia wearing a smile, clearly telling her that the Equestrian Princess was happy to have her love back to his old self once again.
Her good mood, however, was ruined the moment that Delphine decided to walk up to the group with one of her irritating smiles hanging on her face.
"What would you like now Delphine?" Raika sighed, knowing that she had something in mind for all of them.
"I was just wondering how easily it would be to end the war with their power," Delphine remarked, referring to the godly powers that rested inside Celestia, Luna, and Sombra, "Imagine, we could launch a full scale war on the Thalmor and their allies without having to waste the lives of so many nords to do so. We could take Skyrim back from those who would rob Her blind and give it to those who treat Her fairly, like your Lord Ulfric does. We could deliver to him a power beyond what the Thalmor can call upon and destroy the Aldmeri Dominion once and for all. We could save everyone from their tyranny!"
"Trixie's going to stop you right there," Trixie commented, stepping between them with her staff ready to shock someone, "The Princesses promised to help the Dragonborn deal with the dragon problem, not lead an army against the Elves that rule over all of Tamriel. We have no interest in stopping this civil war, so I suggest that you quit repeating yourself before someone decides that your not worth having around anymore."
Raika, already amazed by Trixie's magical feats since she had met the young Equestrian, was amazed that she was sticking it to Delphine in the place of her leaders. No doubt that Celestia and Luna wanted to see how Trixie would react to someone wanting them to give aid to the war and it seemed like she was tired of hearing about it. Raika wished that there were one or two of them in the Stormcloak army, so they could have conjured some magical weapon that could give them aid or something.
"Why you ignorant Equestrian bi..." Delphine growled, keeping herself from cursing out the young mage while her rulers were standing close by them, "The Thalmor have everyone in Tamriel under their thumb and whatever they say becomes the law that everyone else must follow, least they end up in prison. To go against the Thalmor we need something as powerful as your precious Princesses to eradicate them, so that we can live in a world without them."
"It is not our place to fight your battles for you," Trixie countered, her voice echoing loud enough to make Delphine back up a tiny bit, "If you want the Elves that rule Tamriel gone, then get your own army and charge into battle with them. The Princesses have no interest in aiding you in your, genocide, of all the elves that live throughout Tamriel. Now, if we are done with this discussion, there's still the matter of figuring out what to do about the dragons, which is the reason we all came to Karthspire in the first place."
Trixie, taking the leadership away from the fuming Blade, marched up the hill with Raika and her fellow Equestrian's in tow, leaving the Blades behind. Not a moment later Esbern, not wanting to miss whatever they discovered inside, left Delphine and ran as fast as his old legs could carry him up the hill. Delphine, taking a minute to pretend to cool down, eventually gave up waiting and quickly joined them inside the cave, where she found them dealing with a group of four Forsworn who had ignored the battle right outside their cave. She barely had time to draw her sword before they had dealt with the Forsworn, once again proving her point that the Equestrian's could easily turn the tide of the war on their own.
The group moved deeper into the cave, quickly coming to a small hill that held three pedestals at the top, each baring a different symbol that Esbern noticed almost immediately. He quickly moved in front of the pedestals and studied the symbols, muttering that they were of an older culture that existed and exactly what each symbol he could see meant. Raika, overhearing that one symbol meant 'Dragonborn', decided to give it a try by making each pedestal bare the same symbol. The matching symbols made the stone bridge drop down to their level, allowing them to cross the gap without falling to the ground and hurting themselves.
The second trap they came to was a room littered with the same symbols that they had seen on the pedestals, though at the very back of the room Delphine noticed a lever and an idea popped into her head.
"Why don't one of you pull the lever from over here?" Delphine asked, hoping that they would take the bait and pull it so they didn't waste time with a second trap.
"Because that would be disrespectful to the Ancients that made this place," Luna replied, crossing her arms as Raika stepped forward, "Now please shut up Delphine, or I'll throw you into one of Sombra's crystal spires and be rid of you. I swear, your presence and continuing annoyance are driving me crazy."
Raika, spotting the Dragonborn symbol again, took a leap of faith and moved to the first symbol, pausing to make sure that her choice was right and that nothing was coming up to hit her. After a few seconds she breathed a sigh of relief and continued along the path that she spotted in the symbols, avoiding all the symbols that weren't the one she needed. Eventually she reached the pillar with the lever that everyone had seen and pulled it, hearing something shift in the floor before the grinding of two stone bridges lowering into place.
The group left the symbol filled chamber, crossed the two bridges, and found themselves in a rather large area with a stone circle in the center and a stone head in the wall behind it. Esbern, knowing full well what the circle was supposed to be, mentioned something about a blood seal and that the only way to open it was with Raika's blood. Before either Blade got any funny ideas Raika took out one of her spare daggers, cut open her left palm, and let her blood drop into the seal before healing her wound with a potion. The circle slowly spun around until something clicked, causing the large stone head to raise up and reveal a stone staircase that led up to a large steel door.
"Go ahead Dragonborn," Esbern said, moving out of the way, "It was you and your friends that got us this far, so it should be you who first steps into the temple for the first time in ages."
Delphine began to protest, but a look from Sombra, his eyes filled with the darker energy, silenced her immediately before a single word could escape her mouth. Raika, glad that Delphine had been silenced for once, moved up the stairway and approached the doors, slowing her breath before opening the nearly rusted doors. She started up the stairs and came to a dimly lit room, but once Celestia came up behind her she cast a lighting spell and Raika found herself in a larger chamber than what she was expecting. Raika knew that the place was old and likely held several secrets, but all she really wanted was the information to stop the dragons.
"Here is the Wall," Esbern said, moving to the large detailed wall that depicted some war between the nords and the dragons, "The ancient masters of the Voice are arrayed against Alduin, the same black dragon that's tormenting Skyrim today."
"Wait...you mean the World-Eater himself?" Raika asked, surprised that she was only now learning exactly who her enemy was.
"Yes, and the legend says that only the Dragonborn can kill him," Esbern continued, "Look here, the ancient masters are using some Shout to do battle with Alduin, but which Shout it does not say. it is possible that the ancient masters used a Shout that was tied to Alduin himself and possibly weakened him, but it was clear that they thought that they destroyed him."
"Clearly they failed," Raika sighed, pinching the bridge between her eyes for a moment, "Well then, if you both are quite done with me, I need to travel back to High Hrothgar and speak with Master Arngeir. Maybe he'll tell me if the Greybeards know whatever Shout was used to defeat Alduin, or where I can find it if they don't have it."
"Then you'll come back and we can go to war with the Thalmor!" Delphine proclaimed, already pulling out sheets of paper that Raika assumed were her personal plans to raise a new army of Blades to wage her war, "First we'll destroy their embassy and then, when they come to investigate, we'll destroy their army and liberate all of Tamriel from their hold."
"Oh for the love of Talos," Raika groaned, turning to Luna and bringing her close, "Look, I'm getting irritated with her and her 'war' against the Thalmor. She's a Blade and you were Rend's right hand during the Oblivion Crisis. As far as I'm concerned she's your problem, so deal with her however you want. I am DONE with these Blades as of now."
"Leave her to me," Luna sadly said, knowing that Rend would do the same thing she was about to do as she drew her sword, "I suggest that you guys get clear of the temple, as it is likely to come crashing down after I release my rage."
Raika nodded and quickly made her way to the staircase, shortly followed by her Equestrian friends as Luna stayed behind to deal with the disgraced Blades. Delphine, engrossed with the plans she had painstakingly worked on for the last couple of years, barely noticed them leave the temple. Esbern, on the other hand, was so engrossed in the history of the temple that he had left Delphine alone on the lower level to search for some useful information for his library.
"Now that we have a hideout that the Thalmor don't know about we can begin building an army," Delphine said to herself, unaware that she was alone with Luna at the moment, "With these recruits we can impart our knowledge on them and train them to fight against the Thalmor's rule. We can rescue any true believers of our cause from the various prisons that are scattered across Skyrim, but our ultimate ally should be Ulfric Stormcloak. He'll see the sense in our flight and we'll drive the Thalmor out of Skyrim."
"Delphine," Luna said, causing the woman to look up at her in surprise, "Raika has already made her decision."
"So she's finally ready to join the war effort," Delphine smiled, pinning the map of Skyrim to the stone table with a mug she had brought with her, "All I need her to do is carry a letter to her Lord and ask that he form an alliance with us so that we can drive out the Thalmor..."
"She's not doing it," Luna interrupted, causing the woman to look up again, "She has had enough of you and your constant disobedience towards her. The Blades were meant to follow the Dragonborn, not constantly tell her that she's wrong and that she needs to listen to every lie you tell her. Power is a dangerous thing and she knows that she needs to hone her mastery of the Thu'um before she can use it to aid anyone, but all you care about is destroying your ancient enemy.
I'm sorry Delphine, but in the memory of Rend Org'resh I must put you and Esbern, the fallen members of the Blades, to rest once and for all."
"You...you...Equestrian bitch!" Delphine shouted, likely warning Esbern that something was wrong, "You've turned the Dragonborn from her true purpose of slaying every dragon that Alduin has brought back. I will take great pleasure in cutting out your tongue and burning you alive in the fires of our righteous quest."
Luna wasted no time in leaping over to where Delphine was standing, crashing into her side and tossing her right into the stone wall that Esbern had been standing in front of earlier. Luna swung her sword and missed her target by just a hair, as Delphine had ducked before the blade had hit her and resulting in damage to the wall. Luna growled and pulled the blade out of the stonework, spotting her foe as she made her way up the stairs, to which Luna bested by using her wings. Delphine, caught off guard by how fast Luna was, raised her sword in time to receive a blow that shattered her sword with ease and caused her to back up.
Before Luna could deal the final blow a fireball hit her back, causing her to look back at Esbern and the summoned creature that he had called upon to fight with him.
"I cannot allow you to kill her," Esbern said, his hands flaming as he prepared to join the battle, "We are the last two Blades in all of Tamriel. If we die, our knowledge will fade from history and the Thalmor will win."
"You wish to fight the Queen of Knights?" Luna asked, her weapon and armor becoming that of her alternate form, "I will send you both to Sovngarde or wherever you eventually end up."
Before Luna targeted Esbern himself she charged her magic and let it loose, tearing across the room before connecting with the flame atronach and exploding in a fury of flames. The wall the atronach had hit, on the other hand, suffered a massive blow that shook the very ceiling above their heads, causing a loose stone to fall to the ground. Esbern backed up as Luna's weapon missed where he was standing, though he counted his blessings that she hadn't just used her magic to strangle him completely. Delphine, using the fight as a distraction, moved to her bag and pulled out her last two weapons, an iron sword and a steel dagger. She mentally cursed herself for leaving her bow at the inn, but she couldn't help it at the moment.
Esbern, trying to run for dear life, leapt off the top of the Wall and landed near Delphine, but in the act he ended up cracking his already fragile legs just a bit. Delphine, now aware of how close her enemy was, turned around in time to see Luna gently land on the floor near Esbern, her wings folding back against her back. Delphine, debating how best to use her last weapons, gripped her dagger before she tossed it right at Luna's head, following the attack with a swing of her sword. Esbern, seeing what she had planned, raised a hand and conjured a fireball that he threw Luna's direction. Luna, on the other hand, let the fireball crash into a magical barrier that threw it at the walls behind Esbern, let the dagger pass by her without bothering to do anything to it, and parried Delphine's attack easily.
"You'll have to do better than that to land a blow on the Queen of Knights," Luna told Delphine, applying the pressure to the sword and shattering it with ease, "Just accept your defeat and I'll make this quick for you."
Delphine decided, at that moment, to spit in her face. Luna's magic ignited, building in her weapon as she approached Delphine, unaware that Esbern had one last magical charge building in his hands. Before Delphine could move she found the head of Luna's weapon in her stomach, flames dancing around the wound as they began to slowly eat away at her. Delphine's eyes leveled with Esbern and she nodded to him, alerting Luna to his presence and turning around to deal with him. Their magic connected and the resulting explosion tossed them backwards, though it was harder on Esbern due to his older and much more frail body.
The unfortunate thing about the explosion was that it had fractured many of the remaining supporting walls, the cracks spreading as chunks began to fall. Delphine's misery was cut short as a rather large chunk of stone crushed her flat, leaving a worn out Esbern and a still burning Luna.
"It did not have to be this way," Esbern coughed, staring at Luna as she approached the staircase, "We could have beaten the Thalmor another way, one without too much bloodshed. We could have made things better."
"The Blades are gone Esbern," Luna called to him, sheathing her weapon as a section of the ceiling fell, "but Raika will stop Alduin, of that you can be sure."
Esbern gave her a smile as she vanished down the staircase, leaving him to his well deserved fate. His only wish was that Delphine could have forgotten her hatred of the Thalmor long enough to see the Lord of Dragons slain by the Dragonborn, as the legends foretold.
------------------------
Sombra, who had been keeping track of how the outside of the temple moved under the pressure of Luna's magic, knew that it was only a matter of time until the entire place came crumpling down around them. Sure enough the outer walls of the temple began to cave in, falling into itself and burying anyone who was foolish enough to remain inside. He would have been worried for Luna, but he almost immediately noticed her emerging from the wreckage of the staircase with a frown on her face.
"The deed is done Raika," Luna told the Dragonborn, letting out a sigh as she continued to walk to the cave opening they had entered through.
Raika was somewhat glad that the fallen Blades were gone, as now she could focus on the task at hand and find out exactly what the Greybeards could teach her. Which meant that they needed to find a carriage to make the boring trek to Iverstead...again.
It had taken Raika and her friends two hours to make the trek to Markarth, as it was the only place in the immediate area that the carriage drivers stopped at in this part of Skyrim. Raika was annoyed that they had wasted the time to find a carriage, as they passed by where Karthspire had been within the first twenty minutes of their ride. As the carriage rolled along the road Raika noticed that Luna was drawn into herself, no doubt mauling over the fact that she had ended the Blades that Rend had put together so long ago. Luna was, however, insistent that the Blades had died out a long time ago and that she had put an end to something else.
"So Trixie," Raika said, hoping to pass the time by having a conversation with the young Equestrian, "I know how everyone else arrived in Skyrim, but I don't think I ever heard how you ended up in our frozen land."
"Its, well, quite the story," Trixie said, giving her a light chuckle, "Back when I was in Equestria I met a unicorn around my age named Twilight Sparkle and she saved the town from a monster that we called an Ursa Major. She showed me that there was so much more to learn about magic, so I decided to depart before she and her friends could corner me. After about a year to a year and a half of roaming I returned and tried to best her in a magical competition, which I thought I had won in the beginning. After a second set of challenges it was painfully clear that she was much more skilled than I would ever be, so I left the town and wandered into the nearby forest.
This forest, called the Everfree Forest by everypony in Equestria, is one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria and I barely realized my idiotic mistake before I was lost in the middle of it all. I spent a good week wandering around the forest, searching for a way out of there and yet I could never find an opening that would let me leave. On the eighth day in the forest I found some sort of glowing doorway, one that had this cool breeze coming from the other side, and I decided to take it without much thought.
When I emerged from the portal, for that was the only thing it could be, I found that my body felt completely foreign and that my body was covered in snow. The robes you see me wearing now are the same ones I found when I had awoken, though it was some time before I realized that it labeled me as an apprentice to the School of Magic in Winterhold. After some tricky maneuvering I eventually got up on my feet and began to walk around like everyone else. I approached one of the guards in Winterhold and found out that I was no longer in Equestria, but rather the province of Tamriel known as Skyrim.
I spent the greater part of my next two weeks learning from the Mages in the College, carrying out various deeds for the professors and students alike. I pooled several spells into my spellbook, but then I began to realize exactly how to work my own type of magic into what they were teaching me. Those clones that I've been creating are the fruits of my labor, though if I summon too many of them I tend to tire myself out and become vulnerable to my enemies. After learning from the Mages I decided to lend my powers to the various Jarls, crushing bandits and clearing out beast dens alike in return for the coin that would allow me to buy whatever I needed. A few days passed before I eventually caught up with you guys."
That was where Trixie choose to stop her story, as Raika already knew everything that happened after that point and had no desire to hear it all again. She had been hoping that the story would have been longer, just enough to get them past Whiterun and somewhere near Iverstead so she wouldn't be bored for the entire journey. Fate, it seemed, liked to be cruel to her by making her travel by carriage all the time. How she wished she could just magically teleport to a place that she had already visited, as she was sure that it would save time in the long run.
-------------------------------------
Most of the day had passed them by before they finally came to Iverstead. Raika, having been completely bored out of her mind, was glad that they had made it to their destination without any delay this time. She would have enjoyed a fight with some bandits, but the only group she saw noticed who was riding in the carriage and decided not to risk their lives for little gold in return. Word had apparently gotten around that the Dragonborn was traveling with four nord's of incredible power and it seemed that the bandits were too scared to try their luck.
What she wasn't expecting was a host of bandits, roughly between thirty to fifty warriors, gathered around Iverstead the moment they had stopped the carriage. She didn't care where they had come from, but rather what they had done to the guards and the townspeople.
"So," one of the bandits, most likely the leader of this mess, said as she appeared on the roof of the inn, "you are the famous Dragonborn that we've heard so much about? Ha! Your just a thieving khajiit that's pretending to 'save' all of Tamriel so you can get whatever you want and live as well as a Jarl does. Well, we're going to put you down and present your head to everyone who has believed you lies, so they can see the truth for themselves."
That was before an arrow pierced the center of her armor, burying itself deep enough to have the head come out of her back and hard enough to make her fall to the ground.
"Honestly?" Raika shouted, dropping her bow to the ground as she drew her weapons, "Someone tells you that there's a bounty on my head because I'm 'pretending' to be the Dragonborn and you work up the nerve to come at me like this? I swear, when I'm done crushing Alduin beneath my heel I'll find whoever told you this lie and strangle the life out of him until he's nothing but a sack of bones. Come and meet your end!"
The bandits pooled into the town, weapons raised as they prepared to quickly end the pretend Dragonborn before her companions could react. They failed to notice that Luna was prepared for them, swinging her weapon and cutting a few of them down without giving them a moment to fall back. Trixie, pulling her staff to the side, lifted several bandits into the air before tossing them at the mountain, giving her time to focus on the others before they managed to get back up. Celestia majestically moved about, cutting bandits down whenever one decided to get too close to her and while staying out of their reach for the most part. Sombra, staying true to his roots, called upon his crystal spires and impaled several on them before cutting the remaining bandits around him down.
Eventually the remaining bandits, now scared for their lives, decided to forsake the fight and fled for their lives, unaware that none of their enemies would bother chasing them down.
"I hate bandits," Raika said, sheathing her blades without looking through the corpses for any more, "and they have cost us time that cannot be recovered. Now, if we can avoid any more distractions, its time to head up the mountain and meet the Greybeards."
-------------------------------------
An hour passed before the group managed to come to the doors of High Hrothgar, though they had to trash several wolves, trolls, and a frost wraith before they could reach the doors. Raika, not wanting to waste time like the previous visit, pressed her hands against the metal and pushed open the doors without too much effort on her part. The pooled into the monastery and closed the doors behind them, but as they moved further in Raika pulled out the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller so she didn't waste any more time.
"Ah, Dovahkiin, you have returned," Master Arngeir welcomed, noticing the horn almost immediately, "and you have brought the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller with you. Good, that's very good. Now it is time to teach you the final Word of Unrelenting Force, Dah - which means Push."
Raika barely moved as the Greybeards took the horn from her and taught her the last word of a shout that she had long thought she'd never completely learn. She was glad that the horn was finally gone, but she had to hold her tongue while the Greybeards spoke to her with the ancient dragon tongue.
"Now Dovahkiin, want can I do for you?" Master Arngeir said, as the others moved to the walls in case they were needed again.
"I heard there was a Shout that could help me defeat Alduin," Raika replied, wondering how he'd react to the request, "and I was told that the Greybeards might know where it is."
"Ah, Dragonrend," Master Arngeir said, almost as if he was cursing out the Shout, "Who told you about this Shout? Was it the Blades? Of course it was the Blades, as they seek to turn the Dragonborn from the path of wisdom once again..."
"The Blades are dead," Raika replied.
"Are they now?" Master Arngeir asked, surprised that the Greybeards' ancient foe was gone at last, "I'm...not sure how to react to this news. I guess I'm glad they are finally gone, but they still attempted to turn you into a mindless killer."
"In more ways than one," Raika sighed, shaking her head just a bit, "but they are not important anymore. I need to know where the Shout that was used to do battle with Alduin is so I can save the world."
"We do not know the Shout that was used so long ago," Master Arngeir admitted, "but our leader, Paarthurnax, might know the information that you seek. We shall show you how to reach him at his perch on the Throat of the World. After that it is up to you to reach him and ask him your questions."
As it turned out the only way to reach Paarthurnax was to traverse a path that circled around the mountain, one that seemed to have a searing wind that could sap the strength from someone's body before they died. The only way to clear the dreadful winds was to use a Shout named Clear Skies, one that the Greybeards imparted upon Raika as their final gift to her. She stood before the gateway that would take her on the trail that would lead her to the one person that could help her defeat Alduin before he destroyed everything. She just hoped that the Greybeard that the Throat of the World had the information she was looking for, otherwise Alduin would get further away from her.
"Lok Vah Koor," Raika shouted, directing the energy towards the winds.
The moment the words escaped her mouth the winds died down, crawling to a stop before there was nothing between Raika and the mountain trail. Before the winds came in on the path Raika sprung forward, making a mad dash through the snow before she came to an old wooden bridge that carried her to the other side of the path. Whenever she thought that she needed to apply pressure on the winds she Shouted at them, causing them to shrink back and allow her to continue on her way. Though she wanted her friends to travel up the mountain with her this was a trial for her, so she had to undertake the challenge alone.
Along the way she had to contend with several monsters that had made their way past the Greybeards and camped on the path to kill and devour any who came up to the peak. Raika, not wanting to let anyone or anything stand in her way, was quick to put whatever got in her way down as fast as she possibly could. The only monsters she encountered were a pair of frost wraiths and a lone frost troll, both of which put up a tough fight before they laid dead at her feet. Eventually she came to the same gateway that she had passed to start the trial and she blasted the winds away, causing them to disappear completely.
She reached the top of the peak and sat on the ground, letting her lungs catch her breath from the fighting and all the heavy walking she had done to get this far. Her break was interrupted by the sound of a dragon, one larger than the other ones she had seen, landed on the other side of the summit and stared at her. She couldn't believe that after everything she went through, everything that she endured to get this far, was going to be undone by a dragon attacking her while she was recovering. Raika gripped her swords and pulled herself up, determined to fight to the bitter end.
"Gevild Dovahkiin," the dragon said, causing Raika to pause for a moment, "Fey hin zun ahrk hon dii Zul!"
"Excuse me?" Raika asked, raising an eyebrow as she lowered her swords just a bit.
"Frolaaz zey," the dragon said, "forgive me. I said 'Hold Dragonborn' and 'Stay your weapons and hear my Voice!' I mean you no harm, Dovahkiin."
"I hope you forgive me for not believing you immediately," Raika replied, placing her swords directly into the ground beside her, "I have faced several of your kind in the past and each of them has tried to kill me."
"Yes, I can understand your voreistigaar, your uncertainty," the dragon continued, drawing closer while staying clear in case she pulled the swords out again, "Now, why have you come to the top of my strunmah, my mountain? Why do you intrude upon my hadriidak, my meditation?"
"I came to learn the Shout that was used to defeat Alduin..." Raika began, realizing that she had no idea what the Greybeards had called the ancient Shout, "Master Arngeir gave it a name, but I cannot recall what it was."
"Ah, you seek Dragonrend," the dragon chuckled, or what Raika assumed was a chuckle, "First, I must introduce myself. I am Paarthurnax, appointed leader of the Greybeards by the Greybeards themselves. But Krosis, sorrow, I do not know the Shout that you are searching for. My hahdrim, my mind, cannot comprehend the meaning of the Shout, as it was used as a weapon against my brother so many ages ago."
"Your...brother?" Raika asked, wondering who the dragon was talking about.
"Yes, Alduin, the Elder Brother," Paarthurnax replied, dipping his head just a bit, "but I cannot help you with your quest. Only the ancient nords who used the Dragonrend Shout know the words that were used. They also used a Kel, and Elder Scroll, to cast him adrift in Time, but I knew that he would return one day and have remained here every since."
"Any idea where that Scroll went?" Raika asked, hoping that the ancient dragon would tell her something useful that would actually aid her in her quest.
"Krosis, no," Paarthurnax replied, "I heard one of the ancient nords mention helping build a College in someplace that they planned on calling Winterhold. If such a College exists today I suggest you start your search for the Scroll there, otherwise I cannot help you any more. I wish you gluus, luck, Dovahkiin."
Raika sighed and picked up her swords, sheathing them before turning to face the trail that she had finished climbing up to meet with the dragon. She had hoped for the Shout that would help her fight Alduin, but all she got was another vague clue that made the answer seem further away. She had absolutely no idea if the mages at the College of Winterhold had any idea where she could find an Elder Scroll, but she'd have to ask the moment she got there. She really hoped that they had a Scroll on hand that she could potentially borrow so she could defeat Alduin, but she'd never know until she got there.
She wasn't looking forward to the climb back down the mountain. Nor was she looking forward to telling her friends that the trip had almost been a complete waste of time.
"So Dragonborn, did Paarthurna give you your weapon?"
That was the question that Master Arngeir asked the moment that Raika returned to the courtyard of High Hrothgar. It had taken her a good hour to climb down the mountain, giving her time to think about what the ancient dragon had told her and plan her next move. Paarthurnax had mentioned a College, which she knew could only mean the College of Winterhold. This information meant that she needed to hire yet another carriage when she got to Iverstead, an activity that she was quickly becoming annoyed with.
"He did not," Raika replied, receiving relieved looks from the Greybeards, "but he gave me another clue that would help me discover where the ancient nords may have buried it."
"If Paarthurnax did not tell you where Dragonrend was buried," Master Arngeir said, crossing his arms as he stared at her, "then it most likely means that the Shout was lost to history. I would not waste my time chasing a ghost story."
"I will find the Shout that defeated Alduin," Raika growled, moving towards the monastery doors to begin her journey down the rest of the mountain, "and when I do I will make sure that the world is saved from his wrath. Until then I will search every nook and shadow until I discover the information that I am looking for."
Sombra, not wishing to overstay their welcome with the Greybeards, immediately followed after Raika before the rest of their friends followed after them. It caught him by surprise that their time had been wasted by the Blades, but even if they gained nothing immediately they knew exactly where they were going next. Once they were heading down the mountain Luna decided to ask Raika exactly what the next step in their plan was.
"We ride for the College of Winterhold," Raika replied, barely noticing that Trixie's eyes lit up a bit, "Paarthurnax told me that there might be a clue somewhere in the College that would lead us to the one item that will aid us in our quest. Let's just hope the mages are more than willing to let me in without taking their blasted tests."
--------------------------------------------
"What do you mean you won't let me in without taking your tests?" Raika asked the elf that was standing guard of the bridge that lead to the College, "I'm the Talos-damned Dragonborn and the College has some information that can help me discover how to defeat Alduin the World-Eater before he destroys everything."
"We do not allow just anyone into the College," the female elf replied, tsking as Raika fumed in front of her, "Now, either you take the test that all must take and pass to gain entrance or leave and come back when you decide to actually take my little test."
Raika groaned and returned to the group, all of whom had waited at the base of the bridge while she had been dealing with the elven gatekeeper. Luna had been silently reading a book while leaning on one of the supports of the bridge, ignoring the entire conversation as she waited for Raika to simply take the test. Celestia and Sombra, on the other hand, had shared pieces of magical information while she had been busy, no doubt that Sombra was trying to explain the usage of Dark Magic to someone who rarely used it. Trixie, on the third hand, was simply leaning against the other support of the bridge, but where Luna was reading Trixie just held her staff in her arms.
"I don't have time for this," Raika complained, stopping near the group as she fumed, "We need to get across the bridge and I am not wasting time to fool around with this elf."
"Oh just take the blasted test already," Luna moaned, rubbing her ears, "We'll spend all of one minute for the test and then you gain unlimited access to the College, in case another threat arises that you need information about."
"One Trixie and company requesting entrance to the College of Winterhold," Trixie said, standing before the elf with her staff tapping the ground, "May we pass Faralda?"
"Ah, Apprentice Trixie, I see you've acquired some new friends," the elf, Faralda, replied, stepping to the side before turning to Raika, "You should have just told me that someone from the College was inviting you into the grounds, it would have saved you time. Oh, before I forget, Tolfdir asked me to be on the lookout for you. He said that three other apprentices have turned up and he's planning an expedition into a nearby ruin, though he wanted me to pass an invitation on to you if you arrived before he left."
"Really?" Trixie said, as if she was actually thinking about it, "Well then, I'll have to see Tolfdir before he and the other apprentices leave for the ruins. Its good to see you again Faralda."
Raika had expected Trixie to continue speaking to the elf, as it seemed like they were close friends, but after learning about the expedition Trixie began to walk across the bridge. The elf stayed exactly where she was, but she motioned with her hands for them to join Trixie before she forced them to take the test regardless.
"What in Oblivion just happened?" Raika asked, following Trixie across the stone bridge as the others came up behind them, "How did you get that elf to let you pass like that?"
"Did you forget what I told you in my story?" Trixie replied, shaking her head ever so slightly, "I spent two weeks learning from the mages at the College, which means that I had already taken Faralda's test and passed with flying colors. You could have just asked me to get you all into the College without causing a scene, but at least Faralda isn't one to spread rumors."
"She's got you there Raika," Luna commented, keeping up with the two of them with her sister and Sombra in tow, "Young Trixie told you everything she's done in Skyrim upon her arrival and I do believe that she was hoping that you would remember what she had said. However, she has given you the entrance to the College that you have sought and I do hope that we find whatever clue the Greybeards' master was talking about."
Raika really hoped that whoever the librarian of the College was, as that was the only place they could discover whatever clue was left behind, had some information for her to work upon. The Blades had been a bust, as all they told her was that she required a Shout, which she had absolutely no idea at the time, to defeat the World-Eater. The Greybeards had, reluctantly, allowed her to meet with their master, who Raika was promised held the information about the Shout she needed, but when she returned without it they seemed almost happy. Raika was getting nowhere fast and it was seriously starting to annoy her.
-------------------------------------
"Ah, Trixie, so good to see you again. What can I do for you on this fine day?"
Trixie had led the group into the courtyard of the College, into the main building that served as a training area, the home of the Archmage, and the library for all the mages, before heading up a flight of stairs that brought them to the Arcanaeum. There were dozens of bookshelves, each likely filled with at least a hundred books, scattered across the large chamber. There were several tables and chairs that rested around the shelves, no doubt to give a student the necessary workspace if they just wanted to read in the chamber. At the back of the room sat an orc, who was simply minding his own business by reading one of the books he had, but when they got there he was up on his feet in an instant.
"Urag, I've brought those books that were stolen from the caravan," Trixie said, pulling out three books before placing them on the table, "The bandits that raided the caravan have also been dealt with, so you won't have to worry about losing another shipment from any of the other Holds."
"Ha ha ha ha," the orc, Urag, laughed, slapping his knee before patting Trixie on the shoulder, "I appreciate the help in recovering these tomes, as they'll go a long way in helping the other apprentices learn what they need to become proper mages. Here, I've got this one weapon that I know you'll want to take as a reward. Just let me find it real quick."
Raika could not believe that the orc was simply ignoring the rest of them, but when she looked back at her friends she found that neither Luna or Celestia really cared about it. Sombra moved to one of the tables and took a seat, letting out a sigh as he waited for Trixie and the orc to conclude their business before Raika could get a word in. Urag, having bent below the desk and moved around the items to find what he was searching for, eventually stood back up before remembering that he had locked it in the container behind the desk. Not a few moments later he was standing before Trixie with the weapon in hand.
"Here it is," Urag said, unwrapping the weapon to reveal a shining longsword, "One of the caravans that passed through Winterhold a few months ago came baring a stockpile of non-magical and magical weapons, a few dozen staffs, plenty of soul gems that would have lasted the College for days on end, and plenty of alchemy ingredients to last a few months. We looked through the gentleman's wares and purchased quite a bit of his stock, but then I noticed this beauty sitting in a crate all by itself and I persuaded the Archmage to purchase it. I could tell that there was something about it that made me want to hold onto it, but whatever it is I have yet to figure it out.
Maybe if you brought it on your adventures you could figure out what powers or enchantments the sword possesses and document it for the future mages to look back on."
"I'd...I'd be honored to carry such a blade Urag," Trixie said in shock, taking hold of the sword with her left hand and gently pulled it free of its sheath, "Its not as heavy as I expected it to be."
"I said the same thing when I discovered this sword," Urag continued, turning serious after hooking the sheath to Trixie's belt, "Now, you would not come all this way to return some stolen books and tell me that the roads have been cleared for the time being, which I appreciate regardless. Tell me, what is it that you seek in the Arcanaeum?"
"The Dragonborn requires some information that will aid her in defeating Alduin the World-Eater," Trixie replied, keeping a straight face as she sheathed her new weapon, "She was told that there might be a clue as to the whereabouts of the weapon that aided the Ancient Nords in defeating Alduin, so she has come to look for it."
"I'm looking for an Elder Scroll," Raika cut in, no waiting for the orc to speak to her himself, "I was told that one of the founders of the College might leave a clue as to the whereabouts of the Scroll that was used to do battle with Alduin here. Can you help me locate the Scroll?"
"I might have some information on where it could be," Urag shrugged, casting a look around at the various shelves, "but it will take some time and energy to search through every bookshelf to find all the relevant books that speak of the Elder Scrolls. It could take us a few hours to search through all these books, so I suggest that you find something to do while I do so. Oh, Trixie, I heard that Tolfdir was wondering if you'd be joining him in his expedition and maybe provide some extra help in case the Draugr wake up. He should still be in the main training area with the other apprentices, no doubt finishing up his lesson."
"Will do Urag," Trixie said, grabbing Raika's shoulder and pulling her towards the doorway, "Feel up for another nordic ruin Raika?"
"Why would I want to raid another ruin?" Raika asked, not sure what Trixie was doing, "I have to find out where the ancient nords hid the Elder Scroll that they used to defeat Alduin..."
"And you will," Celestia replied, standing behind the two of them, "Look, the three of us will remain here with Urag and help him sort through all the books that he has, so you two can help the apprentices with their expedition. And remember Raika, where the Nords built a ruin means that they left another Word of Power for you to learn. I don't see how you'd want to pass up this opportunity."
Raika sighed, knowing that Trixie and Celestia had pushed her into a corner without there being any way for her to escape without coming up with a lame excuse. She wasn't sure that adding another Word to her ever growing list was going to help her defeat Alduin, but it might give her a fighting chance against a lesser dragon. She was completely trapped and they knew it was well.
"Fine," Raika finally said, turning to face Celestia, "but when we get back I expect someone to have some news on where the ancient nords hid that Elder Scroll. It doesn't matter who finds out about it, I just want someone to discover something that can be of more use to me than the clues that I have already been given."
Celestia nodded to Trixie and watched the pair of them wander down the staircase they had climbed up to enter the Arcanaeum, silently wishing the two of them luck in the expedition. She turned around and approached one of the many bookcases, prepared to sort through as many books as she needed to find something that would lead them to the Elder Scroll.
--------------------------------
"Ah, Trixie, it is good to see you again," an older man said, just as the pair approached him and the other apprentices, "and I see that you have brought someone new to the College. Welcome, I am Tolfdir, Master of Alteration Magic. What brings you to the College of Winterhold?"
"I seek information on the ancient nords that did battle with Alduin," Raika replied, crossing her arms, "Your bookkeeper Urag told me that I should do something until he discovers something of interest and told me that you may need assistance in your expedition."
"Ah yes, the expedition to Saarthal," Tolfdir chuckled, turning to the apprentices, "Allow me to introduce Onmund, Brelyna Maryon, and J'zargo, three apprentices that have joined the ranks of the College. Apprentices, this is Trixie and her friend...oh I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name."
"Its Raika Snow-Heart," Raika replied, not even bothering to hide her last name since Delphine had basically given it to the Thalmor, "and, in case you failed to grasp the meaning of what I just said, I'm looking for the weapon that the ancient nords used to defeat Alduin the World-Eater."
"Fascinating, simply fascinating," Tolfdir replied, "Now then, seeing how we have gained two new companions, I suggest that we leave immediately for Saarthal, before someone else decides to stop us. I shall not point fingers, but I am sure that you all know exactly who I am speaking of at the moment."
Tolfdir and the three apprentices wasted no time in gathering their packs, no doubt full of scraps of paper, books, and the occasional quill and ink pot, before making for the doorway. Trixie, not bothering to look back, began to follow after them with Raika following behind her, though it was clear that Raika believed this to be a waste of time. Trixie had no idea why Raika disliked the idea of using magic, but she seemed to be fine when she was around most of the mages they had met so far.
"So, Snow-Heart eh?" Trixie asked, feeling the cool breeze of Winterhold on her skin, "Such a strange last name for someone to have."
"Its the name my parents left me with," Raika told her, "It means that while Elsweyr might be the home of all Khajiits, Skyrim is my home because I was born here. The nords are more my brothers and sisters than my fellow khajiits are and I work hard to ensure that people know that I am not like the rest of my kind."
Trixie nodded and they fell into silence as they followed the group of College mages out of the College, down into the small town of Winterhold, and up a steep hill. Once at the top they made their way down the mountain side, following a nearly forgotten road that eventually lead them to the entrance to the ruins that Tolfdir wanted to explore. Along the way Raika had the pleasure of cutting down yet another frost troll, one that had simply wandered too close to the group for her to be comfortable with. Without really telling anyone anything Tolfdir led them into the ruins, down one of the dusty halls, before coming to an open chamber and giving out assignments to them all.
Raika did not like being told that they needed to help some moronic professor with his research, but seeing how she was supposed to be guarding everyone she gave up trying to hate them all. So she followed Trixie to a mage named Arniel Gane, who was supposed to be the one who studied everything about magic and had no single class he focused on. All the man told them was to search for enchanted artifacts, but all Trixie could find was three rings, each with a health enchantment, and a strange necklace attached to a wall. The moment that Trixie pulled the necklace off the wall the opening was sealed with spikes, but she put the necklace on, noticed an aura hanging around the statue she took the necklace from, and smashed it with a well placed fireball.
"Well, that's one way to piss off the Draugr that call this ruin home," Raika commented, following Trixie and Tolfdir deeper into the ruins while Arniel mourned the loss of the statue, "just blast down a secret door. Why in Oblivion didn't I think of that ages ago?"
Trixie, on the other hand, noticed some specter waiting for them in the room they came to, but the strange clothed mage spoke so fast that she didn't understand a single word of what he said. Once he faded away the coffins around the room opened up, revealing three draugr that looked incredibly pissed off for someone who was supposed to be dead. Once they were dealt with they entered another tunnel and came to yet another open area, only this one was much larger than the one they had just left and there were at least four times as many coffins lining the walls.
Coffins that opened to reveal a ready host of draugr that was prepared to kill them all.
"Too many draugr for one lifetime," Raika shouted, her swords cutting through two of her attackers, "Once Alduin is destroyed I'll be glad to never visit one of these places for the rest of my days."
"Oh come on, the draugr aren't that bad," Trixie commented, bashing one draugr in the head with her staff before fireballing another in the chest and lighting it on fire, "Sure, some of them are hard to kill, but the Ancient Nords went through all this trouble to keep their secrets locked away from the world and you have to admire their resolve to do this to themselves."
"Ho ho ho, good shot Trixie," Tolfdir cheered, whacking a draugr in the chest with one of his weaker fire spells, "The Ancient Nords buried many of their dead in places such as this, so it makes perfect sense that many of them would rise up to stop us once more. Besides, it seems that the two of you can handle yourselves pretty well, so I think I'll spend some time studying this room while you move on."
"As you wish Master Tolfdir," Trixie said, pulling some levers that unlocked the next area for them, "Come Raika, we have some undead to clear out before we figure out what's down here."
As it turned out they had to fight their way through another host of draugr, giving Raika plenty of excuses to hack the rotting corpses to pieces while Trixie blasted them with her flames. They reached a room full of spinning statues, but Raika immediately noticed the answer was on the walls behind each of the statues and they were well on their way. The third host of the undead they came into contact with seemed more eager to kill them, but the two of them were more than prepared to begin their assault on them once more. By the time they reached a second puzzle room they were both beginning to feel the effects of their constant fighting, but Trixie remained up to the task as she figured out the rotating statue puzzle with ease.
Their luck came to an end when they arrived in a large open chamber with a Draugr Overlord, one surrounded by a green shroud of magic, waiting for them.
Trixie, not wasting any time, called upon her magic and threw a bolt of lightning right at the draugr's chest, but instead of it being crippled it just shrugged off the attack and got back up. Raika, glad that she had found an enchanted bow, decided to burn the blasted thing down, but the moment an arrow struck the draugr the enchantment died instantly. Raika, not as adept to the qualities of magic as Trixie was, was pretty sure that whatever protected the draugr was connected to the large pulsing orb in the back of the room. She also noticed the barrier around the orb and wondered what would happen if she decided to strike out at the barrier.
Before she could move towards the barrier the Draugr Overlord appeared behind her, fully prepared to strike her down, but right as it drew its weapon up something hit it from behind.
"Do not touch the Dragonborn you foul monster," Trixie commanded, drawing the weapon Urag gave her and hoping it would do something, "come and face the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
The draugr seemed to chuckle as it advanced on Trixie, slamming its weapon down on her and finding that it was one of the many magical clones that she summoned when fighting someone. Seeing how she was already drained from the previous fighting she could only summon up three images of herself, but they were much more fragile and the slightest hint of damage seemed to shatter them if she could believe what happened to one of them. The second image, commanded to fight with magic, gave Trixie the understanding that magic could not harm the beast, not when it was cancelled out and her image slain. The third image didn't fare much better, as the draugr thrust it's hand into its chest and tore out the false heart that rested within, causing her image to crumple.
Trixie, hoping that the sword would do something when she used it, approached the draugr and swung at its chest, though by the lack of a cut on the draugr it seemed like it was even immune to normal attacks. Before the draugr took a step forward a giant gash appeared on its chest, cutting right through both the protective barrier around it and its actual body. Trixie had no idea what had happened, but she knew that her new weapon had someone cut through the barrier and she was eager to use that information to her advantage. Before the draugr could get up Trixie swung at its head, feeling the sword sever the magical barrier and cause the head to roll to the bottom level of the chamber.
Before Trixie moved down to the orb she grabbed a necklace that happened to be around the draugr's neck and stashed it away as Tolfdir finally arrived. The orb held his attention immediately, so he told the two of them that they were free to head back to the College and that he'd get in touch with Trixie when he needed her again. The two tired women made their way out the backdoor of the chamber, finding the promised Word of Power Celestia had mentioned, before moving through another door and finding themselves at the start of the ruins again.
Eventually the two of them made their way back to the College of Winterhold, made their way to the room where most of the lessons took place, and entered the Arcanaeum. Once there they found that their friends had gone through quite the number of books before finding something that could aid her.
"So, how did the expedition go?" Urag asked, helping the two of them into some seats while realizing that Trixie was still holding onto the sword.
"Oh, the usual," Raika said, "Fighting off a bunch of the undead and earning a Word of Power at the end. Did you guys find anything on your end?"
"Well, we found out that there is a professor that specializes in the Elder Scrolls," Celestia replied, "but he disappeared to the northern ice fields some time ago and no one knows if he's still alive. That's the only clue we could find."
Raika moaned; they had done so much to get this far and the Elder Scroll was just slipping further and further away from her grasp each time she thought she was getting closer. They had one last clue to follow up on, but she was beginning to think that the information she was looking for was lost to the ages forever. That would also mean that Alduin won, something she was not cool with unless she ended up dying to save Tamriel. She needed to find the Scroll and the only one who knew where it was was somewhere north of Winterhold.
Raika only prayed to Talos that the person they were looking for was still alive and could help them in their quest.
Sombra was curious as to who they would soon be speaking to, after all they were walking through the frozen tundra that Urag said that the man had last been seen entering some odd years ago. As he was the former King of the Crystal Empire he was used to the near freezing temperature as if it was a light breeze. Raika, wrapped up in her fur, was equally grateful for her own advantage over the freezing winds, though she was also pleased to have any heat source that wasn't her own. Luna and Celestia, also used to the temperature of the Crystal Empire, walked along as if the breeze was nothing to them, but Trixie, on the other hand, was shivering over the wind.
"He said this man was called Septimus Signus," Raika replied, shaking her head as she looked right and left for the supposed location of the man's hiding spot, "an expert of the Elder Scrolls. All we need from him is the location of the Scroll we need and then we'll hightail it to wherever it is located."
Sombra had absolutely no idea what was so important about these Elder Scrolls, supposedly ancient fragments of creation that almost no one in Tamriel knew about. They were hard to locate when they weren't needed, but when they were needed the adventurer searching for it was nearly lost in how to discover one of them. Now, thanks to someone named Paarthurnax, they needed to find one that the ancient nords used to send Alduin the World-Eater forward in time, so Raika could learn the Shout they used to defeat him. Sombra hoped that this Septimus Signus knew where the Elder Scroll they needed was located, because if he didn't he suspected that Raika would murder the poor fool where he stood.
"I'm assuming this is what Urag was walking about?" Raika asked, forcing the group to come to a halt.
In front of them stood a trapdoor that was attached to a small mound of snow, one that seemed to be slowly falling apart thanks to the winds that continued to lash out at it. Raika, not wasting a second, tore open the trapdoor and climbed down the ladder, descending into the frozen cave that she assumed held the man they were looking for. The rest of the group followed her down into the cave, but the moment that Raika started to move forward she did so alone, as she had done the same thing when she had spoken to Paarthurnax. She could get the information she needed all by herself, without any of the Equestrians getting in the way.
Raika turned around a corner and found an opening that revealed a large cavern, with a giant dwemer cube resting against one of the two free walls. As she walked down the spiral walkway, that must have been carved into the cavern by whoever was in here, she spotted an old man standing in the center of the area. The man seemed to be unaware of her presence, but the moment that she slammed her heavy hammer, that she had found on the way there, into the ground he jumped quite a bit and turned around to face her.
"Do you see this masterwork of the Dwemer?" the man asked, placing a hand on the box as he spoke, "Deep inside their greatest knowings. Septimus is clever among men, but he is but an idiot child when compared to the dullest of the dwemer. Lucky then that they left behind their own way of reading the Elder Scrolls. One yet lies in the depths of Blackreach."
"Um...excuse me?" Raika asked, getting no reply from the seemingly insane man that she had been searching for, "Your saying that there is an Elder Scroll resting in this Blackreach? Then tell me, where can I find Blackreach?"
"'Cast upon where Dwemer cities slept, the yearning spire hidden learnings kept.'" Septimus recited from memory, not answering her question immediately, "Below the dark. The hidden keep. Tower Mzark. Alftand. The point of puncture, of first entry, of the tapping. Delve to its limits, and Blackreach lies just beyond. Septimus has two objects for you, two shapes. The round one for tuning; dwemer music is soft and subtle, needed to open their cleverest of gates. The edged lexicon for inscribing; to the Dwemer a library full of knowings. Find Mzark and you will find Blackreach. Trust Septimus, he knows you can know."
Raika looked down at the two objects that Septimus was holding and sighed, accepting them with the only thought that she now knew exactly where she needed to travel next. That alone was enough to stay her hand from ending the poor insane fool for the moment, but if he was wasting her time then she'd come back and take his soul.
--------------------------------
Trixie, leaning on a wall that allowed her to stand away from the freezing winds that entered from the trapdoor, sighed as she pulled out the sword that had saved her hide a few hours ago. She still had no idea how the blade had cut through the magical veil that had protected the draugr that she and Raika had fought. There was some type of magical enchantment on the blade, but whatever that special enchantment was she also had no idea. Skyrim was full of odd creatures and weapons that held odd enchantments, so she suspected something like this in the beginning.
"Is that what I think it is?"
Trixie looked up from the blade and found Princess Luna standing next to her, though she was also staring at the weapon that she was holding with a look of wonder in her eyes. Somehow she knew exactly what Trixie was holding and that made her want to know exactly what was resting in her hands.
"Depends," Trixie replied, holding the sword out for her to get a better look at, "on what you think it is."
"It can only be one thing," Luna said, examining the sword's blade as she thought about it, "this can only be 'The Magistrate', the very blade that Starswirl the Bearded carried with him in addition to his staff. I've never seen the blade in battle myself, but according to the legends and tales that my sister has told me it is said that this blade could cut through most magic like butter. This is one of the reasons that Starswirl was considered a legend, as his weapons aided him in his quests as much as his innate magical powers did. It is said that Starswirl used both the Magistrate and the Conclave, his staff, to defend Equestria before he disappeared from the Crystal Empire.
Starswirl would never have parted with this weapon, not unless he believed that someone from Equestria would eventually follow him to Tamriel. If the Magistrate is here then that means that the Conclave must be hidden somewhere else, but where I couldn't be sure of without scouring all of Tamriel. You should be honored to be carrying such a weapon Trixie, as the last one to see the blade in action was likely Starswirl himself."
Trixie knew from what happened in Saarthal that the blade had been special, but never in a thousand years did she think that she carried one of the weapons of Starswirl himself. That explained why it had done what it had done in Saarthal, though she knew that once they returned to Equestria that it would need to be returned to the Starswirl wing of the Canterlot Library. She knew that Twilight Sparkle would be jealous at the fact that Trixie had found the blade and had used it in her time of need, something that Twilight would never be able to claim for a long time.
"Raika comes," Luna said, causing Trixie to turn in time to see Raika come around the corner, "What information does Septimus Signus give us to act on this time?"
"He said something about the Dwarves and Aftand," Raika replied, thinking of the objects that she now carried, "said that if I wanted to find the Elder Scroll that I needed to locate a 'Blackreach' that can only be accessed by traversing Aftand. I hope your all ready to cut our way through an ancient dwarven ruin to find the one thing that will help me defeat Alduin."
--------------------------------
Getting to Aftand might have sounded easy, but in reality the group had to traverse the ice fields that they had crossed to find Septimue, climb up some slopes that hindered their progress, and had to do battle with a group of stupid bandits that wanted their gold. Raika, not wanting to waste anymore time on worthless enemies, made short work of the enemies that came to hinder their progress, dispatching them to the chill of Skyrim's winter. Eventually they came to where Aftand was located on the map, but they had to work their way around the bridges that the workers left behind and had to deal with several trolls that made the area their home. When all their enemies laid dead on the ground Raika, not bothering to sheath her weapons, continued until she and her friends entered the cave that would bring them one step closer to the Elder Scroll.
The beginning of their trek through the ancient dwarven ruin started out dull, but the further they got in the more exciting and dangerous it got. The first batch of dwarven enemies they came across was a group of several worker spiders that became aggressive the moment the group neared them, but the moment that the fighting started Raika heard more scraps of metal on the stone floor. It was a nightmare come true, the sound of their fight was awakening every nasty machine that the dwarves had built over the years and they were hungry for the invaders that had awoken them.
The small group of spiders that they found soon turned into a tidal wave of mechanical creations that began to fill the halls ahead of them, though by the other sounds there was someone else fighting them off. Raika smashed one of the spiders into the stone floor as she and her friends quickly made their way deeper into the ruins, hoping to avoid the most of their enemies as they searched for the entrance to Blackreach. She knew that with the powers that three of the Equestrians held they could easily destroy everything that stood in their way, but seeing how the ruins were still churning out machines to fight them she didn't even consider that an option.
"Where are all these blasted things coming from?" Sombra asked, opening a shadow gate that allowed them to safely traverse a ruined section of the ruins, "I didn't think that the dwarves stockpiled all these metallic creations ahead of time."
"It doesn't matter how many of them there are," Luna huffed, more from exhaustion from the battle than the actual walking they had done, "I would gladly fight them if it will get us closer to the Elder Scroll that was used so many years ago. I just hope that whoever is in this ruin with us isn't after the Scroll as well, otherwise we might have to share words with this person."
Eventually they came to a locked door that provided them with the perfect area to hide themselves in so they could gather their energy back up after a few minutes of rest. They couldn't stay there very long, not with the constant sounds of fighting ringing throughout the ruins and the sounds of the dwarves machines drawing ever closer. When they came out of the room Sombra summoned a wall of crystals from the floor, reaching towards the ceiling until it separated them from their enemies. He had no idea how long it would take the machines to destroy his wall, but he hoped that they would be long gone by the time that happened.
As the group delved deeper into the ruins they passed by dozens of corpses of creatures that most citizens of Skyrim referred to as the Falmer, the fallen Snow Elves of Skyrim's ancient past. At that point they knew exactly who had been fighting the mechanical army, but by the carnage they discovered it took at least five of the Falmer to defeat one or two of the swarven machines. Whatever Falmer was calling the ruins home was slowly being exterminated, all because they had entered the ruins and began searching for a Scroll. Raika didn't care for the monsters, as they provided a way for them to finally get to the end without getting killed by an army of metallic creations.
After navigating the hazards that called the ruins home they came to another open chamber, this one with an open gate that had been sealed at one point and another gateway that was being patrolled by a large dwarven construct. Raika, hating the journey with every fiber of her being, was glad when Luna easily toppled the creature without any help at all. They climbed the stairs and came to a square stone block with a circular indent that Raika knew was the key they were searching for.
"Raika dear," Sombra said, looking back as he heard the doors start to open, "I know we're in a hurry, so please do whatever it is that we're supposed to do while I gather another wall for us."
As Sombra summoned a double layered wall to prevent them from being overrun Raika approached the indent and slid the sphere she had been given into the hole. For a moment nothing happened and her heart began to still, fearing that she had been sent to her death by an insane man and that her friends had followed her to theirs as well. Then, out of nowhere, the area around the square began to sink, revealing a hidden staircase that could only lead to the Blackreach they had been searching for.
"Come on Sombra," Raika called, heading down the steps as fast as her legs could take her, "let's get out of here before something else happens to us."
Sombra cast one last glance at his new crystal wall and, satisfied that it should hold the dozens of metallic creations for some time, followed the group down the hidden staircase. When he passed through the door he found himself standing on a small walkway that allowed him to stare up at the humongous cavern that the group had suddenly found themselves in. Directly in front of them was a well worn road that split into three directions, one of which would lead them to a small hut of some kind that sat right in front of where they were standing. They had two choices, go to the left or go to the right.
"So this is Blackreach?" Raika asked, amazed at the sheer size of the place they had discovered, "I am simply amazed that the dwarves could keep something like this hidden for so many ages without someone else stepping foot in here. The only thing I want to know is where the dwarves kept the Elder Scroll, because it looks like we could spend months searching this place without finding what we're looking for."
"I'm thinking we should head down the path to the left," Trixie said, not liking the fact that the right path looked darker than the one she suggested, "Who knows, we might find some dwarven artifact that could very well point us in the direction that we need."
Raika, having no idea if Trixie was right or not, decided that going down the left path may aid them better instead of preventing them from doing what they came to do. Even as they started down the path they came across a lone dwarven sphere, which decided to open up and move towards them before Luna decided that she had enough of it. Unfortunately for them the more they followed the path the more enemies that they found standing in their way. There were at least a dozen Falmer standing on the road, surrounded by dozens of their chaurus pets, and none of them looked happy to see them.
Raika drew her bow and put an arrow between the eyes of one of the Falmer, knocking it off its feet before causing it to crash against the ground behind his allies. The rest of the Falmer, realizing that they had enemies to fight, gathered their weapons as Luna and Celestia marched forward, weapons at the ready. Sombra and Trixie, falling into the roles of mages, immediately began to fling spells at the enemies that were the furthest from the group, allowing the others to fight those closest to them. However, just like when they started fighting the spiders in the beginning, their fighting only awoke the sleeping dwarves machines that were near them.
As the machines began to tear into the Falmer Raika gathered her friends and began down the path as fast as her feet could talk her, hoping that they didn't come across anymore of the dwarves ancient machines. She knew that Luna was itching for another fight after the massive draugr army she had defeated, but she didn't want to get caught up in a war with any of the dwarves machines. They rounded another corner and found yet another giant construct fighting yet another group of Falmer, so they snuck by the fighting as silently as possible.
"Think that's where we need to go?" Trixie commented, pointing to a large cylinder shaped building that was off in the distance.
"I sure hope so," Raika replied, loosing an arrow at a stray Falmer that was following them, "but when we get in there we had best destroy whatever mechanics are used to bring us up in case any of these guys can pull the lever. Wouldn't want any of these constructs to find their way to the surface anytime soon."
Surprisingly they managed to avoid any more enemies, though that made sense seeing how all of them were engaged in battle with each other all over Blackreach. Once they reached the area that Trixie had been pointing to Raika had them all pile in around the lever and, once she was certain that none of their enemies were near them, she pulled it without delay. The floor began to rise and they patiently waited for it to stop outside an open chamber filled a variety of ingredients for alchemy. How any of the ingredients were still good after thousands of years was beyond Raika's guess, but she wasn't going to bother using them anyway.
Raika cast a look at the second door and opened it, revealing a large dwarven machine that looked as if it hadn't been used since the day that the dwarves vanished. She walked up a ramp and noticed that there were large crystals hanging above their heads, all of which were attached to metal beams in the ceiling. She then spotted a control panel, with a small indent that she assumed was the area that the lexicon was supposed to put in. Once she reached the control panel she pulled out the cube and gently placed it in the indent, hearing a soft click before the entire room began to wake up once again.
"I wonder what this does," Raika said to herself, pressing one of the buttons and causing something in the floor below her to shift.
Raika, noticing the changes, pressed the button a few more times before another button opened up, allowing her to mess with the floor some more. When the third button opened up and Raika pushed it the entire system of beams that were handing from the ceiling began to move, lowering to where her friends were standing. After a few more presses and the fourth button opened Raika hesitated, wondering if there was some trap that she was overlooking, but shook her head and pressed the final button. The crystals began to move, separating from each other as the larger one came to a rest in the center of the room and cracked open, revealing a golden scroll with gems on the case.
"This is an Elder Scroll?!" Raika asked, leaving the lexicon behind as she approached the ancient artifact, "Its...beautiful."
"Take it Raika," Celestia said, patting her on the shoulder as she pointed towards the item they had come for, "Take it and you can finally discover how the ancient nords defeated Alduin in battle so many ages ago."
Raika moved forward and ran her hand over the golden case, not believing that for once she was actually going to get some answers that were actually true. Septimus had been telling the truth, but before she returned the lexicon to him she was going to leave it there and deal with the dragons before they got out of hand. Raika gently picked up the scroll and was amazed at how heavy it was, but knew that it was a small price to pay in the long run. All they had to do now was make their way back to High Hrothgar and present the scroll to Paarthurnax.
Raika was well on her way to learning the dreaded Dragonrend Shout and she was waiting for that time to come.
Raika greedily took in the cold air of Skyrim the moment that she and her friends emerged from the dwarven ruins, glad to get away from the stale air that had been lingering below the earth for so long. Her friends seemed glad that they had a breather that didn't involve them having to get up almost immediately after they settled down and continue running. The dwemer were insane in creating so many machines to guard their secrets, because Raika knew that if her friends hadn't come to Skyrim to help her she would have never made it past the army of machines they had awoken.
The best thing about the last few days was that she finally had something to show for her efforts to learn the secret that the ancient nords used against Alduin; the Elder Scroll.
"When I was in Tamriel during the Oblivion Crisis I heard about these ancient scrolls," Luna commented, running a hand over the scroll's case, "I never got the chance to actually find one of these. To think that we would have the chance to lay our eyes on one of the ancient fragments of creation. Twilight would be jealous of what we're going to be doing with this whenever she hears this tale."
"Another Equestrian?" Raika asked, raising an eyebrow at the mention of yet another name that didn't belong to Skyrim.
"My personal student," Celestia replied, brushing some dust off of her wings, "Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic, capable of performing feats of magic unseen in the modern age of Equestria. She knows that Luna and I are no longer in Canterlot at the moment, but she doesn't know about us traveling to different worlds to help the people. Maybe one day I'll tell her about Tamriel and all the adventures we've been on, but for now we should be focusing on getting the scroll to High Hrothgar."
Raika had never heard of this Twilight Sparkle or the Element of Magic, but she assumed that whoever Celestia was talking about must have an incredible amount of magical power for her to be the Princess' personal student. Maybe one day she would find herself in the company of the young mage that Celestia was training, but that was likely never to happen. She sighed before getting to her feet, knowing that now they had to track down yet another carriage so they could get back to Iverstead as fast as possible. Maybe one day she'd find some way to quickly travel from one place to another that she's already been to that didn't involve taking a carriage everywhere.
------------------------------------------------
Finding a carriage had been slightly difficult, as they had to walk all the way to Dawnstar and deal with several bandits and some of the local wildlife before they could get there. Once their ride had been purchased they finally relaxed, no longer feeling the need to be on their toes and have their weapons at the ready all the time. The dwemer ruins took a lot of energy out of anyone who dared to brave their depths, with all the running and fighting that occurred below the ground of Skyrim. Raika was somewhat amazed that they were all still standing, but from what she had already seen her friends were more used to what they had just done than she was.
Once they were out of Dawnstar Raika leaned back, got really relaxed, and, somehow, slipped off to sleep.
"She deserves some rest," Celestia said, chuckling just a tiny bit when she realized that it was almost nighttime, "after all, we've been through a lot in the last few hours and those ruins can take a lot out of you if you aren't careful."
"What happens after she reads that scroll?" Trixie asked, knowing from her brief reading that the Elder Scrolls could be dangerous to those unfamiliar with them.
"Hopefully she learns the Dragonrend shout," Celestia replied, thinking about what was to come next, "then, if Alduin acts like the dragons from our home, she'll barely have time to relax before our foe is upon us. If he does show up then I really hope the Shout does what's its supposed to and makes it possible for us to physically hurt him. We won't know what will happen until its right on top of us."
"If Alduin appears before Raika is ready then we'll have to guard her from harm," Luna commented, staring up at the sky while they rode along, "I wouldn't mind showing the World-Eater what it means to fight with the Nightmare. I'm positive that I could give him a run for his bits, but I don't think he'd care much for a fight that wasn't with the Dragonborn."
Sombra remained silent, choosing to listen to the others while he wondered just how much magical energy he could pump into the mountain of High Hrothgar. They all knew that Alduin was coming, but there were a couple of things in mind that he could do that might even the odds in case Raika wasn't ready. He just hoped that he would have enough time to put his plans in place before Alduin showed up, because then they'd have to hit him fast.
------------------------------------------------
The guards of Iverstead were having a bad week. First off there was the constant battering they took when the local bears came too close for comfort, though usually they left before someone died. Then there was the occasional bandit raid, though the guards had remained vigilant and risked life and limb to defend the people of their fair town. That was before the Dragonborn came riding through to meet the Greybeards. After she arrived the town had been assaulted by a large group of bandits, all of them eager to take the life of the hero of legend, but not one of them had survived. Several of their numbers had been lost during the bandit attack, but they had been lucky and received some reinforcements not a few hours later.
So the moment they saw a carriage arriving in the middle of town, carrying the Dragonborn and her friends, all the guards cringed and were immediately on alert. They knew something was coming, though they had no idea what.
"False Dragonborn," a voice shouted, causing everyone to turn and look at the burial mound, only to find two robe wearing freaks standing there, "Your lies fall of deaf ears deceiver. When the True Dragonborn comes the world shall be his for the taking...and you won't be able to get in His way."
"Do you mind?" Sombra asked, standing tall as he faced the cultists, "We're in the middle of trying to rid Skyrim of Alduin the World-Eater, so why don't you come back when we're done with him?"
"Nice try fool," the cultist shouted, "but we are under orders to slay the False Dragonborn, and that includes everyone who fights with her."
"Okay then," Sombra said, placing his left hand on the ground, "don't say I didn't try to spare your lives."
The first cultist, sensing that something was going to happen, threw himself to the right as a giant crystal pillar erupted from the ground that he had just been standing on. The second cultist, not catching on to what was happening, didn't have a chance to move as a second pillar erupted from below his feet and impaled him in the chest. The remaining cultist cast a look at Sombra and charged a fireball spell, but the moment the spell left his hand a crystal shot up and stopped it cold. Before he could back up and get out of Sombra's sight a crystal sprouted out of the ground in front of him and struck him hard in the chest, earning him the fate of his partner.
"It is done," Sombra said, lifting his hand from the ground once he was sure the cultists were done with, "They shall not bother us anymore."
Raika was amazed yet again by how fast that Sombra was able to call upon those crystal pillars of his, as if they followed him underground wherever he went. As she climbed off the carriage she wondered what other tricks that Sombra was hiding from them all, but she was sure that she'd see another before their time was up. All they had to do now was climb back up the Seven Thousand Steps, yet one more time, before she discovered her true weapon against Alduin.
------------------------------------------------
"Ah, Dragonborn, you have returned," Paarthurnax welcomed, watching the group finish their punishing hike up the mountain, "and I see you have brought the Kel, the Elder Scroll, that was used against Alduin. Take it to the Tiid Ahraan, the Time Wound, to cast yourself back to when the ancient nords battled against Alduin."
Raika, hating High Hrothgar beyond imagining, slowly approached the area that seemed to be shimmering, but she thought it was just a trick of the light hitting the snow. When she was sure that she was in the middle of the area that Paarthurnax had pointed out she took a seat and sighed as she gently pulled out the Elder Scroll. Before her nerves got the better of her she pulled open the Scroll and her mind was immediately seized by the swirling words and symbols that raced across the parchment. Then she began to see something in the middle of the Scroll and knew that she had found what she was looking for.
"So," Luna commented, standing next to Paarthurnax as she watched Sombra take a seat in front of the broken Word Wall, "How long do you think she'll spend with that scroll before she finally snaps out of it?"
"Hmm, it is hard to say." Paarthurnax replied, "I have heard that each reading is different, so no two people will spend the same amount of time in their readings. The Dragonborn can spent minutes, hours, or even a few days in her readings. Intrigue me, but who is that bron, that nord, whose sitting in front of the Word Wall?"
"Oh, Sombra?" Luna said, wondering why the dragon would care about someone who wasn't from his world, "He's from Equestria, just like me, my sister Celestia, and our young friend Trixie. Sombra was the former King of the Crystal Empire, though he is a master of Dark Magic, which he has used to great effect since he's been in Skyrim."
"Jun do faal Yostrah Lokoltei," Paarthurnax echoed the title, as if out of respect, "In do Vul Lu. The 'King of the Crystal Empire' and the 'Master of Dark Magic' as you name him. This Dark Magic is zuran, strange, to me."
"Don't worry about it too much," Luna commented, leaning against a rock as she continued to watch Sombra, "He is one of the few mages in Equestria's history who can control that type of magic without it controlling him, except for the time that Discord broke through all his mental barriers. Now that he has control over his magic again his barriers should be back up, so whatever he's planning will be bigger than whatever Alduin is planning."
Suddenly Raika gasped and bent over, the Elder Scroll hitting the snow and wrapping itself up as she started to chock on something. Before anyone could approach her the fit was over, causing her to bring her head back up and look around as if she was confused at to where she was. Then, like the sun rising, she remembered where she was sitting and exactly what she had been doing before she had opened the blasted Elder Scroll. The only good thing that came out of all of that...madness...was that she had discovered exactly what she needed to have a chance to defeat Alduin.
"So, you have gained the weapon of my Ancient Enemies," a voice rang out, just as a large black scaled dragon appeared close to the peak, "It does not matter Dovahkiin, for I shall destroy you and your allies and feast upon your souls in Sovngarde. Then, when you are gone and I have feasted upon your soul, I shall burn this world to the ground. Prepare to DIE JOOR!"
"Joor Zah Frul."
The Words of Power escaped Raika's lips before she could even stop them, but the moment that the Shout collided with Alduin the dragon was immediately grounded. Alduin thrashed against the air, almost as if something was preventing him from moving into the air again, but Raika knew that it was the Shout's doing. Raika smiled and got to her feet, drawing her swords as she approached the enemy of Tamriel, determined to put an end to everything before Alduin could escape. Before she could get close enough something strange happened, the Shout seemed to wear off and Alduin took flight, but before he could get very far a crystal pillar erupted out of the ground.
This pillar, however, was at least twice the size of the previous ones that Sombra had used and the first one managed to clip Alduin's right wing with ease. Before the dragon could move out of the way a second pillar sprout out of the ground, piercing Alduin's left wing and causing him to roar in agony. As Alduin struggled to destroy or dislodge the crystals that were trapping him a third one shot out of the ground, like an arrow from a bow, and impaled the dragon in the chest. Before anyone else could say anything Sombra pulled two large crystal fragments out of the ground and stabbed them into Alduin's back as hard as he could, crushing the ancient beast.
Raika was stunned that Sombra had been able to do so much damage to the ancient dragon and was also amazed that Alduin was just resting against the pillars. If she didn't know any better she would have sworn that Alduin was already dead, but if he was dead she would have suspected some sort of explosion or something. Besides, it was supposed to be the Dragonorn that killed Alduin, not one of her friends while he had been weakened by her Shout. Just as she was about to check and be sure that the deed had been done Alduin thrashed around yet again, this time cracking the pillars until he was free once more.
"I go...to...Sovngarde...Dovahkiin," Alduin coughed, blood hitting the snow as he picked himself up, "I...will destroy...you there..."
Before Raika could hurl a taunt at the dragon or impale him with her own weapons he took flight and was gone within moments, leaving her and her friends alone with Paarthurnax. Now that she had the weapon to hurt him all she had to do was figure out how to reach Sovngarde, the home of all the nord's ancient and honored dead. And she had absolutely no idea how she was going to pull off that feat.
"Okay," Raika sighed, sheathing her weapons before turning to Paarthurnax, "so, how in Oblivion am I supposed to get to Sovngarde without dying?"
Paarthurnax had spent the time between Alduin's arrival to the mountain, Sombra's crystals ruining his body, and then his departure in complete silence. Raika had no idea if he was stunned that she had somehow managed to find the weapon of the ancient nords, stunned that Alduin had found them out so fast, or stunned that Sombra had utterly destroyed his brother so much that he had to flee. Raika was still surprised with Sombra herself; the more she traveled with him the more she realized that his fight with the sisters over a thousand years ago was more than they were telling her. Sombra had ruined a seemingly invulnerable creature, so it made her wonder exactly what damage the darkness inside of him had done during his fight.
"Krosis, I do not know," Paarthurnax replied, blowing out a puff of smoke while he spoke, "I was never given the mindah, the knowledge, of Alduin's hidden fortress. He only told several of his closest allies where his runir, his stronghold, was located. But who should we test to discover its nizaag, its location? There is one who is rash enough that the trap inside Ahrolsedovah, the place you call Whiterun, should be able to work on him. His name is Od-ah-viing, or Snow Hunter Wing in your tongue. When you find the trap just shout his name to the skies and he will come, to challenge the one who beat his master."
"But it wasn't me who defeated Alduin," Raika pointed out, motioning towards the crystal chunks lying around the area, "Once he discovers that I didn't lay a hand on his master he'll likely turn around and leave."
"The dovah are prideful creatures," Paarthurnax told her, "When you call Odahviing's name he'll come to do battle, whether or not it was actually you that defeated Alduin just now."
"Very well," Raika sighed, knowing that she was defeated once again, "We shall make for Whiterun and see if the trap can be readied to trap this Odahviing. With any luck we should be on our way to Sovngarde to finish this fight before he can regain all his strength."
What Raika didn't say was that she had no idea if she could fight and defeat Alduin without the aid of her friends, who had so far destroyed everything that came her way. For all she knew Alduin could still kick her butt with what power still remained in his body, despite the massive damage that he had taken from his fight. The other thing that she was dreading, besides the trek down the mountain once again, was that she needed to waste time finding yet another carriage. She only hoped that the driver she had been using for the last few days was still in Iverstead, otherwise they might have to walk to Whiterun.
She also wished that she had some method of quickly traveling between locations, so she could do away with the need for carriages once and for all.
-------------------------------
Fortunately for the group they found the carriage driver waiting exactly where they had left him and he was eager to take them to their next destination, at a reduced price considering how often they were using his services. The unfortunate part was that they passed by several groups of cultists that were eager to spill Raika's blood, though Sombra was quick to remove them. That meant impaling each of them on his crystal spikes as they passed by them, giving anyone else who dared to fight them the impression that it was a terrible idea.
None of them bothered to speak during the ride, so Raika took the time to think about what it was going to take to make Jarl Bulgruuf go along with her insane plan. No, it was Paarthurnax's insane plan and she was just a pawn in destroying his brother, but she had no other plan that could get her to Sovngarde without dying. She seriously hoped that Bulgruuf didn't demand that one side of the war finally wins before she could trap a dragon, otherwise she'd never get to Alduin before he was back at full strength.
As they neared Whiterun Raika gripped the handles of her swords, no doubt making the white's of her knuckles pop out, as she prepared to face the Jarl. The guards caught sight of her and her companions as the carriage stopped before the gates, allowing them to approach before escorting them directly towards Dragonsreach. Raika noticed that several of the civilians gave Sombra nasty glances, no doubt from the fact that they had heard that it was him who had summoned the crystal construct and nearly waged total war on the city. If only they knew that he had impaled the World-Eater not a few hours ago, then they'd be singing a different tone and would likely leave him alone.
"Dragonborn," Bulgruuf said, speaking the moment that the group stopped in front of his throne, "When your friends left they failed to undo the crystal prison that they put one of my guards in, so he's been sealed in crystal for the last two days. And for the crimes against the city of Whiterun I am afraid that your friend Sombra will have to be thrown in the Dragonsreach Prison until further notice."
"And I would escape within seconds," Sombra said, showing no emotion at all, "so, one lord to another, let us skip this nonsense and get onto why we're here. Raika needs to use the ancient trap in your palace to trap a dragon so she can discover exactly where Alduin the World-Eater went so she can finish the job. And if it bothers you so much I'll gladly move the prison and Discord out of here so you won't have to look at him again."
"I still need you to release my guard," the Jarl growled, clearly getting mad at him.
"That would be Discord, the Spirit of Chaos," Celestia said, "He's known to disguise himself as a guard so he can sneak around without someone catching on to him. He'll stay where he is until we can deliver him back to our world, so if you would please just get the trap ready we'll be out of your hair."
"I will not do such a thing while the war is still raging outside my gates," Bulgruuf told them, "besides, even if I wanted to help you I've still got the crystal that's in the way of everything."
"Of for the love of the Crystal Empire," Sombra moaned, turning to face Celestia, "Do you think that a fatal blow to Discord might send him back to Equestria and get him out of our hair?"
"Well, it might," Celestia confessed, wondering where he was going with the train of thought, "but in order for us to be sure that his spirit leaves Tamriel and doesn't stick around we'd have to open a small hole between our worlds. In order to do that my sister or I would have to cast the spell to create the hole, followed by destroying his shell within seconds of the hole forming. Once his spirit is gone then we should be able to get this dragon calling on the way."
"What?" Bulgruuf asked, having not followed the conversation until the end, "I never agreed to allowing you to summon a dragon into the heart of my city!"
"Oh for the love of Talos," Raika shouted, "If we don't stop Alduin then there won't be a Skyrim for the Imperials and Stormcloaks to fight over, nor will there be a Tamriel for anyone to fight over. You've clearly chosen that you won't help us defeat the World-Eater, so shut up and get out of our way before you end up releasing Discord before they're ready to get rid of him."
Sombra, knowing that Raika was on board with their plan, drew his blade, now pulsing with the darkness once more, and moved towards where he knew Discord rested. Several guards moved to block his path, but just one look at them with the Dark Magic flowing out of his eyes was enough to make them back up in fear of him slaughtering them. The others moved after him, passing the guards until they stood in the porch area where the crystal prison still rested, with Discord still trapped inside.
"Exactly where we left him," Celestia said, her magic igniting in front of her as a small black orb phased into existence, "Give me a few minutes and we'll have the means to be rid of Discord before he has another chance to escape."
Raika watched as the hole, for that was all she could call it, moved near the crystal prison and continued to grow until it was the size of someone's head. Sombra, waiting for the moment when the hole was stabled for the brief moment he needed, was positioned in front of Discord's still body, his sword at the ready. She had no idea if his blade could break through the plain surface, but seeing how Sombra could summon them at whim it made sense to her that he could destroy them as well. Luna and Trixie, having no tasks in this two person spell, simply stayed near the door, making sure that the guards and the Jarl didn't come in and ruin all the hard work.
The moment that Celestia nodded to Sombra, indicating that the hole was ready, he pulled back his arm and swung with all his might, cutting right through the crystal prison and Discord in one swoop. The moment that Discord's body was in two pieces they began to shrivel up, turning to dust that began to gather in a spot right before the hole. Once the body was gone and the dust was in one piece the hole devoured everything that was Discord's form on Tamriel, sending him back where he belonged. The moment that all of Discord's spirit was gone Celestia closed the hole, slamming it shut and leaving the area bare once again.
"Summon the dragon," Sombra shouted, the guards present shivering as they made sure that the trap was ready, "Let's get this show on the road. Whenever your ready Raika."
Raika wondered how it was possible for Sombra to change from a silent and non-commanding person into a loud and commanding person who knew what he was doing. Then she realized that she was seeing the version of Sombra long before Celestia, Luna, and Discord ever came to the Crystal Empire and changed his live. This was the King, the one that Celestia fell in love with, the one that Luna befriended, the one that Discord tried to destroy, and the one who would defend his empire until his final breath. This was the king that she could, and absolutely would, respect until it came time to finally say goodbye to him. As the others gathered near the top of the porch, the top level where the levers were located, Raika moved towards the opening and sucked in the air for a moment.
"Od Ah Viing!"
The dragon's name rolled off her tongue and sounded throughout the plains near Whiterun, but Raika had no idea if the call would even work like Paarthurnax said it would. As she stood there she heard the guards shuffle around the porch, likely getting a better view as they awaited the arrival of the dragon like she was. Then, before anyone could bother to steady themselves, a red dragon landed on the edge of the porch and walked in without a care in the world. One of the guards got too close to the dragon, because the moment that he approached the beast he was hit by his right wing and thrown into the wall.
"Foolish bron," the dragon growled, smoke coming out of his mouth as he spotted Raika, "Sup Dovahkiin. What can I do for you today?"
"Aren't...you going to fight me?" Raika asked, confused as to why the dragon was acting so friendly around her instead of trying to kill her like the rest of his kind.
"Mindin fos hi drey wah Alduin?" the dragon asked, shaking his head for a moment as if he was remembering something, "Forgive me, I forgot that you do not know our language. I said 'After what you did to Alduin?' You and your friends ruined Alduin, showing the rest of our kind that he doesn't have the skills to lead any of us. Let me guess, you want to know where Alduin has gone?"
"Yes," Raika said, still wondering why this dragon was being so different from the others, "So Odahviing, I'm assuming that you know exactly where he has gone?"
"Geh," Odahviing said, "Yes. Alduin has gone to his hidden fortress in Skuldafn, the only place in all of Skyrim that connects to the realm of the afterlife, Sovngarde. I can easily take you there, but unfortunately I can only take one person at a time. So, if you want to finish what you started, I'll be able to take you and you alone."
"Don't need to worry about that," Luna replied, flexing her wings while gesturing to her sister's pair, "My sister and I will be able to follow you without much of a problem. Sombra can easily open a gate for him and Trixie to follow us through, so they're also good as well."
"Very well then," Odahviing said, turning around and allowing Raika to climb onto his back, "We shall make for Skuldafn, where the rest of Alduin's forces have gathered to defend their lord from you and your friends."
Raika let a smile appear on her face, knowing that the cycle that started in Helgen when she was nearly executed was nearly over. All they had to do was make it through the gauntlet that was waiting for them and then she could finally see who was stronger, her or Alduin. For the first time since she started this quest she was actually excited to fight someone, even if it was a legendary dragon that was supposed to end the world.
"And here is Skuldafn," Odahviing said, landing on a circle stone that seemed to be at the beginning of Alduin's base, "I cannot follow you any further, for if you are defeated and Alduin learns of my betrayal he'll kill me and eat my soul for dinner. So, I shall travel to High Hrothgar's peak, spend the night with Paarthurnax, and look to see which of you returns."
Raika hit the stone and looked at her surroundings, surprised that the ancient nords that had once served Alduin could have built a barrow so far from the rest of Skyrim. This barrow, from what she could see of it at the moment, was at least twice as big as the one at Bleak Falls, the one that had awakened the beginning of her Dragonborn powers. She could also hear the rattling of bones, which told her that all the dead in the barrow was waking up, grabbing their weapons as they awaited her arrival. Before she could begin the destruction of those that stood in her way there was one more thing she needed to do.
"So, Celestia," Raika commented, turning back to face the Sun Princess, "How long do you think it will take for you to return to Whiterun, inform Sombra of Skuldafn's location, and get both him and Trixie here to help us?"
"I'd say about half an hour," Celestia replied, her wings beating against the wind as Luna landed near Raika, "Now, be sure to wait for us before you go charging in. I missed the Oblivion Crisis and I'm itching to fight these ancient nords that the rest of Skyrim seems to revere all the time."
Before Luna could say anything to her sister Celestia was gone, traveling back to Whiterun to gather their missing friends and deal with any dragons that might try and ruin Raika's chance at getting to Sovngarde.
"Wait, is she serious?" Raika asked, realizing something from what Celestia just said.
"What do you mean?" Luna replied, turning around to look at her, "What is my sister serious about?"
"Missing the Oblivion Crisis," Raika told her, as if it was obvious, "One of the worst times in all of the Empire's history and it sounded like she said that she wanted to fight off the Daedra, but missed it all."
"Yeah, not one of my finest moments," Luna replied, leaning against a stone pillar as Odahviing took off, "After I returned to Equestria I decided to share most of my adventures with my sister, who can be just as eager for battle as I am. Once I finished my tale I could see it in her eyes; my sister was jealous of my chance to help this world while she was still in Canterlot, dealing with the annoying nobles. I could see that she longed to grab her armor and weapons, find an enemy that could entertain her for years to come, and go to war with them without involving her citizens.
Then, not a few days after the Crystal Empire returned, I told her that Sombra had not been found and that he could have only been sent to one place by the power of the Crystal Heart. My sister knew exactly where I was talking about, as the moment I was done speaking she was off to sharpen her sword and prepare her armor for the trip. After about two days of preparation my sister called upon the spell that we used to traverse the space between worlds and she came back to Tamriel. As you have no doubt seen I waited a few hours, merely to inform her student and Cadence, a fellow Princess, that we would be gone for some amount of time and that they were to watch over Equestria until we returned.
The rest of our story you know; we originally came to save Sombra from the darkness in his own heart and help the Dragonborn if this was indeed the time of Alduin's return. So here we are, standing at the edge of your destiny with your enemy on the run with his tail between his hind legs."
"I don't think Alduin will stand for someone saying that," Raika said, not sure if the dragon was listening to anything they said, "but I'm sure that we can get through this place and deal with him in Sovngarde."
Raika wasn't sure that it would be easy to cut through the army that Odahviing mentioned, but she had two princesses, each powerful in their own right, a mage that was capable of amazing feats, and a king who could crush you under his gaze without you noticing. Trixie would no doubt be able to hold her own against these undead monsters, but Raika wasn't worried about any of the Equestrians; she was worried about herself. She had been relying on the others so much she doubted her chances of dealing the killing blow to Alduin whenever they found him in Sovngarde.
Before she could voice her concerns a shadowy gate opened on the mountain wall in front of them, allowing Trixie, Sombra, and Celestia to step out before it closed.
"So, this is Skuldafn," Trixie commented, staring at the sky as a dragon spotted them, "and it looks like we're about to have company."
The dragon flew overhead and circled back, though by the looks of his mouth it seemed like he was preparing to unleash a torrent of flames on them. Before he could do the dirty deed a large crystal pillar shot out of the stonework, impaling him in the chest until his body was completely still. Sombra smirked as the dragon's soul passed him and collided with Raika's body, sealing the dragon's fate and would have scared any living creature still in Skuldafn.
"Geez, save some for the rest of us," Luna complained, drawing her weapon as she spotted the army of draugr she had been expecting, "Ah, now that is much more like it."
Before any of them could make a move Celestia flew over their heads, landed in front of the first line of attackers, and swung her weapon through one of their bodies so hard that it was severed in half. One draugr deathlord raised his ebony greatsword and swung at her, but the moment that it passed where Celestia was standing she wasn't there anymore. Instead she was standing on the edge of the greatsword, smirking as she drove her blade into the deathlord's head and then tore it clean off. The third draugr that came her way fared no better, as all Celestia did was disarm it, literally disarmed the undead warrior, before planting her sword firmly in its chest.
As Celestia destroyed the draugr's rotting bodies Raika noticed that the armor she was wearing was assuming the golden glow that it had taken when she went off to fight the darkness in Sombra. Celestia took on the form of a warrior princess, the same form that she had assumed when she needed to do, but the more Raika watched the more she realized that her sword was starting to change as well. It grew until it was as long as the ebony battleaxe that Luna carried, but instead of a large massive blade like Luna's weapon Celestia's grew a spike at the top and a small curved blade to the side.
"She's being serious at long last," Luna smirked, her own warrior princess armor appearing as she approached the army, "Come Sombra and Trixie, we've got to clear a path to the temple so Raika can conserve her energy for Alduin."
Raika, not feeling like being ignored by anyone, followed her friends up to the army and began to fight them by impaling one of them on one of her blades. She could feel the desire for battle, one of the things she could only experience when fighting against the Imperials, fill her body as she hacked through one enemy and moved onto another. She spotted Trixie blasting her foe square in the chest, tossing it into another draugr before the two of them were set on fire and all the fallen began to burn. The sister's fought back to back, almost like they had been in unison, felling draugr as they moved swiftly through the ranks of the undead, though it made Raika jealous that they could do it that fast.
Sombra, once again, continued to surprise Raika, as the moment he entered the battle he barely used his magic and focused on just cutting down whoever stood in his way. One unfortunate draugr stabbed him in the chest, but the moment the blade was inside Sombra his body dissolved into the shadows, leaving Raika to wonder where he had gone this time. Then the draugr's chest was pierced from behind, leaving them to watch as Sombra emerged from the rotting corpse's shadow and severed his foe in half. Sombra withdrew his blade and moved on, allowing Raika to watch as he danced between his enemies, cutting down whoever stood in his way.
"This is getting boring," Luna shouted, her magic tearing apart a foe as she looked to the skies and found a dragon approaching, "Never mind then, things just got a whole lot more interesting."
Luna unfurled her wings and took to the skies, spinning around as she neared the dragon and buried her battleaxe deep into the dragon's scaled chest. The dragon roared and shook her loose, but Luna, well versed in the art of fighting dragons, flipped onto the dragon's back and hacked at its right wing. Once she was sure that the wing was broken she turned to the other wing and repeated the process, forcing the beast to fall from the sky and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Luna gripped her weapon and neared the beast's neck, bringing the battleaxe's head down so hard that she severed its head in one fell motion. The corpse burst into flames as the soul collided with Raika, who just wore the look of shock and surprise on her face.
"They need to improve their warriors," Luna proclaimed, smashing the last draugr into the ground, "the only worthy enemies was that dragon, despite him being torn apart so quickly."
Raika was sure that if she ever had to fight any of these Equestrians she'd die within seconds, as she wasn't sure that her Dragonborn powers could withstand the powers they each held.
"Calm yourself Luna," Celestia said, walking beside her sister as they approached the large doors of Skuldafn's barrow, "We may have destroyed the front lines of their army, but I am sure that there are more draugr waiting for us somewhere inside this place. We must be very careful, as there is no telling what traps and defenses that the ancient nords put in place."
Sombra took a look around the first chamber they came to and noticed several draugr hidden in the shadows, bows at the ready with whatever poison the ancient nords used long ago.
"Trixie, on my mark I want you to fire a simple fireball into my shadow gates," Sombra said, allowing the darkness to swirl around him as several black holes opened before them, "NOW!"
Trixie, knowing that the old stallion knew what he was doing, readied her magic and released the magic in the form of a cluster of fireballs. They flew towards the shadows and were gone within seconds, though a moment passed before a skeletal archer was thrown from his hiding place with flames dancing on him. Then, not a few seconds later, the rest of the hidden archers that Sombra had noticed came flying out of their hiding places, crumpling into piles of bones all around them.
"And this is why I'm glad Sombra's on our side," Raika chuckled, "He'll sense you in the darkness and put an end to you before you have a chance to defend yourself. Or, in this case, destroy a group of archers who wanted to surprise us."
Skuldafn, it seemed, was almost like a living fortress for the dragon cult, as the further they got into the barrow the more draugr they came across. It was as if Alduin's presence was awakening each and every one of them with the simple goal of defending their master until he could gain all his energy back. There were dozens upon dozens of soldiers in this undead army, but Raika knew that, with the help of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the undead didn't stand a chance. The puzzles, on the other hand, were something that Raika spent her time on while the others dealt with the dead that came for them.
One such puzzle involved three spinning pillars, so at first Raika assumed that they all needed to be the same symbol and made sure that they all faced the whale symbol. She pulled the nearby lever and waited for something to happen, but after a minute she discovered that the whale was not the correct answer. She tried the snake and repeated the process, only for that to fail, and then moved onto the eagle, which also happened to fail. Eventually she looked up at the ceiling and noticed the symbols, which gave her the idea on which symbols to use and the door opened like magic.
With the puzzle out of the way the group made their way even deeper into the barrow, coming face to face with even more of the undead draugr. Eventually they came across a second puzzle, but this one seemed easier seeing how the answers to each of the pillars were either behind them or above them. Once all the pillars were showing the animals they were supposed to the bridge lowered and they moved on, cutting into yet another group of enemies. When they reached another open chamber Raika spotted a draugr deathlord holding what looked like a dragon's claw made out of pure diamond, so she drew her bow and pinned the draugr to the wall.
"I'll be taking that," Raika commented, picking up the diamond claw as they moved even deeper into the barrow.
Eventually they came to another puzzle door, which Raika had assumed would be around somewhere once she had seen the one draugr holding the claw. As the other draugr continued to approach them Raika spun the circles around until she had the combination that rested on the back of the claw; fox, moth, and dragon. As the puzzle door began to open Sombra, knowing that they would be overrun if the draugr weren't stopped, called upon the darkness and summoned three crystal walls between them and the draugr. He knew that two would keep an army of dwarven constructs at bay, but there was no telling how many he would need to stop all those magic wielding draugr they had following them.
With the undead put behind them for the moment Raika took a brief second to gather the Word of Power from the Word Wall they were passing, knowing that they would not be returning the same way they came. With one last turn they finally left the barrow and were presented with the skies they had seen above Skuldafn, though they weren't in the clear yet. Five more deathlords were waiting for them the moment that they emerged from the barrow, but Trixie, growing tired of all the undead soldiers at the moment, summoned her magic and tossed them off the top of the building. One moment the deathlords were preparing to run them through and the next they were tossed aside like pieces of trash, falling to their deaths below.
"Am I the only one whose getting tired from all of this?" Raika asked, wondering just how much more they had to go through before they could reach the portal to Sovngarde.
"I will admit that I'm a little winded," Celestia replied, staring up at the sky as if she was lost in thought.
"Come now sister, we both know we're reaching our limits," Luna chuckled, "but surely the portal that we seek is just around the corner."
Luna was right, but when they walked up the steps they found two dragons and what looked like one of the ancient Dragon Priests watching their every move. The first dragon was huffing smoke, so they immediately knew it was a fire dragon, but its brother, a snow white scaled dragon, froze a stone pillar near it just by breathing. The Dragon Priest, on the other hand, carried a fine metal staff and wore some sort of mask on top of its face, though Raika figured it would be a tough opponent.
"The Dragon Priest known as Nahkriin," Trixie said in awe, knowing exactly how much trouble they were in, "one of the most powerful Dragon Priests in all of Skyrim. I know of several mages who would kill to have his mask and would even go as far as to likely kill me if they knew I passed up the chance to take this treasure."
"Then please, deal with him," Luna said, eying the frost dragon, "My sister and I shall deal with these dragons, so Raika will be able to rest before she fights with Alduin. By the way, I call the frost dragon."
Before Celestia could respond with any type of strategy her sister took off, soaring through the air until she connected with the frost dragon and forced it from its perch. She sighed and looked up at the fire dragon, who grinned at her as she approached it, fully aware that they would be fighting for some time. She pulled her weapon closer and swung at the dragon, forcing it to leave its perch as she followed it across the skies, making sure to stay close in case they figured out where the portal was.
Trixie, on the other hand, silently approached the legendary Dragon Priest, wondering how best to plan her battle so she could figure out how to best him. She knew all about the eight Dragon Priests, but it was Nahkriin that had caught her eye the most, as he had suddenly vanished from Skyrim around the time of Alduin's fall. What little still remained on him made it sound like he was a complete mystery, but she needed to plan her attacks and figure out how to take him down.
As she took another step forward Nahkriin turned around and threw a fireball, twice the size of a normal fireball, straight at her face, causing her to throw herself to the side. The fireball raced towards where Sombra and Raika were standing, but when the fireball suddenly vanished and exploded on the other side of the mountain Trixie knew exactly what had happened. Sombra had merely protected Raika by opening a shadow gate in front of the fireball, just like he had done when they had first entered Skuldafn. Trixie, painfully aware that Nahkriin wasn't playing around, gathered her magic and tossed it at the Priest, in the form of a hail of ice spears.
Nahkriin moved to her right and it looked like he was going to avoid all of her attack, but then at the last second his side was impaled by the last spear. The hit caused him to drop the staff that he was holding, but he was back up within seconds and he seemed a lot angrier then he had been before. Trixie couldn't tell if he was actually angrier thanks to the mask he was wearing, but she assumed that he was by the fact that he had summoned lightning to deal with her. Before she could move out of the way the lightning shot out of Nahkriin's hand and collided with her chest, tossing her into the stone wall.
"Yeah, not my brightest moment," Trixie coughed, staring up at the Priest as it drew closer to her, "but there is one thing that you should know about the Great and Powerful Trixie..."
Before Nahkriin got any closer Trixie's blade erupted from his chest, tearing through the magic that had reanimated its body and causing him to crumble before her.
"...she is a Master Illusionist," the second Trixie said, watching the mirror image that Nahkriin had hit fade like the others, "Your mask and staff are my rewards."
As Trixie collected the ebony mask there were two thuds behind her, causing her to look back as both Luna and Celestia returned, arriving on top of the fallen dragons. The two corpses burst into flames and their souls collided with Raika, nearly throwing her down the stairs before she could regain her balance. The sisters seemed pleased with themselves and Raika couldn't blame them, taking down those dragons must have taken a lot out of them. Raika was also proud of Trixie, who proved that, despite how powerful the ancient nords had been, even a normal mage could beat one of the undead's best.
"Now, lets open this portal," Trixie proclaimed, picking up Nahkriin's staff and slamming it down in the stone slot where Nahkriin had been floating before they arrived.
At first nothing happened and Trixie began to worry that there was some sort of magical password or phrase that would summon the portal that Nahkriin had sealed up. Then the ground in front of them violently shook, causing dozens of cracks to appear as chucks of stone were lifted into the air. In a matter of seconds the stone floor had been torn apart, the stones suspended above them as the portal they had been looking for was open before them.
"The Portal to Sovngarde," Raika said, "Lets get in there, find Alduin, and destroy him before he can regain his power."
And with that said Raika took a step forward and entered the realm of the afterlife.
"Ugh, what a headache," Raika moaned, rubbing the back of her head as she realized exactly where she was.
Despite there being the freezing winds of Skyrim, which didn't have any effect on her, the beauty of the land before her was enough to make her forget about all the troubles they had gone through to get there. From what she could see from her vantage point there were two paths in front of her, leaving her to decide if she should move to the left or to the right. There were plenty of trees, patches of grass scattered around the walkways, and even a mound of ground that was covered by a bunch of clouds. Even the air seemed lighter than it had been in Skyrim and Raika enjoyed every smell that she could get.
"So this is Sovngarde," Raika continued in awe, "I can see why the nords revere this place as much as they do."
"Yes, this is definitely better than what the Orc's have to deal with," a voice to her left said, causing her to look to the side and find a orc warrior standing there, "The Ashpit isn't the best place to spend one's afterlife, but thanks to my service to the Nine Divines during the Oblivion Crisis I was only there for a few minutes. I wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms by the nords here, but after their lord Shor told them about me and what I had done they seemed to warm up to me. When I heard that Alduin was coming here and that the Dragonborn wasn't too far behind I requested a leave from the mead hall to help aid you in case the World-Eater had anymore tricks in his arsenal."
"Wait, but that would mean..." Raika said, realizing exactly who was standing beside her now.
"I am Rend Org'resh," the orc said, bowing slightly to her, "known throughout all of Cyrodiil and other provinces as the Hero of Kvatch. It was I who found Martin Septim, recovered the Amulet of Kings by killing Mankar Camoran, and protected Martin long enough for him to summon the Avatar of Akatosh and restore the boundaries between Tamriel and Oblivion. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Raika Snow-Heart, the Last Dragonborn."
"I've heard bits and pieces of your travels over the last few weeks," Raika replied, her earlier awe returning in full strength, "but none of that compares to actually meeting you in the flesh."
"Only one person could have told you about me at this point in time," Rend remarked, eying the opening that Raika had come out of and wondered if his friend was following her as well, "and that was someone from another world..."
Before he could continue the opening flashed and someone else emerged from the other side, but where Rend was expecting another nord he came face to face with something new. Standing at full height, matching his own height and then some with the long horn, was a white coated mare with what looked like a three colored mane, though she didn't look like the horses he was used to seeing when he had been alive. This mare was wearing a suit of golden armor and carried a weapon, though it took him a moment the large white wings that rested near her side.
"Oh?" the mare said, staring down at herself, "I'm...surprised. I did not think that I'd be back in this form before I returned to Equestria."
The opening flashed a second time and a smaller mare tumbled out of the light, only this one had a light blue coat and mane that was spilt between two other colors of blue. She rubbed her head before she realized that she was also back in her original body, and then stopped when she noticed Rend standing next to Raika. Rend would have said something, but just as he was about to open his mouth the opening spat out yet another arrival, only this one caught him by surprise. This one was a stallion, though, unlike the other two, he wore a suit of steel armor, a lush red cape attached to the back, and a crown that rested on the top of his head.
Then the opening flashed one last time, only when Rend noticed exactly who had come out of the light his breath caught in his throat, which he cleared almost immediately. He recognized the dark blue coated mare anywhere, complete with the swirling mane that looked like it had stars all over it and was wearing a suit of silver armor. He even recognized the ebony battleaxe that she carried, recalling only one person who used a combination of silver armor and an ebony weapon.
"Nightmare Moon?" Rend asked, causing the mare to look at him with wonder in her eyes, "Wait, forgive me. I just remembered that, after quite some time together, you preferred to be called by your original name, Princess Luna."
"Rend Org'resh," Luna commented, not believing her eyes, "Its...good to see you again..."
"We can catch up later," Rend replied, snatching his weapons from beside the wall, "Alduin has summoned a soul snatching mist that's been eating dozens of lost souls, but from what I've seen the souls of his former soldiers are lurking in there to kill whoever isn't already dead yet. In the off chance you guys made it this far Alduin wanted his hidden soldiers to kill you so he could devour you."
"I'll clear whatever mist gets in our way," Raika commented, drawing her own weapons, "Guys, I hope you can keep up, seeing how you haven't been in your Equestrian forms for some time."
Before anyone could object to her choice Raika charged down the path and blasted the mist away with her Clear Skies shout, though they followed her without delay. Celestia and Luna followed overhead, keeping watch over them as they made their way through the mist and Raika continued to blast the mist away. As they made their way through the mist Rend was quick to slice any risen spirit that reached out for them, sending them back into the black mist that Alduin had summoned them from. Eventually Raika came to the split in the path she had seen from the staircase, choosing to go to the right with the rest of her group following on her tail.
They passed by the stone formation Raika had spotted, rounded the corner without a pause, and continued until they came to what looked like a giant bridge. A bridge, Raika noticed, that looked like it had been crafted from the bones of at least three dragons and had a giant nord, literally a giant nord, standing in front of it.
"Ah, the last Dragonborn," the giant said, watching Raika's group approach while Celestia and Luna landed beside them, "escorted to the Whalebone Bridge by the Hero of Kvatch. I am Tsun, Shield-Thane to Shor. He bade me to guard this bridge and watch all those souls who meet their ends in battle. I am also charged to judge all those who seek entrance to the Hall of Honor. Now, why should I allow you entry to the Hall of Honor?"
"I would say the Right of Birth," Raika proclaimed, not exactly sure what she should say to make him welcome her to her destination, "I am the Last Dragonborn."
"Ah! It's been too long since last I faced a doom-driven hero of the dragon blood." Tsun commented, staring at her companions, "Now, living or dead, by degree of Shor, none many pass this perilous bridge till I judge them worthy by the warriors test."
Before Raika could respond Tsun pulled out his battleaxe and brought it down where she was standing, causing her to roll to the right and bring her swords down on his back. She expected her weapons, enchanted with different abilities, to cut through his thick muscled back, but all she ended up doing was cutting two light wounds on his back. Tsun pulled his weapon back and swung at her again, causing her to duck and watch it pass where her head had been not a few moments later. Raika thrust her swords forward and cut some more light wounds onto Tsun's chest, wondering how she was going to wound him enough to prove herself.
"Enough," Tsun said, causing Raika to pause, "I see that you are driven to your doomed fate, so I will allow you passage to the Hall of Honor and meet the heroes who battled Alduin in the past. Your friends will have to wait here, least they want to try their, um, hooves at fighting me. Rend Org'resh, of course, is free to follow you in, as he had the freedom to do so."
Raika, not wanting to make the giant nord attack her again, sheathed her weapons and began the walk across the bone bridge, with Rend staying behind with the others. Once she crossed the bridge she approached the giant doors, watching the large guards just stand there and stare at her with unblinking eyes. As she pushed open the doors she found a most wondrous sight, dozens upon dozens of the dead feasting and sharing stories with each other. And there, standing near the front doors of the Hall of Honor, was a nord that Raika remembered from the stories that Jarl Ulfric told her countless times.
"Ysgramor of the Five Hundred," Raika said in awe, realizing that she was meeting legend after legend the longer she spent in Sovngarde, "It's an honor to meet someone like you."
"Three await you Dragonborn," Ysgramor commented, clearly brushing her off, "to loose their fury upon the perilous foe. Gormlaith the Fearless, glad-hearted in battle; Hakon the Valiant, heavy-handed warrior; and Felldir the Old, far-seeing and grim."
Raika recognized those names almost immediately, as she had heard them when she had viewed the past by using the Elder Scroll to learn the Dragonrend shout. She spotted the three warriors standing next to each other, though she then noticed a fourth person standing next to them with an air of power around him. She recognized the robes he was wearing and realized that the person was none other than Jurgen Windcaller, the first master of the Greybeards. Now she stood a chance at defeating Alduin, if her Equestrian friends chose to let her fulfill her destiny alone.
-------------------------------------------
"Okay, so you were telling the truth," Rend commented, staring at Luna while trying to stroke her mane, "When you told me that you were from another planet and that you had a completely different form I half believed you. I could easily believe that you were from another planet, but when you said you were a pony, an Alicorn you called your race, I didn't know if I could believe that one. Now that I can see the real you I can see that you were telling the truth, though I'm finding it incredibly hard to even touch your mane."
"Benefit of being an alicorn," Luna chuckled, "eventually you get one of these manes and it lets others know that you have power and responsibility on your shoulders."
"Tell me about these two," Rend said, beckoning to Trixie and Sombra, "I know you never mentioned the mare before, but that stallion keeps striking me as someone who bares some heavy memories in his heart."
"Well Trixie is an Illusionist who has some skill in battling magical creatures," Luna said, noticing that she still carried the mask from earlier, "Why, when we were approaching the portal Trixie managed to fight and defeat one of Alduin's Dragon Priests, the one named Nahkriin, before we could enter Sovngarde. Sombra is my sister's husband, though their wedding day was ruined by a being known as Discord, who is currently still trapped in Equestria. He's been battling his darkness ever since he's been here, and so my sister and I have been helping him keep himself in check. Now, after all the time we've spent, he's back to the way he was in the past, so there's no way of him reverting back to his darker self. Plus, if it ever came to it, he's capable of critically wounding or even killing whoever gets in his way, such as critically wounding the World-Eater."
"And that's your sister?" Rend asked, eying the white mare that was standing next to Tsun, "Wow, even from here I can feel the intense power that she commands. If you control the Moon and she controls the Sun I'm pretty sure that she could burn all of your foes alive without any of them seeing the attack coming."
"We're not into abusing our powers like that," Luna said, laying her battleaxe in front of her, "but we've managed to use the bare minimum of our powers when we've fought alongside Raika..."
"Wait a minute..." Rend said, something clicking in his mind, "Did you say that Sombra critically wounded the World-Eater? Isn't that supposed to be the Dragonborn's job?"
"Well," Luna began, knowing how odd this was going to sound, "Sombra has the ability to call upon crystals and uses them however he wishes, so when we were waiting for Raika to finish reading the Elder Scroll he set his magic in place. When Alduin arrived and Raika grounded him Sombra was quick to release his spell, summoning the crystals out of the ground. Alduin was wounded in both of his wings before Sombra impaled him on one of the largest crystal pillars I have ever seen him use in all the years I've known him. It went right through Alduin's core, so I find it amazing that the dragon managed to break the crystal AND escape with a gaping hole in his body."
"So the Dragonborn is the only thing that can kill him," Rend remarked, his eyes heading back to Sombra in wonder and a small amount of terror, "Well then, I hope she can find something, or someone, that can aid her in defeating the World-Eater, because I don't think he's going to wait much longer."
Celestia, who had been merely watching her sister speak with her oldest friend in all of Tamriel, gave a light chuckle as Tsun tried to touch her mane. Apparently the giant thought he could physically touch her swirling mane, but then looked slightly disappointed when his hand simply moved through it and back. Sombra, on the other hoof, was simply sitting near the edge of the mist, though when she saw that his horn was barely lit she realized that he was working his magic into the surrounding area. In the off chance that Raika needed additional help, or Alduin called him out to crush him, Sombra was getting ready to impale the dragon so Raika could kill it.
"Your husband seems to be planning something," Tsun commented, watching the magic around the stallion work, "I do not know what these 'crystals' of his are or how they'll come out of the ground, but I do hope that, if he ends up using any of them, that he takes them away with him."
"Sombra is always planning something," Celestia remarked, knowing the truth better than most ponies and people in all of the two worlds, "even when my sister and I had to put the evil inside of him down I could still see glimpses of the strategist that he was. It makes sense that he'd have some plan in place for dealing with Alduin, in the off chance that Raika calls to him for aid in dealing with the dragon. Course, there's always the slim chance that Alduin will forget about Raika and call out Sombra for revenge, just to smite the one who dealt him such a terrible wound to begin with."
She would have said more, but then she heard the roar of an angry dragon and knew that Alduin was getting impatient, as if he was merely waiting for Raika to emerge from the Hall of Honor. Almost as if the roar had summoned her Raika stood by Tsun's side within seconds, though three ancient warriors rushed passed her and stopped before the mist. Each of the warriors carried a single weapon, but as Raika approached them Celestia noticed that her enchanted blades were ready to deal a fatal blow to the World-Eater.
"Come now, Clear Skies," Gormlaith said, facing the mist as Raika joined them, "We will drive back the Enemy's mist and bring him to justice this day."
The Clear Skies shout escaped from the mouths of four Masters of the Voice, the combined power tearing the mist apart and scattering it from the area in front of them.
"Ven Mul Riik!"
Raika had never heard those three Words of Power before in her short time of being the Dragonborn, but the moment they sounded the mist suddenly stitched itself back together, leaving a veil of mist before them once again.
"Again!" Gormlaith shouted, readying herself for a second volley, "We shall drive back our Enemy's power and show him that we cannot be defeated so easily."
Again the Clear Skies shout sounded across the valley of Sovngarde, shattering the mist into more pieces than the first time and clearing the area for the most part. Raika waited a moment, wondering if Alduin would come to do battle with them or just summon his mist again.
"Ven Mul Riik!"
Again Alduin spoke the three Words of Power and again the mist stitched itself back together, only this time Raika noticed that the mist seemed to be ready to be dissolved completely.
"Once more!" Gormlaith shouted, preparing for the World-Eater's arrival, "Once more and we'll shatter the Enemy's mist completely."
Raika grunted and they shouted together, though this time the mist completely scattered and left the area before them bare, but before they could cheer for themselves they heard Alduin's roar. The four of them stood there, watching Alduin appear in the distance before he landed right in front of them, though he just stared past them before staring at Raika.
"I have a request, Dovahkiin," Alduin spoke, his voice heavier than it had been before and Raika knew what had caused the change, "I would request a fifth member of your followers to fight against. I seek revenge against the one you call 'Sombra'."
"Its your funeral then," Raika smiled, knowing that they had the World-Eater right where she wanted him, "Hey Sombra, Alduin wants a rematch from High Hrothgar. Care to give him what he wants?"
Sombra smiled and dashed forward, enjoying the feel of the ground beneath his hooves, passing Raika and her friends in a matter of seconds before approaching Alduin. The dragon, expecting another crystal to shoot out of the ground like the last encounter, pumped his wings and burst into the sky to escape the stallion. As expected several crystals shot out of the ground, reaching towards the dragon until they stopped halfway between the ground and himself. Alduin smirked and opened his mouth, allowing a gout of flames to descend upon the people below him, but what he failed to account for was Sombra's ability to travel through the shadows.
Sombra stepped onto Alduin's back, though Raika had followed him by using the shadow gate that had been summoned in front of her, and the two of them struck without pause. Raika buried her blades into Alduin's back, causing him to roar in pain, but when Sombra struck by burying a crystal spike in the side of his neck he lost his balance. Before Alduin hit the ground Sombra grabbed Raika with his magic and traveled through another gate, appearing beside the three warriors without a scratch on them. When Alduin hit the ground the three warriors rushed forward, shouting the Dragonrend shout the moment that Raika commanded them to do so.
"My teeth to all your necks," Alduin shouted, preparing to blast them all with another flame shout.
Sombra, knowing that the dragon would attack them again, pounded the ground with his hooves and activated the magic he had sunk into the ground, willing the crystal spikes to rise. The ground shook for a moment before a crystal pillar shot out of the ground and tore through Alduin's right wing, though several long spikes grew around the area of the wounds exit. He had seen how Alduin had escaped from the previous encounter and had planned even more for this fight than the previous fight. Before Alduin could move a second pillar struck his left wing, binding him to the ground for the moment, yet not stopping the flow of magic that his shout would bring.
"You cannot stop me joor," Alduin smirked, the flames building up his throat.
That was before a third pillar shot out of the ground and pierced his jaw, running through the bottom of his giant mouth and coming out of the top of his mouth. The sheer pain of the attack managed to cut off the flame shout and Alduin tried to destroy them, but Sombra's extra crystals prevented the pillar from being destroyed so easily.
"Sorry about that," Sombra smiled, nodding to Raika, "but it isn't my place to destroy you. That honor belongs to Raika."
Alduin, not even bothering to remain still, managed to somehow shatter the wing pillars and raised himself upwards, pushing the boundaries of his mouth pillar to the limits. Sombra, noticing the change, willed the ground to open and another giant pillar broke out of the ground, rushing towards Alduin's chest and pushing through the barely healed wound with ease. Alduin coughed and blood rained on the five around him, though none of them seemed phased by the fact that a seemingly immortal and invulnerable creature was impaled and bleeding before them.
Raika, knowing that the time was coming, raised her blades and approached Alduin, allowing the edges to cut some light wounds into his scaled hide. Alduin seemed to cough the more wounds she inflicted on him, but all Raika did, while the warriors continued to hack at the lower part of his body, was lightly cut him. Before she got distracted by the wounds she had inflicted Raika leapt at Alduin's heart and buried her blades in his heart, allowing the enchantments to work their magic. All they seemed to do was smolder and burn in his chest, but they were the only weapons that she carried with her at that point.
"Raika," Trixie shouted, tossing her sword towards her, "use the Magistrate and end this fight."
Raika caught the legendary sword, leapt onto Alduin's neck, drew the shining blade without a moment's delay, and ran the blade clean through Alduin's scaled neck. At first Raika didn't think the legendary weapon would do anything to such a giant beast, but the moment the blade was through it all blood began to pour out of the wound. Alduin's body began to violently shake, causing Raika to leap off his back and run to the others to watch what happened, before smoke began to emit from his body. Then, just like the other dragons, his body began to burn and the crystals holding him down were broken almost immediately, allowing his body to raise to its full height. As the scales shattered into dust his ancient bones began to break under the pressure of his soul escaping its mortal shell and scattering to the heavens.
Raika noticed that, despite having no connection to her world, a small fragment of Alduin's soul was somehow absorbed into the Magistrate, a weapon that belonged to another world.
"The World-Eater...is dead?" Gormlaith asked, unsure of what to make of the situation, "Our fight was not in vain?"
"Shor will gladly welcome you back into Sovngarde when you die Dragonborn," Tsun commented, having never moved from his position near the bridge the entire time, "Just tell me when you want to leave and I will gladly teleport you back to Tamriel."
"Wait...is that a pony?" Felldir asked, staring at Sombra, "How did a pony get into Sovngarde to begin with?"
"We used a portal in Skuldafn," Sombra easily answered, noticing Felldir run his fingers through his moving dark mane, "In Skyrim our bodies are that of the local nords, but when we stepped through the portal it returned us to our original forms. I'm guessing that, whenever we return to Skyrim, we'll revert to our nordic forms for the brief moment that we'll be there. Now that Alduin is dead I'm sure that we'll be returning to our home world and the citizens that...we left behind."
"Can...can I brush your mane?" Gormlaith asked, staring at Trixie's mane and realizing that it wasn't like the others manes.
"Um...sure?" Trixie said, not sure what to expect as she felt Gormlaith's hand brush through her mane.
"I guess we'll be here a while," Raika said, collecting her enchanted weapons before returning to where the others were standing, "I guess we can relax for now before we return to Tamriel."
"Actually, you'll be returning to Tamriel now," Tsun commented, magic swirling around Raika and the Equestrians, "Shor wants you out of Sovngarde until the day that you die and rejoin the blessed feasting."
Before Raika could say a single word whatever magic Tsun used on them snatched them and took them back to Tamriel, causing her to see the same light that she had seen when they had entered the portal to get into Sovngarde.
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.
Getting down the mountain was the easiest part of their trek, as the three of them had climbed up and down the mountain enough to know where all the steps were. Plus they managed to somehow defeat every single creature that lived on that side of the mountain, making the trek peaceful after all the fighting they had done. Once in Iverstead they found the carriage driver waiting for them, somehow knowing exactly where they were and knowing that they would require his services yet again. This time he was more than willing to give them a ride to Riften for free, saying something about repaying them as the loyal customers that they were.
Raika enjoyed both the peace that the carriage ride provided her and the fact that she wasn't going to burn out of her hard earned gold, something that she was starting to run low on. She was glad that she had several spare weapons from Skuldafn, as ebony weapons fetched higher prices in the market than the weapons she usually used. She leaned back against the carriage walls and allowed herself to drift off to sleep, knowing that either Trixie or Sombra would awaken her when they arrived outside of Riften.
Trixie pulled out Nahkriin's mask and stared at it, realizing that she had, effectively, defeated the most powerful Dragon Priest in all of Skyrim's history. From the legends she had heard in her brief time in Skyrim she knew there were seven more Priests scattered around the land, each baring a mask like the one she held in her hand. She even recalled one of her fellow apprentices mentioning that there was a special mask, but it had been lost in time in someplace called the Labyrinthian. Maybe, if Raika allowed it, they could spend some time hunting down the other Priests and collecting their masks.
"You appear to be lost in thought," Sombra commented, seeing Trixie stare at the mask for a great deal of time, "what's on your mind?"
"I honestly don't know," Trixie admitted, one thought coming back to mind, "but why did you stay here? You were offered a chance to go home, with the mare of your dreams, and yet you turned her down and stayed here with Raika and I. Why didn't you return to Equestria?"
"No one but Celestia and Luna would be happy to see me," Sombra answered, shaking his head ever so slightly, "The Elements of Harmony witnessed what I had done to the Empire and wouldn't be quick to accept me with open hooves after what I had done while they were there. Princess Cadence and her husband would be shocked to see that I had survived the blast that should have killed me. Then when they learn what had driven me insane and my entire story there's still the chance that, even if I apologized to the entire empire, that I would never be allowed to return anyway. Better to let them think I had been destroyed for now and let the tension cool off from out last encounter before I make my return."
"Wow," Trixie replied, still shocked that he hadn't returned with the Princesses, "I'm just wondering if Raika will take some time off from saving the world and hunt down one or two of the remaining seven Dragon Priests."
"I know of one of those Dragon Priests you might be interested in," the carriage driver said, cutting into the conversation with something interesting to say, "there's a nordic ruin near Riften called Forelhost, said to be the resting place of a Dragon Priest called Rahgot. If your interested in hunting them down I would suggest you start your search there."
"Thanks for the help," Trixie said, a smile appearing on her face, "If Raika wants to find another Word of Power I have someplace where she can learn one without too much trouble."
-------------------------------
When the carriage finally arrived outside Riften Trixie gently rocked Raika awake and they climbed off the carriage without much delay, though it was clear to everyone that they were ready for anything. The first order of business was getting inside Riften and trading most of their weapons to whoever would buy them, but they were stopped by one of the guards.
"Hold there Khajiit," the guard said, his hand flying to his sword, "Your thieving kind aren't welcome in Riften, so I advise that you leave before I force you out of here."
"Racist," Raika replied, coming to a stop in front of the guard, "Now, I'll have you know that I am the Dragonborn, the only person in all of Temriel that can slay the dragon known as Alduin the World-Eater. I just got back from Sovngarde, where my friends and I destroyed the World-Eater, saving all of your souls from being devoured by him whenever you died. The friend on my right is Trixie Lulamoon, Apprentice of the College of Winterhold, a capable Illusionist that slew one of the most powerful Dragon Priests in Skyrim's history. The friend on my left is Sombra, the nord whose capable of summoning crystal pillars and disrupting the ground itself, though you must have heard about that at some point."
"The King of Shadows? HERE?" the guard asked, his voice trembling as he began to sweat the moment he laid eyes on Sombra, "Please sir, forgive me for obstructing you and your servants from whatever task you are currently working on."
One glare from Sombra was enough to make the guard unlock the front gates before running down the hill, terrified that a crystal spike would leap out of the ground and impale him without delay. Raika held back a laugh as she opened the gates, not believing that the guard had reacted more to Sombra than to her claim of being the Dragonborn. The guard didn't even seem to flinch when she mentioned that Trixie destroyed a Dragon Priest, and not just any old Dragon Priest, but THE Dragon Priest. Maybe they would hit the College of Winterhold and get Trixie's training furthered, just so she could stick it to any guards who came their way in the future.
"There you are lass," a voice next to them said, turning out to being the thief that delivered Esbern to them back in Dragonsreach, "Now that your business has settled down how about I interest you in a job that will earn you some coin..."
The thief stopped the moment that he noticed Sombra standing next to Raika, fear creeping into his eyes as he realized that his life could be over in a matter of seconds.
"I'm not a thief," Raika remarked, passing by the thief with the others in tow, "so I suggest that you stop trying to recruit me, otherwise I can't say how badly Sombra will mess you up."
She left the thief standing there, knowing that he wouldn't dare follow them for the fear of Sombra turning around and impaling him with a crystal spike. It was funny how fast the news of Sombra's powers had spread, installing fear in every guard starting at Solitude and going all the way to Riften. She wondered if the vampires had heard about his powers as well and were fearing what he was capable of, maybe making her mission to stop them even easier.
"Buy weapons and armor from Greka," one stall keeper said, just as they entered the marketplace, "Keep you and your loved ones safe."
"I'd like to sell you some weapons," Raika said, pulling out three ebony weapons she had picked up, "two ebony greatswords and one ebony battleaxe. Give me three thousand septims, one thousand for each weapon, and I'll be out of your hair in a matter of seconds."
"I don't think I can give you that much for these weapons," Greka commented, studying the craftsmanship of the weapons anyway, "How about I give you a thousand septims and we call it a day?"
"Listen, I don't think you understood me," Raika sighed, knowing that the lady was trying to cheat her out of a fair deal, "Three thousand septims overall. Now listen to me carefully, I am the Talos-damned Dragonborn and my friends and I just got back from killing the World-Eater. I would appreciate it if you just gave me the amount I have asked for so I can get underway with my next mission."
Greka, once again, began to raise her voice and deny Raika the amount that she had asked for, but then she noticed exactly who was standing right behind her. The steel armor, the lush red cape, the iron crown, the red unicorn horn on top of his head, and the flowing black hair that seemed to be made out of the shadows themselves. She could feel the sweat running down the side of her face, a telltale sign that she was already scared for her life at that point.
"Of course, what was I thinking?" Greka nervously remarked, collecting the three weapons and pulling out a rather large bag of gold, "Three thousand septims for three mint condition ebony weapons. Please, don't let me delay you any longer."
Raika collected the gold and walked away from the market area, knowing that it was due to Sombra's fearsome reputation that Greka had even agreed to her deal. At first being the Dragonborn seemed like it had no perks at all, but now that she had completed her destiny and destroyed Alduin there still weren't any perks. People were turning the other way whenever Sombra looked at them, clearly showing that they had heard what happened at Whiterun and were scared that their time had come for them. Maybe, given time, the people of Skyrim would see that Sombra had helped destroy Alduin and that he wasn't the bad guy anymore.
Once they were back at the main gate Raika asked the remaining guard where the Dawnguard had set up its main camp, telling him that all she had heard was that it was in Riften somewhere. What she learned from the guard, who was much nicer to khajiits than his partner had been, was that the Dawnguard had set up their base in an old fort to the east of Riften and north of someplace called Stendarr's Beacon. The guard was more than generous to give her precise directions that would take her from where they were standing and bring them to the Beacon without delay. Before they could even depart from the gate the other guard returned, though he had discarded his suit of armor, donned a suit of steel armor, and looked like he was itching to kill something.
"I'm not scared of you, 'King of Shadows'," the guard laughed, pulling out a rather wicked looking pair of swords, "I have kept these hidden for the day that I could use them to rid all of Tamriel of someone that poses a threat to everyone. Finally, that day has arrived and I will take great pleasure in sending you to Oblivion."
"Very well then," Sombra sighed, closing his eyes as he directed the next bit to the guard behind him, "Tell me something guardsmen; if this man were to attack me, would it be within my rights to fight him back and kill him seeing as he is threatening my very life?"
"So long as he deals the first blow," the second guard answered, "then it would be within your right to fight and either slay him where he stands, or defeat him and let him serve his sentence in jail."
Before Sombra could even say anything the guard ran at him and brought one of the swords down on top of them, cutting through the shadows that protected him. Sombra hadn't expected there to be a chance that the weapons could even damage him, but with the fact that the ex-guard had drawn blood it kicked him into high gear. He tore his sword from its sheath and struck out at the e-guard, catching him off guard and driving him back for a moment before he landed a blow that severed the guard's right arm. Even as the limb feel away Sombra knew that the wound would be sealed to prevent blood loss, but the loss of an arm didn't seem to bother the guard. He came at him again, but this time Sombra side stepped him and disarmed the other weapon, letting the guard hit the ground with a thud.
"Do what you will with this swine," Sombra said, sheathing his sword before collecting the other weapons, "I'm taking his swords with me, if that's okay with you."
"That's perfectly fine," the gate guard said, shoving the ex-guard into the hands of another that joined him, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll have to explain to the Jarl why this guard went insane and attacked you for no reason."
Sombra nodded and began the journey towards Stendarr's Beacon, knowing that Raika and Trixie would eventually stop him and inquire why he had taken the swords with him. He stopped beside one of the two towers that rested down the road, allowing his magic to kick in for a brief moment and seal the wound that was still bleeding. He noticed that his regeneration magic was getting slower, most likely from using too much magic in the last few days and not giving it time to recharge.
"Are those Daedric swords?" Raika asked, studying the blades that Sombra was holding, "Where in Oblivion did that guard get such dangerous weapons? I doubt that he payed for them, as they require a heart of a daedra warrior for a master smith to forge them. May I?"
"Take them," Sombra said, handing her the swords before staring at the road, "Now, let's find where the Dawnguard has set up its main base and find out what these vampires are up to."
-------------------------------
As it turned out they found the location of the Dawnguard's fort with ease, as all they had to do was find Stendarr's Beacon and ask one of the Vigilants where the fort was. They were directed down the other side of the mountain they had climbed and a bit north to the cave that they hadn't seen when they passed the cliff side. When they entered the new cave they found some scared farmer debating whether or not to go through with joining the Dawnguard, though they passed him without a moment wasted. The canyon was open to the sunlight, allowing them to take in every detail of the surrounding area as they made their way towards the giant fort in the distance.
"So this is Fort Dawnguard," Sombra commented, staring at the stone structure and remembering the beauty of the Crystal Empire, "it has a sense of beauty to it."
Raika rolled her eyes as they approached the gates of the fort, finding at least five or six people running around with crates that she suspected were full of weapons. A few of them stared at them as they passed, whispering to themselves and pointing at the shadows that wrapped around Sombra every now and then. Raika knew what it was, they were discussing what it would mean for such a dangerous person to join their cause and what they could do with his powers. And, once again, they ignoring the fact that the Dragonborn was walking among them, almost as if no one actually cared that Alduin had been destroyed.
It made Raika wonder if she had wasted her time with something that no one was ever going to thank her for.
"I see that your here to join the Dawnguard," a warrior said, beckoning to the large iron doors behind him, "Head inside and talk to Isran, I'm sure that he has something for a group of fine vampire hunters like yourselves to do."
When they entered the fort they found that the entire place was full of cobwebs, dust, and dozens upon dozens of crates that were full of weapons, armor, and other supplies. In the center of the fort were two men, both of them wielding warhammers on their backs while they discussed a recent attack on the Vigilant's hall. Raika had heard of the attack when she had been on her way to Helgen with the rest of her brothers and sisters, it only surprised her that nothing had been done about it yet.
"You there, recruit," the bald man, no doubt the one named Isran, called to Raika, "I need you and your friends to investigate a place called Dimhollow Crypt. It seems that the vampires have been searching that place for some long lost artifact and we can't have them finding anything that will aid them in the war against us. Go there, destroy the vampires you find inside, and find whatever they were searching for."
"For the sake of not wasting time, where is this Dimhollow Crypt?" Raika asked, wondering where she needed to go to get the job done.
"Near Dawnstar," Isran replied almost immediately, "just southwest of the town."
"Ugh...fine," Raika said, pinching the bridge between her nose, "I'll go see what they're up to and find this artifact. Let's get moving."
Once outside Raika lead her friends to an area where the other members of the Dawngard would overlook them, giving her plenty of time to ask Sombra a question.
"Hey Sombra," Raika started, staring into his eyes for a moment, "remember how you delivered both you and Trixie to Skuldafn? Do you think you could repeat that process and get us to Morthal? It would save us plenty of time and we'd get this hunt started sooner."
"Seeing how we've already been to Morthal before I don't see why it would be a problem," Sombra replied, allowing the shadows to gather around him, "Just a word of warning, the first time using a shadow gate may be a little rough on your body, but it will allow us to traverse great distances in a matter of seconds."
As he finished speaking the magic seeped into the ground and a mass of shadows sprung up behind him, twisting until they formed the shadowy gateway that he had used to get to Skuldafn. Once the gateway was stabilized Sombra nodded and Trixie immediately stepped through the shadows, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Sombra beckoned with a hand and Raika, hesitating for a moment, steeled herself before walking through the darkness that had been called upon. She could feel the shadows wrapping around her, moving through her body as if she were transparent, before she found herself standing outside the town of Morthal. The moment that Sombra stepped through the gateway and appeared on their side Raika moved to the side of the nearby bridge and heaved what was in her stomach.
"I told you it would be rough," Sombra coughed, covering his mouth with his left hand for a moment while he closed the gateway down, "It takes some time and a lot of usage to get used to the feeling that comes with the shadow gates."
"Let's find that cave," Raika announced, heading to the northeast of the town, "I'm anxious to see what the vampires are so interested in that makes them finally strike out at the Vigilants of Stendarr."
As Trixie followed after Raika Sombra took a moment to look at his left hand, surprised to find that he had actually coughed some blood up after summoning the shadow gate. He quickly wiped off the blood and followed after his friends, wondering if the blood was a sign that had to deal with his magic and the slow regeneration. Neither of them seemed to notice that he had fallen behind just a bit, but he was sure to keep an eye out for any signs of the cave they were supposed to find.
As per their luck they found a group of bandits hanging near the walkway that would lead them up the side of the mountain they needed to climb. The moment the bandits saw them one of them shouted that they were issuing a toll on the mountain pass and they would not let them past them without giving them two hundred gold per person. Trixie, not wanting to be bothered by such lowly enemies, summoned her mirror images and attacked without pausing, allowing magic to fly from her hands. As her copycats got closer to the bandits Trixie pulled out Nahkriin's mask and put it over her face, feeling the ancient magic seeping into her body as she blasted a bandit with a rather large fireball.
The bandits were dead in a matter of seconds, freeing up the pathway and allowing them to continue up the mountain side so they could find the cave.
"That was amazing!" Raika exclaimed, staring back at the bandits for a moment before turning to Trixie, "Not only did you wreck those bandits, but you copied the same fireball spell that Nahkriin used against us in Skuldafn. You are definitely one talented mage Trixie."
"Thank you," Trixie replied, her face growing hot by the fact that someone finally commented on how talented she was at magic, "now, where is that blasted cave?"
It didn't take them very long to find the cave, but the moment they entered Raika heard several voices talking about a foolish Vigilant that ran in and got himself killed. Raika held up a hand, stalling her friend for a moment while she pulled out her bow, wishing that she had spent some time picking up some more arrows. At her current state she only had roughly ten arrows, enough to put down ten more opponents if she could get her shots right and didn't miss anyone. She gently walked forward and located one of the gibbering vampires, pulling back her bowstring with the arrow ready as she took aim on her target. Once she was sure that she could hit her mark she loosed the arrow, watching it fly through the air before landing dead center in her target's chest, knocking him off his feet and hitting the back wall hard.
The other vampires, now aware that someone was near them and had killed their comrade, got into action and began to move towards the caves opening. Raika, predicting their actions with ease, beckoned for Trixie to move forward and she ran forward, throwing a fireball into one vampire's face before slicing another in half with her ancient sword. One of the vampire's beasts ran at Trixie, but Sombra, having seen it coming immediately, intercepted the beast and slew it without pause. Raika had been stunned with how the Equestrians had moved before even getting to Skuldafn, but now they seemed like they had moved onto a whole new level.
She found a lever on the other side of the chamber and they continued deeper into the cave, finding another draugr crypt with several of the undead fighting three vampires. Raika had them wait until the immediate fighting was done, watching as only one draugr fell to the ground as the group of vampires were defeated. Once the fighting was done the three of them rushed in, magic and steel flying as they clashed with the remaining draugr and felled them with ease. It was to their advantage to wait for the original fight to be over, as it had weakened the draugr and given them the edge they needed to move on.
The next chamber they came to they found one vampire hanging with at least a dozen skeletons, each of them carrying a sword or an axe and waiting for the command to attack something. Trixie brought her hands together and formed a large fireball, one designed to explode and take as many of her enemies out in a single blast, that she proceeded to throw at the vampire. Before the vampire could even move out of the way the fireball tore into her chest, exploding and taking most of the skeletons out with her. The remaining skeletons fell the moment that Sombra and Raika swung their weapons through them, giving them the opportunity to continue further into the cave.
The next group of vampires, and most likely the last, noticed them coming when they entered the chamber before an iron gate, but they move back a bit as they drew closer. It was clear that they had heard all the fighting and they were beginning to feel fear, terrified that, even with their superior numbers, they wouldn't be able to stand against them. One vampire decided enough was enough and ran towards them, only to feel the burning sting of Raika's new daedric swords as she put him down. The others didn't fare any better as they either fell to Trixie's magic or, in an attempt to run, fell victim to the shadows that Sombra summoned around them.
"'These vampires are becoming a nuisance,'" Raika mocked, recalling what one of the guards had told her as she passed them in Whiterun, "those guys couldn't be more wrong. At least a full dozen vampires and a group of skeletons guarding a crypt, yet we tore through them in seconds. The guards of Skyrim are just wimps."
Neither Trixie or Sombra replied as they found one more vampire fighting a giant spider, but the moment they opened the door the vampire felled the spider and brought it back, intending to use it against them. Raika, not wanting to fool around anymore, bypassed the resurrected spider and cut down the vampire before he could even move an inch. With the newest annoyance dead they moved into the next area of the crypt, finding a rather large open chamber with some strange formation sitting ahead of them. She held up her hand as she heard more voices, coming to a stop as she listened to the vampires questioning another Vigilant about the formation in front of them.
When the Vigilant refused to give them anything the head vampire laughed and killed him where he stood, or sat as Raika couldn't see where any of them were from where she was. Without another second wasted she pulled out her bow, stood up, and loosed an arrow that hit the lead vampire square in the back of the head, killing him in seconds. Trixie, sensing the opportunity, threw an ice spike at the other vampire and nailed her to the ground, allowing Sombra the chance to move past them all and slide his sword into the remaining target that stood near the formation.
"And that's all of them," Raika cheered, finally glad that they had managed to clear out the entire cave of every vampire that had been inside it, "now, let's see what these vampires want so badly."
She found a button in the center of the formation and would have pressed it, but considering that it was vampires that had built the area she knew that there was something tricky waiting to happen. So she picked up the closest dead body and pressed his hand against the button, drawing her's back in time as an iron spike punctured the hand with ease. The moment the spike withdrew a bunch of purple flames began to appear around them, causing Trixie and Sombra to back up and inspect what was going on. Raika, seeing where the flames were going, moved one of the braziers until it clicked into place, causing more flames to point to where the next brazier was to be moved to.
Raika followed the puzzle, pushing the braziers to where they needed to be, until the circle had been completed and she stepped back to wonder what the flames had to do with the center. Then, as if something connected with the flames, the floor began to shake until it began to lower beneath their feet. Eventually the shaking stopped and the floor came to a screeching halt, revealing a stone monolith directly where the button had stood. Raika approached the monolith and pressed her hand against it, feeling the stone lower until the monolith had split in half, revealing a women resting in what she then realized had been a tomb of sorts.
Raika grabbed the women before she could fall and hit the floor, but as she did so she realized that the women was carrying a second Elder Scroll on her back.
"Ugh...where am I?" the women asked, opening her eyes and realizing that she wasn't alone, "Who...who are you?"
"I am Raika Snow-Heart," Raika replied, helping the women onto her feet while also noticing the glaring color in her eyes, "and your Dimhollow Crypt. The only question I have for you is why in Oblivion would vampires come here, killing the Vigilants of Stendarr to open this place up?"
"And I really don't trust you right now," the women replied, snatching her hand away from Raika, "Look, if you want to hear my story I suggest you take me back to my family's home. Once we get there I'll share what little information I can with you."
"Fine," Raika said in defeat, knowing that she would never get her way with anyone in Skyrim, "where can we find your family's house? Is it somewhere close to Dawnstar or Morthal?"
"No..." the women said, clearly having no idea where either of those two places were, "My family used to live on an island to the west of Solitude. Actually, I would guess that they still do. And seeing how you already gave me your name I should give you mine; I am Serana. Wait a minute...does that guy have a unicorn's horn sticking out of his forehead? And why does that women have a similar horn sticking out of her forehead?"
"Meet my friends Trixie Lulumoon and Sombra," Raika said, beckoning to the others that stood behind her, "and we'll explain why they have horns later on, but we have something else that we need to do. Let's get you out of here and find this island where your family used to live or is still living at. I'm sure that this is going to be the start of a rather annoying quest to save all of Tamriel...again."
What Raika didn't realize was exactly how true her words were going to be in the days to come.
Finding their way out of Dimhollow Crypt was easier than when they had make their way through the tunnel, as they didn't have to worry about anymore vampires blocking their path. They had to deal with a group of stone gargoyles that woke as they passed them, raining chunks of stone down upon them before they bothered facing them. Raika was not in the mood to deal with any more enemies or obstructions, but she was saved from having to bloody her new swords as Trixie and Serana threw magic at them. Fire and ice traveled side by side before burying themselves in the chests of the gargoyles, one tossing them back before the second exploded around them.
Raika was pleasantly surprised that she had found yet another mage, leaving her as the only person in the group that didn't use magic as part of her daily life.
The last chamber they came to housed another squad of the undead draugr and several skeletons, though there was another dread deathlord standing in front of the Word Wall in the corner. Raika moaned as they moved into the chamber, spells and metal flying as they tore into the undead and scattered the bodies everywhere. As the others moved towards the exit Raika stopped by the Word Wall and absorbed the Word of Power, not really caring what this Word was supposed to do. Alduin was dead, so it really didn't matter how many Words she learned, as there was nothing else that needed the Thu'um to defeat them.
"So...you are the Dragonborn?" Serana asked, stepping into the light of the afternoon with the others, "I've heard the tales that only a Dragonborn can fight and destroy a dragon named Alduin the World-Eater..."
"He's dead," Raika replied, pulling out her map so she could pinpoint exactly where they were, "My friends and I followed him into Sovngarde and destroyed him before he could restore himself to full power. The souls of the nords are safe and the Divines are likely pleased that I fulfilled my destiny."
"Must have taken a lot of time and effort to put down such a powerful beast," Serana commented, staring to the west as they began to walk down the mountain side.
"Actually, it was much easier than I had expected," Raika told her, finding a pathway they could use to descend without tripping and breaking their necks, "and its not because I'm arrogant that my destiny was to destroy Alduin and that he didn't stand a chance. Rather, he had been severely wounded by Sombra when he had tried to kill me while I was reading my Elder Scroll, so I could learn the secret to defeating him."
"And what did he do to wound him?" Serana asked, curious as to what someone, who wasn't the Dragonborn of legend, could do to the powerful and nearly immortal dragon, "Throw magic in his face until he fell on the side of the mountain?"
"Actually, I impaled him on my crystal spires," Sombra replied, moving ahead as he spotted another group of bandits heading their way, "Here, let me show you exactly what I'm talking about."
Raika stood next to a tree as the others stood near her, giving her the perfect view of the surrounding area so she could watch the show that Sombra would perform soon. At first the bandits spread out and surrounded Sombra, confidant that the five of them could take down one person by themselves before moving onto the others. One bandit drew his sword and approached Sombra, swinging the weapon in a wide arc and finding nothing as it passed by where Sombra had been standing. Before the bandit could move a small crystal spike erupted from his chest, silencing him while the other four searched for what was responsible for the attack.
Crystals began to erupt everywhere, tearing through the ground around the bandits and causing them to scatter like each of them were chickens with their heads cut off. One unlucky bandit tripped over a fallen crystal and fell onto a bed of small crystals, puncturing his body multiple times and ending his life before he could do anything to save himself. The third bandit pulled out a pair of dwarven swords and struck at the nearest crystal spike, breaking the crystal into fragments and moving onto another spike. The crystals, however, had over plans as they erupted from the ground and tore through the unfortunate bandit, ripping her armor to pieces as her body went limp.
The last two bandits stood with their backs to each other, keeping their eyes out for Sombra while making sure that they didn't fall victim to another crystal trap. Shadows gathered around them and a section began to part as Sombra, his eyes burning with the shadowy magic he constantly used and his sword at the ready. He swung his sword and the first bandit was cut right in half, the top half flying into one of the fallen bandits while the lower half crumpled to the ground. The remaining bandit, now seeing that he didn't stand any chance at all, threw his weapon to the ground and ran towards the nearby river, but Sombra would not let it come to pass. A spike erupted from the ground in front of the bandit and tore through his chest, ending the attack without any harm coming to the others.
"What in Oblivion was that?" Serana asked, not sure exactly what she had just witnessed, "What did he do to those bandits?"
"He killed them by using his crystals," Raika replied, approaching the mess as she realized that Sombra had gone overboard, "Just imagine several of these, say about five times the size, puncturing the largest dragon you've ever seen and severely wounding him. He's a force to be reckoned with, so don't assume that, if you decide to attack him, that you'll escape without receiving some type of major wound."
Before the others got close to him Sombra cut off the shadow magic again and coughed into his hands, finding more blood on his palms that had to be wiped away.
The group continued on their way, though they had to circle around the crystal mess before they could approach the river and determine the best path to move from their current position to the other side of the inlet that Solitude rested above. Raika didn't want to walk all the way down to Dragons Bridge, follow the path out of the town, and pass by several Imperial patrols that wanted her dead. She was sure that General Tullius had heard the news that the Dragonborn was on the Stormcloaks side and had likely ordered her immediate capture. Or, in the event of her resisting arrest, they were likely ordered to execute her and not ask any questions.
Trixie, not wanting to bother with wasting time with people who wanted them dead at the moment, knelt before their side of the inlet and pressed her palms on top of the water. At first nothing happened, but then, when her magic kicked in, a large section of the water in front of them frozen over as if winter had hit the water hard. The frozen patch was wide enough for three people to pass side by side and, from what Raika could tell, was thick enough to keep it from breaking apart until they were on the other side of the inlet. It was stable enough for them to pass without the fear of falling into the water and freezing, so they began the trek across the frozen path.
The moment they finally reached the other side of the inlet, and the frozen path melted behind them, Raika spotted a group of Imperial soldiers coming their way. They weren't the Solitude guards, but heavily armed soldiers bent on doing whatever Tullius and his Thalmor allies commanded them to do. Even as Raika thought about the Thalmor she spotted several mages following the soldiers, which meant that they weren't on patrol and had spotted her before she had even crossed the inlet.
"Stop right there Raika Snow-Heart," one of the mages shouted, "By the order of her Emissary you and your comrades are to lay down your arms and surrender to the might of the Aldmeri Dominion. You will be tried as the heretics that you are and we shall execute you in public, for the viewing pleasure of her Emissary and the Emperor himself."
"Damn the Aldmeri Dominion to Oblivion," Raika shouted, turning to Sombra for a moment, "I need you to summon a wall that can keep them busy, long enough for us to get out of their sight and make them give up the chase."
"I will try," Sombra said, clapping his hands to the ground as he willed the magic to ignite, "Now go, get moving in case the crystals react too slowly and I'm forced to resort to violence to give you time."
Raika barely had time to reply when she felt the earth shake, the telltale sign of when Sombra was working a large amount of magic and was about to summon a field of crystals. She turned to the path that would lead them to Solitude's lighthouse and eventually, she hoped, the home of Serana so she could stop this horrible day. Her friends were quick to follow her down the path, leaving Sombra to deal with the Imperial soldiers and the Thalmor mages. Even as the crystals began to come out of the ground Sombra coughed and spotted red splatters on the ground in front of him, though he had to wonder why he was suffering so much all of a sudden.
"Give up heretic," a mage said, standing in front of Sombra while his companions tried to move around the crystal walls, "You strange magic won't work on me as easily as it did my worthless companions."
"You know nothing about how the crystals work," Sombra chuckled, a long crystal spike shooting out of the ground and striking the mage in the chest, "you can avoid the crystals all you want, but there will still be more ways for me to use them against you."
Sombra chuckled and got onto his feet, making sure that the wall would hold for some time before it fell apart, nodding his satisfaction before moving towards the path the others had taken. It took him a few moments before he noticed them approaching what he assumed was a lighthouse, so he picked up the pace while making sure that none of the soldiers managed to pass his wall. Before he could join his friends he noticed another group of soldiers, dressed in the same armor as the previous group, coming his way and he brought his hands together. Crystals rose out of the ground and sped towards the group, reaching for the unsuspecting soldiers as two of them were impaled almost immediately.
Raika, wondering why she could still feel the ground shaking, turned around and realized that she should have told Sombra about the other entrance into Solitude. She could have had him seal that entrance as well, making the soldiers circle back up to Solitude and walk the long way, which would have given them plenty of time to escape. Still, it seemed that, no matter how many times people witnessed Sombra's magic at work, they couldn't figure out that the earth shaking beneath their feet was just a warning of what was to come. The three remaining soldiers approached them, but Sombra was faster as he moved from shadow to shadow, cutting down the soldiers before they could reach them.
Before another group arrived they made their way further around the beach, passing several caves and ruined fortresses before they came to a dock that seemed to go nowhere.
"This boat will take us to the island my home is on," Serana said, climbing onto the boat as she turned to the others, "Come on, you wanted answers and you'll get them."
Raika sighed and followed Serana onto the boat, waiting for the others to join them before setting off across the water and passing through a mist. They might have run aground on some sharp rocks, but thanks to Serana's constant ball of light and her knowledge of the path she needed to take they managed to reach the island without delay. When Raika looked behind Serana and saw the structure behind her she froze up for a moment; where she was expecting a two story house stood, instead, a gigantic castle that reached towards the clouds.
"Castle Volkihar, my home," Serana said, starting up the stone pathway that would lead them up to the main gates, "Just a word of warning, but I know your friends would want to kill everything inside the castle, so I would appreciate it if you restrain yourself."
"Trixie will just wait outside then," Trixie declared, leaning against the side of a watchtower, "Sombra, what about you?"
"Shadow Travel," Sombra grinned, feeling his body slowly turn into a shadowy form, "I shall hide in Raika's shadow and learn more about what we are up against while she speaks to whoever is in there. And, in the off chance that someone would attack her, I will provide whatever support I can."
Before Raika could voice her concern with someone traveling inside her own shadow Sombra continued to melt into the ground, fusing with her shadow until she couldn't tell the difference. It only looked like her own shadow, but she knew that Sombra was there somewhere, watching and listening to everything that would happen around her. She followed Serana up the stone bridge and up to the gates, giving her plenty of time to notice the stone gargoyles that rested on both of her sides. As they approached the gates Raika spotted a nord standing on the other side near a lever, though it took one look in his eyes to realize that he was also a vampire.
The guard noticed them coming and pulled the lever, forcing the gate to rise up and allow them access to the castle, though Raika was beginning to feel a sense of dread. The moment they entered the front door they were greeted by an elf, one who didn't seem too happy to see them until he realized exactly who was standing before him.
"My Lord," the elf shouted, turning to the small balcony behind him and speaking to the assembled group, "Everyone. Lady Serana has returned to us!"
"I guess I'm expected now," Serana moaned, shaking her head as she moved down the stairs to the elf's left, "Do try to restrain yourself in here, for the both of us."
Raika moved down the set of stairs to the elf's right, her eyes wandering around the open room and taking in everything and everyone that she noticed. While she was doing this she could have sworn that she heard Sombra counting, almost as if he was making a layout of the castle and was determining just how many vampires there were. Before she reached the floor she spotted one vampire that seemed out of place; an argonian dressed up in a black robe that stood near the back of the room.
"My long-lost daughter returns at last," a middle aged man, who Raika assumed was the Lord of the Castle, said, "I assume you still have my Elder Scroll?"
"After all these years, that's the first thing you ask me?" Serana asked, though Raika couldn't blame her for asking anyway, "Yes, I still have the Elder Scroll. Its not something I can just throw away now is it?"
"Of course I'm delighted to see you, my daughter. Must I really say the words out loud?" the man continued, as if he hadn't heard the other bit of Serana's statement, "Ah, if only your traitor mother were here, I would let her watch this reunion before putting her head on a spike. Now tell me, who is this stranger you have brought to our hall?"
"This is the one who broke the seal on my prison," Serana answered, almost as if she had told a little lie and it went right over her father's head.
"For my daughter's safe return you have my gratitude." the man said, turning to face Raika now, "Tell me, what is your name?"
Raika, feeling as if every eye of every vampire was on her now, approached the pair until she was just a few steps away from Serana's seemingly uncaring father. She didn't know if the others would react if he gave the order to attack, but she trusted that Sombra would not fail her and they'd walk away as fast as possible.
"I am Raika Snow-Heart, Dragonborn of Legend," Raika replied, not sure if the vampires would even care about Alduin's legend, "And you would be?"
"I am Harkon, Lord of this Court," the man said, giving her a bow before straightening up, "By now I'm sure that Serana has told you exactly what we are."
"I didn't need to be told what all are," Raika replied, crossing her arms, "I could tell, just by looking into each of your eyes, that each and every one of you are all vampires. And, judging by how old this castle really is, I'm assuming that you are among the oldest and most powerful vampires that Skyrim has ever produced."
"I am pleasantly surprised by how much you know of us already," Harkon replied, a small smile appearing on his face as if he enjoyed having her around, "But you have done me a great service, and you must be rewarded. There is but one gift I can give that is equal in value to the Elder Scroll and my daughter. I give you my blood. Take it, and you will walk as a lion among sheep. Men will tremble as you approach, and you will never fear death again."
"Yeah...I'm going to say no to that," Raika told him, not even wanting the foul taste of blood to touch her lips, "I'm going to politely reject your offer and get out of here."
"So be it then," Harkon boomed, resting his eyes on Raika, "You are prey, like all the other mortals. I shall spare your life this one time, but should I ever find you in my castle again I won't hesitate to slay you. Now begone."
Before Harkon's magic could kick in the shadows sprung up around Raika, grabbed a hold of her, and consumed her without a moments hesitation. She found herself standing outside the castle, right next to where Trixie said she would be waiting for their eventual return. As she opened her mouth to say something Sombra emerged halfway from her shadow, leaving the lower half of his body still connected to her for a moment.
"I hate to ruin whatever you were going to say," Sombra started, his magic kicking in again as another Shadow Gate opened next to Trixie, "but I don't think those vampires are going to wait before they hunt us down. One's already on his way to where we are standing."
Raika looked back and saw the argonian from the castle approaching, though he wasn't armed and seemed like he just wanted to speak to them for a moment. Instead of waiting for him to draw closer Raika grabbed Trixie and directed her to the gateway, watching the mage disappear within seconds of entering. Before the argonian got any closer Raika approached the gateway and stepped in, but even as she stepped in she felt a scaled hand touch her shoulder. The moment she looked back at the argonian she felt the magic of the gateway activate and the two of them were swept away, traveling to wherever Sombra was taking them to.
Raika opened her eyes and found herself laying in the same area of Fort Dawnguard that Sombra had summoned the first Shadow Gate earlier that day, only now it was night time. She moaned and picked herself up, seeing Trixie laying near the opening of their area and Sombra, having been separated from her shadow at last, was sitting on a tree stump near them. As she got onto her feet she noticed the argonian laying next to where she had been just a few moments before, though she didn't want to be anywhere near him for now. Once she was up she approached Trixie and gently nudged her, causing her to open her eyes, she thought she did as the mask was still on, and get up.
"So...what happened with that gate?" Raika asked, knowing that it wasn't normal for them to have to wake up from using a gate.
"Unexpected visitor," Sombra replied, spying the argonian that had ruined the spell, "The Gates are supposed to know exactly how many people are passing from point A to point B, so when there's an extra person it causes unforeseen effects on the magic. Despite the ruined magic we'll need to tell Isran what we've seen and how many vampires are waiting for the Dawnguard inside that castle."
Raika nodded and the three of them moved towards the entrance to Fort Dawnguard, leaving the argonian behind for any of the other members of the Dawnguard to find. As they approached the doors Raika looked towards the path that they had walked up earlier that day, finding that new wooden gates had been put up while they were gone. She wasn't sure what the new gates would do against the vampires they had seen, but she didn't think that they would find them that quickly. She pushed open the front door and found several members of the Dawnguard running around, moving around crates that no doubt contained even more armor and weapons.
"Ah, our valiant recruit and her friends have returned," Isran said, seeing the group enter the open chamber, "So, what were the vampires looking for in Dimhollow Crypt?"
"A women with an Elder Scroll," Raika replied, stretching her arms as they approached the bald man, "She wanted to go back to her family home and we took her there, but I made sure to scout out how many vampires were there..."
"You let them take the Elder Scroll?" Isran demanded, shock filling his face, "Why didn't you just kill every one of them and take it from their dusty hands?"
"We were lucky to escape with our lives," Sombra told the bald man, "Judging by how many vampires were standing around us and how many they had lurking beneath the floors your lucky to have any knowledge of their numbers."
"Fine, hold your horses," Isran said, holding his hands up while unknowingly making a pun, "We've got all night to discuss numbers and determine what extra layers of protection we'll need to defend this fort. Then we'll discuss how to recover the Elder Scroll once we're done with our preparations."
"And what preparations would those be?" said a voice behind them, causing them all to turn around and seen a group of five nordic vampires standing there with their weapons drawn.
"How in Oblivion did you find the fort that fast?" Raika asked, wondering if the group had snuck through the gateway before Sombra could have closed it, "We literally just left your castle a few minutes ago."
"Fools, we've known where your fort was located for weeks now," the vampire continued, chuckling as he stared at Raika and his friends stepped in front of him, "It was only a matter of time before Lord Harkon or one of his followers was attacked by the Vigilants of Stendarr, but when it happened we were ready to strike out at all of you. Your hall has been destroyed and soon your fort will follow in its tracks."
"Stendarr says to protect the weak, heal the sick, and give to the needy. I can tell that your prefer to be unkind and ungenerous to the people of Tamriel. May the Nine Divines have mercy on your souls."
Before the head vampire could even respond his head went flying, rolling past his friends and stopping in front of Isran as everyone stared back at the now open door. The argonian from earlier stood at the door, but in his right hand was a huge two handed sword that looked like it was older than most weapons that Raika had ever seen. His hood was drawn back now, revealing the deep red scales underneath and a scar that crossed his left eye, but otherwise he looked like he was prepared to fight someone. One vampire, a female nord, loudly growled and leapt at him, but before she could even reach the argonian she was cut in half in midair.
"Traitor," another vampire growled, drawing his steel sword while the remaining two pulled out bows, "Lord Harkon will hear of this transgression and put a bounty on your head. The whole of the vampire nation will be hunting you before dawn touches the land again."
The argonian walked forward and the vampire attacked without wasting a second, finding his sword blocked by the giant sword that the argonian carried. The vampire spun around and brought the weapon down hard, but the argonian was prepared as he blocked the attack, bounced the sword off his own, and then pierced the vampire's heart without pause. The other two, realizing that they were surrounded by enemies on all sides, prepared to sacrifice each other so at least one of them could escape and tell the other vampires about the traitor. The argonian moved to the right and brought the blade down on the first vampire with ease, slicing him in half as if the argonian had cut bread. The second vampire, sensing her chance, moved towards the front door and was immediately stopped, finding the argonain's weapon sticking out of her chest before she hit the ground.
Raika had never seen anyone besides the Princesses move as fast as that and drop enemies that fast, so she wondered exactly who was standing in front of them. The argonian pulled out a vase and cast a spell on the five bodies, turning them from flesh and bone to pure ash before he collected all the ashes. He muttered something about honoring Arkay by burying the ashes of the fallen somewhere where they could provide for trees and various plants.
"Who are you exactly?" Isran asked, drawing his warhammer as he approached the argonian.
"I am he who served the Nine during the Oblivion Crisis," the argonian replied, collecting his weapon before turning to face the assembled group, "I am he who stood at the side of the Hero of Kvatch, Rend Org'resh, and the Queen of Knights, Nightmare Moon, they who fought against Mehrunes Dagon. I am he who recovered the ancient weapons and armor of the First Divine Crusader, Pelinal Whitestrake, and used them to destroy Umaril the Unfeathered, whose weapon I have carried since that fateful day. I am Shadowscale, the Divine Crusader reborn, though I prefer being called Shadow these days."
Raika, having personally met Rend only a day ago, had figured that most of what happened during the Oblivion Crisis had been solved by Rend and Rend alone. Now it made some sense that a lot of stories told of a third important figure during that trying time, someone who had fought beside Rend and Nightmare. She never would have suspected that the Divine Crusader would have been a vampire, nor would she had expected him to serve someone who wanted to become a tyrant to everyone in Tamriel.
"By Stendarr, forgive me for not realizing who you were," Isran said, bowing before the argonian, "I had heard that the Divine Crusader had died during the fight with Umaril, but it seems that the new Knights of the Nine didn't trust many people with the truth. Never in a thousand years would I have suspected that the Divine Crusader would have turned out to be a vampire."
"Please rise," Shadow told the man, letting him rise to his feet, "I was cursed with vampirism while I was helping Rend with his quest, but eventually I came to terms with my current state and realized that the Divines had more plans for me. So, when the Oblivion Crisis was over, I made another pilgrimage to the nine wayshrines and received another vision from the Nine, telling me to head into Skyrim and wait at Castle Volkihar until the Dragonborn showed him or herself. After almost three hundred years the Dragonborn, in the form of Raika here, finally arrived and I knew it was the time that the Divines had told me to wait for."
"What is your mission now?" Raika asked, wondering what the Divines could have told Shadow to make him live with those vampires for so long.
"I was to help the Dragonborn stop the Volkihar Vampires," Shadow replied, pulling out a cloth and wiping the blood off his weapon, "So, what's our next step in stopping Harkon?"
"Well, I was thinking I really needed to get some sleep first," Raika told him, "I literally just destroyed Alduin the World-Eater and immediately started this quest, so I am tired beyond belief and if I go any further I'm likely to fall over and get killed by something. Forgive me if you were expecting to start a righteous quest as soon as you revealed everything, but my friends and I desperately need some rest."
"I understand," Shadow replied, putting the cloth away and sheathing his weapon, which faded into the robe he was wearing, "I shall wait until morning or evening until it is time for us to depart on our mission. I shall also keep watch for any more vampires that might be lurking in the canyon and dispatch of any that threaten the safety of everyone here."
--------------------------
The night had passed without any more vampires coming to the fort and either demand that the Dawnguard surrender to the might of Lord Harkon or just out right attack. That meant that the vampires that had been slain by Shadow were either the only group in the immediate area or Shadow had seen more and had dealt with them. When Raika came down the staircase and moved towards the meeting room she found Isran speaking to Shadow, no doubt about the Divine's trials he had to overcome to get the ancient relics. Trixie sat at the end of the table, though she wasn't wearing Nahkriin's mask at the moment, and Sombra simply sat across from her with a book open net to him.
The only person she wasn't expecting to see was Serana, who sat between the two groups all by herself, but when she noticed Raika she waved her over.
"What are you doing here?" Raika asked, sitting across from Serana, "After everything we did to get you back to your family home?"
"My father's ordered all the vampires under his rule to search Skyrim for a Moth Priest," Serana replied, reaching behind her and placing her Elder Scroll on the table, "apparently this Elder Scroll holds the key to revealing how to fulfill a prophecy he called 'The Tyranny of the Sun'. Basically its a time where all vampires gain power over the Sun and have no need to fear its power over them."
"So you want to find this priest and learn how to stop the prophecy?" Raika asked, making sure she got the picture straight in her head, "And I'm assuming that we have an idea of where this priest might be?"
"Well, Isran won't speak to someone like me," Serana told her, beckoning to the still ongoing conversation, "but he'll listen and speak to your friend Shadow, who claims to be this 'legendary' Divine Crusader. From what I can gather they are confirming several stories on the Moth Priests and should have some definite answers for us, or rather you, soon."
Raika had no idea what a Moth Priest even was or what in any realm of Oblivion they had to do with an Elder Scroll, but if the vampires were looking for one then so were they. She just hoped that Isran, in the short amount of time they had been there, had something for them to work with and could send them directly towards the priest.
"So Isran, any idea where our Moth Priest went?" Raika asked, turning to face the chatting pair.
"Only rumors I'm afraid," Isran replied, moving his right hand and placing a finger on someplace near the fort, "but one rumor I heard said that the Moth Priest was going to visit Forelhost, not too far from where we are currently stationed. I suggest that you head there and see if he's still in the area, but if he's not then you might as well come back and check the other rumors."
Raika sighed and pulled herself out of her seat, turning around so she could head to the front door and see if the Moth Priest was actually at Forelhost. She had absolute now idea why the Priest would be interested in the ruins, save for the fact that there was a Dragon Priest somewhere inside. As she walked to the door she heard a bunch of seats being pushed back and a bunch of feet following after her, telling Raika that her friends were following. As they walked outside Raika spotted the other soldiers running around, carrying more crates that she suspected were full of provisions and ingots.
Getting out of the canyon wasn't a problem for them, as all they had to do was retrace the path that they had taken to enter it the day before, and they eventually found themselves back on the main path. Once they were back on the road they turned to the southwest and began walking, knowing that they just had to climb around a mountain and they'd find themselves in the ruins of Forelhost. During their hike they came across a lone bear, who raised itself to attack them and was quickly put down by Trixie with a well placed ice spike. Eventually they crossed over a fallen pillar and approached the entrance to Forelhost, finding a small camp and an altmer dressed up in the clothes of a Stormcloak officer.
"You there," the altmer said, seeing them approach and getting onto his feet, "The General sent me to...acquire...a weapon of incredible power for the war effort. Will you help me acquire the staff of the Dragon Priest called Rahgot?"
"A question for you first," Raika replied, knowing that his story was already full of holes, "I had heard that a Moth Priest had come this way to do some research and I was wondering if he had actually made it here."
"How about this," the altmer said, "You get me the staff of Rahgot and I share my information on the Moth Priest with you."
"Fine," Raika growled, knowing that he was likely going to screw the deal the moment that he had the staff, "just unlock the door and well go kill the blasted Dragon Priest."
As they approached the door Trixie pulled out Nahkriin and put it on, though Raika couldn't help but notice that the altmer was staring at the mask the entire time. The moment that the door was unlocked Raika threw it open and walked inside, her weapons drawn as she busted down the wooden door just a few steps in front of her. That action immediately caused the ghosts that inhabited the ruins to awaken, turning to face the intruders as Raika severed the ghostly head of the first one she came to.
"Let none of these undead fragments of the Dragon Cult survive," Raika shouted, spinning around and bringing her swords down hard on a second ghost, "We shall permanently destroy the Dragon Cult and make sure that they never return to Skyrim."
Trixie, Serana, and Sombra moved in front of her, weapons and various spells at the ready as they were greeted with a wave of awakened ghosts and draugr. Raika and Shadow followed behind, though Raika was quick to leap over their shoulders and drive her blades deep into one of the large draugr the moment she got close. A trail of lightning bolts, one red, one yellow, and one black, flew past her and blasted three of their enemies into the next week, taking them off their feet and tossing them into the walls around them. One draugr slipped past them and approached Shadow, though it never made it to him as its body was cut into dozens of pieces and scattered across the floor.
"I shall honor the dead," Shadow said, magic leaping from his fingers to every body he passed, "and raze this unholy temple of the undead to the ground in a sea of holy fire."
Raika didn't know what was scarier at this point; staring Alduin in the face, fighting the darkness that rested inside Sombra, or the fact that the Divine Crusader was trying to roast them all alive with the rest of the undead. Between the fact that the others were tearing the undead apart with their magic and Shadow was cutting and burning his enemies, Raika found that she didn't need to fight as much as she had to in the past.
They passed by several sleeping areas, where even more of the undead rose up to greet their living intruders, and Raika spotted a journal that had somehow remained intact over the years. As her friends destroyed the undead Raika picked up the journal and skimmed through the pages, finding that they had a lot of stuff to go through to reach the inner sanctum. Or, if any of them were masters at picking locks, they could open the well without getting the key and save maybe an hour or two before the flames got to them. One ghost, finding that Raika wasn't paying attention, drew back its arm and swung at her, but she raised her sword and disarmed it before driving her blade through it completely.
"Never assume that the Dragonborn isn't aware of her surroundings," Raika spat, picking up her other sword before moving onto the next room with the others.
They rounded a few more corners before they came to a large wooden door that lead deeper into the ruins and was guarded by a single draugr deathlord. Shadow held up his hand and stepped down to where the draugr was standing, backing up just a tiny bit when it swung its greatsword at him and missed. The draugr swung again, but this time Shadow ducked under the blade, raised his right fist, and drove it hard into the draugr's chest, causing it to drop its weapon. Then Shadow spun around and smacked the draugr on the back, forcing it to fall over before he picked up the fallen weapon and drove it through its dead heart.
"I had plenty of time to practice with all the types of weapons that are scattered throughout Tamriel," Shadow remarked, drawing himself up as the body burst into flames, "I have perfected the art of fighting with swords of all sizes, hammers that could lightly tap you or crush you in an instant, axes that could harm or even kill in seconds, and my bare fists."
Raika sighed as they continued through the ruins, coming to a hallway that had several open coffins and a group of draugr that was waiting for them. She leapt forward and drove her blades deep into the first foe she came to, before tearing them out and cutting a second enemy down as it raised its weapon into the air. As she picked herself up more lightning passed by her, blasting several more draugr off their feet and crushing them into the wall behind them. Once the group was taken care of Raika spotted the side passage that the journal had mentioned and immediately took it, backing up to avoid the trap before passing through it.
Shadow, once again, stepped forward and produced a lockpick, sliding it into the keyhole of the gate in front of them and turned it several times before he pushed the gate open. Raika wasn't surprised by that, because if he had enough time to master all the ways to use a weapon then it made sense that he could unlock anything without really trying. With the gate out of the way they descended into the water and made their way even deeper into the forgotten ruin, coming to yet another area with a group of freshly awoken draugr. Her friends stepped forward and began their assault, spells flying into the dead as their newer weapons clashed with the ancient weapons all around her.
They rounded yet another corner, passed through another door way, and walked up a set of stairs before they came to an eating area that housed another group of draugr. Raika was already surprised by how many of the undead they had already seen, but there were nowhere near the end of the ruin and yet more of them seemed to spill out of the walls. Shadow, seeing how many more of the undead stood in their way, pulled out his two handed sword and approached the group in front of them. The first draugr swung his battleaxe at him, but Shadow ducked under the blade and sliced his enemy in half before moving onto the next foe.
Trixie and Serana followed after Shadow, blasting any draugr that either strayed out of Shadow's reach or tried to loose an arrow at any of their friends. Raika and Sombra brought up the back, just making sure that every draugr that the others had fought were actually dead and grabbing any magical item that Raika deemed was worth taking. While they walked Sombra spotted another dragon claw, much like the golden one they had found in Bleak Falls Barrow so long ago, made of what he assumed was some green material. As the group moved further into the ruins Sombra stopped and picked up the claw, hearing a gate open up somewhere in front of them.
They rounded yet another corner and walked up one of the infamous Hall of Stories until they came to the Nordic Puzzle Door that Raika had suspected they would find. Sombra approached the door and stared at the bottom of the claw, seeing the ancient combination and placing his spare hand on the top ring until he saw the fox symbol. He smiled and moved the second ring until he spotted the next symbol, the owl symbol, and moved onto the last ring, the lower ring. Before he moved the last ring he had everyone back up, just in case the combination on the claw was wrong and he sprung the traps that the door had. Once the last ring showed the snake symbol he pressed the claw against the keyhole and waited a second, hearing a click as the door began to shudder and move down.
"Trixie," Raika said, causing the young mage to turn to her, "as much as I want to kick the stuffing out of this Dragon Priest for wasting my time, I think you should take him. When you beat him make sure to grab both his mask and his staff, as I won't be coming back here after we leave."
Trixie nodded and pulled out her sword, walking into the open chamber and keeping her eyes peeled for anything that could awaken any more draugr. The moment that she stepped onto the bottom of the staircase she heard four coffins open up, wondering how her stepping on a step could have awoken them. She sighed and turned to the nearest coffin, driving her sword through the heart of the draugr before it could even raise its weapon against her. As a second realized that she was attacking Trixie called on her magic, turned around, and threw a lightning bolt that struck the undead hard in its chest.
Before any of the other two draugr could see her and what she had done Trixie called upon her images and six copies of herself stepped into the area around her, each of them wearing a shadowy image of Nahkriin's mask. The seven of them ran up the stairs, magic leaping out of their hands at the other two draugr and casting them into the sides of the chamber so hard that Trixie was sure they wouldn't get back up. She started to look around for Rahgot, but then the coffin in the center of the chamber opened up and the Dragon Priest flew into the air, landing not far from where she and her images were standing.
Rahgot took a moment to study his surroundings before noticing Trixie and her images, though he seemed to focus on Nahkriin's mask as if he thought that she was his old friend.
"Nahkriin, dii fahdon, hi lost daal wah mii!" Rahgot spoke in the Dragon Tongue, fully expecting Trixie to understand him, "Fun zey, fos dreh Drog Alduin uth do mii?"
Trixie and her images stood there for a moment, waiting for Rahgot to realize that she wasn't who he was thinking that she was and actually attack her. A few more moments passed before flames wrapped around Rahgot and he pointed his staff at one of her images, telling Trixie that he had seen through her.
"Hi! Hi los ni Nahkriin!" Rahgot shouted, flames surrounding his left hand, "Rodraan wah dir kosmeyiik!"
The fireball flew into one of Trixie's images and utterly destroyed it, though it seemed that finding the wrong opponent only upset Rahgot even more. Trixie called upon the lightning and tossed it at her opponent, lightly striking Rahgot in his shoulder and causing him to turn directly towards where she was standing. Before he could throw a spell at her he was hit in the side of the head with an ice spike, though he immediately spun around and threw the fireball at her other image, blasting it into Oblivion.
Trixie thought that fighting Rahgot like she had done to Nahkriin would work in the same regard, but he seemed to strike out at whoever struck him first. So, with this information in mind, she directed her images to the other side of the chamber and Rahgot's gaze followed them as one threw a fireball at his head. Rahgot dropped his staff and brought his hands together, summoning a fireball that Trixie was sure would wipe all her images off the face of Skyrim until she called on them once more. Keeping the images and their spells going was till sapping at her magic, but Trixie managed to get up and held onto the legendary sword, preparing to slip it through Rahgot's rotten heart the moment that he cast his spell.
The fireball soared towards her images and exploded, though Trixie could sense that they had been destroyed and had very little time to follow through with her plan. Before Rahgot could turn and face her Trixie brought up the Magistrate and pierced Rahgot right in his chest, already feeling the sword's magic tearing at the magic that kept him alive. It took a few moments, but eventually Rahgot stopped moving and Trixie pulled her sword free, pausing to collect the fallen staff and the second Dragon Priest Mask.
"Victory, my name is Trixie Lulamoon," Trixie shouted, spotting her friends reach the top of the stairs, "Slayer of the Dragon Priests Nahkriin and Rahgot."
Raika spotted the mask in her hand and was glad that she had chosen the right person to deal with the Dragon Priest, though Trixie was eager to hand her the staff as she stashed the mask in her robes. They approached the large iron doors and passed out of the ruins at long last, welcoming the cold Skyrim air once again as Raika spotted yet another Word Wall. Before they jumped off the wall and talked to the altmer that sent them into Forelhost in the first place Raika approached the Wall and absorbed another Word of Power, still not caring which one it was. With that taken care of they leapt off the wall and hit the snow below them, though Raika was quick to get up and walk towards the elf's camp.
"Okay, we've taken care of Rahgot and got his...staff?" Raika started, only stopping when she noticed that the elf was dressed in Imperial armor and was talking to an Imperial soldier, "Care to explain?"
"Die cur!" the elf shouted, drawing his weapon as the soldier did the same.
Raika drew her sword and slew the Imperial soldier without pause, but then simply disarmed the elf and pressed the blade's tip against his throat.
"Tell me," Raika growled, "where is the Moth Priest?"
"Fool, he was never here," the elf chuckled, just making Raika even madder, "Go ahead and get on with it, I won't survive ten minutes once word of my actions reaches the ears of Tullius and Ulfric."
Raika brought back her arm and severed the elf's head within seconds. Once the deed was done she sheathed her sword and tossed the staff to Trixie, who caught it and returned it to her robe for safe keeping. Their next step was to either head back to Fort Dawnguard or head someplace else that they could get a reliable source of information on their missing Moth Priest. Then an idea came to mind for someplace else they could search, someplace where she knew a researcher would never pass up the chance to visit.
"So, where to next?" Serana asked, crossing her arms as she stared at Raika.
"The College of Winterhold," Raika replied, seeing Trixie's eyes light up, "there's someone there that can give us the information we need to find our missing Moth Priest."
Raika was just hoping that Urag would be willing to give up the information without asking for something in return, as was the common practice of everyone in Skyrim.
Raika coughed a few times before she finally got over the chill that she had felt after traveling through Sombra's Shadow Gate. The best thing about Sombra regaining his memories and learning all the spells in his arsenal was that now they had an option to travel across vast distances in a matter of seconds. The only requirement that they needed was for Sombra to have visited the location they wanted to travel to, otherwise they'd have to pick someplace close and walk from there. As such they opened a gate and traveled from the ruins of Forelhost to the rotting town of Winterhold, scaring the crap out of one of the guards.
The guard, at the time, had cursed them out by saying something about 'damned mages appearing out of thin air' before walking away from the group.
"I hope Tolfdir got that orb we found out of Saarthal," Trixie commented, watching the Shadow Gate close before beginning the trek to the College gates, "cause I'd like to know what that thing is and how powerful it really is."
"Honestly, I just hope Urag has something for us," Raika sighed, feeling as if they were walking into another trap, "because I'm not going to chase this Moth Priest all over Skyrim. And there's still the Imperial Legion I have to worry about. One of these days I'll have to deal with the war and end it before it claims too many more lives."
On that note Serana, having been locked away for way too much time and not being able to state anything about the current age, began to ask question after question about the current sides of the war. Apparently she wanted to know exactly who the contenders were for the 'war of succession', as she called the current civil war. Raika, being the only one who could accurately tell her anything, informed her about how the Empire had been defeated by the Aldmeri Dominion, been forced to ban worship of the Ninth Divine everywhere, and the Imperial Legion that was trying to eradicate the Stormcloaks that still prayed to Talos.
It was during their discussions that Raika learned that Serana was a pure blooded vampire, the tainted creation of Molag Bal, one of the sixteen Daedric Princes that ruled over Oblivion. As such as she had no love for the Divines, who she believed only saw her and the rest of her kind as monsters, but also knew the importance the nords placed in Talos. With that in mind Serana had no idea why Raika, a khajiit, would worship Talos or even enlist in the Stormcloak army, despite the fact that she kept telling her that she was born in Windhelm. Raika knew she would never convince anyone who wasn't a Stormcloak that she was telling the truth, but she did like to remind people of which side she was on.
As they approached the main gates Trixie was greeted by several of the mages, a few of which were her fellow apprentices while the others were the masters. Raika felt glad that Trixie, someone who couldn't fit in with the rest of her own world, could be accepted by some many people who had been rejected by most of Skyrim. She could tell that Trixie felt at home with the other mages, where she could practice her magic and not be mocked by someone who felt she was just pretending. As they entered the Hall of the Elements Raika heard Serana gasp, no doubt because of the giant orb floating in the chamber in front of them.
"The Eye of Magnus?!" Serana said, staring past the door way and focusing on the orb, "According to the ancient legends that's one of the most dangerous artifacts that's scattered throughout Tamriel. I know of several Daedric Princes that would kill everyone in the College to get their hands and claws on something like this."
"As long as they don't know about it then we're safe," Raika sighed, wondering why they had found something so easily, "Come, let's speak to Urag and see where our Moth Priest went."
As they walked up the steps and entered the Arcanaeum Raika heard someone arguing with Urag, though by the sounds of it she suspected that whoever it was was female. And then she heard a familiar voice, one that made Shadow step forward and get a better look at who was up there.
"Calm yourself young Twilight," the second voice continued, "I'm sure that Urag meant that he has no idea where our friends have run off to or when they'll return to the College. Maybe we should wait here for some time and see if they come seeking information, because we actually needed Urag's help to find the Elder Scroll that helped defeat Alduin."
"Nightmare Moon?" Shadow asked, stepping into the open area and pulling his hood back.
Raika and the others turned the corner as well and she was shocked to see that Princess Luna had returned to Skyrim after being away for such a sort time. Standing next to her was a young girl that stood at the same height as Trixie, but where Trixie had a simple horn this girl had both a horn and a pair of lavender wings. Both Luna and the girl turned around the moment that Shadow had said Luna's ancient name, one that she hadn't used since the days of the Oblivion Crisis.
"Shadow, the Knight of the Nine?!" Luna said, almost as if her eyes had deceived her, "I had wondered what had become of you after the Oblivion Crisis, though it warms my heart that you are still alive and well after all these years."
"Yes, there were moments where I thought I'd fall in battle and join Rend in the afterlife," Shadow chuckled, "but every time I came to that point I found that I would suddenly have the strength to move. The Divines willed me to live whenever I needed it, and whenever I finished the fight I was in I made offerings to the Divines as thanks for aiding me."
"Look, I'd rather not interrupt this reunion," Urag called from his desk, "but I've got a task that someone needs to run and you guys happen to be the only people near me."
"Hey Urag," Trixie replied, walking up to the desk and placing a few books in front of the orc, "I found a couple of books that were I thought you'd like to add to your collection while I was got. Here's a proposal for you Urag, we go and do whatever task you need us to run and then you share whatever information you have on a Moth Priest that may have entered Skyrim some time ago."
Raika had no idea what Trixie was doing, offering their services to someone without getting some form of payment before they even left the College. If they went through all the effort to do Urag's task and came back to him, only to learn that he had absolutely no idea where their Moth Priest was, than they would have wasted their time. Trixie was practically handing a free service to Urag with nothing in return and Raika wasn't too pleased with how things were developing.
"I will tell you something about this Moth Priest," Urag said, grabbing the new books and stashing them beneath the desk, "He HAS visited Skyrim in the last week. Now, what I need you and your friends to do is go to Mzulft, find the Synod researchers that delved into the ancient ruins, and then find out what they know about the Staff of Magnus. Tolfdir was speaking with the Augur of Dunlain earlier and somehow found out that we needed the Staff to even use the Eye of Magnus without being shackled to it. If you find out anything about the Staff you are to immediately return and report to the Archmage with your findings."
"Why in Oblivion are mages from Cyrodiil exploring a dwarven ruin in Skyrim?" Raika shouted, not understanding what those mages were thinking in the first place.
"What's Oblivion?" Twilight asked, her eyes darting past everyone while not landing on the one stallion she didn't want to see, "And what's Cyrodiil for that matter?"
"I'll tell you later Twilight," Trixie told the latest Equestrian, "Just tell us where Mzulft is and we'll see if there are any members of the Synod still running around. Maybe we'll find where this Staff is in the process."
Before anyone could react Sombra activated his magic and opened another Shadow Gate between where they stood and where Urag was sitting. Luna smiled and leapt right into the shadows, causing everyone else to slowly follow after her until only Twilight and Sombra remained in front of it. Twilight gave Sombra a glance, trying to decide if she could trust the stallion, but came to the swift decision that if Luna could trust him then she could put some faith in him. She sighed and threw herself into the gateway, disappearing before Sombra entered it and allowed the College's entrance to close.
-------------------------
"Ugh, why do I even use those things?"
Raika dragged herself onto her feet and stared up at what was sitting in front of her face, a dwarven ruin sitting in the side of a mountain with a giant golden door. She had no idea how Sombra had found Mzulft without being there, as that had been the requirement they had been using for all of their travels. If he could just skip to wherever he wanted, even without being there, they could have saved hours and be even further along in their quest to save the world from vampires.
"Dear sweet Celestia," Twilight moaned, throwing up what she had had for breakfast on the side of the mountain, "what in Tartarus was that mass of shadows we walked through?"
"Sombra's magic, capable of teleporting us across vast distances," Luna remarked, staring up at the golden door while holding her battleaxe at her side, "Twilight, there are many things about Sombra that you do not yet know and I promise you that I will try to tell you everything about the stallion he had been, and not the stallion you've come to know."
"Very well Princess Luna," Twilight replied, managing to regain her balance while turning to the elder alicorn, "Still, you have to tell me what this 'Oblivion' and 'Cyrodiil' are sometime soon, otherwise I'm just going to get more confused..."
"Trust me, he's actually a sweet stallion when you get to know him," Luna chuckled, recalling how her sister acted around Sombra, "though I really wish the marriage ceremony had gone uninterrupted and we could have spent the night partying and telling stories of our heroic deeds."
"Marriage...ceremony?" Twilight asked, not having any clue what Luna was talking about.
"For the sake of the Sun," Sombra groaned, feeling sorry for the poor mare now, "What Luna is trying to say is that Princess Celestia and I are, by the old Equestrian laws, married. I'm pretty sure that I left the records somewhere in the Crystal Palace, safe from harm in a hidden compartment that only a select few can open."
"I think I'm going to be sick again," Twilight moaned, not sure if she should be upset over the fact that Sombra had actually been a nice pony in the past or over the fact that he had married Princess Celestia.
"For the love of Talos, let's just get this over with," Raika said, drawing her swords as they began to walk through the golden doors.
The moment they entered the very beginning of the dwarven ruins they came across one of the Synod researchers, who was holding his chest and coughing blood at an alarming rate. He spotted them and handed Raika a key, muttering something about an Oculory and a missing crystal, though it didn't give Raika anything to go on. She pushed open the door and walked further into the ruin, trying to limit how much noise they made so they didn't awaken the construct army that was waiting below their feet.
"Is there a reason for walking slow?" Twilight asked, her eyes lighting up as she stared at the ruins around her.
That was when Raika heard it, the scrapping of metal on stone. It was the telltale sign of the construct army awakening from their ancient slumber and starting to seek out whoever had awoken them early. Raika would have strangled the new girl right then and there, but Luna was watching and there was the fact that she was a bloody alicorn, not the one named Cadence. There had been three alicorns in Equestria when Luna had last visited Raika, but now there was a fourth one running around. Raika was beginning to wonder just how many of the godly creatures there were in Equestria, save for the annoying Discord that she hated with her entire being.
It took them about ten minutes to move from the entrance of the ruins, which Sombra decided to seal with his wall of crystals so the constructs couldn't escape, to an open chamber with at least two dozen constructs milling about. Twilight, wanting to get a closer look at what they actually were, moved to the edge of the walkway and stared down at the constructs, who turned and stared at her. One of the sphere constructs raised its arm and pulled back the string on its crossbow, aimed right at Twilight so it could end the intruder quickly. The bolt flew through the air, but never made it to Twilight as a lavender barrier wrapped around her and destroyed the bolt before it could get near her.
Before the construct could move Twilight extended her hand, wrapped magic around it, and squeezed her fist closed, crumbling the construct from afar. Raika had never seen a magical power like that before, though she had seen a legendary dragon, the power of chaos, the abilities of the Sun and the Moon, and a whole bunch of corruptible shadows. Whoever this Twilight Sparkle was she was certainly a dangerous person, as she demonstrated by crushing two more constructs under the weight under her magic. Sombra smiled and stood neat to her barrier, willing some crystals to rise up and sever several constructs against the walls while Twilight crushed the rest.
"Wow," Raika said, seeing the constructs fall to just two Equestrians, "too strong for Skyrim to handle."
Twilight turned to Trixie and nodded, allowing the other Equestrian to join them as they continued down the hallways, magic flying everywhere, literally everywhere, and colliding with every construct they came across. Luna and Shadow stood side by side and followed them further into the ruins, leaving Raika to wonder how much fighting she was actually going to do with so many allies. There were too legendary warriors fighting on her side, all starting with the legendary Queen of Knights of the Oblivion Crisis. Then there was the Princess of the Sun, the King of Shadows, an Apprentice from the College of Winterhold, and then the timely visit from the Hero of Kvatch.
They continued through the ruins, Raika watching the newcomer either crush the dwarven constructs against each other or just fling them into the walls around them. Sombra would do his usual bit, summon crystals and puncture everything that stood in their way as an enemy, including the Falmer they found in later rooms. Trixie, wearing Nahkriin's mask, used her elevated magical abilities to tear through the enemies that the others left behind, throwing them off the edge and piercing others with spikes made of ice. Luna and Shadow took turns slicing enemies down with their rather large weapons, sharing what had happened since the Oblivion Crisis as if it was more important than finding a legendary staff of power.
-------------------------
Room after room of constructs and Falmer they passed through, though all Raika had to do was watch her friends wreck everything that wanted her dead. While they walked she basically sheathed her swords and enjoyed the sight, that for the first time she didn't have to help anyone fight or regain their memories. She was free to collect magical weapons, pieces of special jewelry that might have some decent enchantments, and a variety of books that she'd hand to Trixie, who would then had them to Urag later on. She was also sure that they had passed by an ancient puzzle built by the dwemer, but her magical friends destroyed it before she could get a good look at it.
They came to yet another chamber filled with Falmer, but Raika knew that she didn't have to wait long until her friends started blasting them against the walls. Raika seriously wished she had Twilight when they were hunting for the first Elder Scroll, as she could have wrecked the construct army that she's sure is still in Blackreach. As her friends moved against the Falmer Raika continued to search all the bodies, eventually finding a rather strange circular crystal sphere, which she assumed was the one the dying man had mentioned earlier. A Falmer got close to her, but she pulled a sword out and lopped its head clean from its body, letting the head roll and the body fall as she got onto her feet.
Eventually her friends broke off to the right of the room, smashing even more constructs as they descended deeper into the ruins, leaving Raika to study the crystal. She was sure that it held some importance to the ruins, though she couldn't figure out what exactly that important role had been before the dwemer had vanished. She stood there for a few minutes before her friends returned, their magic dying away before Trixie stared at the crystal that Raika was still holding.
"This might be the key to finding the Staff," Trixie said, taking the sphere and moving to the left side of the room, "Maybe that key we found in the other room will help with this large golden door."
"Okay, why did these 'dwarves' build everything out of gold?" Twilight asked, following the group to the other door, "Seriously, I've seen enough gold to fund every region in Equestria. These dwarves were a wasteful lot."
Raika was somewhat glad that Twilight hadn't gotten to all the books on all the terrible things the dwarves did to everyone else, because she seemed like an innocent person, or pony, who had stumbled onto Luna's quest. She was sure that Twilight was only staying for the one quest and that the moment they finished with the College of Winterhold Luna would be sending her home almost immediately. The moment they reached the door Trixie unlocked it and revealed a second door at the top of a ramp, which made Twilight sigh in disappointment. Trixie approached the second door and tapped on it, hearing someone shuffle around before the door swung open, revealing another mage who looked incredibly angry at something.
Trixie approached the mage and the two of them exchanged words, the mages almost shouting that he hated the College of Winterhold and the fact that he was ignored by the Archmage about three or four months ago. Trixie somehow managed to convince the mage that she was there to help and that she had the one thing he needed to complete his experiment. So they all followed them into the large chamber, finding a golden orb with weird symbols in front of them, though they walked up a ramp and reached a point where Trixie could place the crystal in the socket it was designed for.
With the crystal in place the machinery started moving, flipping the orb into the air before several beams of light bounced off the walls and connected with the crystal. Trixie shocked the orb with ice, causing the beams to move until they were aligned with the three bands that were at the top of the ceiling. Then she moved to the platform and started pressing the buttons, causing the bands to move until they reflected the beams back at the crystal from a completely different angle. Once all the beams were reconnected they shined down a light below the platform, revealing a map of Tamriel that had only two white spots on it.
"You ruined everything!" the mage shouted, tearing at his hair as he stared at the map, "Blasted College still has some artifact of incredible magical power hidden away from the world. And what's this, the ancient ruin known as Labyrinthian has some artifact hidden away, where no one would think to look for it. The Aldmeri Dominion will take great pleasure in the fact that this mission was a success and that Ancano isn't wasting his time trying to bend the Eye of Magnus to his will..."
That was as far as he got before Raika shoved her daedric blades through his chest, silencing the vile mage before he could reveal any of the College's secrets to the enemy.
"So..." Raika said, turning to Sombra, "We'll need another ride to the College so we can warn everyone about this Ancano and get on with finding our Moth Priest. What's the worst that can happen?"
Sombra sighed, not wanting to tell Raika that asking that question was going to being something bad upon them, but opened the Shadow Gate regardless. All Sombra hoped was that the Archmage didn't need them to actually retrieve the Staff of Magnus and make this quest go on longer than it needed to be. They had a vampire threat to deal with before they could get anywhere near the fiend that sent those Cultists after them a while ago.
-------------------------
Princess Cadence sighed, feeling bored for the first time since she started ruling over the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna dropped off the face of Equestria and left her to fend for herself, giving her no free time to do anything fun. She had Twilight's help in making sure nothing fell to pieces and they had a decent time trying to make sense of Celestia's records. While she focused on her empire Twilight was given majority control of Canterlot, though she had to share her plans with Cadence all the time. Then, one day, both princesses returned and took control of everything again, though not before Celestia sent Twilight an ancient spellbook and turned her into an alicorn.
The last few months were the worst in her entire life, but now that Celestia and Luna were back where they belonged Cadence could finally relax and not have to worry about anything. That was before her hoof brushed against a loose piece of the throne and knocked it off, revealing a hidden compartment that must have some secret of the previous ruler. She didn't know if she wanted any of Sombra's secrets, but her need to know what she had found was much stronger than keeping her innocence. She pulled the pieces of paper out of the compartment and prepared herself for whatever dark secret Sombra had chosen to hide away.
Hmm, what's this? Cadence thought, her eyes scanning over the documents, Let's see here; a copy of Sombra's right to rule the empire by vote of the Crystal Ponies, a list of the various crystals and who he could give them to, a marriage certificate, a plan to keep the Crystal Heart in the center of the empire for generations, a design sheet for...wait, a marriage certificate?!
Cadence stared at the one piece of paper that she never expected to find in all of the Crystal Empire, something that revealed that Sombra actually cared about somepony. It was undeniable proof that he had a heart, something that Cadence had thought that Sombra didn't have when she heard that he had enslaved the entire empire. She had to tell Shining about this latest development with the now destroyed ex-ruler of the Crystal Empire, but first she needed to know exactly who he had married. After a few moments she found the name she was looking for, but once she read it her eyes widened in shock and surprise at the same time.
Raika expected to be back inside the Arcaneum, where they had left Urag not a few hours ago. Instead, the group found themselves standing outside the College, which was now surrounded by a light green aura that looked like someone was attacking it. She spotted several of the mages she had seen standing at the edge of the bridge, throwing a spell at whatever came out of the barrier and attacked them. She had no idea what was attacking the mages, but as they approached she noticed that most of them were waiting for something to happen.
"There you guys are," Tolfdir said, noticing them coming his way, "We've...got a problem. Ancano has tapped into the power of the Eye of Magnus and it looks like he's preparing an attack that could potentially wipe out the rest of Winterhold and most of Windhelm."
"Blasted Thalmor!" Raika shouted, eying the barrier with pure hate in her eyes, "Why? Why is it that every time I try to do anything they're always around, trying to turn the powers of others into the destruction of the Stormcloaks?"
"Please tell me you found where the Staff of Magnus is," Tolfdir continued, barely noticing her comment, "I'm afraid that if this continues we won't be able to stop Ancano from causing untold devastation to Skyrim and the people that call it home, no matter what side of the war they're on."
"The Labyrinthian," Trixie replied, causing several pairs of eyes to turn to her, "that's where the Staff is located..."
Before she could continue something came out of the barrier, which happened to be a giant snakes head that took one look at the assembled mages and roared in their faces. The creature reached out to strike them, but Trixie was faster as she tossed a large fireball at the barrier where the snake was coming from, exploding and severing the connection between the two. It wasn't the perfect fix, but they needed to push it back before something terrible happened to the mages that were trying to keep Winterhold and the rest of Skyrim safe.
"Get to Labyrinthian and find the Staff," Tolfdir told them, turning his attention to the barrier again, "we'll hold the fort and stop whatever monsters come out of it."
Sombra, aware of how much time they needed to save, opened a Shadow Gate and directed his friends through it, leaving the mages of Winterhold to stop the monsters that stepped out of the barrier. Once he was sure that everyone was through he stepped into the mass and vanished, traveling to what he hoped was the place known as Labyrinthian.
----------------------------
"How did he get this right again?" Raika asked, staring at the ancient ruins that were known far and wide as Labyrinthian, "Seriously, we've never even been here and yet he got us here in seconds. What is wrong with this picture?"
"Shadow Magic is a tricky business," Twilight said, staring at the ruins with awe in her eyes, "and Sombra knows more about it than anypony else that I have ever met. My guess is that he envisions what he's trying to find and those Gates of his find the place that he's looking for, but how I don't know."
"I...can feel him," Trixie suddenly said, staring at the ruins as if she knew what was waiting for them,"Eight Dragon Priests, seven of which reside somewhere within Skyrim while Nahkriin guarded the gates of Sovngarde for his master Alduin. Six of those Priests had known ruins where they resided, making it so people didn't stumble into them and get themselves killed, but there was one Priest that remained a mystery. Morokei...Glorious in the Dragon Tongue...I can feel the tug of his magic."
"Then let's get in there and get that staff," Luna remarked, her battleaxe touching the ground for a moment before she spotted several creatures coming their way, "Great, trolls. Prepare your fire spells and enchantments for battle."
Raika drew her swords and dashed forward, bringing her weapons down hard on the first troll she came to and grinned as flames leapt from the blades to the trolls. She was right in her thinking, daedric weapons had been crafted with the ability to channel fire without an actual enchantment, but the flame enchantment would have made the blades even stronger. A troll reached for her, but she spun around and cut its feet out from under him before driving a sword into the back of its head. She spotted several more trolls coming out of the ruined buildings, so she pulled her weapons back and prepared for another bout with the vile creatures, but before she could move a fireball soared past her and tore three of them to pieces.
Raika was glad to have her friends along for the journey, otherwise she was sure that the trolls might have ripped her apart before she could have gotten to them all. With her friends standing by her she noticed that the remaining trolls seemed to think on the odds of their success before they turned tail and ran away. That was what she would have assumed would go through her mind, if they had been intelligent creatures like everything else they were fighting. Raika spotted a big iron door up a few short staircases and immediately started for it, her friends following without any delay in case they came across more foes.
What they found at the base of the door was at least a dozen bodies torn, beaten, and even burned, but what shocked Raika was that there was one person who looked mostly intact, excluding her left arm. The entire limp was missing, meaning that if they weren't dead already the poor ash coated khajiit was going to die of blood loss soon enough. Raika gently touched the poor khajiit's shoulder and prepared to whisper a prayer for her save journey to the afterlife, but then she seemed to breath once more as she looked up at them.
"What happened here?" Raika asked, wanting to know if the Thalmor had come here seeking the Staff.
"We...we were foolish...to think we...could take them...all..." the khajiit replied, coughing up blood before continuing, "We thought...we could take...the others down... We awoke them...Otar the Mad...Hevnoraak...Krosis...Vokun...and Vulsung...the other five...Priests..."
"They're in Labyrinthian aren't they?" Raika asked, sweat rolling down the side of her face as she waited for the khajiit to either confirm or deny her fears.
"Ye...yes..." the khajiit answered, before her body went still and her spirit finally left her body.
Shadow stepped forward and pressed his hand on the khajiit's head, whispering a prayer to each of the Divines for the girl's swift journey to her spiritual home.
"Whelp, we're screwed," Raika said, staring at the iron door for a moment, "Not only do we have to deal with an army of draugr, since they are always in these places, but now there are five more dragon Priests waiting for us in there. Trixie was barely able to kill Nahkriin after our trek through Skuldafn and the same thing happened with Rahgot in Forelhost. I'm willing to bet that the Dragon Priests are going to be interested in her and her alone, but there is no way she can take down the six of them without resting for some time between each battle."
"I could share my magic with her," Sombra spoke up, causing the eyes to land on him, "I could create a necklace that I could store my magic in and give it to Trixie, for her to use after each battle so she can be replenished for each foe. The only down side to this type of magic is that I'd have to be really close to her, considering how much magic I'd have to pour into the necklace for her to face Six Dragon Priests."
"How close?" Trixie asked, not really liking the idea of being near the stallion at all.
"Well, taking the magic into consideration..." Sombra said, doing his calculation in his head, "I'd have to be in your shadow, just like I did with Raika back when we visited Castle Volkihar. Of course I be silent and you wouldn't have to hear from me until you killed the last of those Priests."
"Fine," Trixie said, steeling herself for what was to come, "let's get this over with."
Sombra nodded and his magic ignited, summoning a small crystal out of the ground and bringing it into the air in front of where he was standing. Next the shadows around them bent to his will, reaching up and surrounding the crystal as he fashioned a special necklace for this particular spell. Once he had a silver necklace with an ebony colored stone set in the center he began to pump his magic into it, making sure to leave the taint out of it so he didn't corrupt Trixie in the process. As soon as most of his magic was inside the necklace he turned his gaze on he iron door and let the darker magic seep into it, forcing a crystal between the sides to open it up for them.
"That's all I can do for now," Sombra huffed, using the next bit of magic to start seeping into Trixie's shadow, "Now, take the necklace and go kick those rotting Dragon Priests in the flank."
Trixie nodded and took the necklace with her right hand, watching Sombra fade into her shadow until both he and his armor were completely gone. She slipped the necklace around her neck and felt the magic inside it almost immediately, which gave her the impression that she might actually have the chance to beat all the remaining Dragon Priests. She stared at the opened door and could feel Morokei calling out to her, almost as if he was welcoming her to the ruins that he called home. Before the others could stop her she pulled on Raika and they descended into the ruins, causing the others to follow after them before they found the draugr army.
Once inside the ruins Trixie fell to the back of the group, choosing to save her magic for when a Dragon Priest showed up and used her sword whenever possible. The first chamber they came to was a rather large open area with two dozen skeletons waiting for them, along with a skeletal dragon in the middle of it all. Serana and Twilight, the only true mages now, wasted no time in dealing with the skeletons, scattering their collective bones across the entire chamber. Shadow and Luna made sure to damage the dragon by shattering its legs so Raika could approach it and destroy the core that kept it alive. With all of their enemies defeated they started to move on to the back of the chamber, but stopped when they realized something was coming up the back stairs.
Trixie recognized what it was almost immediately, with the decaying robe, the golden pieces of armor that looked like scales, and the mask that covered its face. As soon as she saw the malachite mask she knew exactly which Priest it was, almost as if wearing Nahkriin's mask gave her knowledge about the other seven Priests.
"Otar the Mad," Trixie said, magic pulsing around her hand as she separated herself from her group, "the first of the Six Priests that have gathered in Labyrinthian."
Otar stared at her, as if he was trying to see past the mask of his ally that she was wearing, but at least he wasn't shouting at her like Raghot had when he discovered she wasn't Nahkriin. Then, as if realizing something, Otar leveled his staff with Trixie and lightning shot forth, reaching for her as she threw herself to her left to avoid it. Trixie's magic danced around her fingers before she threw it at Otar, shocking herself when she noticed her ice spike transform into a spear of pure crystal and impale Otar in the left side of his chest. The Priest stumbled out of the air for the moment and stared at her, summoning a barrage of lightning that reached straight for her.
Trixie brought up a shield and watched the lightning bounce off of it, but not without damaging the shield in the process. She conjured another spell and released her mirror image, allowing it to run to the other side of the room and distract Otar for the few moments she needed to end the Priest. Otar, as if sensing her trick, separated his hands and lightning jumped at both Trixie's, piercing her image and destroying it within seconds while the real Trixie's barrier shattered. Trixie got onto her feet and called upon her lightning, allowing it to leap from her hand and crash right into Otar, long enough to make him focus on it and ignore her so she could get close. She wasted no time in getting right in Otar's face and stabbing his rotten heart with Starswirl's sword, feeling the magic collapse like it had on the last two Priests.
"Good luck," Otar whispered, the eerie voice fading before he went limp.
Trixie sighed and pulled her sword out of the Dragon Priest, kneeling down for a brief moment to take the third Dragon Mask off of the one who had worn it while he had been alive. She could almost feel the power that rested within the mask, as if it could just fortify her resistance to the three types of destruction magic. It was like when she acquired Rahgot, she could feel it fortifying her stamina, and Nahkriin, which increased her magical powers. She wondered what the other masks would increase, if she could defeat the other Priests that were waiting for her.
"That was amazing Trixie," Twilight said, realizing just now how much better Trixie had gotten at magic since being in this world, "I'm not sure how you did that crystal spike spell, but I know I have got to learn that some time."
"I'd ask Sombra about that Twilight," Trixie replied, feeling the necklace restore her magical energy as she stashed the new mask in her robe, "after all, I learned it from him."
Raika moved forward, leading the group towards the stairs and the iron door that silently waited for them. After they passed through the doorway they came to a corner, where they found a door that was covered completely with pieces of ice and lowered the temperature just a bit. Serana huffed and flames leaped from her fingers, ripping the frozen door to pieces and destroying an undead spirit that had been waiting to jump out at them. As they passed into the hallway Raika spotted an open area that descended into the ground, though there were at least another dozen draugr waiting for them.
Raika was glad that she was able to actually fight something in this dungeon, but she was annoyed that there seemed to be an army of draugr that must have come here with the Priests. It would have made sense that the draugr that served the Dragon Priests in their ruins would have followed them to the most powerful Priest still alive, which happened to be this Morokei. She wondered how the draugr had moved across Skyrim without anyone noticing them, but she also hadn't been given enough time to hear any rumors during their visit to Winterhold.
Raika spotted a walkway where they could diverge from the path they were on and head down a different path, though she didn't know if it was worth investigating. Instead of heading down the other path she continued down the one they had been on already, walking over a bridge and coming to a small area that held several bookshelves with alchemy ingredients. They only had to contend with two draugrs, who were simply walking around and didn't see them coming until they were literally on top of them. Once the draugr were defeated they turned another corner and found themselves walking down to another door, following a stream of water towards it.
They followed the stream through a locked door, opened thanks to Shadow's incredible lock picking skills, past two skeletons, and around another corner until they reached an open chamber with a troll's body sitting near the back. Floating in the center of the chamber was the second of the Dragon Priests they had been warned about, but Trixie knew which one it was by noticing the iron mask. It was Hevnoraak, who stared at Trixie as lightning danced around his left hand, almost as if he was waiting for her to make the first move. The others backed up as she stepped down the stairs, allowing her magic to summon up three images of herself before all four of her faced the Priest that stood in their way.
Lightning shot out of Hevnoraak's hand and flew at her, though Trixie was ready and she ducked, allowing the magic to hit the back wall and torch the stone a bit. One of her images approached the Priest and thrust out its hands, releasing a stream of flames that connected with its face and served to distract it so Trixie could get close with her sword. Hevnoraak, however, wasn't so easily deceived as he reached out and grabbed her image by the neck, snapping it and tossing it to the side before it dissolved into nothing. Trixie had known that the Priests were a dangerous bunch, but she had underestimated them in their one on one battles.
Hevnoraak faced her second image and magic flew at quicker speeds than it had done when she had fought Otar, as she barely had time to react before the image was torn apart. Trixie summoned her ice spikes and sent out a fury of them as her image called upon the power of her lightning barrage, using both elements against Hevnoraak. She was sure that she hit him, as she noticed him stumble once or twice, but she was still amazed at how the Priests could withstand so much damage before she could put them down. Her last image reached for the Priest and successfully made him look her way, giving Trixie the chance she needed to end the fight before it actually dragged on.
When Hevnoraak grabbed her image by the neck Trixie ran forward and drove the Magistrate right into his rotten heart, once again feeling the magic being torn apart by the weapon. Unlike her encounter with Otar, Hevnoraak didn't say a word as the last of his life force was taken from him, leaving Trixie to take the fourth Dragon Mask. She could feel the magic within the mask, enforcing her resistance to disease and poisons, before she stashed it with the others in her robe.
"I'd say well done and that you deserve some rest," Luna remarked, pointing to the window near the troll's body, "but I think there might be another Priest in our immediate area."
Trixie moved to where the troll was resting and looked out at the open ground before her, searching for a sign that another Priest was lurking near their location. Sure enough she saw the golden armor of the Dragon Priests as the next foe floated in the air, staring up at the window as if it had expected Hevnoraak to fail and was patiently waiting for her arrival. The lightened iron mask, different from Hevnoraak's darker iron mask, clearly told her that it was Krosis, who mostly used fire magic against his foes.
"That khajiit wasn't kidding," Raika said, looking down at the Priest that was waiting for Trixie, "This will be the third Priest that's not even supposed to be in this ruin. Why are they only after Trixie?"
"She was the one who slew Nahkriin," Luna replied, staring down at the patient Priest, "who, by all the records that the nords have left behind, was the strongest of the Dragon Priests in Skyrim. The other Seven saw Nahkriin as their leader, the favorite of their lord Alduin, and likely took their orders from him until he disappeared to guard Skuldafn. Now that he's gone they must have turned to his second in command, who has to be this Morokei that's lurking somewhere in this ruin. Morokei wants her defeated, so the other Priests have gathered and seek to destroy the one whose erasing each and every one of them."
"Well, she's beaten four of them so far," Raika commented, watching Trixie walk down to where the Priest was floating, "so I have faith that she's going to beat this one and up that count to five."
Krosis stared at Trixie and brought out his staff, flames dancing around the base of his feet, the length of his staff, and even his hands as he prepared for the fight. Trixie, barely having time to allow her magic to restore itself, opted to ignore her images for once and summoned an ice spike that she threw right at the Priest. She had known that Krosis would melt the ice before it reached him, so while he was distracted she circled to his right and threw a bolt of lightning at him. Krosis barely had anytime to react before the lightning ripped through his robe, blasting the wall and making him turn to face Trixie.
Before she could summon another attack a fireball came racing for her, which made her dodge by throwing herself to the left. The fireball sailed past them and connected with the wall that was resting in their path, charring the stone around where it had landed. Trixie huffed and prepared herself, holding onto her sword as lightning danced around her left hand, just waiting for the moment that she could use it against Krosis. The Priest neared her, flames licking the floor as she began to feel the heat, but no magic seemed to fly at Trixie, as if her enemy was waiting for her to get back on her feet.
Trixie leapt onto her feet and threw her spell, letting the lightning sail through the air and connect with a barrier that Krosis threw up in time to block it. As the barrier dispelled her lightning Trixie ran forward, holding the Magistrate in front of her and prepared to slide it through the rotten heart of yet another Dragon Priest. As the shield fell down Krosis held out his spare hand and prepared to fire yet fireball at her, but Trixie spun around to avoid it and drove her sword right into his chest. For a moment she thought that he had a spare enchantment that prevented the sword from destroying him, but then the magic keeping him alive shattered and he went limp.
Trixie sighed from exhaustion, due to having to fight two Dragon Priests in a row, pushing the body off her sword before collecting the iron mask and the fallen staff.
"Just hang back now Trixie," Raika said, hoping that the Equestrian would listen to her for once, "we'll need you when we reach the net Dragon Priest. Then there's this Morokei that's waiting at the end of the dungeon that we'll have to contend with."
Trixie nodded and let her magic slowly come back thanks to the necklace, glad that she had taken Sombra up on his offer seeing how she was making use of what he had stored inside it. They traveled towards a gate made out of iron spikes, which lowered into the ground the moment that Raika pulled the lever right next to the gate. The next area that they came to was a foggy area with a ghostly women hanging out in the center of it, but the moment she saw them she summoned ice into her hands. Twilight, sensing what was to come, threw her hand forward and the ghost was crushed under the intensity of her magic, allowing them to move forward.
They then walked up the nearby stairs and rounded a corner, finding a flaming door blocking their path that reminded Raika of the ice door they had seen near the entrance. Serana, once again, threw a pair of ice spikes at the door, though Raika heard them hit another spirit that had been waiting to attack them as the door opened. They came to an open room, but the enemies they found were ghostly forms of the draugr they had found on the upper levels of the ruins, though they were just as tough. As they came to another corner they discovered that the normal draugr were also fighting down there as well, doubling the amount of enemies they had to fight.
Raika was getting annoyed with how many draugr there were, knowing that, without her friends, she wouldn't have been able to even reach this point. The amount of enemies they were facing would have swarmed and slaughtered her if she had fought by herself, so she was glad for the friends she had made. Despite the amount of enemies they cut down and blasted their way through the ruins, eventually coming to a chamber with a crumpling tower. There wasn't much blocking their path, but they followed the tunnels until they came to a hidden Word Wall, guarded by not one Dragon Priest, but two Dragon Priests.
Trixie immediately noticed the steel mask of the first Priest, labeling him as Vokun, and the corundum mask of the second Priest, labeling him as Volsung. The last two Priests had chosen to fight together, blocking their way from reaching the newest leader of the age old Dragon Priests.
"Two against one?" Twilight asked, noticing that no one else stood with Trixie as she approached the Priests, "Is it safe to let Trixie fight two of these Dragon Priests alone? I know she can beat one of them alone, but two at the same time?"
"I have faith in her," Luna replied, weaving her hands around and summoning a barrier that would protect them from any stray spells, "so let us watch her take these Priests down, just like the others."
"Vokun, Volsung," Trixie bowed in respect, knowing that they had been awaiting her arrival, "I have arrived to do battle with Morokei and claim the Staff of Magnus for myself."
"Morokei has awaited your arrival," Vokun said, speaking in the ancient Dragon Tongue and yet Trixie understood him, "the arrival of a mage that could rival his own grand power. A mage that could wield the grand power of Magnus' Staff and tame the Eye."
"He bade us to guard the final door between him and everyone else," Volsung continued, causing Trixie to stare at him, "as a final test of your power. The power of the mage that destroyed our mighty leader Nahkriin. You must be very powerful to have defeated our allies, but not even you can stand against the two of us all by yourself."
Trixie, always one for a challenge, summoned her lightning and blasted the two of them backwards, giving her time to conjure up nine images and surround the area around the Priests. The two stared at Trixie and her images, clearly confused by which one of them was the real enemy and which of them were just the annoying copies. They both brought out their staffs, fire dancing around Vokun while ice danced around Volsung, so Trixie followed suit and pulled out the Magistrate, lightning swirling around her. The three of them stood in the same place, staring at each other while the images waited for Trixie to pull off the first move that would allow them to move.
Trixie threw lightning at Vokun and the images broke into action, lightning flying through the air and hitting both of the Priests, who retaliated by throwing ice and fire at Trixie's copies. Two of the copies exploded in a fury of light, though Trixie used the opportunity to conjure up a powerful lightning bolt and threw it as hard as she could right into Volsung's chest. Volsung went flying into the other chamber, giving Trixie a chance to focus on Vokun and dodged the fireball that was thrown in her direction, though her images continued to hail magic on him.
Volsung got up and hailed ice upon her images, tearing three of them to pieces while Vokun's fireball exploded and took another three of them down. The ninth image didn't stand too much of a chance as the two Priests focused a stream of their magic at it, tearing it to pieces before only Trixie remained. Trixie, on the other hand, tossed the Magistrate right through Volsung's chest, having taken advantage of her images to get close to one of the Priests. With the sword deep in his chest Trixie kicked him backwards, causing him to stumble into the other chamber and left Trixie with the last Priest.
"Very good," Vokun said, still speaking in the Dragon Tongue and Trixie still understood him, "Morokei will be pleased to fight you, if you manage to defeat me in combat."
Trixie threw a fireball next to Vokun, making the blast force him closer to where Volsung's rotten body, and her sword, rested. Her plan was simple; all she needed to do was get him as close to the sword without him realizing it, so she could pull it free and drive it right into his heart. Vokun glared at her, but she responded by throwing a pair of fireballs at him, using the blasts to further him away from the Word Wall and get even closer to the sword. As he neared the body he turned around and threw his own fireball at Trixie, who responded by throwing a fireball and used the resulting cloud of smoke to disappear for a moment. Vokun looked around for a moment before a blade erupted from his chest, destroying the magic that kept him alive and silencing the seventh Dragon Priest.
"Dear sweet Celestia," Trixie moaned, feeling tired despite the fact that the necklace was using what had to have been the last of its reserves to restore her magic, "I should not have fought two of these guys at the same time."
Luna dissolved the barrier and walked to Trixie's side, watching her collect the sixth and seventh Dragon Masks, leaving just the one that Morokei held. She was impressed that Trixie had slain seven of the legendary Dragon Priests, creatures that all the nords had feared to face in the old days. She could tell that Trixie was tired, exhausted from the magical combat with absolutely no time for some real rest and knew there wasn't going to be time to rest until the College was safe.
"Are you prepared for Morokei?" Luna asked, beckoning for the others to clear the way for Trixie.
"Honestly, I don't think so," Trixie replied, staring at the masks in her hands, "I've had to fight Dragon Priest after Dragon Priest, so it is understandable that I am magically exhausted from all these fights. Plus Morokei has the Staff of Magnus, so he's bound to pack a terrible punch that's really going to hurt when he attacks me."
"I have faith in you Trixie," Luna remarked, escorting her deeper into the ruins as they approached the final door, "just remember, you need to beat Morokei and get the Staff. Otherwise the College of Winterhold and Windhelm will be reduced to ruins by Ancano."
Trixie steeled herself and pushed open the door, coming to a large chamber with two ghostly mages shooting beams of magic at a figure near the back. Trixie pulled out her fireball staff and shot two fireballs out of it, breaking the dead mages into dust and cancelling out whatever spell they had been working. The moment the spell was gone Morokei emerged from the back of the room, floating in the air and making his way towards the bottom level as Trixie did the same. Eventually the two of them stood in front of each other, though Trixie knew it was a bad idea to let the Priest get as close as she had let him and noticed the strange staff in his right hand.
"Ah, Illusion, it is a pleasure to meet you," Morokei said, speaking in the ancient tongue like the other two priests, "I have felt the loss of my friends as each of them were bested by you. I offer you a choice, don the armor of the Dragon Priests and take the Staff of Magnus so you can ruin our enemies, or ignore me and face my full power."
"Never Morokei," Trixie told the Priest, summoning a total of ten images all around them, "I will destroy you and take the Staff of Magnus for myself."
"Fine then," Morokei sighed, magic dancing around him as Trixie backed up, "face the power of my wrath."
Lightning shot out of Trixie's hand and barreled into Morokei, though she was surprised the moment she discovered that the staff had somehow absorbed the blast. Seeing the change in how this was going to go Trixie pulled out the Magistrate and spun it around, just hoping that she was right and that the weapon could help her against this enemy. Morokei took one look at her images and sent his magic out at them, ripping them to pieces and scattering them across the chamber before they could even melt away.
Trixie could tell that he wanted a one on one battle, a literal one on one battle, without her images or her friends interfering with the battle at all. She called upon the magic of the necklace and summoned a bunch of crystal shards, sending them out towards Morokei and piercing his chest just a bit. She was just a novice of the crystal magic, but it served a purpose as it wounded her enemy and allowed her to conjure more lightning in her hands. She sent her spell out at Morokei, knowing that he would bash it to the side and moved herself to his side in preparation for the attack she needed to launch on him.
Once the spell was broken she lashed out at Morokei with her sword, cutting through the magic that the Staff provided him and causing him to float backwards just a bit. He held the Staff out and magic shot out at Trixie, who raised the sword and sent a stream of magic out of it, connecting to the attack sent by Morokei. The conflict between the two weapons was brief, but the moment it ended both weapons went flying, the sword hitting the stairs near the entrance while the staff was flung over to the wall Morokei had been trapped near. Morokei stumbled out of the air and touched the ground, being the first Dragon Priest that Trixie had seen to do so in all the time she had been in Skyrim.
Trixie called upon most of the magic that she still had, charging one final lightning spell that could potentially destroy Morokei without the use of the legendary blade. Morokei seemed to be thinking the same thing, as his own lightning coursed around his body and prepared to fling it out right at her. Trixie threw her lightning and their magic connected to each other, pushing back and forth between the two mages as they fought for supremacy. Not a moment later Trixie pushed with all her might and the magic barreled into Morokei, piercing him through his rotten heart and tossing him into the side of the ruins.
"Its...over..." Raika said, not believing that Trixie had destroyed the final Dragon Priest, "She did it. She's managed to destroy all eight of the Dragon Priests that were once scattered across Skyrim."
Trixie managed to get onto her feet and walked over to Morokei, finding that his body had stilled and leaving her to take the final Dragon Priest mask. She took the mask and added it to her collection, glad that the fight between her and the Dragon Priests was finally over at long last. She walked over to the Staff of Magnus and picked it up, feeling the magic within it pulsing beneath her hand and realizing that they could save the College with it.
"Here Trixie," Twilight said, holding out the sword that she had seen her friend using, "I didn't want you to lose this."
"Thanks Twilight," Trixie replied, taking the weapon and sheathing it, "We had better get out of here..."
"Stop right there," a voice shouted, causing them to look up and find an elf staring down at them, "Ancano knew that you would be able to make your way through Labyrinthian and acquire the Staff of Magnus. I'm afraid that I'm going to need that staff right now."
"Twilight?" Trixie asked, gripping the staff tightly while staring at the Thalmor agent, "Could you do something for me?"
"I guess I could," Twilight replied, thinking that she knew exactly what Trixie wanted of her, "what do you want me to do?"
"Crush that elf," Trixie answered, staring down at the dull colored gemstone.
Twilight took a step forward and held out her hand, willing her magic to ensnare the elf and gripped him tightly, causing him to squirm against her. Before Twilight could do the deed a sword pierced his heart and the elf died in her grasp, though Raika was standing at a position to have thrown the weapon. Twilight released the elf and cancelled her magic, looking around and wondering where Sombra had wandered off to. As if answering her silent question Sombra emerged from Trixie's shadow, breathing heavily as he finally stretched after the amount of time he had been still.
"Now what?" Twilight asked, wondering what they were going to do next.
"Back to the College of Winterhold," Trixie replied, turning to the door that the elf must have come from, "We'll leave this place and then, when Sombra's able to do so, we'll summon a portal to the College and save it from destruction."
Raika smiled; once they saved the College the mages would owe the Stormcloaks one for saving them, the rest of their town, and a large chunk of their section of Skyrim. Things were looking up for the first time since she started giving her aid to the Dawnguard.
Raika and her friends climbed out of the ruins of Labyrinthian and eventually dropped to the ground, where they were greeted by a pair of white furred trolls. Luna, not wanting anything to interfere with her friends rest, spun her battleaxe around her body and brought it down hard on the troll closest to her, cleanly cutting it in half. As if reading her mind Shadow, still holding his two handed sword in one hand, approached the other troll and lopped its head clean off of its body. Once the enemies were dealt with Raika spotted an area where they might be able to rest, a small domed area that two people could easily defend until their friends were rested.
Trixie felt the hum of magical energies all around the dome and wondered how she could have missed it when they had arrived earlier that day. As they walked in she noticed a body resting before a broken pedestal that had once held eight busts, most of which were scattered across the floor or just broken. The body, long since dead at this point, was mainly just bones, but what Trixie found interesting was the wooden mask sitting right next to it. There was some strange magic dancing about it, something that made her want to reach out, grab the mask from its resting place, and see what was so special about it.
"We should be safe from most of the beasts now," Luna remarked, keeping her eyes on the opening to their hiding place, "We'll rest for an hour and then summon a gateway back to the College, so get what rest you guys can."
Twilight, not as tired as Trixie and Sombra, decided to stay near the iron door, so she would watch everyone else and make sure that Sombra didn't try anything funny. Sombra, on the other hand, leaned against one of the walls and closed his eyes, allowing his body to drift off to sleep so he could regain what magical energy he could. Raika pulled out her bow and kept her quiver close, keeping an eye out for any Thalmor agents that might have followed the other one to their location. Luna and Shadow stayed near the door, keeping their eyes peeled for anything, be it another troll or a Thalmor agent, that might threaten them in any way.
Trixie, still curious about the mask, picked it off the floor and turned it over in her hands, before she pulled off Nahkriin's mask and placed the wooden one over her face. At first nothing happened, making her wonder if she had imagined the tug of magic she had felt, but then everything started to fade right before her eyes. The next thing she knew the entire dome area was reconstructed, as if she had been taken back in time to when the Labyrinthain had been first constructed during the time of the Dragon Priests. The pedestal she had seen earlier had been completely rebuilt, only now all eight busts were back where they belonged and a dragon head stared down at her.
At first she wondered what the busts could represent, but then she noticed that there were eight of them and eight Dragon Priests, linking the two of them together. On the left side of the dragon's head she withdrew Volsung's mask and placed it at the furthest bust, followed by placing Vokun's mask on the bust above it. Then she pulled out Otar and Morokei, placing Otar's on the one above Vokun and then Morokei on the one closest to the dragon's head. Trixie moved to the right side of the dragon's head, placing Krosis' mask on the furthest bust and then followed it with Hevnoraak's mask. She then placed Rahgot's right next to the dragon's head and stared at the final bust, holding Nahkriin before her before sliding it right into place.
At first nothing happened, leaving Trixie to wonder if there had been any point to placing all eight of the masks on their respective busts, but then the dragon's head opened up and revealed a NINTH Dragon Priest mask. The design was similar in shape to the previous eight masks, but the one thing she noticed that struck her as odd was the pair of small tusks that the mask had. She suspected that the mask had to have been made of pure gold, but just by looking at it she didn't think the mask was going to be very heavy. She reached out to touch the mask and her hand laid on it for a minute, though she only stalled in case there was a trap that would have been sprung when the mask was touched.
Once she was sure that there weren't any traps attached to the mask she gently pulled it off of its bust and waited, wondering if the wooden mask's magic would cancel once she had it. When nothing happened Trixie gently grabbed the other eight masks, that she had painstakingly collected, and stashed all but the golden one in her robe. The domed area still stood around her, making her wonder what was keeping her tied to this distant past, before she remembered the mask that she still wore. Without wasting a second Trixie gripped the wooden mask and tore it off, allowing the darkness to claim her once more.
------------------------------
"Everyone saw that right?" Twilight asked, having seen Trixie vanish before their eyes, "One minute Trixie was standing in front of the pedestal and the next she was gone."
"There must be some ancient and powerful magic in this place," Luna commented, despite the fact that she hadn't felt anything strange since they had been there, "Remain calm dear Twilight, I'm sure that Trixie will be back soon."
Twilight didn't feel any type of magic lingering in the air around them, so she definitely ruled out an accidental rift opening and swallowing Trixie whole. It also wasn't Sombra's doing, as all the stallion was doing was sleeping against the wall and ignoring everything that was going on around him. All she could think of was the wooden mask she had spotted before Trixie put it on, wondering if that had been the cause of Trixie's disappearance. Then, as if attuned to her thoughts, Trixie appeared before them, the wooden mask in her left hand with a golden mask in her right hand.
"Where did you go Trixie?" Twilight asked, shocked to have seen her just vanish and reappear like that, "And what is that?"
"I went into the past, I think," Trixie replied, shaking her head as she stashed the wooden mask in her robe, "This, however, appears to be a Ninth Dragon Priest mask, hidden in the forgotten past of the Labyrinthian and guarded by eight busts that require the masks I acquired. From what I can tell this mask is named Konahrik, or Warlord in the Dragon Tongue."
"I was wondering about that," Raika said, recalling something from earlier, "When we reached Vokun and Volsung you started to converse with them, though all three of you were speaking in the Dragon Tongue. When and how did you learn how to speak like the dragon do?"
"I think it might have been the masks," Trixie answered, staring down at the golden mask, "as if each one of them gave me a piece of their knowledge. I guess the Dragon Tongue was scattered across most of them and I just spoke it without really thinking about it."
"So you have a legendary Dragon Priest mask," Raika said, counting the artifacts that she was collecting, "a powerful staff wielded by one of the most powerful mages in all of Tamriel's history, and a powerful sword wielded by someone called Starswirl the Bearded. Ancano doesn't have anything on you at this point."
"Wait, that sword belongs to Starswirl?!" Twilight exclaimed, surprised that such a weapon had been found in Skyrim.
Sombra, having spent some time resting, got onto his feet and faced the group. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him, each wondering if he had recovered enough strength to summon a gateway so they could save the College. Sombra sighed and remained silent for a moment, but then extended his hand just a bit and a gateway sprung up against the wall behind him. He beckoned for them to enter the mass of shadows and Luna was the first one to enter, choosing to attack any enemies that might be on the other side and save them some time. Everyone else eventually piled into the gateway, though Sombra made sure that there was nothing else around them before following them through.
------------------------------
Raika stepped out of the shadows and stared up at the barrier that surrounded the College of Winterhold, seeing dozens of spells flying at it and blasting whatever creatures came out of it. Luna was already in the air, her battleaxe swinging through the air as it cut through several flying enemies without much effort. Trixie drew out the Staff of Magnus in her left hand and the Magistrate in her right hand, walking up to the part of the bridge that the mages were still defending. All of them were still standing there, so it told Trixie that they were intending to defend the town until they could break through the barrier.
"Tolfdir, how are things going?" Trixie asked the senior mage, noticing how exhausted all the mages were at this point.
"Not good," Tolfdir replied, a fireball forming in his hand before he threw it right at a creature that tried to circle under the bridge, "We're all running low on energy and I'm afraid that the moment we do these creatures are going to surge into the town and finish Winterhold off. I hope..."
Tolfdir didn't get to finish as the barrier rumbled and another giant snake creature came out of it, but this one was even larger than the first one had been and coiled around the bridge until its head was directly in front of them. Trixie took it as a sign that Ancano's power had grown since they had left and that it was a matter of time until he harnessed the power of the Eye to destroy everything. The snake opened its mouth to attack them, but before it could get close to them Shadow leapt onto its mouth and drove his giant sword through the mouth. Before the snake could even back up Shadow swung the sword and bits of the snake flew into the air, telling Trixie that he had slain the beast within seconds.
"I have the Staff of Magnus," Trixie told him, turning towards the barrier and pointing the Staff right at it, "Now I only hope that it is as powerful as everyone thinks it is."
Trixie threw a bolt of magic out of the Staff and let it connect with the barrier, waiting for a few moments and wondering if they had wasted time getting something that couldn't help them. Then the barrier began to buckle, collapsing on itself as all the creatures around them collapsed into piles of dust and opening the way into the College. She had no way of knowing how long it would take before the barrier rebuilt itself, but she intended to be on the other side of it before it came back up.
"Guys, hang out here and make sure the town stays safe in case the barrier comes back," Trixie said, taking a moment to pull Konahrik out of her robe and slip it on, "I'm heading in."
Trixie ran across the bridge, somehow sensing that Tolfdir was following her, and reached the main gates within seconds, giving her a few seconds to make sure there weren't any creatures running around before making for the Hall of the Elements. The moment she reached the giant door she pushed it open and found the area where the Eye of Magnus had been left, spotting Ancano connecting to it with some magic. Trixie stepped into the area, allowing Ancano to spot her and smirk while Tolfdir stood back and watched the two of them.
"You might as well stop Ancano," Trixie spoke, stepping closer to the Thalmor agent, "I have all the means to stop you from destroying the rest of Winterhold and Windhelm."
"You cannot stop me you fool," Ancano exclaimed, his magic forcing the Eye to begin to open, "With the power of the Eye of Magnus the Thalmor can crush the Stormcloak rebellion and then slaughter anyone who declares their resistance to our might. With the power that the Eye contains we will assert our power over the rest of Tamriel and no one will be able to stand against us ever again."
Trixie eyed the Eye and then stared at the Staff, arching her arm back and throwing a bolt of green magic right at it, allowing it to course over the Eye. For a moment nothing happened, but then the opened sections of the Eye began to close, returning it to what it had looked like when Trixie had originally found it. Ancano growled and threw a bolt of lightning at her, but Trixie stood there and let the Staff snatch the magic out of the air, making it disappear completely. Trixie, on the other hand, approached her enemy and cut into his back with the Magistrate, cutting through the magical armor that was surrounding him.
Ancano stumbled before rolling away from her, bringing up his hand and blasting her right in the face with a fireball, thinking that the attack would harm her enough to defeat her. Trixie stepped out of the flames and raised her sword, prepared to strike the elf down where he stood, when Ancano blasted the Eye with another blast of magic. The Eye opened up again, only this time it opened further than it had done before and revealed the magic power course that existed inside of it. Trixie, annoyed now, turned the Staff on the Eye and released a stream of magic at it, forcing the Eye to bend to her will and close before anything dangerous happened.
Ancano slipped to the other side of the room and charged up a spell that would tear through any enchantment that was protecting Trixie from damage. Once the Eye closed and Trixie turned on him he released the spell, allowing it to course through the air before blasting her right in the chest, knocking her into the wall. It reminded Trixie of her duel with Morokei earlier, but where Morokei had died instantly Trixie got up and stared right at the elf that was ruining everything. Instead of falling to her enemy Trixie gripped both of her weapons and drew closer to the elf, feeling her wound heal the closer that she got to him.
"What black magic is this?" Ancano asked, feeling his life force being sapped from him as Trixie approached him, "What have you done to me?"
"I bring you your end," Trixie said, raising the Magistrate as she stared at the elf, "Any last words?"
"The Thalmor shall be the end of you!" Ancano exclaimed, getting onto his feet and rushing Trixie so he could reach the Eye.
Trixie, seeing the trick coming, spun around and brought the sword into Ancano's chest, stopping him in his tracks and severing his connection to the Eye. As Ancano's body went limb Trixie pulled the sword out and sheathed it, beckoning for Tolfdir to join her by the Eye of Magnus so they could plan how to stop it. Not a moment later a figure appeared out of thin air in front of the Eye, dressed up in yellow robe that Trixie had never seen before and walked over to them.
"Congratulations mage," the mage, for that was the only thing he could be, said, "I'd like to say that the world is ready for the power of the Eye of Magnus, but, as Ancano here demonstrated, the world isn't ready. Now that Ancano has been defeated my associates and I will take the Eye someplace where it can be held until a time when the world will be ready for it. You are now the Archmage my friend."
As the mage finished speaking two more mages appeared out of thin air, approaching the Eye and standing on either side of it, letting their friend join them in front of it. The three of them let the magic surround them before they vanished as quickly as they had appeared, taking the Eye of Magnus with them. Trixie thought it was weird, seeing the Eye, the focus of the College's interests, vanish into thin air and taken to someplace they would never find. Then one detail caught her interest that she had chosen to ignore for a brief moment.
"Tolfdir, what did he mean by me being the Archmage?" Trixie asked, turning to face the senior mage, "What happened to Savos Aren and Mirabelle Ervine? I haven't seen either of them since I returned from my quest with the Dragonborn."
"Savos Aren died when Ancano first activated the Eye," Tolfdir replied, shaking his head as he pulled out the robes that the Archmage had worn, "and Mirabelle died when we were forced to leave the College, defending our retreat when the creatures first came out of the Eye. I do have to agree with the Psijic though, you deserve the position of Archmage now."
Trixie stared at the robes for a moment before sighing, stashing the Staff in her robe before taking the robes and a key, one she assumed went to the Archmage's quarters. Since joining the College she never aspired to raise high in the school, knowing that one day her time would come to return to her home in Equestria. Now she was standing there, rising from the position of a mere Apprentice to the rank of the Archmage, something she would have never expected.
"Very well," Trixie said, glancing over to Tolfdir for a moment, "I assume that you are taking over for Mirabelle for the moment?"
"Yes," Tolfdir replied, turning towards the doors, "I will assume the day to day functions of the College while you tend to whatever quest is still running its course. I wish you luck in your endeavors."
------------------------------
Trixie walked across the bridge and spotted her friends, each of which looked happy to see that the College had returned to normal after she had run into the building. When she had walked out of the Hall of the Elements she had been praised by several of the senior mages and even her fellow apprentices, just surprising her by how fast the word had spread. The barrier was gone, the creatures were destroyed, and the dust they had left behind had been taken away by the wind that had followed. The College of Winterhold was back to normal for now, until some upstart like Ancano returned to do harm to everyone around them.
"I continue to be impressed Trixie," Luna remarked, sheathing her battleaxe and gripping Trixie in a hug, "First you defeat the last of the Dragon Priests and now you've defeated Ancano and saved the lives of so many people. Tell me, what reward did you get from such a feat?"
"I'm, well..." Trixie started, unsure of what everyone else would think, "seeing how Archmage Savos Aren was slain by Ancano I have been named the new Archmage of the College of Winterhold."
"Then congratulations Trixie," Twilight said, realizing just how much weight the title carried in Skyrim, "unfortunately, I have to return to Equestria and continue my friendship studies. Hopefully Celestia and I can have a conversation when I return, because I have so many questions I need to ask her. I will see you all again one day."
Luna tapped Twilight's shoulder and the mare vanished in a flash of light, leaving them with one less member of their group for the moment. Raika was surprised that Twilight had done that, but seeing how she was an alicorn she figure that she could pull off some impressive feats of magic.
"So, what now?" Raika asked, knowing how tired they were all feeling.
"We get a good nights sleep," Trixie said, beckoning for them to follow her back to the College, "then we'll ask Urag where our Moth Priest went. With any luck we'll be further along in our mission against the vampires before noon tomorrow."
Raika smiled, sleep sounded good and knew that they all needed it after all the fighting they had done that day. She was glad that she didn't have make a camp once again and looked forward to the bed that awaited her.
Trixie stretched as the sun entered her new quarters, glad that she had recommended getting a good nights sleep after everything she had her friends had been through. Her friends had been offered some of the spare beds that the College had, meaning that they spent the night with the rest of the apprentices. She was sure that Luna was glad to have someplace to sleep and likely didn't care that it wasn't the royal bedroom that she had back in her home of Canterlot. As she climbed out of her bed she cast a look at the Archmage robes she had been given the previous day, just placed on one of her desks due to being tired.
She sighed for a moment before gently pulling the new robes on, dropping her old robes into the chest that sat at the foot of her new bed and making sure that all her weapons were still there.
Trixie walked down the stairs and passed into the Hall of the Elements, nodding to Tolfdir as he taught the apprentices whatever he had planned for that day. She pulled open the door to the Arcaneum and walked up the stairs until she came to the bookshelves, spotting Serana kneeling before a shelf and browsing the selection. She spotted Luna and Shadow sitting at one of the tables, either talking about the next step in their plan or catching up on the last two to three hundred years. Sombra sat by himself, reading one of the books that he must have found on the table, while Raika sat near Urag, no doubt waiting for Trixie to appear so she could get the information they had worked so hard to acquire.
"There you are Archmage," Urag called to her, beckoning for Trixie to join him, "As per our arrangement you sent out to find information on the Staff of Magnus, but due to the actions of Ancano you were forced to acquire it earlier than Savos and I had planned. Now that you have the Staff I can tell you exactly where I heard the Moth Priest of yours was last seen, though I think he might have moved on by now. I least heard that the Moth Priest was visiting Dragon's Bridge, though I never found out why."
"Great," Raika moaned, shaking her head in annoyance, "now I get to be harassed by the Imperial Legion while trying to figure out where our Moth Priest wandered off to. Maybe I could hide my identity for a while by wearing one of the spare robes that I've acquired from all those mages that tried to kill me back when i started my quest."
"You've kept some of those robes?" Sombra asked, curious as to why she would have done that, "May I see one of them?"
Raika sighed and opened her bag of spare clothes, pushing several of them to the side as she searched for one of the robes she had taken from a fallen mage. After a minute of searching she found one of them, pulling out the blue silk robe and making sure that there weren't any holes in the fabric. Once she was sure that the robe was just fine she handed it to Sombra, who turned it over and seemed to study what the robes had been constructed with. A moment passed before his horn lit up, pressing some type of magic into the fabric before letting his horn die back down and passing it back to Raika.
"What did you do to it?" Raika asked, turning the robe over while looking for anything that was out of the ordinary.
"An illusion enchantment," Sombra answered, getting onto his feet, "it will make you look completely different to anyone who has absolutely no knowledge of magic. The spell will last for about half an hour, so we had best get underway and find where this Moth Priest disappeared to."
As he spoke a Shadow Gate opened in the area in front of him, though Raika suspected that it lead right to Dragon's Bridge and wished she knew how he knew exactly everything was located these days. Luna and Shadow strolled into the gateway the moment that Sombra nodded that it was ready, disappearing before Trixie and Serana followed after them. Only Raika and Sombra remained, so she quickly switched out her armor with the robe, feeling some strange magic washing over her for a moment. Before she had a moment to wonder what the magic had done she ran through the gateway and disappeared, leaving Sombra to stroll in after her and slam the gate shut.
---------------------------------
Raika stumbled out of the gateway and came face to face with the town of Dragon's Bridge, whose citizens basically ignored them and continued on with their day. Luna and Shadow seemed to be talking to one of the guards, waving their hands and making some gestures as they tried to get some information out of him. Serana and Trixie seemed to keep an eye out for the Imperials that had tried to stop them the last time they were near Solitude, but it seemed like almost all the guards were out on patrol. Sombra helped her onto her feet, which she found were no longer her normal paws and had been replaced with what she assumed was the nord's feet.
"What did you do to me?" Raika asked, finding that her voice had changed as well.
"An illusion," Sombra whispered into her ear, "you'll be a simple nord for the next half hour, or as long as the robe stays on. The Imperial Soldiers won't realize that its you until its too late to stop us, but it seems that my plan might have been wasted."
"Okay, I think I understand where the Moth Priest went," Luna said, walking to the group with Shadow close behind, "He and his guards came through the town a few days ago and headed to the east, crossing the bridge and heading in the direction of Whiterun. If anything I think he might have been grabbed by someone who thought they could ransom him and have yet to make their demands. We should follow his tracks and see if his carriage was thrown off the side of the road or pushed into the river before we start searching for clues."
"Then let's get underway," Trixie replied, the Staff of Magnus appearing in her hand, "I'd hate to have anything bad happen to him."
Raika knew they needed the Moth Priest to safely read the Elder Scroll that Serana carried, but it annoyed her that he seemed to continue to slip away from them. Isran had given them a bad rumor and sent them to Forelhost, then they had to trek through a dwarven ruin, and then save the College before they learned where the Moth Priest had visited. Only, now that they were standing in the town he had come to, the man was no where to be seen and all the guards could tell them was that he was on his way to Whiterun. Luna, however, seemed concerned that he might have been attacked on the way and was determined to walk all the way from Dragon's Bridge to Whiterun to make sure he was safe.
They left Dragon's Bridge and followed the path that the carriage was said to have traveled, but not more than five minutes outside of the town Raika caught the sight of a upside down carriage. It was further up the road from where they were standing, but left on the side of the road as if whoever attacked it really didn't care that someone would come across it. Before they got any closer Raika held her hand out and stopped them in their tracks, watching someone, wearing a cloak and carrying a bow, appear by the wreckage and check something on the ground. Then the person placed a piece of paper on what Raika assumed was a dead body and turned to the nearby fork in the road, running across the stone bridge before heading for a hole in the mountain side.
"Okay, who was that?" Raika asked, walking up to the wreckage and finding a scene of a battle, "Oh wow...these guys sure put up a fight against these vampires."
"Hmm," Luna said, picking up the piece of paper and reading it, "from the looks of it the vampires caught the Moth Priest and took him to a nearby cave, to await orders from someone whose higher up than they are. My guess is that whoever our friend is had heard about the Moth Priest and wanted to help him out on his trip, so now they're going to save him before offering him their services."
"Before we go anywhere I need to get my armor," Raika said, ducking behind one of the nearby rocks and pulling the mages' robe off.
Sombra, remaining silent the entire time his friends searched the wreckage, stared at where the person disappeared and wondered who the mysterious person actually was. The person had moved with enough grace that reminded him of how graceful that both Celestia and Luna had moved when they were fighting. If the person was another Equestrian it made him wonder exactly who it was, despite the fact that his knowledge was limited to who he had seen in the past and who had bested him when he had returned.
Raika stepped out in her armor, glad to be out of those magical robes and back in her original body, and stared at the cave that the person had disappeared into. They had another ally that could help them, but Raika was beginning to think that if she took on any more people there wouldn't be any room for her to kill anything. It was also possible that whoever the person was they were simply stopping by and helping a stranger in need, but Raika didn't put it past them to be wanting a reward after rescuing the Moth Priest.
Without wasting a second Raika moved across the stone bridge and closed in on the cave, worried that the Moth Priest might disappear before they could get his help. Her friends followed behind her, each of them placing their hands on their weapons in case they entered the cave and found a host of vampires waiting for them. She wouldn't put it past the vampires to have faked the whole wreckage in order to lure people to their doom, waiting to ambush whoever crossed into their lair. For all she knew the person they all saw was just a decoy, someone whose role was to lure unsuspecting travelers deeper into the cave where the vampires were waiting.
When they reached the cave Raika slowed to a crawl and quietly entered the cave, keeping an eye out for the stranger and any vampires that might be lurking around the corners. They rounded a corner and noticed that there was a large ruin hiding in the side of the mountain, but where Raika thought she didn't see anything dangerous at first she noticed several figures moving across one of the ruined walls. At first there were five people walking across the walls, but then one of them fell to the ground and the other for went on like they hadn't noticed. Then, just like a bolt of lightning, Raika heard the release of a bow and watched the other vampires drop off the wall, though she had to wonder what was killing them.
Luna tapped her on the shoulder and pointed down near the wall where the vampires had fallen, pointing out the hooded figure that they had seen earlier. A stone gargoyle emerged from the ruins and started patrolling the area around the opening, but the person pulled out a pair of arrows and put them right in its chest, causing it to fall into the water. The person silently moved into the ruin and Raika heard the bow twice more, no doubt putting two more vampires out of their misery. For a moment she waited for the sound of the bow, but then when nothing happened Raika got up and moved towards the entrance of the ruins.
They eventually came to the upper area of the ruin, where they found an old man in a white robe talking with the hooded stranger, almost as if he was thanking someone for a timely rescue.
"Umm...what did I miss?" Raika asked, not sure what had happened.
"Oh, you must be the Dragonborn," the old man said, noticing that company had arrived, "your friend here told me that your seeking a Moth Priest that can translate one of the ancient Elder Scrolls. I am aware of the threat that all of Tamriel faces with these vampires, present company excluded, should their prophecy be fulfilled. I shall come with you to Fort Dawnguard and read the Elder Scroll."
"My...friend?" Raika asked, facing the stranger for a moment, "Ugh...I'll deal with you later. Sombra, open a Shadow Gate to Fort Dawnguard for us please."
Sombra stepped towards the wall and extended his hand towards it, gathering the shadows together against the wall and opening another of his gateways. The stranger stared at the gate as Raika and Serana passed through it, appearing to take some interest in the magic and watching the effects. Trixie and Shadow approached the gate and silently entered the mass of shadows, disappearing in a flash of an eye and leaving the three of them alone. The Moth Priest smiled and entered the gate without pause, following the others to wherever the portal led him. The stranger cast a look at Sombra for a moment, as if making sure he could be trusted, before following the others into the swirling mass of shadows, Sombra following just a moment later.
---------------------------------
Raika walked out of the shadows and found herself back near the entrance to Fort Dawnguard, exactly where they had used the gate a day or two ago. Her friends stood by her side, though the Moth Priest and the stranger were the first ones to move towards the wooden doors as Sombra closed the gate. The soldiers of the Dawnguard stared at them as they passed, whispering amongst themselves and pointing at Serana, as if she was a bad omen. Raika noticed that they didn't do that to Shadow, but he was a special case, seeing how he was the Divine Crusader and everyone else respected him.
"Well, I was wondering when you'd return," Isran said, turning to face them as they entered the great chamber, "I had heard that there were problems with the College of Winterhold and that you had been sighted there. Mind explaining..."
"The Thalmor wanted to destroy Winterhold and Windhelm," Raika spat, "They took control of a magical artifact that the mages had discovered, killed their previous Archmage, and were ready to reduce everything to ashes. We stepped in and stopped the destruction from happening, so cut me some slack. Your latest recruit helped us find the Moth Priest, though she had taken care of the vampires guarding him before we even got there."
"May I conduct the reading?" the Moth Priest asked, somehow having taken the Scroll from Serana.
"Yes please," Isran said, as if it were something that he had been waiting for for a very long time.
"I see a vision before me, an image of a great bow." the Moth Priest said, unfurling the Elder Scroll and staring into the fabric, "I know this weapon! It is Auriel's Bow! Now a voice whispers, saying "Among the night's children, a dread lord will rise. In an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men, darkness will mingle with light and the night and day will be as one. The voice fades and the words begin to shimmer and distort. But wait, there is more here. The secret of the bow's power is written elsewhere. I think there is more to the prophecy, recorded in other scrolls. Yes, I see them now... One contains the ancient secrets of the dragons, and the other speaks of the potency of ancient blood. My vision darkens, and I see no more. To know the complete prophecy, we must have the other two scrolls."
"Blast it," Isran exclaimed, pounding a fist against one of the fort's walls, "We're no closer to saving Skyrim than when we started."
"Nonsense," Raika said, dreading what she was about to say, "This Scroll mentions two other Elder Scrolls, one for the Dragons and one for the Vampires. I've already recovered the Elder Scroll that tells of the dragons secrets, so all we need to do is find the other one."
Isran waved her away, like he didn't care what she and her friends did, and left them alone to do whatever they wanted like he had given up on the Elder Scrolls. Raika, seeing how they didn't have anything important to deal with at that moment, turned to the stranger, who was standing near a wall and still had their hood up.
"So," Raika said, turning to the stranger, "mind removing that hood and showing us who you really are?"
The stranger pulled back their hood and revealed a young women who looked like she was barely past her twentieth year, whose hair was split between a violet, a rose, and a golden color. Raika assumed that the hood had been enchanted, because the moment it came off a long pink horn appeared on her forehead and a pair of wings appeared on her back. Raika knew exactly what she was, seeing how she had traveled with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and, she was assuming on the last one, Princess Twilight Sparkle. She assumed that this was the fourth alicorn that the sisters had mentioned, but the name escaped her.
"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," the young girl said, pulling out a sealed scroll baring the symbol of the sun, "or Cadence as most ponies call me these days. Princess Celestia asked me to travel to this strange world, find someone called Raika, and then, if her suspicions were right, present this letter to her sister. Princess Luna, this is for you."
Luna gently took the letter and broke the seal, unfurling it so she could read whatever her sister wanted to tell her. Raika had the feeling that she had ditched the nobles in Canterlot to come back to Skyrim and fight some more of the villains that Raika was hunting down. After a moment Luna rolled the scroll back up, stashed it in her pack, and moaned before she stared right at Raika.
"I'm being forced to return to Equestria for some time," Luna said, her horn igniting as a hole appeared before her, "My sister is annoyed that I left her swamped in both paperwork and the annoying nobles, so she's forcing Cadence to replace me. I'll return when I am able, which won't be for some time."
Before Raika could speak Luna disappeared, returning to her native world and leaving Raika to wonder what the last Equestrian Princess could contribute to the cause. She cast a look over at Cadence, who simply shrugged in response. Raika sighed and silently wondered where they were going to find the last Elder Scroll.
"Okay guys, where would we find a third Elder Scroll?"
Raika was beyond annoyed that they had to find yet another Elder Scroll, though finding the first Scroll, the one she carried, and the second Scroll, the one Serana carried, weren't easy tasks. To find even one of the ancient Scrolls she had to search through a library full of books, talk to one of the most insane people she's ever met, and dive into an ancient ruin. Serana's Scroll had been easier to acquire, but they had to fight a host of vampires and the undead so they could even get to her in the first place.
Now that she had exhausted almost all her resources to find the first Scroll she was sure that the third Scroll had been lost to time and sealed someplace she couldn't get to.
She, Serana, and Shadow sat at the table, going over several different ideas where the third Scroll could potentially be hidden, such as another dwarven ruin or a large nordic ruin. Trixie stood near them, discussing the Elder Scrolls with the Moth Priest, Dexion he was called, and trying to get ideas where the third one could be. Sombra sat near the group, trying to get a understanding of where they were looking, what had already been searched in the past, and what Serana could be repressing. Cadence, on the other hand, leaned against a nearby wall and watched Sombra, clearly concerned that he was only hiding his true nature and was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"I know this isn't very helpful," Serana said, pulling back from the table for a moment, "but before I was put in that coffin my mother and I devised a plan to hide ourselves from my father. I was to be placed in Dimhollow Crypt, where you found and rescued me, but my mother never told me where she was going. She continued to tell me that she was taking an Elder Scroll with her as well, but she never showed me the Scroll, so I never believed that she was telling the truth."
"So your mother has the third Elder Scroll," Raika commented, knowing what had been said and only cared that they had some plan of action, "My guess is that, if she was hiding from Harkon, she'd go someplace that only you and her knew about. Someplace where she could conduct her experiments and eventually find a place to hide something as important as an Elder Scroll. Does Castle Volkihar have an undercroft or a place where Harkon wouldn't think to look?"
"Yes, there's an inlet that leads into the lower areas of the castle," Serana replied, recalling exactly where it was, "If we went through there we'd eventually come to a Moondial, where my mother planted her herb garden and could have hidden a clue for me. I think my father might have sealed the main entrance to that courtyard, so the inlet would be our only hope of getting there."
"So we need another Shadow Gate to Castle Volkihar," Raika said, casting a look over to Sombra, "Harkon would never suspect that we'd come back to the castle to look for something that we could use against him. We should be able to swoop in, get into the undercroft, and find our way to this Moondial before anyone realizes that we're even there. Sombra, if you could prep a gateway for us while I make sure that Isran doesn't do anything foolish while we're gone."
Sombra nodded to Raika and made his way to the front door of the fort, so he could head to the area that they had used his gateways several times and begin construction. A few of the warriors hailed him as he passed, telling him that their defenses were holding and that they hadn't seen any enemy movement lately. Sombra noted that the walls they had built so far were made of wood, but then he noticed several stone blocks that he suspected were for making a new stone wall. He moved into the area that he used his gates in and stopped, allowing the magic to gather around him as he focused on creating another gate.
"So, your married to Princess Celestia?"
Sombra turned around and found Princess Cadence staring right at him, a frown on her face as if she couldn't decide if he was trying to help the people of Skyrim or was biding his time before he enslaved them all. The question, on the other hand, was something that had caught him by surprise, as Celestia had told him that nopony but her and Luna knew that he was married to her. It made him wonder how she found out about it.
"Yes," Sombra answered, not even bothering to hide it, "How did you find out about that?"
"I found a marriage certificate hidden in my throne," Cadence replied, "at first I thought I had found a trove of your dark secrets that needed to be purged from Equestria, but my curiosity got the best of me and forced me to look. I found a couple of items, but that certificate caught my interest."
"So when we first met you thought I was a beast that was incapable of love?" Sombra asked, leaning against a wooden wall.
"Basically," Cadence replied, "You were a tyrant, a shadowy monster that was bent on returning to the Crystal Empire so you could enslave everypony and made the entire empire fear you. Being the Princess of Love I thought I couldn't feel anything in your cold heart, not even the smallest beat or even an ounce of love to speak of. Then the Crystal Heart destroyed you, making me believe that you had died in the explosion and that you wouldn't be returning to threaten us again. I thought I was rid of your evil, then I found that certificate and had to confront Celestia when she, well, returned from this plane of existence."
"So you learned of Tamriel and her experiences here," Sombra commented, "then, hearing that I was here and Celestia was going to give Luna a piece of her mind, you offered to come in her place. You came here to make sure that I'm not a threat to the people of this realm, the one of the reasons that dearest Celestia and Luna came to find me in the first place."
"I also came to see how much dark power you still had," Cadence replied, staring at him as if she was trying to find it, "and clearly you still have it inside you, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to summon one of those gates earlier. Just how much dark power do you still have inside of you?"
Sombra chuckled and let the magic surge around him, allowing the shadows to surround him before they began to seep out of his eyes like they had when his darker side had taken over. For a moment his armor darkened and he could feel the ground beneath him, waiting for him to summon a crystal pillar and impale whoever he desired. It had been a few days since his episode with Discord, but now that the darker half of his heart had been destroyed he could easily control the darkness again.
"All of it!" Sombra chuckled, his voice eerie again, "Dark Magic is my special talent and I was gifted with the ability to summon the crystals that came with it, as many people in Skyrim will tell you. I was a mage with an interesting ability, I could keep the Dark Magic at bay by allowing it to fill a part of me, resulting in the creation of a much darker version of myself. When Discord attacked it resulted in a mental switch, allowing the monster to run rampart and brought about the end of the Crystal Empire I knew about."
Before Cadence could reply Sombra cut the magic off, allowing the darkness to retreat and return him to the way he had looked before he considered answering her question.
"But it was due to the efforts of dearest Celestia and Luna that I was saved from myself," Sombra continued, his voice gentler again, "They came to Tamriel, seeking me across the vastness of space, to heal my wounded heart, restore my seemingly shattered memories, and make me who I once was. I was once Sombra, the Kind and Gentle King of the Crystal Empire, turned into the Tyrant that so many ponies have come to know, but now I am just a simple stallion whose purpose is to protect others and the empire I once called home is now in your hooves.
For what its worth Princess Cadence, I am truly sorry for everything that I put you and your husband through when the Empire returned to Equestria."
Cadence remained silent for a moment, as if she was collecting everything he had said and was making sure that he wasn't telling any lies to save himself. Eventually she sighed and relaxed, a hint of kindness returning to her eyes as she stared at him. He wasn't sure that Cadence would ever forgive him, and he certainly knew that her husband Shining Armor never would, but he was somewhat glad that she wasn't glaring him down.
"I shouldn't be so hard on you," Cadence said, lifting her head to the sky and staring at the clouds, "I mean, Celestia basically had to sit me down when I inquired about the certificate and told me everything that had happened between you two. Not many couples can withstand being targeted by Discord, so I can admire that you two are still in love after a thousand years. It also explained why Celestia never dated anypony else in the time I spent with her in Canterlot, she was waiting for your return for all those years."
"Mind if I ask you something?" Sombra asked, hoping to break away from his past.
"Sure, I don't see why not," Cadence replied, shifting her gaze back to him, "What's on your mind?"
"Why the bow?" Sombra asked, pointing to the strange greenish bow on her back, "Both Celestia and Luna are front line fighters, wielding either swords or a battleaxe to fight their foes. I'm just curious as to why you choose a long ranged weapon."
"That's because they're warrior princesses," Cadence laughed, surprised that this was what he wanted to know, "they lived during a time of war and death that was forever lost to time. Most ponies of the modern Equestria don't realize that when the Three Tribes were separate they waged total war on each other, until their leaders found a solution to save them all. Now, I'm not a hundred percent sure what Celestia and Luna were doing during that time, but it is said that something fought off the dragons and the griffins. Something beat those two races and signed a treaty with them, giving the ponies of Equestria the treaties they know to this day.
As for why I choose to wield a bow instead of charging into battle with a sword, I prefer to stay back and hit things from a distance. Princess Celestia tried to show me how to fight like a soldier, even going as far as to try and make a suit of armor for me, but she eventually found that I favored the bow as my weapon. So she taught me what she knew of the bow, allowing me to fire an arrow every now and then at some targets she had set up behind the palace. I figured that, since I was coming here, I'd get my old bow and see if I still know how to use it, though I guess I might have underestimated the power of Skyrim's arrows. I've got a glass bow and about eighty more arrows, though Celestia showed me how to make more of them before I came here."
"Hey Sombra," Raika called, peeking her head past the wooden wall, "How's the gateway coming?"
Sombra chuckled and tapped his foot against the ground, waking the magic up as the shadows sprung out of the ground, swirling around until the gateway was formed. Cadence stepped back for a moment, clearly shocked that he had actually created the gateway while he was talking to her, but then remembered that he had returned to who he had been a thousand years ago. It made Sombra happy that he had convinced her that he wasn't about to lead an army to conquer all of Skyrim, not that he wanted to do that. All he truly wanted was to help Raika with her problems and then go home to Equestria, where he could hang up his cape and retire with the mare of his dreams.
"It is ready," Sombra informed her, "Whenever you want to leave we can depart without trouble."
"Good, because I want to see if we can find that blasted Scroll," Raika said, stepping into the open as the rest of their team appeared behind her, "We'll head in as quick as possible and see if we can't reach that Moondial."
Raika walked forward and disappeared from the area, heading to the other side of the gateway before one of her friends followed right after her. Trixie and Shadow entered the gate next, though Serana looked back at the warriors before stepping into the mass of shadows. Cadence stared at the gate and then looked at Sombra, who nodded to her and beckoned for her to enter the mass, before she swallowed and followed the others. Sombra walked into the gateway and surged off to where the others were, allowing the entrance near the fort to close down.
------------------------------------
"So, why aren't we in front of the castle?" Raika asked, seeing the boat they had taken to the castle and the island off in the distance.
"Magical disturbance," Sombra replied, noticing a fort close to where they were standing, "I think one of the vampires might have taken over that fortress and turned everyone into their unwilling servants. Its either that or the Thalmor developed a barrier spell and somehow caught on to where we were heading next."
"Hold there heretics," an elf shouted, standing on top of a hill while a bunch more appeared on the fort's walls, "for your crimes against the Aldmeri Dominion Her Emissary has ordered your deaths. Drop your weapons and surrender to us before we're forced to get nasty."
"Sombra, show these elves the meaning of magic," Raika said, smiling as she realized that she had the perfect chance to show Cadence how powerful Sombra actually was.
Sombra stepped forward just a bit and placed his left hand on the ground, brushing the snow to the side and letting his magic flow into the ground. At first the elf thought that he was surrendering, but then the ground in front of Sombra began to buckle and crack, pieces of clear blue crystal rising out of the ground. Sombra brought himself back to his full height and threw one of the crystals forward, causing it to spin through the air before colliding with the elf's chest. The elf was dead before he even touched the ground, causing the other elves to prepare their spells to silence Sombra and his friends.
Before they had a chance to fire even one spell at him Sombra raised the remaining two crystals into the air and threw them into the fort, crushing some of the walls and scattering the elves against the ground. One elf got onto his feet and ran at him, his sword raised high in the intent to do harm to him, but then a spike shot out of the ground and impaled him. The remaining elves got onto the feet and readied their spells, but Sombra was ready and clapped his hands together, causing the ground to quake as spikes rose out of the earth. Several of the spikes tore into the elves, scattering them around the ruined fort while one managed to somehow avoid the carnage and ran right at him, though she didn't make it far as an arrow found its way to her heart.
Sombra cast a look back and found Cadence standing behind him, bow drawn and her hand near her quiver in the off chance that the elf survived the attack. She relaxed and moved forward, her eyes scanning each of the bodies as she picked up every arrow that she saw, stocking up on them so she didn't run out. Even as she walked around she surveyed the damage that Sombra had caused, as if she didn't believe that he was capable of such destruction. Eventually she got every arrow she could find and returned to the group, boarding the boat that was left there and heading across the water.
"Impressive," Raika commented, trying to pass the time, "I heard that Princess Celestia trained you to use that bow and all I can say is that I can tell that your very skilled with it. How far can you shoot it?"
Cadence, not being one to flaunt her skills in front of others, sighed for a moment and stared off at the island they were approaching, spotting a watchtower in the distance. She spotted someone standing at the top of the watchtower, dressed in the strange armor that most vampires wore, and selected one of her arrows. She silently nocked the arrow and pulled it back, allowing her breathing to slow for a moment as she readied herself for what she was about to do. Before the others could stop her she rose up, twisted towards the watchtower, raised her bow, and loosed the arrow hard enough for it to sling right into the vampire's chest. A few seconds passed before the body fell off the top of the tower, hitting the ground as she sat back down in her seat.
"I'd say pretty far," Sombra chuckled, knowing that if Cadence hadn't taken the vampire down he would have done it himself, "and I am so going to praise Celestia for teaching you how to use that bow."
Cadence blushed a little and readied herself as the boat came to a stop on the shore of the island, allowing her a view of the castle that housed an entire host of vampires. They silently climbed out of the boat and made their way to the left of the bridge, following Serana as she led them to the inlet that would bring them to the castle's secret entrance. When they arrived they found four skeletons walking around, but Trixie and Serana were fast to cast their lightning forward and blasted them against the walls.
Once inside the undercroft they were assaulted by a group of strange dog like creatures that were as cold as the grave itself, but Raika didn't care as she plunged her swords into one. Trixie, seeing how the area around them was shaped, blasted two of the hounds with the Staff of Magnus, throwing them into the stone pillars that she assumed held part of the castle up. Serana drew a black dagger and sliced one of the hounds in the back, severing its spine and killing it in one shoot, before they found a vampire staring at them. The vampire bared her fangs at them and lunged forward, but fell to the ground with two arrows sticking out of her chest.
Cadence walked forward, yanked her arrows free for a brief moment, before nocking one of them and loosing the arrow as she rounded the corner, pinning a vampire to the wall with ease. Another one dropped to the floor and charged at her, but she ducked behind it, turned around, and loosed the second arrow right into its back. One of the hounds growled at her and lunged forward, though Cadence rolled backwards, pulled out an arrow, and loosed it right into its throat. Once the beast was dead she got up, brushed off the dust that got on her robe, and walked up to the bodies she had put down, yanking all her arrows out.
Raika would have been surprised by Cadence's performance, but after watching what Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Twilight Sparkle were capable of she wasn't even surprised anymore. She was, however, impressed that Cadence was able to shoot something from long distances, from what she had seen when they were on the boat. She was more than willing to follow Serana, who was letting Cadence and Trixie shoot or blast down whatever was standing in their way until they came to an open area. Raika looked around for a moment and then spotted a golden dial resting in the center of the ruined area, a dial that she assumed was the one they were looking for.
"Wow, this place is dead," Serana said, as if she was mourning the loss of all the flowers and herbs, "and I see that I was right, my father broke the door and sealed the way between here and the main hall. Now, if we can find the missing moon plates, that I'm sure my mother might have torn out of their slots, then I'm positive we can get further with our search."
Sombra stepped up to the moondial and pressed his hand against it, allowing his magic to surge forward and sink into the ground. He wasn't going to summon any crystals or destroy something, but he was searching the immediate area for the plates that had been discarded some time ago. As he searched he could feel everyone else's footsteps, knowing where they were walking while he was standing in the same spot for a few moments. Then, where he felt the tug of the plates, he allowed his magic to sink them into the ground, forcing them to shift in place and appear on the slots they had been taken from. Once the plates were back in place he separated himself from the dial and backed up, watching the dial turn around and buckle, revealing a hidden staircase.
They followed the hidden path into the deepest reaches of the castle, but as they followed the path they came across dozens of skeletons and a few gargoyles. Raika had expected some monsters to be lurking along the way, though she wasn't expecting all the gargoyles to suddenly wake up and strike out at them. Sombra, sensing them as they woke up, was able to pin several of them with his dark magic, resorting to not using his crystals in the off chance that one of the vampires heard him. Eventually they smashed their way through all the enemies, traps, and puzzles that stood in their way, coming to a hidden alchemy chamber with a strange circular design on the floor.
Raika stared at the design on the floor and wondered where she had seen it before, but then remembered seeing one of them right before they had opened the portal to Sovngarde.
"Dear sweet Talos," Raika said, realizing what was sitting in front of them, "Serana, I think your mother may be hiding in one of the Oblivion Realms."
"How do you know that?" Serana asked, wondering what gave Raika the idea that her mother had chosen to hide from her father in one of the most dangerous around.
"The seal on the floor," Raika replied, pointing to the circle and then up at the vessel that sat above them, "I found a similar one in Skuldafn that led me to Sovngarde, only it was guarded by one of the fiercest Dragon Priests in all of Skyrim's history and we had to use a staff to open the portal. Seeing how your mother is an alchemist I would wager some septims that she left a note or journal behind that details how she created the portal and exactly what she had used to open it up. With all the ingredients that have been left behind I am fairly sure that we could open whatever portal that your mother created and find out if she still has the Elder Scroll with her."
Serana sighed and moved towards the vessel, checking out each of the ingredients as she passed them and wondering if her mother was actually hiding in one of the Oblivion Realms. Raika stayed near the circle, making sure that she was correct that it housed a portal to some other realm and hadn't jumped to the conclusion the moment she saw it. Sombra and Cadence, not exactly the best of friends, stood near the door, one on each side, so they could keep watch for any surprise gargoyles or vampires investigating the noise. Shadow lurked near one of the tables, eying some of the bone fragments as he wondered how long it had taken Serana's mother to acquire the entire collection. Trixie approached the bookshelves and ran her finger over the titles, looking for something that would help them figure out exactly how the portal would have been opened.
Not even a minute after she started searching the bookshelves she found a book that didn't belong, a thin red covered journal that had a tag on the front that said it belonged to someone called Valerica.
"How Serana," Trixie said, lifting the journal into the air with her magic and moving it towards Serana, "would this happen to be your mother's journal?"
"Yes, this is," Serana replied, surprised that the Equestrian had found it so fast, "Let's see here...she mentions something about the Soul Cairn and a deal with the Ideal Masters. There's a mention of her building a portal to visit the Soul Cairn, where she can hide for the rest of her days until my father gives up his plans on blocking out the sun or someone kills him. She even lists the ingredients that she used to open the portal; Finely Ground Bone Meal, Soul Gem Shards, Purified Void Salts, and, oh damn it, a sample of her blood."
"You share her blood," Sombra commented, "Surely you could use a bit of your own blood as the final ingredient for opening the portal to this Soul Cairn."
"It will have to work," Serana replied, sighing as she looked around for the other three ingredients, "but we'll still need the other three ingredients to open the portal."
"You mean these?" Shadow asked, holding three ingredients, the same three that Serana had mentioned a few moments ago, in his hands, "I'm sorry, but your mother left them in the open and only a master of alchemy would be able to tell the difference between the normal ingredients and these ones."
Serana carefully took the ingredients from him and approached the vessel, where she dumped them into the container and pulled out her spare dagger. She beckoned for everyone to get behind her, watching as everyone moved up to the platform she was standing on and rested right behind her. Before her nerves got the better of her she cut her palm with the dagger and held her hand over the vessel, letting the blood drip onto the ingredients. For a moment nothing happened, making her wonder if the journal had been a lie created by her mother to throw off anyone trying to follow in her footsteps, but then the room started to shake. The stone circle began to crack and break, pieces lifting into the air and circling around until they created a staircase, leading right into an unnatural purple glow.
"I was right," Raika said, staring down at the portal in wonder, "Now all we have to do is enter the portal and find wherever you mother wandered off to. With any luck this is where she decided to hide and we'll find her without too much trouble."
"Word of warning," Serana commented, recalling something her mother had mentioned about the Soul Cairn, "my mother told me that a portal to the Soul Cairn tries to drain the life force of someone whose not already dead, like me or Shadow here. The rest of you would either need to become vampires like us or let me soul tap you for a moment, where we could recover the portion of your soul that followed us into the Soul Cairn."
"Better idea, I'll attach our souls to my sword and a piece will stay with it until I release them," Sombra said, drawing the blackened blade and holding it before him, "that is, if you trust me to hold onto our souls."
Raika knew that Sombra was trying to help them out without turning all of them into vampires, but she had no idea how the spell he was suggesting would hurt them. She'd rather not become a vampire, so what he was suggesting sounded like the best plan of action for all of them, excluding Serana and Shadow, to take. She also wasn't sure what Cadence was thinking about letting him hang onto a piece of her soul, but Raika was going to go with it and get the quest underway.
"Very well Sombra," Cadence said, beating Raika to the punch, "I'm willing to trust you with a fragment of my soul. I just have one request, be gentle to us."
Sombra nodded and his magic ignited, lightly wrapping around the blade of his sword and around the others, covering them all in a light layer of shadows. For a moment nothing seemed to happen, but then a small fragment of each of them, each colored differently, broke away from their bodies and surged into the blade. Sombra sealed the magic, preventing anything evil from filling the void that was left from the fragments being taken, and locked his sword in its sheath.
"I've locked my sword in its sheath," Sombra commented, staring at the portal, "this way the blade cannot be damaged, as it could cause the pain to surge into each of us and cause something bad to happen."
"Let's get this over with," Raika said, approaching the portal and wondering what the Soul Cairn looked like, "I want that blasted Elder Scroll and the knowledge it holds."
Raika stepped forward and moved into the portal, letting the magic of the portal wash over her, distorting her body until she had to close her eyes from how weird it all felt.
--------------------------------
Raika, thinking that she would have been knocked out like what had happened with the portal to Sovngarde, was surprised to find that she was actually wide awake. Her initial surprise was quickly overruled as she discovered what the Soul Cairn looked like, finding the place completely dead and full of odd husks. There were dozens of fractures in the ground, spewing what she assumed were lost souls that had yet to be collected, and lightning flashed every twenty seconds. She looked down at her feet and noticed the staircase she was standing on, choosing to walk down until she touched the white dusty and completely dead ground.
The entire realm, she decided, was completely dead and made the perfect place for an undead creature to live without being found out.
"So this is the Soul Cairn," Serana commented, walking down to where Raika was standing, "I'm sure that there's a path from here to where my mother is hiding, if she's actually in this realm."
"I'd suggest that we get underway," Cadence said, drawing an arrow and pinning a shadowy creature to the ground, "I think that our spell might have angered these 'Ideal Masters' and their sending their minions after us to consume our souls. I'd rather not die thank you very much."
Sure enough a bunch of shadows gathered together and a bunch of shadowy creatures appeared before them, drawing their weapons and growling at them. Shadow drew his two handed sword and advanced on the assembled army, spinning around and slicing through one of them without wasting a single moment. Raika drew her swords and struck out at the first enemy she came to, turning it to dust in a matter of seconds before she moved onto the next opponent. Trixie and Serana stayed near the stairs, magic flying towards the back of the creatures' army and blasting parts of them into the next week as dust descended on the ground.
Sombra, on the other hand, summoned a bunch of crystal pillars and lifted them into the air, throwing them into parts of the army and crushing several of them instantly. He surged down to where they were standing and clapped his hand against the ground, a long piece of wood and crystal appearing from the ground and allowing him to grab it. A moment passed before a curved crystal head appeared on the staff, giving him his second, and more sinister looking, weapon that he preferred to keep hidden. He spun the scythe around and planted it firmly in the chest of the closest enemy, ripping through it and traveling through the next four as their souls were sucked into the blade.
Cadence pulled an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it in her bow, taking aim on one of the enemies that was lurking on a nearby building and loosing it right into the creature's chest. The creature tumbled off the building and she spotted an opening in the back of the army, where Sombra was literally tearing through his enemies with a strange weapon in his hands. She'd have to talk to him later about the weapon, but for the moment she was more concerned with getting to the Elder Scroll and escaping this nightmare.
"To Sombra everyone," Cadence shouted, loosing another arrow and pinning a skeleton in the head, "before they manage to overrun and destroy us all."
Raika spotted where Sombra was destroying everything around him, seeing the opening that he had created and realizing exactly what Cadence had meant. There were too many enemies for them all to overcome, as every time they felled one enemy two more took their place, which would eventually lead them to being completely surrounded by foes. She broke another enemy down and made her way to where Sombra was standing, ducking under his weapon before running for the opening. She eventually found her way to a set of stairs and set herself there, her swords at the ready in case some of their enemies came her way.
A few moments passed before Trixie and Serana joined her, their magic being thrown back at stray enemies and blasting them back into their dusty forms. Shadow stopped near the base of the stairs and turned around, his sword swinging through the air and cutting down a skeleton where it was standing. Cadence, having wings, had flown through the air and made her way to where her friends were standing, arrows raining down on their foes that got too close to the stairs. As Raika looked back at Sombra the ground began to shake, a crystal pillar rising in the center of the enemy army before a wall of crystals wrapped around the stairs that led to the portal they had entered.
"I've stalled them for now," Sombra said, stepping out of the shadows and appearing near them, "but they will eventually break that crystal pillar down and regain themselves. Once that happens, and I know its going to happen, they'll form up their army again and come after us, so I think we should leave now."
Raika nodded and they followed the pathway at their feet, leading deeper into the Soul Cairn and the grasp of the Ideal Masters, who were furious with them. Raika spotted a few places where lightning hit a floating crystal, hearing some moans of some dead creatures and wondering what was making the noise. Instead of investigating the noise she chose to follow the path, which was slowly leading them to a giant ruined castle that looked like Castle Volkihar.
They silently made their way towards the ruined castle, being careful to not awaken even more of the creatures that called the Soul Cairn home. Raika hushed them at a point or two and hid in one of the ruined structures, letting a patrol of enemies walk by their hiding place and waiting just a few seconds before continuing towards the castle. As they followed the path up the hill Raika spotted a magical barrier, something that told her that they were going to need to perform a service to someone to break through it. When they got to the top of the hill they found someone, an older looking woman, sitting on the other side of the barrier and ignoring everyone.
"Mother?!" Serana said, not believing what her eyes were showing her, "Is that really you?"
"Serana? What are you doing here?" the vampire asked, getting out of her seat and approaching the barrier, "Harkon has deciphered the prophecy hasn't he? He's discovered that, to fulfill the Tyranny of the Sun, you require Auriel's Bow and the blood of a Daughter of Coldharbour hasn't he?"
"No, we beat him to it," Serana said, beckoning back to the assembled group, "In order to find a way to permanently stop him we need the Elder Scroll that you took with you."
"You brought strangers into our conflict?!" the vampire exclaimed, clearly outraged by their presence, "You cannot trust any of them to ignore Harkon's promises of power and immortality."
"Um, hi?" Raika said, waving a hand towards herself and drawing the vampire's attention, "Yeah, I'm Raika Snow-Heart, the legendary Dragonborn. I've already killed Alduin the World-Eater, so killing a Vampire Lord like Harkon won't be too hard. Just give me the Talos damned Elder Scroll and we'll be on our way."
"Oh, I'd love to give it to you," the vampire said, beckoning to the barrier that separated them from her, "but there is a barrier preventing me from leaving this place. If you want to get to the Elder Scroll then I'd suggest killing the Keepers that are keeping it up and watching out for the dragon Durnehviir that keeps watch on them. There are three of them scattered around the Soul Cairn, so I suggest that you better get started."
Sombra approached the barrier and placed his left hand on it, feeling the magic below his hand as he sensed where the three Keepers were resting. He tapped his foot against the floor and let three small crystals rise out of the floor, floating up to where he was standing and stopping when they neared his head. With the locations of the Keepers clear in his mind he channeled them into the crystals, creating three pointers that would point towards one Keeper each. With the spell complete he lowered his hand and grabbed the crystals with his magic, passing one of them to Trixie and the other to Cadence.
"These will help us find those Keepers," Sombra said, holding his before them, "it will point in the direction of one of the Keepers, so we can split up into even groups and get rid of them all. Cadence, your crystal is pointing to the east of this place, so you should be able to find it within a few minutes. Trixie, yours is pointing to the west like mine, but yours is a lot closer to the castle while mine is even further away. Serana, I suggest you pair up with Trixie, Shadow with Cadence, and Raika with me. We kill the Keepers and meet back up here once we're done with ours."
--------------------------------
Cadence walked in the direction that her crystal was pointing in, making sure to keep it angled towards where the Keeper was resting while keeping her eyes peeled for any enemies. Shadow walked next to her, his sword out in the open, but he seemed to stay quiet as he waited for them to get to the Keeper and the fight what they'd have to do.
"So, you knew Princess Luna?" Cadence asked, hoping to learn something about Princess Luna while she was in Tamriel.
"During the time she was known as Nightmare Moon," Shadow replied, recalling his adventures with her with ease while walking, "She was one of the greatest warriors during the Oblivion Crisis, someone who chose to stand by our side and fight the Daedra when they invaded Tamriel. We each had a name you see; Rend was the Hero of Kvatch, I was the Knight of the Nine or the Divine Crusader, but Nightmare Moon was the Queen of Knights. Rend and I were good at fighting, but she fought on a whole level that was far beyond what either of us could hope to do.
At first she didn't trust us and mostly kept quiet about who she was, despite the fact that Rend and I openly shared our past experiences with her. Eventually she opened up, revealing that she was from a completely different world, went by a different name at one point, and had even tried to drown the entire world in an eternal night. During her time in Tamriel I believe that she learned that what she had done was wrong and was making up for her crimes by helping us during our time of need. Once Mehrunes Dagon and Umaril the Unfeathered were defeated Luna told us goodbye and left us to our own devices; Rend eventually dying in battle and going to Sovngarde while I stayed behind to help the Dragonborn with the vampires."
"Wow," Cadence said, not sure how to feel after that as she noticed they were drawing closer to their destination, "Let's find this Keeper creature and get this over with."
The ruined fortress they found themselves near housed a small group of skeletons, each of them armed with their ancient weapons and looking around for someone to use them on. Near the back of the group, standing as still as a statue, was something dressed up in ancient bone armor and armed with a giant battleaxe. Cadence pulled an arrow out of her quiver and quietly nocked it on her bow, beckoning for Shadow to get close to the group while she provided support. Shadow got close to the skeletons and one of them immediately dropped dead, pinning in the chest with an arrow and alerting the others. He leapt in front of the remaining three skeletons and swung his sword as wide as he could, cutting through all three of them and turning them into dust.
The Keeper, now awakened by the fighting, lifted its battleaxe above its head and brought it down, nearly missing Shadow as he rolled out of the way. Two arrows zipped through the air and easily passed by him, one hitting the Keeper right in his upper left leg while the second one pierced the armor it was wearing. The Keeper staggered for a moment before pulling itself back to its full height, but Shadow was ready as his ancient sword pierced its heart and went all the way through. For a moment he thought that it was in vain and that the Keeper was going to get him, but then the Keeper melted into a pool of black water and released him.
"Did...did we get it?" Cadence asked, coming to a halt behind Shadow.
"Yes," Shadow replied, letting a smile fill his face, "I do believe we did."
--------------------------------
Trixie followed her crystal and kept the Staff of Magnus at the ready, waiting for an enemy to come out of hiding so she could blast it into next week. Serana walked next to her, looking around at the Soul Cairn as if it was some great discovery that she needed to take down every detail about so she could write about it when they got back to Tamriel. Trixie wanted to find the Keeper, destroy whatever minions that were following it around, and then erase the Keeper before it got wind of them.
"So, about Sombra," Serana said, kicking a rock down the hill as they walked, "I've seen how he conducts himself in battle, so I've been wondering how he fought in the long distant past that I've heard about."
"I wouldn't know the truth at this point," Trixie replied, keeping what truth she had discovered to herself, "According to the original story Sombra was a tyrant that came to the Crystal Empire and enslaved everypony, turning them into miners and forcing them to work in his crystal mines. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna traveled to the empire and did battle with Sombra, but in the final moment of his defeat he took the entire empire with him. After a thousand years they both came back, but then he was defeated by Twilight Sparkle, her friends, Princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armor, and the baby dragon Spike.
Obviously the truth behind the entire fight was a cover for what really happened; that Sombra was a kind and fair ruler that was corrupted by Discord, the Spirit of Chaos. That those that had loved him were forced to fight against him and seal him in a prison that would last until the empire came back to Equestria. If you want to get the whole story behind what happened to Sombra you'd either have to ask him or wait until either of the Princesses came back."
Trixie would have said more about the subject to Serana, but then she spotted a group of black skeletons gathering together around some sort of platform. She grinned and primed the Staff of Magnus, a bolt of green lightning surging into the ground and blasting one of the skeletons into a pile of dust. Serana, noticing the enemy now, readied her magic and threw a fireball at a skeleton that was close to them, charring it beyond belief before another pile appeared on the ground. Trixie shook her head at Serana and held her hand before her, summoning her magic as a large fireball formed in front of her, courtesy of Nahkriin's mask. Once the fireball was ready she threw it right into the center of their enemies, blowing them all to smithereens and scattering their bones with ease.
"That's how we use magic now!" Trixie laughed, grinning at Serana as they approached the platform.
"Oh whatever," Serana replied, stepping onto the platform and appearing on a floating ruin, "Okay, that felt funky."
"You should try the portal between Tamriel and Equestria," Trixie commented, appearing behind her, "seriously, that felt so strange the first time I used it."
An arrow hit the floor near them, causing the two of them to look up at the bone armored warrior that had its bow drawn to their exact location. Trixie and Serana grinned at each other and threw their magic forward, fire and ice mixing in mid air before plowing righ tinto the armor and breaking it into pieces. The Keeper tumbled backwards, giving Trixie the moment to draw the Magistrate and plant it firmly in its chest, feeling the magic keeping it alive in check before reducing to a watery mess.
"And our Keeper is dead," Trixie grinned, sheathing her sword before staring at the ruined castle, "I wonder how the others are doing..."
--------------------------------
Raika followed after Sombra, wondering why he had chosen to give them the Keeper that was the furthest from the ruined castle they had found Serana's mother at. Her swords were still in her hands, waiting for something to near them so she could slay whatever creatures the Soul Cairn could throw at them. Sombra still carried the strange curved weapon, something that almost looked like it had been created in a Daedric realm and was summoned by his command.
"What is that strange weapon?" Raika finally asked, crossing over a broken yard as her curiosity got the better of her.
"Oh, this?" Sombra commented, shrugging and causing the weapon to move a bit, "Its called a scythe; it was created by my darker side before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna could put us both down. I've been able to use it for a long time, but I prefer to use my sword whenever I can and only summon this when I cannot use my main weapon. I'm sure you noticed that whatever it slays loses its soul, as it is dragged down into the depths of the crystal until I see fit to release it or use it to restore my energy."
Before he said any more Sombra touched the ground with his hand and a pillar of crystal sprung up before him, though Raika could hear an arrow hit the crystal a moment later. He beckoned for her to move to the right and flank their enemies, but when she saw what they were fighting she noticed the bone armored Keeper resting near the back and almost froze. As Sombra moved forward with his scythe Raika regained herself and followed suit, her weapons passing through her foes as she made her way to the Keeper. The Keeper raised a two handed greatsword that was made out of bones and swung it at her, but Raika rolled behind it and drove her blades into its chest area. The Keeper staggered forward for a bit before trying to shake her off of its back, but she held fast and stayed there until she forced it into the ground.
She stayed attached to its back for a moment, but then it turned into a pool of black water and she pulled herself up. They had done what they had set out to do and only needed to return to the ruined castle. Sombra approached her and, without wasting a second, grabbed her hand and swallowed them in the shadows, forcing them to travel yet again. It was short lived as they appeared on the steps of the ruined castle, where he released her hand and walked back up the stairs. Raika had expected that they'd be alone with Serana's mother, but when she reached the top of the stairs she spotted the rest of her group waiting for them.
"Ah, the Keepers have been destroyed," Valerica said, sounding as if she really didn't care that much, "Now then, follow me into the courtyard and I'll give you the Elder Scroll you are bent on obtaining."
Raika had to hold herself back whenever Valerica spoke, because every time she talked Raika just waited to plant her sword firmly in her body and take her out of the world. It wasn't because she was a vampire, it was because she was just so annoying and she didn't seem to care about anything other than herself and her plans.
They followed Valerica into the courtyard and found an open area that could easily be accessed from the air, but the sky was the furthest thing from their minds. Perched on the other side of the courtyard was a dragon, one that was staring at them as they walked right into the opened area and roared the moment they stopped moving. Skeletons began to rise out of the ground, just like what had happened at the beginning of this trip, but Raika picked up her swords as she waited for them to make the first move. The dragon, Durnehviir she suspected, got off his perch and flew in their direction, but instead of passing them he was immediately impaled by one of Sombra's crystal spires.
"Up we go," Sombra said, taking her and dropping her on the dragon's back.
Raika recalled what they had done on other dragons before and planted both of her swords firmly in the dragon's skull, going for the kill almost right off the bat. Durnehviir roared in pain, but kept thrashing around and caused Raika to continue to slice into his back as many times as she could before he finally stopped. She suspected that he was going to do something else, but eventually the body went still and she climbed onto the pillar before sliding down to the floor. She expected his soul to come out of his body and plow into her, but his body just burned until there was nothing left but a giant crystal with some scorch marks.
"I don't believe it," Valerica said, awe in her voice, "you killed Durnehviir!"
"Less talk, more Elder Scroll," Raika impatiently said, realizing that she had only broken his connection to the Soul Cairn for a moment and would return in a matter of moments.
"Fine, fine," Valerica sighed, heading to an area filled with ingredients, "I'll be right back."
Raika stared at the sky for a moment, listening for the sounds of a dragon's roar or the beat of some wings, signs that would tell her that Durnehviir had returned. For a couple of moments nothing happened, so she turned her gaze back to Valerica and found the vampire behind her, holding an Elder Scroll in her hands.
"Here, take the thing and get lost," Valerica said, tossing the Scroll at Raika and forcing her to grab it, "Oh, and if you get Auriel's Bow and Harkon kills you, I don't want you to come here and haunt me for the rest of your miserable lives. Now begone before I change my mind and take all three Elder Scrolls from your cold lifeless bodies."
Sombra wrapped himself and his friends in shadows, choosing to take them right to the staircase they had entered through and they still found the army of creatures waiting. Only this time the creatures were fighting a remade Durnehviir, who roared in greeting and burned parts of the army to pieces.
"Go Qahnaarin," Durnehviir shouted, swinging his tail and crushing several foes in an instant, "I will forever guard the portal to your world from those that would misuse it."
Raika had no idea how long the dragon would be able to hold the army back, after being destroyed just a few minutes ago no less, but she nodded and ran up the stairs. As she entered the portal she was glad to be leaving the nightmare that was the Soul Cairn behind and she closed her eyes as her body was twisted yet again. Only this time she really blacked out.
Raika hated being shaken by others, especially when it was to be awaken. She was usually the first one awake after spending so much time learning to survive off the wild from the rest of her brothers and sisters in the Stormcloak army. They always enjoyed having someone keep a lookout while they were off in the wild, searching for some Imperial patrols that held the information they were looking for. Her family was no doubt waiting for her to return to Windhelm, unless they had started the war for Skyrim without her.
Still, being shaken awake was something that see didn't enjoy.
"I'm getting up," Raika moaned, her hand going to the back of her head as she looked up at the chamber they were in, "Oh yeah, the Soul Cairn and the Elder Scroll."
The Soul Cairn, one of the most frightening places Raika had ever been in her entire live. A place where the souls of the damned wandered free, killing any trespassers that managed to enter their realm and constantly seeking a way out of their prison. Raika and her friends had opened a portal into the Soul Cairn, effectively giving the damned a way out of their prison so they could destroy Skyrim and all of Tamriel. Had the dragon Durnehviir not promised to stand guard over the portal Raika was sure that she would have woken up in Sovngarde, where she would have joined Rend and the other legends of old.
Now she was back in Valerica's study, where they had found the portal to the Soul Cairn and had opened it, so they could follow Serana's mother in and retrieve the last Elder Scroll needed to stop the Tyranny of the Sun. To do that they needed to find Auriel's Bow, the location of which Raika hoped was in the Scroll they had just recovered, and then kill Lord Harkon.
"Okay then," Raika said, getting onto her feet and looking at her friends, "Where to next?"
"Well, I think we need to talk to that Moth Priest now that we have the third Scroll," Serana replied, crossing her arms while staring back at the portal, "Still, I wish she could have come with us."
"Serana, your parents have issues," Raika commented, facing the vampire, "Your father wants to blacken the sun with a powerful bow and the blood of a Daughter of Coldharbour, which is flowing through your veins, so he can either kill or enslave everything in all of Tamriel. Your mother, on the other hand, sealed you and herself away to stop him, yet she doesn't seem to care much for mortals either. Besides, she's also a Daughter of Coldharbour and bringing her back with us would have given Harkon another card to play for enforcing his rule over everyone else. Maybe when we're done saving Tamriel from Harkon you can come back and get her out of the Soul Cairn."
"Fine, lets just talk with the Moth Priest already," Serana sighed, accepting a temporary defeat as she beckoned to Sombra, "Just open a gateway back to Fort Dawnguard and let's get this over with."
"First Sombra needs to release the fragments of our souls," Cadence spoke up, cutting through their bickering, "the I'd love to speak with Dexion and see what he says about Auriel's Bow."
Sombra nodded and shattered the spell that had bound his sword to its sheath, allowing him to draw the blade and hold it out for all of them to see. His horn lit up for a moment and wrapped around the blade, separating his friends soul fragments that had been locked inside and allowing them to wield their full potential again. Once the deed was done he sheathed the blade and gave Cadence a small bow, to which she responded with small nod.
"Now we can go," Cadence told the others, stepping back with the rest of the group so Sombra could do what he needed to.
Sombra approached the bare wall and allowed the shadows to gather around the head of his scythe, fully intending to rip a gateway in the wall that he could seal once they were all through. He swung the scythe and a gash of darkness appeared on the wall, growing in size and width until the familiar sight of his gateway had appeared. Once the gateway was stabilized he stepped out of the way and beckoned for the others to proceed, Raika marching through the shadows without delay. The rest of them followed shortly after, though Sombra made sure that nothing came out of the Soul Cairn's portal before stepping through the gateway.
-------------------------------
Raika and her friends found themselves inside Fort Dawnguard. Not the area they usually used when traveling through Sombra's Shadow Gates, but inside the fort's meeting area. They had, unintentionally, freaked out several of the Dawnguard's soldiers and caused Isran to growl at them as they approached his table. Before Raika could even say anything he held a letter out for her to take, which she did with a slight frown on her face.
"I don't know how your master found us, but he wants you back," Isran said, glaring at her as if she was a mere soldier and not the Dragonborn, "Apparently the war between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks has finally reached the boiling point that everyone has been waiting for, as Jarl Balgruuf has called for the aid of General Tullius to defend his hold. Ulfric appears to be waiting before he commands his army to leave their capital. Unfortunately this means that we cannot hunt the vampires without being caught in the crossfire, so you are free to do what you will until Whiterun calms down."
"Finally," Serana commented, crossing her arms yet again, "the war of succession has started at last."
"And take the filthy vampire with you," Isran moaned, not wanting to deal with her at that moment, "otherwise we might carve her up and put her out of her misery."
"Oh bite me," Serana said, flashing her fangs at him.
"Let's just get out of here," Raika said, turning to Sombra as he sliced open another gateway into the wall, "That's never going to stop freaking me out though."
Sombra let his friends travel through the gateway, keeping watch on it while making sure that the Dawnguard's soldiers, especially Isran, stayed where they were sitting. Once they were through he stepped into the shadows and disappeared, following the others towards Windhelm.
-------------------------------
"Lord Ulfric," one of the Stormcloak soldiers said, saluting his leader before making his report, "Jarl Balgruuf has called on the aid of the Imperial Legion to defend Whiterun, but our soldiers are ready to face them. We have also been on the lookout for Raika Snow-Heart, but our scouts have not been able to pinpoint her exact location."
He would have said more, but as he was about to a mass of swirling darkness opened in the wall to their right, causing him to stop what he was doing and draw his weapon in case an enemy had come to assassinate the Jarl. What emerged though was a woman dressed up in really old clothes, a women wearing the robes of an Archmage, a woman with a long horn and a pair of wings, an argonian wearing a black robe, and the khajiit he had mentioned. Before the swirling darkness vanished a nord stepped out of it, wearing steel armor, a lush red cape, an iron crown, and carried a strange evil looking weapon.
"Raika Snow-Heart reporting for duty," Raika declared, not waiting for her friends to recover from the ride.
"Ah Raika, good that you came back," Ulfric said, staring down from his stone throne, "No doubt you have heard that we're making our way to Whiterun to take it back. Our army is almost ready to leave for Whiterun, though I had hoped that the legendary Dragonborn would have returned and graced us with her presence. Tell me though, is the World-Eater dead?"
"Alduin has been slain," Raika replied, not wanting to go into detail about the experience.
"Good, you have done Skyrim a service we shall not forget," Ulfric said, rising to his full height, "but now we shall strike out at Whiterun and take her back. If we are lucky we can get our army to Whiterun in two or three days, with some amount of rest, but I have prayed to the Divines for a faster method besides just walking there."
"How big is this army of yours?"
Ulfric looked past Raika and stared at the nord who was dressed up like a ruler and had a red curved horn on top of his head, shadows rolling off of him that made him recall a tale one of his soldiers had mentioned to him. A tale that spoke of a nord whose power over the shadows could summon giant pillars of crystal, resurrect massive amounts of the undead, and could apparently travel across Skyrim in an instant. A nord whose powers had destroyed both the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild, both powerful organizations in their own rights. A nord whose power and cold personality had learned him one of the most fear inducing titles that anyone in Tamriel had been given in such a long time.
"The King of Shadows," Ulfric breathed, not sure whether or not he was hear to help or hinder them, "Your friends with the King of Shadows?!"
"More than just him," Raika replied, pointing back to the rest of her friends, "I'm friends with the Archmage of Winterhold, the Equestrian Princesses of the Sun, the Moon, Love, and Magic, a Daughter of Coldharbour, the Hero of Kvatch, and the Divine Crusader."
"And just how many of those are willing to help us?" Ulfric asked, curious as to how one of his soldiers knew so many legends, even those he didn't know.
"Only Sombra," Raika answered, "Princess Celestia doesn't want her subjects involved with our civil war and Serana would rather watch the war rage on without lifting a finger. Well, I'm not completely sure about Sombra, but he's the best I can offer."
"Fine," Ulfric sighed, turning back to Sombra, "I have about two hundred soldiers waiting outside Windhelm's gates, waiting for the order to begin the march towards our camp in Whiterun. As I said, I'd love to get them there in about a minute or two, but no such magic exists in all of Skyrim. What could you offer me?"
"Instant transportation," Sombra replied, "With an elaborate spell I could summon a large Shadow Gate capable of moving a small army over large distances. I haven't used this spell in over a thousand years, but I remember it as if I had used it yesterday and would be able to cast it within a few minutes. That is, if you are willing to trust me."
Ulfric looked at Raika and wondered if he should really be trusting the nord that had nearly destroyed Whiterun a few days ago, before something had stopped him. From the tales he had heard he had stopped himself before wasting the city, though there had been mention of a powerful woman with him at the time.
"Fine," Ulfric said, glaring down at him, "I will trust you to summon a gateway for my soldiers to travel through, but if you betray our trust the whole of Skyrim will come after you."
Sombra nodded and followed Jarl Ulfric as he led the group out of the palace, down the street, through the main gates, and across the bridge before they even saw the army. Sure enough Sombra could tell that there were nearly two hundred soldiers, close to what the Jarl had told him, and once they got close he let the shadows find the best spot to place the gateway. He separated from the group and circled around the army, eying them all before he stopped at the head of the army, where the shadows promised the best location for his spell to take place. He gripped the scythe and channeled the shadows into it, his mind forming the spell that the scythe would perform the moment that he swung it.
Once the spell was ready he spun around, faced the open area, and swung the scythe, the darkness cutting through the air and opening a giant gash in front of them. The shadows gripped the sides of the gash almost immediately, pulling at it until the opening was stretched so wide that it could fit the entire army inside it. After a brief moment the gateway stabilized, so Sombra beckoned to Jarl Ulfric and the order was given to the soldiers, who began to march into the large Shadow Gate.
"This reminds me of the Oblivion Gates," Shadow commented as he watched his friends enter the gate, "only we're transporting soldiers instead of the Daedra."
Raika sighed as she entered yet another gateway, wondering when this terrible day was going to end.
-------------------------------
They appeared near the farm area that rested before the gates of Whiterun, where they found the army preparing the siege weapons that had been placed a day ago. Raika had to admit that the Stormcloaks were fast at preparing for war, which was saying something. Cadence tapped Sombra's shoulder and whispered something in his ear, followed by a smaller gateway being opened and the rest of their group disappearing to some unknown location.
"Remember the bandit leader of White River Watch?" Sombra asked, closing both the smaller gate and the larger gate.
"Yeah," Raika said, wondering what he was talking about, "what about him?"
"Our friends are up there watching," Sombra said, pointing back at the watch before walking towards the front lines, "Now, let's see if Jarl Balgruuf will surrender without any bloodsh..."
That was before an arrow flew through the air and impaled one of the soldiers behind Sombra right in the chest, knocking him off his feet and hitting the ground dead. The Stormcloaks, now aware that the enemy had killed one of their own, drew their weapons and loosed the siege weapons, rocks flying towards the city. Sombra sighed and followed Raika towards the fight, knowing they wouldn't stop until the Jarl surrendered to them.
"Oh man, did you see that?" a guard said, nocking another arrow, "I took that guy down without him even seeing it coming."
"Yeah, and you started the war," the second guard moaned, watching the soldiers coming their way before noticing someone different walking amongst them, "Sweet Divines, the King of Shadows is coming!"
Sombra walked at the front of the line for a while, shadows wrapping around him as he approached the first barricade and tore the thing to pieces with ease. A guard ran up to him and attacked, but he was cut down and his soul was taken without delay. The moment the guard fell chaos exploded all around him, the Stormcloaks rushing past him and colliding with the Imperials, soldiers dying left and right. Raika joined the fight not a few moments later, her swords taking an enemy down before moving on, but she continued to be surprised by Sombra's combat ability.
Equestrians, she noted, were well versed in battle and rarely hesitated.
Guards ran from Sombra, least their souls be add to the collection his scythe was harvesting, but several of those that did run were slain by Raika and her brothers and sisters. Raika had to admit that having the guards already fear Sombra was making the beginning battle much easier for their side, though when they reached the drawbridge she noticed him step onto the upper walkway. The two guards that were up there swung their weapons at him, but he spun around and severed one's head before the scythe pierced the others chest. As their souls were sucked into the blade Sombra pulled down the lever and the drawbridge came down, allowing the army to spill into the city.
By the time Raika got into the city her brothers and sisters were already at the market place, hacking at the city's guards and their barricades before moving into the housing area. Here she was, the Dragonborn of legend, being out shined by literally everyone and everypony she had come to know in the last week or two. It irritated her to no end that she was apparently one of the weakest warriors in Tamriel, if she was being outdone by her brothers and sisters. She refused to be forgotten and pushed onward, until she heard the roar of a dragon as it flew right over the city and was ignored by the warring sides.
Literally, they ignored the dragon and continued fighting amongst themselves, leaving her to deal with a dragon that would own everyone else.
Before she could even consider how to deal with it Sombra appeared behind her, grabbed her shoulder, and they appeared on the dragons back. Raika yelled with all her might and drove her blades into the dragons wings, pinning them to his sides and causing him to fall right out of the sky. Sombra got them to the ground without any injury, though the dragon crashed into the opening of Whiterun and scared every soldier that was around them. Raika approached the dragon and tore her swords out, spinning them around before planting both of them into its skull not a few seconds later.
Even as the dragon died she heard a second roar, causing her to look into the sky and noticed another dragon, even larger than the one she had just killed, floating there. She moaned and yanked her swords out of the fallen beast, before running at the open area and leaping right into the open air as if she could reach the dragon with ease. A crystal spike shot out of the ground, forming a walkway for her to take until she was right at the dragons chest and threw a sword right into the heart area. The dragon roared and took off, flames spewing everywhere as she held on tight to the sword and drove the second one into the beasts head. The dragon struggled against her might, but it eventually turned around and hit the ground hard, its body breaking apart before she managed to collect two souls.
"You okay?" Sombra asked, appearing behind her again.
"Not really," Raika replied, beckoning to the burning corpse, "two dragons in the same five minute period. Killing the both of them in mid air and traveling through your Shadows. Seriously, I'm starting to wonder if I haven't already gone insane."
"Well, back to the fight with you," Sombra commented, taking them into Dragonsreach and making the Jarl jump in surprise.
"I should have known you were a Stormcloak traitor," Jarl Balgruuf shouted, drawing his sword as he approached Raika, "I will have you put down like the dog you are."
"Racist," Raika spat, walking up the the wooden throne while she ranted, "First off, you should have known where my allegiances were, because I told you of them the FIRST time I ever meet you and your lovely, but terribly annoying, guards. And second, I'm a KHAJIIT, not a blasted ignorant dog. I mean seriously, I know that most nords in Skyrim hate the khajiits for being thieves and assassins, but I am not like the rest of my kind and would like you to take me seriously for once."
"Skyrim belongs to the Nords!" Balgruuf shouted, before Raika disarmed his weapons and held a sword to his throat.
"To Oblivion with your soul," Raika spat, pushing him onto his back, "Whiterun belongs to the Stormcloaks now."
She had seriously hoped that Balgruuf would have put up a fight, but instead he was easy to beat and it annoyed Raika even more than already was. At least the fight was over and she could move on to dealing with the vampire threat again.
Whiterun was in the control of the Stormcloaks and the former Jarl, Balgruuf, was on his way out of the city with his children and his steward not far behind him. Raika sat outside Dragonsreach, watching her brothers and sisters make sure that the citizens were unharmed and began rebuilding pieces of the city that had been ruined. Balgruuf gave her the stink eye as he walked by her, basically telling her that he was disappointed in her choice in joining the Stormcloak army. She sighed and stared at the city, her mind returning to the quest that she had been taken from and wondering what the Moth Priest would tell her about the Elder Scrolls.
The thing she was more worried about was if anyone was going to remember her after she died, because whenever she went to do something one of her friends outshined her. Princesses Celestia and Luna were skilled warriors that were capable of destroying countless enemies without faltering in their steps or tiring for some time. Princess Cadence could see a target in the distance and put them in seconds and Twilight could literally explode an enemy without really thinking about it. Trixie, now powered by the masks of nine Dragon Priests and carried two powerful magical weapons, was a mage that seemed like there was no equal to her power.
Then there was Sombra, a fallen king whose power was high enough where he could likely block out the sun itself and still have enough left over to do something else. Raika was supposed to be the one to kill Alduin, but Sombra impaled the massive dragon and nearly killed him the moment they met up at High Hrothgar. Now that his memories were back he was literally killing almost everything that came his way, either outright killing them all or stealing their souls with his scythe. He was a force to be reckoned with, as every time the people of Skyrim saw him they cowered and completely ignored Raika, as if she didn't exist at all.
Almost no one in Skyrim cared about the Dragonborn legend anymore, leaving Raika to wonder why she should care about everyone in the province. Her answer was always the same, she wanted to protect people and would do so until something got the best of her.
"So, off to Fort Dawnguard?" Trixie asked, standing behind Raika while the rest of their friends waited near the doors of Dragonsreach, "Or was there somewhere else you wanted to go?"
"I just want to get this over with," Raika sighed, turning back to face her friends and beckoning for Sombra to come over to her, "I just want to destroy Harkon and then find the person who commanded those Cultists to kill me. I need to put a stop to these schemes before they claim the lives of more innocent people."
"You summoned me?" Sombra asked, a neutral expression, the only thing she usually got out of him, on his face.
"We're returning to Fort Dawnguard," Raika said, picking up her swords that she had leaned on the side of the wall, "where we'll speak to the Moth Priest and find out where we go from there. Mind summoning a gateway for us?"
Even as the words left her mouth a gateway sprung up next to them, causing Raika to give Sombra a blank stare and received a simple smile in return. She beckoned for the others to join them before making her way to the gateway, disappearing in the blink of an eye as Trixie and Serana followed her. Sombra waited for the others to follow Raika through the gateway before heading in himself, giving him enough time to ward off a soldier that wanted a closer look before vanishing.
Raika stepped out inside the fort, not really freaking out the soldiers that were patrolling the inside this time, but made Isran growl at her the moment she arrived. She brushed him off and found the Moth Priest sitting in a nearby chair, so she smiled and immediately started to walk over to where he was sitting. Before she got close she noticed a white rag wrapped around where his eyes were, leaving her to fear that worst had happened while they were gone.
"So Dragonborn, you have returned," the Moth Priest commented, apparently hearing her approach, "Unfortunately, I can no longer be of any assistance to you. In my haste to read the first Elder Scroll I forgot to take precautions to prevent any negative side effects. I am now paying for my actions."
"So basically there's no way to read the third Scroll now?" Raika asked, realizing that if he said no then they'd have no way of discovering where Auriel's Bow was located.
"There is an ancient ritual you could perform," the Moth Priest answered, "You must take a draw knife, found in Skyrim's Ancestor Glade new Falkreath, and gather some bark from a Canticle Tree. With the bark in hand you would be able to attract a swarm of Ancestor Moths that would allow you to read the third Elder Scroll."
"Wait, you mean I could have gone blind?" Raika asked, now realizing how dangerous even reading the Elder Scroll the one time had been, "I haven't felt any side effects from my first reading, but who's to say that reading this second Scroll won't damage me in any way? What use would I be to Skyrim if I were blind and unable to fight?"
"Oh just get going already," Isran growled, picking her up by her collar and tossing her to her friends, "Dexion said the ritual can let you read the Scroll, so head to the blasted Ancestor Glade and find out where Auriel's Bow is hidden. Honestly, I swear to the Divines that you don't listen to anyone at all."
Raika stared at Isran and her anger wrapped over her mind for a moment, causing her right hand to land on her sword and draw it out a little before she stopped herself. Isran annoyed her to no end, that was true, but that didn't explain why she suddenly wanted to draw her swords and put an end to him and anyone that tried to stop her. She wondered for a moment if all the darkness that Sombra was using with his gates might be having an effect on her, but she threw that idea away as she realized that if she was effected bu the shadows then the others would be as well.
"Don't push your luck Isran," Raika growled, turning back to the Shadow Gate, "When next we return we'll be carrying Auriel's Bow, of that you can be sure of."
Raika wasn't sure if Sombra had changed the Shadow Gate's destination, but at that exact moment she really didn't care as she marched right into the shadows.
------------------------------------
When Raika stepped out of the shadows she found herself standing outside a small city, one that she got the sense of dread as one of the citizens gave her a frown. She was right outside Falkreath, exactly where they needed to be to find the Ancestor Glade, but it still bugged her how Sombra knew where these places were without visiting them. She wasn't complaining though, it saved her time and gave her the ability to accomplish a lot more than she could ever do without the shadows. One of the guards came up to ask her something, which she was prepared to answer whatever he asked, but he looked behind her and then ran in the opposite direction like she was a Daedra or something.
She didn't need to know that Sombra had her friends had arrived, because every guard around them, literally every single one of them, were shaking in their boots.
"You there," Raika said, turning to one of the gate guards, "I'm looking for the Ancestor Glade and was told that it was somewhere around this location. Care to point me in the right direction?"
"Its that way," the guard replied, pointing into the mountains behind her, "You'll find a path that winds up the mountain side, but you'll come to an opening in the mountain that you'll want to take. Trust me, you can't miss it."
Raika growled at the guard, but instead of lashing out at him she just turned around and walked up the road so she could get to the mountain path he had mentioned. Her friends weren't far behind her, keeping their eyes peeled for any enemies that would hinder their progress or the pathway in case Raika walked past it. Serana stayed close to her, keeping her mouth shut in case Raika decided to snap at her like she had done back in her mother's secret laboratory. Shadow walked on Raika's left, leaving a hand ready to grab his weapon in case they needed to fight someone, while the Equestrian's walked a small distance behind them.
"What was that?" Trixie asked, keeping her voice low so Raika didn't hear them, "One minute she was the same khajiit we've been traveling with and then the next it was like she had snapped, going out for Isran's blood. Do you think the Shadow Gates might be having an effect on her somehow?"
"I'm sure we'd all be experiencing side effects," Cadence replied, keeping her eyes on Raika for the moment, "but seeing how its only her I'd have to say the gates are not the cause of her sudden change of character."
"I would agree Princess Cadence," Sombra commented, "Shadow Gates are only used for transportation, but they aren't the type of Dark Magic spell that would do something like this to someone. If they did this to people I would have suggested either walking or taking a carriage, both of which Raika has grown to hate with a passion. No, what I suspect to be the cause of this change is her Dragonborn powers, or rather the souls of the fallen dragons that she's absorbed so far. I'd be careful around her and not do anything that might provoke this new rage to erupt again."
"Is that even possible?" Cadence asked, noticing a small pathway coming on along the road.
"I'm not exactly sure," Trixie commented, "Of all the Dragonborns in Tamriel no scholar ever documented the lasting side effects of tearing out a dragon's soul and devouring it whole. It is possible that, after a certain number of souls, the Dragonborn could start developing a sense of madness that begins to eat away at them. It is also highly likely that her current stress is caused by all of us, seeing how we're all attached to some myth or legend or even a kingdom from another plane of existence. It could very well be our fault that Raika doesn't feel that the people of Skyrim are bothering with her, as they keep flocking to heroes like Shadow and myself or run from those they've labeled as villains, like you Sombra."
"Then we shall tone ourselves back," Sombra said, confident that he wouldn't have to draw upon his crystals until Raika asked him to use them, "and allow Raika to fight more enemies by herself. Maybe then her rage will subside and she'll return to normal."
"Here we are," Raika exclaimed, beckoning towards the hole in the mountain they had discovered, "Lets get in there and do this ritual so we can find that bow."
When they entered the cave they immediately ran into a troll that had made the cave its home, but it was fighting a wooden creature further down the path. Instead of fighting they just watched the two of them tear into each other, the wooden creature tightening its vines on the troll while the troll ripped one of the arms clean off. Eventually the two of them went still, crumbling to the ground in a lump of limps as their collective life force spilled onto the ground around them. Raika surpassed a laugh as they made their way deeper into the cave, coming to a gigantic open area filled with trees and a sense of beauty that didn't exist in Skyrim anymore.
"So this is the Ancestor Glade," Serana commented, staring at the area in front of them, "its...beautiful."
"I wonder what it would look like if it was on fire," Raika muttered to herself, casting a look around for the knife she needed to use, "Alright guys, I'll make this quick."
As Raika made her way down towards the lake of water Sombra and the others spread out, keeping their eyes on the area around them in case Lord Harkon found them out. Raika approached the small island and immediately found the knife, as it was just floating in the middle of some stone structure that looked oddly like an eye. She grabbed the knife and approached the nearby tree, raking the knife across the bark and causing some of it to fall off immediately. Once she had enough she picked the bark up and moved to where she spotted some moths flying around, causing them to leave their bushes and come float around her.
After a few minutes of hunting down the moths Raika returned to the center island, where a beam of light was now touching the stonework on the ground. She stepped into the light and steeled her mind for a moment, dreading the possible consequences that might come from reading the third and final Elder Scroll. Before she could back away she pulled out the third Scroll and opened it, allowing the sight the moths were giving her to see what she needed to see. As she gazed into the fabric of the Scroll she could see the image of a bow and the location of said bow unraveled before her very eyes, telling her exactly where to go next.
"Hold there meat bag," someone shouted, who Raika assumed was just another vampire, "Lord Harkon has discovered you running around the province of Skyrim and has decided to take everything from you. Hand over the Elder Scrolls and you may escape with your...life?"
Raika saw a force of at least ten to fifteen vampires standing bear the entrance of the area she had entered, but all of them were looking around the area in different directions. Trixie and Serana stood near the entrance, one on each side of the opening so they could easily hit whoever followed them into the gigantic open room. Sombra stood in the far back of the room with Cadence standing near him, though Raika knew that the both of them could easily hit their targets from across the chamber. Shadow appeared near Raika, his sword in his right hand, while he helped her back onto her feet and stashed the Scroll back where she kept it.
"The Archmage of Winterhold?!"
"The Divine Crusader?!"
"Lord Harkon's daughter?!"
"The Crystal Archer?!"
"The...the King of Shadows?!"
"Hey bloodsuckers," Raika shouted, now annoyed out of her mind that the vampires forgot her, "What about the Dragonborn? The person who slew the dragon known as Alduin the World-Eater? The person who can rip out a dragon's soul and permanently kill them? Quit forgetting about me!"
"Oh? Is that what makes you special?" a vampire mocked, walking away from her group and approached Raika, "Well, last I heard you already completed your destiny and blew that giant lizard out of the air. So, what threat are you to a squad of powerful vampires?"
Raika leapt forward and threw her right hand, now balled into a fist, right at the vampire, catching her off guard as her fist tore right into her chest. For a moment the vampire thought things were going to be okay and she could easily heal herself, but then the area around Raika's fist caught on fire and the vampire ignited. Raika ripped her fist out of the vampire and noted that the flames were still dancing around her hand, but they didn't seem to be doing any damage to her at all. She looked up at the other vampires and grinned at them, rushing up the steps as the flames wrapped around her entire body and began to burn whatever they touched.
Trixie and Serana noticed the change the moment it happened, but when the flames began to burn everything near Raika they immediately backed away to the sides. They had no wishes to be anywhere near Raika while her anger was burning so bright that it caused the area around her to burn, least they got caught in the crossfire. One vampire came at Raika and swung his sword at her, but she ducked and decked him in the chest, flames racing onto his body as they began to eat away at him. She turned to the next vampire and kicked her in the chest, followed by a swift punch that tore right into her heart and ate away at her even faster.
Her friends watched from the other side of the gigantic chamber as she ducked, punched, kicked, and destroyed the entire elite group of vampires that Harkon had sent after all of them. She tore through each of them, dropping their smoldering bodies to the ground before moving onto the next enemy and then the enemy after that, until she had literally torn through all fifteen vampires. Serana took a step towards her, but Sombra held a hand out to stop everyone from approaching Raika, keeping a close eye on the flames and waiting for them to disappear. Once the flames died down Sombra removed his hand and they silently approached her, making sure that they stayed far away in case the flames sprung up once again.
"You okay Raika?" Cadence asked, making sure that they watched out for the flames as they got close to her.
"Yes, I think so," Raika moaned, rubbing her eyes just a bit, "I think that Elder Scroll might have messed with my eyes, just like with the Moth Priest Dexion."
Sombra stepped in front of her and stared into her eyes, finding something so strange that he wondered if it was the Elder Scroll or something else that had caused it.
"Raika, I don't know how it happened," Sombra said, "but you've got dragon eyes now."
"What do you mean I have dragon eyes?!" Raika demanded, worried that the Elder Scroll really had messed with her body.
Sombra, not really having a way to explain in words what had happened, sighed and summoned a small chunk of smooth crystal, which he broke out of the ground and brushed off. He quickly made sure that whatever reflection could be seen was the best it could possibly be, though once he was sure it was as good as it was going to get he handed it over to Raika. She stared at him as if he was insane, but after he beckoned for her to look at it she sighed and stared at her own reflection, shock filling her body. Her normal khajiit eyes were gone and in their place were the silted eyes she always saw when she was fighting a dragon, only hers were bright red colored.
"What in Oblivion did that Elder Scroll do to me?" Raika asked, now confused out of her mind and pinching herself to make sure that what she was seeing was real and not a dream.
"I'm not sure," Sombra replied, wondering if the Scroll was at fault or if it had purely been her anger at being ignored, "but that doesn't matter at the moment. Did you find out where Auriel's Bow was located?"
"Yeah, I think I did," Raika said, tucking the crystal chunk away before pulling out her map, "Our best course of action is to head to Markarth and then head north until we come to a cave that's called Darkfall Cave. Somewhere inside that cave is Auriel's Bow, but we won't be able to find it until we get over there."
While they were talking Cadence spotted a pack set on the ground, close to where the vampires had been standing, but far enough that Raika's flames wouldn't have reached it. Curiosity got the better of her and she walked over to it, opening it and searching through the items that the vampires had brought with them. She spotted several items that she expected, a few potions to restore their health and magic, a couple of spare weapons, and, the most surprising, a letter baring a strange symbol on the back. She opened the letter and scanned the first couple of lines, her hand reaching for her mouth as she realized what she was reading.
"Um...Raika?" Cadence said, holding the letter out for her to take, "We might need to make a quick stop somewhere."
Raika took the letter and opened it up, reading the first few lines and realizing what Cadence had said about making a stop somewhere, because she had to agree. It also made her mad, because the Thalmor had learned of Ancano's defeat at the College of Winterhold and that the Stormcloaks had bested the Imperials at Whiterun. This letter included an order for the Thalmor to gather in Dragon Bridge before they marched to burn all of Whiterun, including the surrounding fields, to the ground. Then it went on and on about their plan to just burn the rebellion out of Skyrim, which would torch half of the province to the state where nothing would grow for a few years.
"Sombra, we need a gateway to Dragon Bridge," Raika said, stashing the letter away as she turned back to Sombra, "the Thalmor are planning on burning half of Skyrim to the ground to drive out my brothers and sisters since we took Whiterun. We'll beat them to the small town and hopefully convince the guards that the Thalmor are up to no good before its too late to stop their plan."
Sombra nodded and a gateway sprung up behind him, showing that he could summon them without needing to prepare them and beckoned for the others to move on. Raika growled and charged into the shadows, not even bothering to close her eyes as she focused on finding the Thalmor and beating them at their own game. Trixie and Serana shrugged at each other and followed her in, after which Shadow and Cadence stepped in as well and disappeared. Sombra, always the last to enter the gateways, stepped into the shadows and followed his friends to their next destination.
------------------------------------------------
Raika stepped out of the shadows and looked around, finding the few citizens of Dragon Bridge staring in her direction as her friends walked out as well. Once Sombra was through the gateway closed down, disappearing almost as fast as it had appeared, though the guards glared at him none the less. One guard approached the group, but Raika noticed that it was the commander of the Penitus Oculatus, the man called Maro who had lost his son some time ago.
"I see you travel with the King of Shadows," Maro said, staring at them as he stopped near Raika, "I have heard tales of all of you, how you help those in need when you are able and utterly destroy whatever enemies step between you and your goals. The Divine Crusader, the Archmage of Winterhold, the Daughter of the Vampire Lord Harkon, the Crystal Archer, and the King of Shadows. Five legendary heroes being lead by one of the most legendary of all Nordic heroes, the Dragonborn of legend."
"Wait a minute," Raika said, relief filling her for a moment, "you actually know who I am?"
"Of course," Maro said, the truth of her question dawning on him, "I see, you thought that no one cared for the Dragonborn now that Alduin has been destroyed. Lots of people are like that now, but I'm afraid that most of this is deeply rooted in the Thalmor's meddling, as they blame you for the near destruction of their Embassy. The people of Dragon Bridge care about the legend of the Dragonborn and that you'll stop the vampire menace that seems to be growing out of control. What brings you here of all places?"
"This unfortunately," Raika replied, pulling out the letter and handing it over, "I'm afraid that the situation with the Thalmor might have gotten worse after the Stormcloaks took Whiterun."
"For the love of Mara," Maro gasped, reading the entire letter before looking up at her, "I knew the Thalmor couldn't be trusted, but this seals the deal. Unfortunately I have received a letter from the Thalmor telling me and my guards to stand down and let them pass through the town without interfering with them. According to their schedule they sent me they'll be passing through the city within the next hour, so I'd do whatever preparations you want if you intend to fight them."
"Very well," Raika said, knowing they'd likely have to fight alone as she turned to her friends, "Sombra, I need you to summon a barrier of crystals that could prevent the Thalmor from passing through the town and provide us with a chance to surprise them. Trixie and Serana, get as much magic as you can for this fight, because we're going to need everything the two of you have in order to fight all of these guys off. Cadence, I want you to find a vantage point that will allow you to pin enemies at the back to the ground and hopefully make them reconsider their plans. Shadow; you, Sombra, and I are going to stand at the front lines the moment the barrier is in place, so we can fight them back.
Commander Maro, just in case the Thalmor come up from behind I want you to make sure the citizens are inside their homes and out of the way. I don't want the Thalmor to label you and your guards are traitors for what we're about to do."
"I appreciate the thought," Maro said, bowing slightly to her, "Just know that, even if you and your friends fall to the Thalmor, the people of Dragon Bridge and most of Skyrim appreciate everything you have already done for them."
Raika nodded and everyone dispersed, going about their tasks as citizens ran into their homes and her friends approached the road that the Thalmor would be coming from. The earth shook a bit, but the crystals sprung up with no problems and Sombra even went out of his way to create an area of black crystal to hide Cadence in. There was also a walkway that Trixie and Serana could use as well, giving them the ability to move around without getting in each others way at all. Raika and Shadow stood in front of the wall, waiting for the time to tick by and for the Thalmor to arrive like they were scheduled to do.
------------------------------------------------
"There it is boys and girls, Dragon Bridge," the highest ranking Thalmor Justiciar said, staring down the street and finding Dragon Bridge blocked off by crystals, "and it seems like the King of Shadows has come to play. Listen up members of the Thalmor, her Emissary has issued the order that Sombra, the so called King of Shadows, is to be put to death for the damages he cased to the Embassy not too long ago. His allies, the Divine Crusader, the Archmage of Winterhold, the Crystal Archer, and a daughter of a powerful vampire lord, are also marked for death. His allies have a bounty of three thousand septims for their heads, but the King himself is worth TEN THOUSAND SEPTIMS, enough for someone to enjoy life for a few weeks."
"What about the Dragonborn sir?" one of the soldiers asked, "How much is her head worth?"
"Same as the rest of the King's allies," the Head Justiciar said, "though her Emissary wants the Dragonborn alive so she can personally execute her in Solitude. Now begin the siege and bring me their heads."
Raika had been waiting for the Thalmor to show themselves, but she was surprised to find at least a hundred of them walking down the road towards the town. Sombra stood on her left, holding onto his scythe, while Shadow stood to her right, his two handed sword gleaming as he prepared to use it on their foes. She knew that Trixie and Serana were done preparing their spells, though she hoped that they would carefully pick their foes before loosing a spell. Cadence stood in her hidden box, her arrows at the ready as she waited for the command to strike out at the Thalmor that were coming their way.
"Stand down heretics and receive your punishment," the Head Justiciar shouted, as his army drew closer to the wall, "Her Emissary wants all of your heads and I intend to give them to her."
Raika raised her bow and loosed the arrow that she had prepared for the first attack, the signal that would tell the others to being the defense of Dragon Bridge. The arrow zipped through the air and hit one of the Thalmor mages in the eye, going right into the brain and immediately killing him before he could release a single spell. The army descended on their location, spells flying in all directions as the soldiers drew their weapons and approached Raika and her friends.
Shadow dashed forward and brought his sword down on one unlucky soldier, splitting it in half before he even realized who he was fighting or how screwed he was. He spun around, dodging one enemy that tried to hit him, and advanced on a mage that was intending to blast the wall, cutting off her arms before ending her life. He then turned to the enemy that missed him and cut open his back, forcing him to the ground as he blocked another soldiers attempt to get at him.
Sombra walked up to his first target and cut the soldiers head right off, the soul breaking out of the body and vanishing into his scythe within seconds. Two soldiers came at him and prepared to strike him down, but he spun around and his scythe cut across their chests, ending their misery and stealing their souls. A mage readied a spell to strike him, but all Sombra did was step into the shadows and pierced his heart from behind, taking his soul as he returned to where he had been.
Trixie and Serana, having come to an agreement before the fight, carefully picked out their targets, throwing fireballs towards the back of the enemy army. Trixie prepped a large fireball and threw it as hard as she could, causing it to fall near the Head Justiciar and blowing several mages up in the process. Serana, on the other hand, threw an barrage of ice spikes at the middle mages and soldiers, felling the same amount as Trixie did while wounding several more. The two grinned at each other and continued their assault, bodies flying off the cliff side as they worked.
Cadence stayed where she was, pulling her bow back and loosing an arrow that tore through a soldier, giving him a moment to gasp at the sudden wound before dropping to the ground. She pulled over another arrow and carefully knocked it, picking out her next target and pinning the arrow right in her target's chest, throwing her into the wall. A soldier caught on to what she was doing and started to shout a warning, but she quickly put an arrow in the back of his head and silenced him in seconds. She also kept the enemy leader in her sights at all times, just in case Raika gave the order to put him down before they finished everyone else off.
"What now Thalmor?" Raika shouted, her swords cutting a soldier in the throat before piercing the heart of another, "How does it feel to face the power of the Dragonborn and her allies?"
"Don't make me laugh heretic," the Head Justiciar laughed, "You?! The Dragonborn of legend?! If you were a Dragonborn, like the founder of your beloved Empire, we would have been told to put you down first for fear of the power you'd control. Unfortunately, your just a no name weakling that's claiming to be the Dragonborn."
"No...Name...WEAKLING?!" Raika shouted, her rage boiling over to new heights as flames began to wrap around her again, "I WILL F***ING MURDER ALL OF YOU!"
Sombra and Shadow barely had time to throw themselves to the side as Raika ran past them, burning the ground under her feet as her swords dropped to the ground where she had been standing a second ago. What they witnessed was an identical match to what they had seen in the Ancestor Glade, though now her enemies were waiting for her arrival. The first enemies she approached dropped like flies, their bodies burning like a bonfire as she tore through the ranks of the Thalmor soldiers.
The Head Justiciar was shocked that their foe had suddenly changed like that, that she had so much rage that it made flames wrap around her body. She was like a completely different khajiit now, going berserk as she tore through his soldiers with her hands like they were simple pieces of parchment. Then he heard the sound of a dragon roar, something that he would never forget, and knew that he was caught between a rock and a very hard place.
"We don't need this," Trixie moaned, watching the light brown scaled dragon approach the fight, "We really don't need a dragon coming to this fight."
Raika, somehow hearing the dragon through her rage, spotted it and ran right past the Head Justiciar, who stood there like he was going to drop dead any second. Once the dragon neared the ground Raika leapt into the air and caught one of its feet, somehow keeping her grip on it while she made her way onto its back. The dragon roared in anger and tried to shake her off, but Raika dug into its back and steered it towards the ground as her flames seeped into its body. As the dragon near the ground for the second time, and it switched to its back so it could crush Raika under its weight, Raika worked her way to its chest and struck it as hard as she could. The dragon roared in pain as it hit the ground, crushing several Thalmor in the process and laying still as the life seemed to fade from its body.
Raika pulled herself off the dragon's still body and touched the ground, the dragon's body breaking apart as the soul was absorbed right into her own body. Her heart began to beat faster as it happened, but she growled and approached the Head Justiciar, ripping apart any remaining soldiers that dared to get in her way. A bunch of the remaining soldiers, now scared for their lives, turned tail and fled back the way they came, leaving the Head Justiciar to fend for himself. He gripped his sword and charged at Raika, swinging his sword with the intent to strike her right in the heart, but Raika move to the side a bit and thrust her left hand into his chest.
The Justiciar coughed as he looked down at his chest, finding Raika's hand piercing his chest, touching his heart as he felt the flames beginning to eat at him. Before he could even do anything Raika tore her hand out of his chest, her hand now covered with his blood, and opened her mouth to release a torrent of flame on him. The last thing that went though his mind before he died was that he should not have provoked Raika as much as he had.
The last thing that Raika remembered before fainting was the sound of her friends rushing to her side.
It was half an hour after the Thalmor's assault on Dragon Bridge, where Raika and her friends had fought the might of a hundred soldiers and mages until the elves were forced to retreat. The retreat wasn't caused by the Thalmor's leader, a high ranking Justiciar, ordering them to retreat, but rather because Raika made the survivors retreat. It also wasn't caused by her the power of her friends, each of them having a variety of skills that could have, when used together, wasted their entire army. Once the Head Justiciar disrespected Raika and called her a nobody and a weakling she snapped, her rage completely taking over.
It had been like a beast had been awakened, as Raika dropped her weapons, charged into the ranks of the Thalmor, and began to rip them to pieces. Her anger at being ignored and underestimated was so powerful that it was accessing the dragon souls that she had consumed, changing her little by little. Once she killed the Head Justiciar, tearing out his heart and burning his body with a breath of flames from her mouth, she fainted in the middle of the roar, causing her friends to rush to her side. Cadence and Serana gently carried her to the tavern, where they got a bed so they could make sure that Raika was okay and that there was no side effects.
Sombra thought it was somewhat ironic; that he was helping the person that had rescued him from Helgen in the exact same manner, bringing her to the closest bed and treating whatever wounds she had.
"To be honest I'm not sure," Sombra commented, staring down at Raika's sleeping body, "This is similar to when my own darkness captured my heart and turned me into a monster, a cruel king that wanted to rule over everything."
"Could her anger be siphoned?" Cadence asked, worried that Raika's rage might corrode her heart, like the old stories that she had read about Sombra.
"Not like I could do with my shadows," Sombra replied, sighing as he wondered what to do next, "Her anger is rooted not only in the fact that almost all our enemies ignore her and disrespect her, but in the anger that the souls of the dead dragons carry with them. I think her anger might be reacting to the dragon souls she's already absorbed, which are increasing her own abilities past what they were before. If I were to siphon off her anger I'd have to devise a way to siphon her dragon souls as well, something that I'm not even sure I could do without damaging her body and mind."
"And what about that?" Cadence said, pointing to Raika's left hand, "Can we really allow ourselves to stand back and watch this happen to the person that's supposed to stop Harkon and whoever sent those Cultists after her?"
"We don't have a choice in this matter," Sombra replied, shaking his head as he turned his gaze back to Raika, "I can only hope that our enemies refrain from making her even madder, otherwise this might spiral out of control."
--------------------------------------------
Raika moaned and picked herself off the ground, her entire body feeling sore and reminding her of the first time she had actually trained with her brothers and sisters in the Stormcloak army. She expected to find herself in the middle of the road where she had fought the Thalmor or in a bed in the tavern that was in Dragon Bridge, but the moment she noticed the red sky she knew something was wrong. She looked around her, finding a bunch of normal colored trees, boulders scattered around the place, and the sound of dragons filling the air around her.
That was before she turned around to face the area behind her and found a large red scaled dragon, as big as Durnehviir was, laying right behind her. The strangest thing about the dragon was that its eyes were bright red colored, the exact same color as her own pair of dragon eyes.
"So, you have arrived, Raika Snow-Heart," the dragon said, raising itself onto its feet and staring right at her, "I know that it is a shock to find yourself here, in your inner world of all places, but I will make this as short as I possibly can for you. I am sure that you have questions, so ask what you will of me."
"Any question I want?" Raika asked, testing the waters as the dragon gave a small nod, "Very well, I shall start with the simplest of questions. Who are you?"
"You could say that I am you," the dragon chuckled, despite the fact that Raika gave it a blank stare, "I am Yolrahtoor; Yol meaning Fire, Rah meaning God, and Toor meaning Inferno. Your rage is like a fire that consumes everything that dares to stand in your way, thus I use my flames when I do battle, similar to what you did to that Thalmor. Dragonborns are often considered to be godly in their own right, but while you may not be near that level of power, I, on the other claw, am at the height of our power."
"How can you be me?" Raika asked, not really understanding what the dragon was talking about, "Sure, the last Elder Scroll I read messed with my eyes and now I have a pair of dragon eyes that happen to be bright red colored, but I don't see how that means that you are me."
"Oh really?" the dragon said, giving her what she assumed was a frown, "Then take a look at your left hand and tell me that we are not the same being."
Raika took a glance at her left hand, wondering what the dragon was getting at, and nearly fainted when she saw what was now attached to her. Her normal khajiit hand, which she used in her various battles by holding her weapons, had been replaced by a dragon's claw, complete with red scales and sharpened claws. The scales stopped at her wrist, but the fact that her hand had been replaced had shocked her more than she was ever willing to admit to anyone.
"Your anger has awakened me," Yolrahtoor chuckled, causing Raika to look at it, or rather her, again, "I, in turn, have connected the souls of the dragons you have already devoured to you, granting you even greater physical abilities than what your used to. You also gain access to many of the Shouts that the dragons you devoured used when they were alive, evidence of such power being the flames that ripped out of your throat and burned that Thalmor to the ground."
"So I'm turning into a dragon?" Raika asked, curious if she was right or this was all in her imagination.
"In a sense, the answer is yes," Yolrahtoor replied, "it means that you are embracing your dragon heritage, more so than your predecessors ever did. Now, not even I am sure how quickly you'll change, but eventually you and I will be one and the same being one day, in both body and mind. We will meet again Raika, of that you can be sure."
Raika's vision faded and eventually she hit the ground once more.
--------------------------------------------
Morning came to Dragon Bridge and Cadence stood out in the sun as it washed over the small town, a couple of thoughts running through her mind as she waited for Raika to wake up. The sun reminded her of Princess Celestia and she wondered what she and Luna were doing at that exact moment, all the way back in Equestria. Cadence knew that her time in Tamriel was drawing to a close, considering that both Luna and Celestia had spent a long period of time in this world before returning. She at least wanted to end the vampire threat that was spreading to Skyrim before she was forced to return to her home, hopefully taking Trixie home as well.
Then she felt a tap on her shoulder, causing her to turn around and find Trixie standing behind her with a small grin on her face.
"Come on Princess Cadence," Trixie said, beckoning for her to come into the tavern, "Raika's waking up."
Cadence nodded and followed Trixie into the tavern, making their way around the morning patrons that visited the place every morning, before arriving at the room they had rented for the night. When they entered the room they found Raika waking up, rising from the frame and putting her hands, or rather a hand and a claw, on her head. Cadence thought it was strange that Raika was changing like she was, but she didn't know if there was any way to slow them down before the person she knew was consumed.
"How are you feeling?" Cadence asked, sitting near the bed as Trixie left to gather the others.
"I'm...not sure exactly," Raika admitted, staring at her clawed hand and realizing that it hadn't been a dream, "surprised I guess. What exactly happened to me?"
"Well, your rage broke," Cadence replied, not really sure how to explain what had happened, "You charged the enemy with your bare hands and ripped them apart, burning their bodies as you passed by them until you reached their leader. You tore his heart out his chest, bloodying your left hand I might add, and then blasted his body with an intense burst of flame that reduced him to ashes. I think your hand might have shifted the moment you pierced his chest, though you wouldn't have felt it in your state of rage."
Raika went silent and stared at her hand, wondering why all of this was starting to happen to her, right after she went through the ritual to read the third Elder Scroll. She could have dealt with her eyes changing, as it was something that she could have hid from everyone in Skyrim, but her hand was something else. There was no way she was going to be able to hide something like a dragon's claw from the people of Skyrim, which made her let out a sigh. She guessed that she would have to continue on her quest as she was, so she picked herself up and got out of the bed.
"I will not be stopped by these changes," Raika growled, checking her armor before grabbing her swords, "we shall make for Darkfall Cave and begin the search for Auriel's Bow. Once we have that in our possession we'll take the fight to Harkon and beat him into the ground so hard that his lackeys think twice about their war with everyone else."
As she walked outside the tavern she found the rest of her friends waiting for her, grins on most of their faces that told her that they were all glad that she was okay. Serana, on the other hand, didn't seem to care that she was okay and kept her arms crossed in front of her, which made Raika somewhat mad that the vampire didn't care. She sighed and let herself cool off a bit, knowing that if she let her anger get too high then she'd start changing even more, which was something she was trying to avoid.
"So, to Darkfall Cave?" Sombra asked, shadows wrapping around him as he prepared to summon a gateway that would drop them off near the cave, though Raika knew he wouldn't have the exact location.
Raika nodded and the shadows opened next to them, opening the way to their long awaited goal. She charged into the shadows and allowed them to take her, knowing that her friends would be right behind her without delay.
--------------------------------------------
The cave, Raika soon discovered, lived up to its name as the opening was nearly shrouded in darkness, leaving Sombra to lead them down the pathway that would hopefully take them to their goal. Raika was okay to let him take the lead this time, as he was more used to the darkness than any of the rest of the group were used to, causing Serana to sigh in defeat. They passed by a frostbite spider, which didn't know what hit it as Sombra quickly put it out of its misery before moving even deeper into the cave. After a minute or two they came to a bridge, but as they walked across it the ropes snapped and they fell down into a stream of water.
Once they reached the end of the stream Cadence pulled out three arrows and pinned three more spiders in their heads, causing them to drop from the ceilings and hit the ground. Raika smiled as they made their way down the passage, eventually turning around until they came to a bloodied campsite and a couple of slopes. They studied their options, making a note of the potential trolls that were said to rest down one of the paths, but Raika felt confident in their ability and they moved down the path that took them deeper into the cave.
The two trolls that they encountered weren't very hard for them to defeat, considering that Sombra could have pierced them with his crystals, Trixie and Serana could have slain them with magic, Cadence could have pierced them with her arrows, Shadow could have hacked them to pieces, and Raika, well, could have torched them with her inner fire. How they chose to defeat the trolls was to just ruin them with magic, much to the delight of Trixie and Serana, who took great pleasure in wrecking them. The area past the trolls was a simple shrine with a makeshift camp waiting before it, though Raika saw an elf standing before the shrine.
"Ah, good, you have arrived," the elf said, beckoning for them to join him near the shrine, "I am Knight-Paladin Gelebor, Sentinel of the Chantry of Auri-El. Please, do not be alarmed. I know you have come seeking Auriel's Bow, which I will gladly give to you if you first give me your assistance."
"And what would you ask of us Snow Elf?" Serana spat, though Raika had no idea why she seemed so hostile, "Kill a bunch of innocent people to acquire a weapon of legendary power?"
"Oh no, nothing like that," Gelebor replied, "I simply need you to kill my brother, Arch-Curate Vyrthur. The beings you call the Falmer swept into the Chantry and slaughtered many of my people, but they stormed into the Inner Sanctum and somehow corrupted him. He's no longer the brother I once knew, as all he does these days is stare at the Betrayed and watch whatever horrid act their committing. Getting to the Inner Sanctum will not be easy, as all you need to do is follow the Initiates footsteps and visit the Wayshrines that dot the Chantry. The first of which lies at the end of Darkfall Passage, which the shrine behind me will allow you to enter."
"So let me guess," Serana said, shaking her head slightly, "We're going to carry a water pitcher across this Chantry, fill it at all the Wayshrines, and then we'll gain entrance to the Inner Sanctum?"
"With this ewer," Gelebor said, picking up a nearby silver ewer and handed it over to Raika, "Now, allow me to show you the Wayshrines that you'll need to visit."
The moment the words left his mouth he cast a spell at the small golden statue and the entire area began to shake, the shrine rising from the ground until it nearly reached the ceiling. There were six sides to it, one side opened so they could enter, four of them looking like normal stone walls, and one that was glowing like it was a portal. Raika sighed and approached the glowing side, stepping through the portal and found herself standing in another darkened tunnel that she assumed was the one they needed to travel. Her friends appeared behind her, but she stepped out of the way and let Sombra take the lead, which was a good move as he pointed out a nest of chaurus ahead of them.
Trixie and Serana burned the nest and killed the chaurus, but the sound of their magic vibrated through the cave and Raika knew that whatever enemies were ahead of them were now aware that they had company. They made their way through the various twists and turns that the cave contained, arrows flying and swords flashing as they came into the Falmer that called the cave home. Raika should have known they'd be in the cave, but as she and her friends fought their latest enemy she noticed that she could feel the magic of her dragon souls waiting to be used.
Instead of there being a small group of three or four Falmer, like Raika was expecting there to be, they found at least a good three dozen enemies waiting for them. That was the tip of the iceberg, as the deeper they got into the cave the more the numbers of their enemies seemed to pour out of the cracks in the walls. Sombra, knowing that even they would be overwhelmed by the increasing numbers of enemies they had, waited until they passed over a river and summoned a small wall over the pathway. It would hold the Falmer back for a few minutes, but Sombra knew that they would break it and swarm them once more.
What he wouldn't give for Raika's rage to break again so they could turn her against the Falmer.
The plan would have been great, but they managed to run right into another hive of Falmer, finding even more enemies waiting for them to arrive. Sombra groaned and connected to the shadows, causing them to lash outwards towards the Falmer and bind them to the ground in crystal prisons. There were too many of them for him to imprison, but as they made their way towards the exit he made sure to seal it off as best as he could. The dwarven machines could break his crystals walls, but he had no doubt that the Falmer, with their superior numbers, would break through in time.
They eventually found a wall with two levers, but Raika took one look at them and carefully pulled the lever on the left, waiting for something terrible to happen. The wall near them began to open and they made their way past the opening, felling a strange saber cat that happened to be waiting for them to arrive. As they moved deeper into the new area, a giant area full of strange colors and glows, Sombra turned around and sealed the opening they had created. They didn't have to worry about any more Falmer jumping out at them, as they silently made their way around the cavern and encountered nothing more than a saber cat or two.
They crossed over a stone walkway, stepped onto a landing, and moved across another walkway, before they eventually stopped at the first Wayshrine, where they found a ghost waiting for them. It was then that Sombra felt the last barrier he had thrown up shatter, telling him that the Falmer were just barely entering their area and that they had little time before they were near them again.
"Raika, we've got company," Sombra said, spinning his scythe around before Raika stepped down the path, "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to break them," Raika growled, flames wrapping around her, "Serana has the ewer, so get that Wayshrine up and running before the Falmer get to us."
Sombra looked up at the ghost and found Serana trying to talk to it, but all it seemed to do was ask her the same question over and over, which only made her madder. Sombra approached the Wayshrine and the ghost turned towards him, giving him the same smile that he had been given Serana the entire time.
"Welcome, Initiate, to the Wayshrine of Illumination," the ghost said, "Are you prepared to honor the mantras of Auri-El and fill your vessel with his enlightenment?"
"Yes," Sombra replied, not seeing why Serana couldn't just simply say yes as the ground shook and the Wayshrine rose out of the ground before them, "Raika, the shrine is up."
He turned around to see Raika going crazy on the Falmer, swinging her arms like mad as her bare hands tore threw any unfortunate Falmer that chose to fight her. Many of the fallen elves stood on the opposite side of a wall of fire, something that Sombra knew had been summoned by Raika to prevent them from passing over. Those on her side of the wall faced their end at her hands, until eventually she was the only living creature, excluding her friends, standing behind the flames. A roar, sounding like those the dragons used, escaped her throat, causing the Falmer to turn around and scatter, but for how long Sombra did not know.
"Let's get moving," Raika growled, her flames dying as she approached the shimmering portal and stepped through it, appearing in another cave that seemed to lead to a winding area.
Without wasting a second Raika moved forward, eager to get this over with so they could acquire Auriel's Bow and kill Harkon, but when she reached the top of the winding path she felt nothing but anger. Stretching out before her was a whole new world, a place that would have existed in the old stories and forgotten about over time. The place before her was so big that she began to wonder how they were supposed to find the other four Wayshrines and then, if they managed that, the Inner Sanctum after that.
She was not going to enjoy looking over this entire place for the other Wayshrines or the Inner Sanctum, that much she was sure of.
"So this is the Forgotten Vale of legend," Serana commented, taking in the scenery as she and the others stopped behind Raika, "I must say, its not as impressive as the legends make it out to be."
"Oh just shut up already," Raika snapped, turning her draconic eyes on the vampire, "for the love of Talos, if you don't shut up about everything being beneath to you I might just snap and kill you myself."
Just the stare was enough to shut her up, as all of them knew exactly what Raika was capable of now that her dragon heritage was starting to reveal itself. They all knew that if they pushed her anger so far that it would break and she would berserk on whoever she desired, be it those that were in her way or those that were helping her. So Serana closed her mouth and nodded to Raika, who calmed down a bit before she began to walk towards the worn out pathway in the ground. Her friends followed behind her, keeping their eyes on the lookout for any of the four remaining Wayshrines so they could get their quest over with.
As they walked down the pathway they came across another strange saber cat, but Trixie blew it up with a fireball and attracted the attention of every other creature in the immediate area. Raika sighed as they continued into the vale, her swords spinning around when she reached a pair of saber cats that wanted to eat all of them for lunch. All she wanted to do was find the Inner Sanctum, find Gelebor's brother, kill the blasted elf, and then grab Auriel's Bow so they could kill Harkon.
Finding the second Wayshrine, the Wayshrine of Sight as it was called by the ghost guarding it, had been fairly easy compared to the first one, but the ghost would not open it for Raika, stating that she needed to release her anger before it could open the shrine. Sombra, having opened the first shrine in the cave, spoke to the ghost in Raika's stead and the Wayshrine opened before their eyes to reveal another basin. They quickly filled the ewer before they moved towards a giant opening to the north of the original pathway, which they returned to without delay. At the opening they found a bunch of spiders waiting for them, webs at the ready, but Trixie was ready as her fireballs tore through them and their webs with ease.
As they passed through the opening in the mountain side they quickly got a better glimpse as to what the Forgotten Vale really was, a so called place of beauty that was covered in mostly rocks, water, and ice. The group wasted little time in walking down to the river that ran in front of them, but before they could decide on which direction to head in Raika spotted what they were looking for. To their left was the structure of a Wayshrine that hadn't been opened yet, so they quickly made their way towards it and the ghost that tended it. Raika was, yet again, told that she needed to release her anger before the ghost would open the Wayshrine of Learning for her, but when Sombra repeated the answer he told the other two ghosts the Wayshrine opened before their eyes.
After filling the ewer and leaving to find the fourth Wayshrine Raika had the sudden thought to just burn the Vale down to the ground and show Gelebor and Vyrthur who was the boss. She shook her head and cleared the thought from her mind, wondering why she had even considered doing something like that in the first place.
They quietly made their way back to where they had been standing near the river and continued past it, heading in the opposite direction then the one they had just taken. It was only a few minutes later that they came across a giant, who stared at them from where he had made his cave and waved his club around to let them know that if they came near him he'd give them a thrashing. Raika, on the other hand, knew that if they felt like it any of her friends could fell the giant long before he ever got close to them, but he wasn't in their way so Raika decided to just leave him alone.
They gently walked over a pathway that had been carved in the mountain side, just in case the steps were corroded and could easily hurt them if they stepped on them weirdly. However, they managed to make it over the mountain wall and continued over towards what Raika assumed was a few huts that the Falmer built before they all went blind. Before she could start down that path Cadence lightly touched her shoulder and pointed out another structure over the river that looked like another one of the Wayshrines. Raika smiled and immediately passed over the river, heading right for the ghost and hoping that this time it would actually open the shrine up when Raika answered it.
"Welcome, Initiate, to the Wayshrine of Resolution," the ghost said as Raika approached, "Are you prepared to honor the mantras of Auri-El and fill your vessel with his enlightenment?"
"Yes," Raika replied, hoping that the ghost would give her what she wanted and leave them in peace.
"You must first empty your heart of anger, Initiate," the ghost replied, which just made Raika even madder, "only then will the Wayshrines, and Auri-El's enlightenment, be open to you."
Raika gave up and let Sombra answer the question, to which the Wayshrine shook the ground and opened up for all of them, letting them fill the ewer before moving on. Before they left the shrine, however, Raika cast a look at the frozen lake that they were standing near and spotted a crumbled Word Wall near it. She hated those walls, but knew that there was a guardian somewhere as she gently made her way down to the lake and lightly stepped onto the ice. Her plan was simple; walk across the frozen lake, grab the Word of Power if she could find it, and then return to the others before anything erupted from the ice.
Her plan would have worked if the ground hadn't shook beneath her feet and not one, but two, dragons tore through the ice and burst into the air before staring at her.
"Seriously?" Raika asked, not even believing her luck at this point, "Two of you at the same time? Screw it, I'm going to tear the both of you apart and take your souls for myself."
"Come and try, Dovahkiin," one of the dragons roared, accepting her challenge.
Raika ran towards the lake and found one of the dragons landing near the ruined Word Wall, which made her smile and immediately drew her swords so she could run it through. The moment she reached where it had landed the dragon burst into the air, knocking her back onto her back with the force of its takeoff and forced her to get right back up on her feet. Raika growled and zeroed in on one of the dragons, flames wrapping around her left hand as she sent a large fireball right at its right wing, missing it by just an inch. The dragon roared in mock humor, as if it enjoyed watching Raika miss her target, which only furthered her anger towards her current opponents.
Before she could move the second dragon dived into the ground in front of her and went underwater, cracking the ice enough to shatter the area around where it had entered and forced Raika to move before she was dropped into the freezing water. She cast a look around her, keeping her eye out for the dragon that was somewhere beneath her feet while making sure the other dragon didn't come near her at all. As she came to the conclusion that the underwater dragon was more interested in taking a bath she turned her attention back to the one flying around her head, which turned out to be a terrible idea as the dragon erupted from the water and grabbed her arms, lifting her right into the air.
Before Raika had a moment to even gather her senses in time to cut into the dragon's hold on her it tossed her further into the air, causing her to spin right towards the second dragon. As she got close to the dragon it spun around and swung its claws at her, stopping her at just the right moment for it to tear into the back of her armor and right into her back. The force of the attack sent her right down into the water, where she slowly sank into the depths of the lake as her vision slowly turned to pitch black.
When Raika opened her eyes she was back in the world she had found herself in earlier that morning, where she had discovered her inner dragon and had learned that she was slowly becoming a dragon herself. Instead of standing on the ground, like she had done the previous time, she was floating in the air, facing an irritated dragon that could only be her other half, the dragon Yolrahtoor. She didn't understand why it was so irritated, as it was Raika that was fighting the other two dragons and not it, but she was sure that she was going to be getting a lecture or something.
"Honestly, I am disappointed in you," Yolrahtoor huffed, smoke coming from its nose, "You, who managed to slay Aludin, are having trouble with two dragons that are nowhere near his level of power."
"Hey, I had help during that fight," Raika growled, not needing to be angered by her other half, "and, if we're being honest with each other, I'm not sure that I would have been able to defeat Alduin if Sombra hadn't nearly killed him before the fight even started. Plus I'm currently fighting two dragons that I'm sure have been practicing their battle routine since the day they met each other, so I'm already at a disadvantage."
"We are the Dragonborn," Yolrahtoor replied, flashing her its teeth, "We slew Alduin the World-Eater. We shouldn't be having any trouble with two dragons, especially two of the trouble makers that could never take a fight seriously and enjoy tricking their enemies. Allow me to be honest with you, if you refuse my power now then you'll die a very painful death that I'm pretty sure you'd like to avoid."
"So, what, your going to change me again?" Raika demanded, wanting to know exactly what the dragon had planned for her, "As if taking my eyes and my hand away weren't enough for you, now you want another piece of me that will set me apart from everyone in Skyrim."
"I'm afraid that you have no choice in this matter," Yolrahtoor told her, "I knew you'd ask this foolish question about what's going to change next and how long until you look completely like me, but by the time I replied you'd be dead. Your anger was the key that awakened me, and it shall be the key that continues to give you the power that a true Dragonborn should wield until we are the same creature. You'll come to thank me someday I'm sure, as the more power you receive from me the more you won't have to rely on others all the time."
A flame engulfed Raika as more of Yolrahtoor's power surged into her body, twisting her around and causing her pain that she was unable to pinpoint at the moment. The pain was so real that her eyes, the eyes that were currently underwater, snapped open as the water around her began to boil under her anger.
"So, do you think she's dead?" Serana asked, keeping her arms crossed as the rest of the group turned towards her, "What? She was dead weight to us before all of these changes came on her anyway. We can still kill Vyrthur, get Auriel's Bow, and then kill my father and stop his army from being unleashed upon Tamriel."
"Raika's not dead," Sombra commented, watching the water as he waited for her to emerge, "she's a fighter. She wouldn't let these two arrogant dragons have their way without giving them a piece of her anger..."
He would have said much more about his friend, but then he noticed the area Raika had been thrown into was starting to bubble, almost as if there was a blazing fire underneath it. Sure enough something burst out of the water and rose into the air before it stopped, exactly like the dragons had done when they came out of the water. Sombra had been right that Raika was still alive, but he never would have suspected that her changes would have progressed after being trashed by two dragons.
Growing out of her back, ironically through the cuts that the dragon had made in her leather armor, were two large red scaled dragon wings, beating through the air and keeping her balanced. Her normal khajiit tail was long gone at this point, completely replaced by a smaller version of a dragon's tail, though her's ended with a curved spike that Sombra knew was made to deal damage. The two dragons stared at Raika, as if they couldn't believe what had happened before their eyes, but then they shook off their confusion and came Raika's way.
Raika flexed her wings and burst through the air, flying right into the dragon that had clawed open her backside before and delivered her own strike right to its chest. The dragon cried in agony as the flames of her rage cracked its chest and pierced its scales, leaping inside its body and immediately starting to devour it. Raika leapt onto the dragon's back and ran her clawed hand down its backside, cutting its back open and allowing her anger to continue to devour it from the inside out. Eventually Raika directed the dragon to the ground, where it crashed as hard as she could force it to and she watched as it finally became a pile of bones.
"What...what are you?" the second dragon asked, watching its friend's soul collide with Raika's body, "What in Oblivion are you?"
"You said it yourself," Raika replied, anger flashing in her eyes as she felt flames rising in her throat, "I AM THE DRAGONBORN! I SLEW ALDUIN THE WORLD-EATER! YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO MY POWER"
Before the dragon could even defend itself the flames ripped out of Raika's mouth, surging through the air at extreme speeds and colliding right with its chest. For a second the dragon thought that its scales would protect it from harm, but then its precious scales began to melt under the intense pressure of Raika's anger. The last thought that ran through its mind was that it and its partner should not have challenged the Dragonborn to combat like they had done. Eventually Raika cut the flames off and coughed, letting the charred body crash to the ground and the soul collided with her body, causing her to relax a bit.
"You okay Raika?" Sombra asked, carefully approaching his friend in case her anger remained, "Are you in control of yourself again?"
"I think so," Raika replied, not looking at herself to see what Yolrahtoor changed, "Tell me, what's different about me now?"
"You've got dragon wings growing out of your back," Sombra immediately answered, not sure how she would react to the news, "and your tail has been completely changed."
"Let's just get underway then," Raika said, shocked that so much changed once Yolrahtoor had forced so much power into her body, power that she was sure wouldn't be leaving her until she died, "I'd like to get this quest over with so we can put a stop to whatever Harkon is planning."
Raika barely looked at the ruined Word Wall that had caused her to fight the two dragons, not even caring what the wall could possibly teach her as she returned to the fourth Wayshrine. The rest of her friends, after getting over their initial shock, made sure that she was alright and checked her back for any wounds she might have acquired from the fight. She let them remove the armor around her chest, just enough so they could check the area that had been cut open and found nothing wrong with her back. They made a check all around her to be extra sure, but they were amazed by how quickly all of the wounds had healed in such a short amount of time. During that time Raika also swallowed some water, just in case the flames had done some harm to her throat when they had come out.
Once they were ready they followed the path they had deviated from and continued on their way, coming into contact with the Falmer that Raika had known would be there. Spells were cast in their direction, but Cadence, Trixie, and Serana were ready for them as they replied in kind with their own spells and arrows. Raika stayed near the back, flexing her clawed hand as flames wrapped around it and wondered if she could actually cast a spell with it actually working for once. She spotted an opening in the enemy lineup and threw the fireball past her friends, blowing the Falmer it came into contact with away almost instantly.
"Wow, when did you learn magic?" Trixie asked, amazed that Raika had actually thrown a high level fireball.
"I'm...not sure exactly," Raika replied, knowing that it had been Yolrahtoor that was teaching her all these new tricks, "but it doesn't matter right now. We've got more enemies to deal with."
Her words rang true as they fought their way through the canyon area, hacking and blasting Falmer out of the way, but it was almost as if there was a swarm of them hiding all around them. For every one they put down two more took their place, so when Trixie or Serana killed five or six at the same time ten or twelve of them crawled out of who knew where to fight them. Raika knew that they were fighting a loosing battle, as there were too many of the Falmer for them to take down, but she also knew that if Princess Luna was still there she'd cut the enemies number down quick a lot. Eventually Raika was forced to make the decision that they needed to conserve their energy and only put down those that were in their way, causing them to run along the path.
The plan was great, but it also left them open to assault from behind. Sombra, knowing that they needed some way to make it through this ordeal alive, turned around and summoned a large crystal that shattered the walkway they had passed. He made sure to break it in several places, watching the chunks of stone fall into the river and separating them from the mass of Falmer that kept staring at them. The idea saved them the headache of being constant fighting, though they had to deal with three more Falmer before they could enter a cave that was literally filled with ice.
Raika, already fed up with how things had turned out, left the cave and flared her wings, taking off so she could find where the fifth Wayshrine was from the air. She flew right over the glacier, or whatever the cave system was, and over some more of the Falmer's nests, but she made sure to stay away so they didn't get annoyed. As she was about to give up she spotted a ghostly figure and the shimmering of something golden, to which she descended so she could investigate. When she landed she was greeted by another ghostly Snow Elf, who remained silent as if it was waiting for someone to approach it and answer its question.
Raika took off and retraced her steps, taking herself back to where she left her friends and found them just standing there, making sure that none of the Falmer ambushed them. Raika wasn't exactly sure how she suddenly knew how to properly use her wings and fly through the air, but she immediately blamed Yolrahtoor for changing her like that. Once she landed she approached Sombra and informed the ground that she had spotted the Wayshrine, beckoning for Sombra to use a Shadow Gate to get them all there without messing with the cave system. Sombra sighed and summoned one up, taking them right to the Wayshrine before closing it once all of them were present and accounted for.
"Welcome, Initiate, to the Wayshrine of Radiance," the ghost welcomed, once Sombra was in the area that made it speak to them, "Are you ready to honor the mantras of Auri-El and fill your vessel with his enlightenment?"
Once the answer left his mouth the final Wayshrine opened before them, allowing them to collect the last bit of water they needed so they could open whatever door was waiting for them. That was before they noticed the bridge that was literally right past the Waypoint, leading right to a giant archway that Raika assumed would take them right to the Inner Sanctum. Before any of them even bothered moving across the bridge Raika called for them to rest, knowing that their next opponent, Vyrthur, would back quite the punch. In their current condition they wouldn't be able to kill him and get the bow, so her friends were quick to agree with her current plan and set up a small camp for them to rest at.
Raika also knew that, if it came to it, Yolrahtoor would step in and power her up if Vyrthur came anywhere close to killing her, exactly like it had done with those dragons. Raika would have felt sorry for Vyrthur, but she just wanted this ordeal to be over with and that path ran right through the elf. Auriel's Bow would be there's, Raika was sure of it.
An hour passed before Raika and her friends even considered moving out of their small camp, where they had regained a portion of their energy during their rest. She knew that they all would have liked to rest more than the hour they were given, but Raika knew that if they stayed there any longer they might be attacked by the Falmer. Better, she believed, for them to continue on their way and be long gone before anymore foes arrived to stand in their way, though the only place they could go at this point was across the bridge. So, once they were all ready to go, they marched across the bridge and stopped when they reached the other side, finding a golden statue of an elf holding what looking like a sun.
"So this is Auri-El," Serana commented, as they made their way around the statue, "I'll never understand why the Snow Elves worshiped him to begin with."
Raika moaned as they approached the iron doors that blocked their way, wondering how they were supposed to pass into the Inner Sanctum so they could kill Vyrthur. Sombra, on the other hand, approached a pedestal and began to pour the liquid from the ewer into the basin, watching it move through the groves in the floor. The water slowly began to gather in the indent of the sun that rested before the door, though the moment that the indent was filled up the sun symbol on the door began to spin. A few moments later the symbol stopped moving, cracking wide open and pushing the doors open before them all, though Raika was glad to be getting somewhere.
As they entered the Inner Sanctum Raika kept one of her swords at the ready, just in case there was anything else that could jump out at them and fight them. The only thing that they found when they entered the building was a bunch of frozen Falmer, frozen where they had been standing and left to die. There were dozens of them, though the only thought that ran through Raika's mind was what would happen if they actually weren't dead and were simply waiting for someone to come around so they could pounce on them. She approached one of the statues and thrust her sword right into its chest, allowing the flames of her anger to race through it and devour it whole, reducing it to a pool of water.
"Hmm, maybe I could do this," Raika commented, flames wrapping around her form as she began to tear each and every statue in the immediate area to pieces, "Burn baby burn."
Sombra and the others sighed and stepped back towards the opening, watching Raika hunt down and destroy every statue that Sombra was sure that the Snow Elves had built so many years ago. He couldn't fault her for suspecting something to jump out at them, if that was her reason for doing this, after they had traveled through a few dwarven ruins and the nordic barrows. So they waited a few minutes before all the statues were reduced to pools of water, telling them all that none of the statues had actually contained something that would have killed them.
"Well, I guess there wasn't anything anyway," Raika said, not sure what her friends were thinking so far, "Let's just move on and get this over with before something else happens."
"Or before you burn the entire place down," Serana commented, pulling her hood off and fanning her face just a bit, "Honestly, if you want to just torch the place be my guest, I won't stop you. Maybe we could just smoke out Vyrthur and ambush him when he comes to investigate what's happening."
Raika moaned, of course the vampire would think of ambushing someone and killing them before they had a chance to even fight back and defend themselves. No, she would be respectful and challenge Arch Curate Vyrthur to a fight instead of ambushing him, as most warriors preferred to do in Skyrim. Once they managed to clear up this whole Dawnguard issue Raika was going to leave Serana behind and find out whoever sent those Cultists after her. However, she knew that she needed to help Lord Ulfric finish the war before doing that, which made her wonder if the Stormcloaks were still going without her or had moved onto the next Hold.
They silently made their way through the rest of the Inner Sanctum, bypassing the iron doors that had been put in place so many years ago and searching for a way to wherever Vyrthur was waiting. Raika was surprised that there weren't any Falmer that were actually alive, but she figured that they had made one last smart decision before they all went blind; they had fled the Inner Sanctum and never returned. Oddly enough there weren't anymore statues in their way, which seemed odd considering that Gelebor said that a large number of them had overrun the area before he had fled. It made her wonder if they were all sitting in the same area that Vyrthur was waiting in and were merely waiting to be awakened.
They eventually found a collapsed section of the sanctum, blocking their path, but then Raika spotted an opening in a nearby wall and the group made their way through it instead. They dropped down into an area that opened up to an even larger chamber, though sitting at the back of it was an elf that happened to be sitting in a throne made of ice.
"So, there he is," Serana said, crossing her arms as she stared at the elf from afar, "We can either pin him to his throne with one of Cadence's arrows, pierce his heart with one of Sombra's crystal spires, or blast him to pieces with our combined magic."
"Or the Daughter of Coldharbour and the Dragonborn can fight me themselves," the elf shouted at them, staring right at them, "Honestly, if your going to discuss your battle strategy you should have done so before you got close to me. Come and get what you've traveled all this way for, I promise I won't bite you."
"Just play his game," Cadence said, beckoning for the two of them to get it over with, "We'll be right here in case either of you need our assistance, but considering that Raika's anger I'd say you likely won't need our help anyway."
Raika moaned and walked forward, keeping her eyes peeled for anything movements from the various statues that lined the chamber as Serana joined her. Neither of them really liked each other, but they needed to work together in this once instance so they could get Auriel's Bow and put a stop to her father's insane plan. If she hadn't unlocked some of her true potential of being the Dragonborn before coming here she would have felt terrified that they might not survive. She wasn't sure what their chances were without her friends to help them out, but Raika had known a day like this was coming and readied herself for the coming fight.
"I must thank you, Dragonborn, for bringing your fetching companion to me," Vyrthur said, staring down at Serana with a hunger in his eyes, "Unfortunately, this means that you are no longer of any use to me and therefore you need to be disposed of."
Several of the statues broke open and snow white Falmer dropped to the ground, though they looked around and crawled their way to where Raika and Serana were standing. Raika barely wasted a moment before cutting a pair of them down and then striking one more of them with the sharpened spike on her new tail. Serana pressed her hand to ones chest and blasted it into the wall, blowing a smoldering hole in its chest and killing it instantly, not to mention staining that section of the wall red. Within a few minutes the group of Falmer were dead, leaving both of them to return to the front of the throne and wait for Vyrthur to come down.
"A wasted effort," Vyrthur laughed, tapping the stone floor around his throne, "You delay nothing but your own deaths!"
The rest of the statues burst open and dropped more enemies for them to fight, but Raika, already feeling annoyed at Vyrthur's persistence at ignoring their fight, did something different. Her flames surged forward, wrapping around the Falmer it caught and destroying it in seconds before it moved around the room, searching for the next enemy. By the time Raika had consumed and destroyed every frozen Falmer she could tell that Vrythur was annoyed with her, but she really didn't care at that moment.
"Now that all of your toys are gone can we fight for real?" Raika asked, prepared for her swords to taste Vrythur's blood, "Or are you going to pull some move that's going to kill everyone?"
That was before Vyrthur threw an orb of ice at her chest, which exploded on impact and began to spread all over her body, almost as if the elf was freezing her solid. In a matter of seconds her entire body was covered in ice, her body temperature cooling down as Vyrthur tried to end her and keep Serana on the ground. Raika let her eyes close as she felt the ground shake, as if Vyrthur was trying to bring the entire ceiling down on top of her and kill her by shattering her body. Her anger ignited and she could hear Yolrahtoor roaring in her ears, pushing her to break out of her frozen state and burn her enemy to the ground.
As the ceiling came down Raika's anger raged out of her body, flames snapping up in an instant and melting the ice around her into a pool of water, giving her the opportunity to flare her wings and push herself through an opening in the ceiling.
"Damn you all," Vyrthur shouted, standing on a balcony with Serana standing near him, "You have ruined countless centuries of preparations. I had the ears of a god once, until one of my foolish Initiates infected me and Auri-El abandoned me to my condition. With your blood I shall taint his holy weapon and bring about Eternal Night to Tamriel."
"You should have practiced your skill in killing someone," Raika called down, floating near them and causing Vyrthur to look at her, "then again, there's now way you could have known how powerful I was before ever fighting me. I suggest that you just hand over Auriel's Bow and save us the trouble of killing you."
"I'll turn you into a block of ice!" Vyrthur shouted, ice forming around him and turning into what Raika assumed was just a suit of armor, before summoning his magic and channeling it towards her.
Raika, in turn, called upon the power of her anger and released a gout of flames that raced down to where Vyrthur was standing, colliding with his ice magic. The collision of their magic shook the balcony, tossing Serana to the side and forcing her to watch which one of them commanded a better control over their magic. Serana suspected that Vyrthur had more control over his magic and knew way more than Raika ever would, but Raika, on the other hand, had the power of her anger and the power from every dragon soul that she had absorbed over her journey.
Serana knew that it would be no contest, that Raika would destroy Vyrthur and they'd be walking out of this place with Auriel's Bow, which would please everyone there.
After about two minutes of their elements battling Raika decided that she had had enough and dug deep inside herself, calling upon the fire that she had acquired from her other side. Yolrahtoor was more than happy to give her its fire, flames ripping out of her throat and adding to the fire that was currently battling Vrythur's ice. Once the fire reached the ice Raika began to push Vyrthur back, so much that she could feel him struggling to hold his own against the power of her anger. Eventually the flames tore through the ice and collided with Vyrthur, casting him into an inferno and screaming his lungs off as he burned under her anger.
Once the deed was done Raika cut off her magic and landed beside Serana, falling to her knees and realizing that she might have gone overboard in her assault.
"Its...its done," Raika huffed, staring at where Vyrthur used to stand as a Wayshrine rose out of the floor in front of them, "Oh what is it this time?"
"The opening of this Wayshrine means that you were successful," a voice said, as Gelebor walked out of the Wayshrine and faced them, "I have to say that I wasn't sure if you would have survived long enough to actually fight my brother, but now that he is dead I can easily give you Auriel's Bow. There's something different about you, something that I can't place my finger on."
Raika, now annoyed with Gelebor at this point, grabbed Serana, made her way to the Wayshrine, grabbed the glowing bow that floated above the basin, and called for her friends to join them. Once they were all together again Sombra snapped open a Shadow Gate and they all disappeared, heading all the way back to Fort Dawnguard so they could plan the next stage of their assault.
---------------------------------------
When they stepped out of the gateway they immediate found themselves being surrounded by the members of the Dawnguard, being asked about the trip to the Ancestor Glade. It wasn't long until the questions turned to Raika and her unusual form, as she had left them as a normal khajiit and had returned as a khajiit, but had dragon wings, a new tail, a clawed hand, and small horns. Apparently during her fight with Vyrthur she had channeled so much of Yolrahtoor's power that it had come with its own little cost, causing sharp horns to grow right out of her forehead. She hadn't noticed the change, but now she knew that calling on the power of her other side would come with a price that she wouldn't find out until later.
"So, what's our next move, Dragonborn?" Isran asked, standing before them as they produced Auriel's Bow, "Are we taking the fight to the vampires or was all of this just to show that we could do what they could not?"
"Oh, we're going to hit them hard," Raika grinned, yawning from exhaustion due to the fight with Vyrthur, "but give us some time to rest and then we'll hit them in the morning. They won't suspect an attack at that time and we'll catch them off guard."
Isran bowed his head and went to talk to the rest of the Dawnguard, telling them to get as much rest as they needed before they launched their assault in the morning, much to the joy of the vampire hunters. Raika knew that they wanted this to be over as much as she did, but she had someone who was good with a bow that could shoot Harkon while she fought him. All Raika needed to do was get Harkon into the open and then they'd put him down before he could destroy Tamriel with his Eternal Night.
Things were finally looking up for all of them, which made Raika smile as they eventually drifted off to sleep.
Before the sun rose and shined its light upon Skyrim Raika woke up an hour before it, realizing that the sleep that she had come out of was all the sleep she was going to get. The members of the Dawnguard were too excited to bother to sleep, running around the fort and gathering any weapons they might need to combat the vampires in Castle Volhikar. Instead of talking to them Raika moved up the stairs and exited to one of the towers that overlooked everything around the fort, where she could be alone until it was time to launch their assault. That had been her plan, but then the moment that she opened the door she found Princess Cadence standing near an opening, holding Auriel's Bow in her hand.
"Princess Cadence?" Raika asked, causing the Equestrian to nearly jump before she turned around and faced her, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Cadence replied, staring down at the bow she was holding before turning back to the rising sun, "just admiring the beauty of this bow and the craftsmanship that went into making it. Celestia told me that the elves had crafted many beautiful, yet extremely deadly, weapons, though most of them had been lost to history. I can only imagine the power that must have been locked away in this one weapon, as if the Snow Elves predicted that such a weapon would be required in the future."
"I just hope its enough to kill Harkon," Raika commented, leaning on the stone as she stood near Cadence, "I know that he's been around for centuries, so there's no telling how many tricks his got up his sleeves to defeat whoever challenges him to a fight. I cannot carry Auriel's Bow, for if Harkon defeats me then he'll unleash Eternal Night on Tamriel and all of this would have been for nothing, which is why I need you to carry it for me. I intend to fight Harkon to the point that you can get an arrow into his heart without him noticing you, then, once the vampires see that their leader has fallen, the war should be over."
"I'll be sure to make my mark," Cadence said, turning to look at her again, "How about you Raika, are you alright?"
"What do you mean?" Raika asked, wondering what was going through the Equestrian Princess' mind at the moment.
"You are turning into a dragon," Cadence said, almost as if she wondered why Raika hadn't thought about it, "Raika, you grew horns out of your forehead during your fight with Vrythur, and before that you grew a fully grown pair of dragon wings and a tail from those two dragons. Your left hand changed when you channeled your rage into those vampires and burned them all to the ground, and your eyes changed when the Elder Scroll reacted to your anger. I worried about you Raika."
"People are finally starting to respect me now," Raika replied, bringing up the fact that none of their past enemies had even cared that she was the Dragonborn of legend, "Enemies are finally realizing that the legends are true and that it is unwise to anger a Dragonborn, unless they had a death wish they wanted to fulfill. Others are realizing that there is actually someone who can do what the legends say and now they'll flock to help us without having to wait for our call. I'm the beacon that I was supposed to be when we went off to fight Alduin, just with some changes."
What Raika couldn't tell her, a Princess from another plane of existence, was that she was receiving help from a dragon that she was sharing her body with. She was positive that Yolrahtoor was an old dragon, full of experience that could aid Raika at any moment, but it made her wonder how old the dragon truly was. She suspected that the dragon had been around since during Alduin's rule, but there was no way to tell without asking it directly and Raika wasn't about to do that.
"Very well," Cadence sighed, not really seeing a point to trying to reason with her, "I shall prepare a few elven arrows, just in case Auriel's Bow only reacts to the arrows that would have been used when it had been made."
Raika sighed and the two of them descended back down to the main hall, where they found everybody running around and forming int groups for the impending attack. It reminded Raika of when she and her brothers and sisters would practice their drills, only this time they were preparing to take the fight to Harkon and the army he had been building. Sombra had felt exactly how many enemies were waiting for them in the castle, but hadn't been able to share that information with anyone any of the times they had been in the fort. Considering that there was a good twenty warriors waiting for Isran's orders Raika suspected that they might be able to fend off however many enemies Harkon had gathered.
Sombra, Serana, and Shadow stood behind Isran, waiting for him to make the announcement that they were starting their invasion on Castle Volhikar. Trixie sat near them, tapping the golden mask she had been wearing for the longest time as she waited, though Raika could tell that she was gathering her magical energy for the fight ahead. Her friends were prepared for combat, which meant that it was almost time to leave the fort and get to work with the actual attack.
"My friends, the time has finally come for us to attack Harkon head on," Isran called out, his voice carrying throughout the fort, "For too long we've allowed these vampires to poison the night and kill our people! Now, we finally have the means to strike back! We now have Auriel's Bow. The gods themselves have favored us and we must answer with action! The time has come to finally put an end to Harkon and his unholy prophecy! We will march on their lair and destroy those wretched abominations so they can no longer corrupt our world! This is our fight and this is our fate!"
As he finished speaking the members of the Dawnguard cheered for him, their chants filling the fort, while he simply nodded to Sombra and stepped back just a bit. Raika knew what was coming before she even saw it, her friends had convinced Isran to allow Sombra to open a Shadow Gate that would allow them to travel right to Castle Volhikar. Sombra's scythe shimmered through the air and the shadows tore open another large gateway, one that Raika hoped would lead them right to the castle. A moment after the gateway opened Isran shouted the command and the members of the Dawnguard began to pour into the shadows, heading to where their enemies were waiting.
Raika nodded and approached the gate, disappearing in a flash as she felt her friends slowly enter the gateway as well.
----------------------------------------------
When Raika stepped out of the shadows she found the imposing castle that Harkon ruled over, where he had gathered his forces and prepared for when he could bring about the end of the world. The members of the Dawnguard stood around her, weapons that the ready as they waited for their commander to give the command that would allow them to being the long awaited battle. Standing near the front gates of the castle was a force of at least a hundred vampires, though standing at the back was none other than Harkon himself.
How he had found out that the Dawnguard was coming, when they had made plans for their invasion the previous night, Raika didn't know, but she also didn't care.
"So how many vampires are under his command?" Raika asked, watching Cadence vanish into the tower to take up a position to get Harkon from a distance.
"About three hundred," Sombra answered, swinging his scythe around a bit, "We'll need to fight as hard as we can to stall his army, giving you plenty of time to defeat Harkon."
"Come and face me, Dragonborn!" Harkon shouted, his cape turning into large bat wings before he took off into the air, "You have already turned my daughter against me, and now you bring an army of mortals here, to fight me in the seat of my power! I shall enjoy tearing you to pieces and feeding your power to my army, making them the most powerful army in all of Tamriel!"
"Oh shut up," Raika shouted, flaring her wings and meeting Harkon in the air, "I just came here to kill you and end your plan to destroy Tamriel by blackening the sun. So bring your army to face the might of the Dawnguard, we shall rip your forces asunder and end your reign of terror before it even begins. I hope you personally enjoy the flames of my anger."
Harkon shouted some ancient battle cry about Molag Bal and came at her, though Raika called upon her deity, Talos, and immediately flew forward to meet him. In the same instant that the two flew to meet each other their armies began to move, vampires colliding with mortals as spells flew and weapons clashed.
Shadow spun around and brought his sword down on one of the unlucky vampires that had dared to fight on the front lines, cutting the poor victim in half. Two more came at him, thinking to easily take him down while he was distracted, but he simply sidestepped their attacks and spun where he stood, cutting both of their heads off in an instant. He arched himself backwards and threw his greatsword forward, allowing it to travel through the air before pinning one of the awakened gargoyles in the chest, causing it to crumble in seconds. Despite not having his weapon for the moment he charged forwards anyway, throwing punches and jabs at any enemies that came his way, even going so far as to twist one of the vampires heads and snapped it clean off.
Serana and Trixie, having become a formidable team over the last couple of days, stayed side by side, magic being thrown at the back of Harkon's army and blasting their enemies to pieces. Green lightning arched out of the Staff of Magnus and crushed several vampires into the ground, shaking the stone bridge with a vibration that could have ruined the entire structure. Serana, on the other hand, froze her enemies to the ground before cutting them in half or bashing them hard enough that they shattered into fragments. One unfortunate vampire caught being frozen by Serana for a second, but then was blasted to pieces by a blast of lightning that came from Trixie.
Sombra appeared in the middle of the vampire's army, close enough to the back where he could feel the power of his friend's magical attacks, but far enough where he didn't get hurt. Several vampires turned towards him and jumped at him, but he raised his scythe and spun around, allowing the blade to cut through their bodies with ease. As he cut down whoever stood in his way his weapon slowly collected each and every soul that floated out of the fallen bodies, though that didn't stop the vampires from coming at him. Sombra defended whatever attack came his way and replied in kind, but he silently wished he could have summoned his crystals and ended this sooner. He knew that the act of summoning the crystals would have destroyed the bridge completely, ruining their chances of besting the vampires.
"I see that your allies are making things hard for my army," Harkon said, pressing his sword against Raika's own weapon, "but that doesn't matter right now. I shall take great pleasure in taking you down and taking every drop of blood you have so I can fuel my army when we acquire Auriel's Bow, which I assume that you brought with you. How foolish of you to bring me the weapon that will allow me to complete the Tyranny of the Sun and enforce my rule upon everyone in Tamriel."
"Hate to break it to you, but we never got the Bow," Raika growled at him, hoping that her lies would throw him off enough to allow her to slay him, "And even if I had gone through all of that I wouldn't have brought it here so you could steal it from me."
"You lie!" Harkon barked, forcing her backwards in the air and stared at her, "I have it on good authority that you went through the Forgotten Vale and acquired Auriel's Bow. I even sent a squad of vampires to the Ancestor Glade to investigate the rumors of there being another way to read the Elder Scrolls in case I recovered one of mine. I will recover Auriel's Bow and cast the world into Eternal Night!"
That was before a cut appeared on his chest and blood dripped out of the wound, causing him to look at Raika as he realized that she had cut him while he was speaking. He was the lord of a castle and a leader among vampires, yet his foe ignored everything and simply attacked him like he was a peasant that needed to be put in his place. He was the alpha predator, yet she was treating him like he was just prey that had no idea what was coming and was ready to take him out with giving him the chance to defend himself.
"Villains and their speeches," Raika moaned, shaking her head as she stared at Harkon, "Look, I can tell that you want Auriel's Bow, but I will not allow you to take it and fulfill your plans. Just come at me and let us settle this."
Harkon flew through the air and came right at her, but Raika was ready for him as she spun around and parried the attack with her sword, feeling the pressure that Harkon used in his strikes. She pressed back and threw him backwards with all her strength, causing him to stumble out of the air before his wings allowed him to regain his stance. Ice wrapped around his sword and he threw it at her, but Raika merely ducked under the attack and got close to Harkon before kicking him right in the face. She was sure it was hard and painful, because she was positive that she might have broke one of the fangs inside Harkon's mouth, maybe even made him swallow it whole.
"You blasted cat," Harkon growled, backing up as his spare had went to his mouth and confirmed that she had broken one of his fangs, "I am going to enjoy defeating you and draining your blood for my army."
That was before Raika dashed in front of him and planted her clawed hand, balled into a fist, right into his chest, feeling the ribs under her fist cracking before Harkon backed away.
"You know what?" Raika asked, just flat out annoyed with Harkon at this point, "I'm debating whether or not I should just burn you under the intense power of my rage or just toy with you at this point. Honestly, you aren't as powerful as you've been claiming and I'm actually disappointed with your performance."
"I'm going to kill you!" Harkon shouted, three spheres of magic forming in front of him before he channeled the magic right in Raika's direction with the intent to kill her.
Raika, seeing the magic coming her way, called upon the flames that her rage and anger had unlocked and threw it right at Harkon, letting the flames form before colliding with the magic. The collision sent shock waves down at the ground, causing those that were fighting to pause what they were doing and stare up to see what was happening. As their attacks pushed back and forth against each other Raika noticed something shimmer around Harkon, though the second time she noticed it she realized exactly what it was. He had summoned a red barrier that was going to heal him, which would draw out the battle even more than it already had and Raika didn't want that.
She only hoped that Cadence was ready to fire the arrow, because she suspected that they would only have one shot at taking Harkon down with Auriel's Bow.
"Cadence," Raika shouted, feeding her attack more energy to stall Harkon, "I could use some assistance."
Cadence, having taken position on the top of the watchtower, had patiently waited for Raika to fight Harkon and reveal a weak point that would allow her to get an arrow in. When the barrier had sprung up Cadence knew the time had come to fill her part, drawing her chosen arrow and silently drawing the string back. She hoped that there was some power left inside the bow, otherwise she feared that a normal arrow would not be enough to kill someone like Harkon. When Raika shouted at her Cadence lined her sight with the barrier and waited just a second before releasing the string, letting the glowing arrow fly through the air.
The resulting explosion tore through the air the moment that the arrow connected with the barrier, tearing through the magic keeping it together and piercing Harkon's chest. His magic was cancelled, cutting the barrier to pieces and causing his attack to fall apart, allowing Raika's flames to tear right into his body and touch the arrow. The conflict between the sun powered arrow and the flames of wrath meeting was enough to violently explode, tearing Harkon to pieces in a flash of blinding light. Once the deed was done his corpse hit the ground, his army backing away from the Dawnguard before retreating into the castle the moment that Raika turned to look at them.
"So, that happened," Serana said, crossing her arms as Raika landed nearby, "I guess that means that, as the next generation after my father, I will inherit leadership over Castle Volhikar and the remaining vampires that survived the attack. I guess this is good bye Raika Snow-Heart."
"Go take care of your castle," Raika replied, shooing her off, "and make sure that they don't overstep their boundaries, otherwise I'll be back to teach them a lesson."
Serana stared at her for a moment before sighing and headed back towards the castle gate, leaving them to do whatever they wanted, which started with collecting the dead so they could honor them. That was when Raika discovered that, during all the fighting, Shadow had been surrounded by vampires and dealt a painful blow to his chest, leaving a wound that had actually punctured his heart. She was sure that they could have healed the wound, but Shadow had to be stubborn about it and continued to wave off their efforts to save him.
"I have lived a long life in the service of the Divines," Shadow commented, coughing up blood while he spoke, "but, just like Rend, my time has long since past and it is time for me to finally leave Tamriel behind. I have been offered a place in Sovngarde for my service, where I may make merry with all those that were lost and spend the rest of my days with one of my oldest friends. I do not require a burial, just burn my body and scatter my ashes across the land..."
Then, just like that, Shadowscale, the feared Divine Crusader and the Knight of the Nine, drew his final breath and died in front of them, causing many of the Dawnguard's members to weep. Raika knelt beside her fallen friend and offered him a prayer, hoping that he had been right about Sovngarde and hadn't messed around with them. She knew that, after everything was said and done with Shadow's body, that there were only two more things she needed to do before she could think of retiring. One of which was hunting down whoever sent those Cultists after her and put them in their place, though the other thing was ending the Civil War before it got way out of hand.
She suspected that her life was only going to get harder than it already was in the coming days, but how that could be possible she had absolutely no idea.
Shadow was the second friend that Raika had been forced to hold a funeral for during her time as the Dragonborn, only this time it was like Tamriel was losing one of its legends. Instead of holding the funeral at Fort Dawnguard Raika had sent Cadence ahead to Windhelm and had her deliver a message to Jarl Ulfric, informing his of Shadow's death. They had arranged to hold the funeral outside Whiterun, where they would burn the legendary Knight of the Nine and spread his ashes across the land like he wanted them to. Sombra was more than willing to open multiple Shadow Gates, allowing them to move the members of the Dawnguard around before dropping them outside the city.
During their wait outside Whiterun Raika stood alone, staring down at her reflection as she took stock of how she looked and how her other half had changed her. The scales on her left arm had climbed further up her arm, marching all the way up to her shoulder and wrapping around her neck just a bit, but she suspected that it had happened during her battle with Harkon. The moment they had been dropped outside Whiterun Raika had immediately vanished, moving out of everyone's sights so she could prevent someone from thinking she was the enemy. No one, save for the Dawnguard and her friends, knew that she was slowly turning into a dragon, but she refused to tell anyone about who was helping her.
Not even Raika knew who the mysterious Yolrahtoor was, despite its claims that it was the other half of her soul and had been awakened by her own anger. Even as she stared into her reflection she thought she could see the dragon staring back at her, though she was right as her normal image distorted to form the dragon's head. It was if the land of Skyrim knew exactly what was happening to her and was showing her that she couldn't escape her fate as the Dragonborn. Her reflection roared at her and the water vibrated, exploding into the air and making her stand back just a bit, wondering why the water had done that.
Maybe she could politely ask Farengar about Yolrahtoor, but she would have to be fast to avoid getting pulled into being studied and wasting her time.
"Raika," Cadence said, landing behind her after having to search for her for the last ten minutes, "Your commander, Ulfric Stormcloak, has arrived with his second in command. They're waiting for you near the pyre."
Raika sighed and moved towards where they had burned Lydia, back when the Spirit of Chaos, Discord, had invaded Skyrim with the intent to destroy both Sombra and Celestia. In his wake Lydia, Raika's Housecarl, had been slain in combat and to honor her Raika had brought her home and burned her like the hero she had been. If it hadn't been for Lydia Raika would have died instead, but she suspected that her other side would have awakened and killed anyone that stood in its way.
As she approached the pyre she felt the eyes of those that had gathered for Shadow's service turn on her, taking in the changes that had happened to her since the last time they had seen her.
"Raika Snow-Heart?" Ulfric asked, staring at her and not believing his eyes, "What in Oblivion happened to you?"
"Just embracing my destiny as the Dragonborn," Raika replied, offering a smile to her leader as she told the lie that she told everybody else, "which apparently includes turning partway into a dragon."
"Very well," Ulfric said, turning to the pyre and staring at the lifeless body of Shadow, "Let's get this over with."
The priests of the Nine Divines had come, per Ulfric's command, and said the various death rites over Shadow's body not ten minutes ago, leaving the rest of them to mourn the loss of such a hero. Serana, the new leader of the Volhikar Vampires, had been offered a chance to say her farewells to Shadow, seeing how they had traveled with each other for a long time, but in the end she had declined and retreated into her castle. Raika had the feeling that she was headed back into the Soul Cairn to find her mother, share the news of her father's defeat, and then bring her back to the castle. Once the messenger had returned from Castle Volhikar with the message they had proceeded with the funeral, which was at the point where Shadow's body was beginning to burn.
She only hoped that Serana tended to her new flock and didn't attack Skyrim, otherwise Raika wouldn't hesitate to fly out to the island and burn Serana's entire world until it was nothing but cinders.
"So, where are we in the war effort?" Raika asked, watching Shadow disappear into the flames, "Last I checked we had taken Whiterun and forced the Legion out of the hold completely."
"We're advancing on Solitude as we speak," Ulfric replied, turning to face her, "I know you needed to finish up with the Dawnguard and save Tamriel again, but I couldn't waste the opportunity that presented itself when we drove them out of Whiterun. After the city fell I sent out the command to take every other hold from the Imperials, leaving them with Solitude so we could catch our breath and regroup. Now that you have returned I would like for you to lead the charge into Solitude, so that our enemy might know the power of the Dragonborn for themselves and fear your coming."
"Well, I've got nothing else that's preventing me from liberating Skyrim," Raika said, leaving out the Cultists as she figured that she'd do them after the war was over, "I assume that you need some large number of troops moved and want Sombra to summon up a gateway for us to use?"
Once Ulfric said that the gates was what he required from the Equestrian King, even insisting that he needed to refer to Sombra as a King despite the fact that he technically didn't own anything anymore. Sombra, not wanting to turn the entire Stormcloak army on himself, decided to just call upon the shadows and opened a gate for the army to walk through. As her brothers and sisters walked into the gateway Raika caught the eye of one mage that didn't belong around an army and moaned to herself, Farengar had come to speak with her. She walked away from the army and intercepted the mage before he could get closer to the gate, hoping to get the entire visit over with in a matter of minutes.
"So its true what the guards said," Farengar remarked, staring at her changed body while touching her wings, "you have changed since the last time we saw each other. I hope that you might allow me to study you sometime, after your finished with your little war that is. I'm positive that this information can aid me in finding a way to deal with the other dragons without needing you to kill each and every one of them personally."
"I might do that," Raika replied, knowing that she would never give the mage what he wanted this time, "but I have a question for you Farengar. Given your intensive knowledge of dragons and a lot of their habits, I couldn't help but wonder if you knew more about their lore than you told anyone. Have you ever heard of a dragon that went by the name of Yolrahtoor?"
Farengar's enthusiasm for what was happening to Raika shattered in seconds, causing him to pull out a large book and open it up to the middle, where she could have sworn that she saw a picture of Odahviing. He flipped through the pages before coming to one that was near the back of the book, revealing a picture of a red dragon that Raika immediately recognized. It was as she suspected, the dragon that she shared her soul with was one that the nords had likely fought in the past and had recorded what they knew about it when they killed it.
"Ah, here she is," Farengar said, laying a finger on the picture that had been sketched into the book, "Yolrahtoor, the dragon that most nords during the time had called the Goddess of Fire. According to this she served under Alduin as a teacher to the Dragon Cult, until one of the Dragon Priests managed to turn her to his side and then turned her power on his enemies. This says that she and her new master were getting ready to attack Alduin and bring his rule down, but the other Dragon Priests found out and put them both down. The last entry says that she and her master, whose name is oddly blacked out of this book, died on the island of Solstheim, wherever that is located.
Let me ask you something now, how in Oblivion did you ever hear about Yolrahtoor when almost every piece of information about her is buried on Solstheim?"
It annoyed Raika that, even now, she couldn't get all the information she wanted about anything, though what she had learned was that the dragon she shared her soul with was just one that had come back from death. It also made her wonder who the mysterious Dragon Priest was and how he had turned Yolrahtoor away from her calling of serving Alduin. Before Farengar could ask her to answer his question she turned around and noticed the gate closing, so she sprinted towards it and threw herself into the shadows, disappearing as Farengar closed the book of dragons with a sigh.
----------------------------------
Raika stumbled out of the gateway and nearly laughed; she had managed to escape Farengar before he could pester her with questions and could now get underway with the final part of the war. The Stormcloak camp was busy with activity, soldiers running around as they prepared every single weapon that they had and made sure that they were ready for the march that was to come. She approached the command tent, listening to Galmar make a plan on how to breach the main walls without losing too many of their soldiers lives. She knew that he was trying to save the lives of every soldier that assaulting the main gate, but Raika had a better idea what would give him what he wanted.
"Why don't I attack the gate?" Raika said, turning the attention to her, "I mean, I have wings, so why don't I use them and attack the Imperials where they won't be expecting us?"
"Are you certain that you could accomplish something like that?" Galmar asked, not wanting to impose something impossible on someone, but knew that the impossible was actually possible for a Dragonborn, "Because if you want to do this then all we would need is to shatter the wooden beams on the other side of the gate to open it wide for our forces to enter the city. Once we're inside the city our plan is to work our way around to Castle Dour, where General Tullius should be giving the orders to the Imperial soldiers. We cut him down and the entire war is over."
"And the Thalmor?" Raika asked, wondering if the elves were waiting inside the city.
"Last I heard there's at least twenty of them in the city," Galmar replied, pulling over a scroll and pointing to a line in the middle, "Says here that General Tullius called in some support to deal with, and I quote, 'one dangerous khajiit whose rage is unequal'. Apparently Elenwen put a bounty on your head, as she had called for every elf under her command to serve under Tullius until they can bring you down. It wouldn't surprise me if she isn't standing by Tullius right now, ready to watch as they try to end one of our greatest allies."
"I am going to leave now," Raika said, stepping out of the tent and flaring her wings, "the gates will be open before you know it."
Before any of them could stop her Raika jumped into the air and began the short flight to Solitude's gate, where she knew she would find the enemy she had longed to finish off.
----------------------------------
"Beautiful day isn't it?" a guard asked one of the Thalmor agents.
"I could care less in all honesty," the Thalmor said, pulling her hood off to look out past the main gate, "I'm just waiting for the heretics to come marching up to the gate so we can get this war started."
"Then why are you shaking?" the guard inquired, noticing the elf's hands shaking.
"I'm merely trembling with excitement," the elf replied, "The legendary Dragonborn is a heretic and the Thalmor are under orders to end her life, but whoever kills her will be rewarded a rank within the organization that rests right under Her Emissary's own. I will be the one to kill the heretic Dragonborn and claim the reward on her head."
Before either of them could continue the conversation they heard the flapping of wings and watched as something flew over their heads and descended into the city, landing right behind the main gate. Raika looked around, expecting to find a bunch of people running from her the moment she landed, but she found a bunch of soldiers waiting for her. The Imperial soldiers stepped back the moment she landed, but some of them regained their composure and rushed right at her, weapons at the ready to end her. She spun around and let her wings clip the soldiers that were the closest to her, sending them flying backwards before she turned her attention to the gate. Flames erupted from her left hand and struck the gate, eating at the beams that held the gate together before they snapped apart and the gate swung wide open.
She turned back to the enemies behind her and her sword immediately struck one of the soldiers in the chest, allowing her to cut out the unfortunate soldier's heart in an instant. The rest of the Imperials came at her like a tide, but this time Raika was more prepared as her brothers and sisters loosed their arrows into her foes. As soldiers fell around her Raika moved further into Solitude, passing by the shops until she came to a blockade in the street, where she found a bunch of elves blocking her path. Galmar had been right, the Thalmor had come to Solitude and Raika suspected that they had mostly come for her head.
"There she is," one of the Thalmor shouted, confirming her suspicions, "Quickly, take her down before she can kill us!"
Raika had suspected that they would have thrown spells at her to divert her attention before trying something, but instead they dropped a large number of nets on top of her. It was as if the Thalmor believed that she was just another dragon and that they could just tie her down and kill her at their leisure, though as she pushed on the nets she found that they were crafted from magic. It all made sense at that point, they wanted to weaken her to the point where they could kill her, but they were targeting her magic and not the magic that Yolrahtoor gave her.
"How does it feel, Dragonborn?" the elf spat, approaching Raika and staring down at her, "How does it feel to know that you cannot surpass the power of the Aldmeri Dominion?"
Raika ignored the elf, gathering her power as she prepared to blast the nets off of her and likely kill the arrogant elf before she had a chance to run away. She was pretty sure that her anger could melt the ropes within seconds, but the downside was that it would give the elves time to retreat without getting caught. She was going to Shout at them, to channel her Thu'um at them and show them that not even the Aldmeri Dominion could stop the Dragonborn. Once she had all the power she wanted to channel into the Shout she stared into the eyes of the elf before her and slowly opened her mouth.
"FUS RO DAH!"
The moment that the words escaped her lips the wind kicked up and the force of her Shout blasted the nets right off of her, though the elf that stood in front of her was thrown right into the wall behind them. The Thalmor stared at her as she got up, though she could see that many of them were afraid for their lives and were considering surrendering. Raika dashed forward and threw her claws into the chest of an elf, killing her target before he even had a chance to defend himself and then moved onto the rest of the group. The elves, now seeing how powerful the Dragonborn was for themselves, were split in their decisions as some of them ran and the others stayed to fight.
Her brothers and sisters rushed past her, weapons flashing as they fought with both the Imperial soldiers and the Thalmor that chose to stand and fight. Raika had to surpass a laugh as they slowly made their way around Solitude, her sword taking down any Imperials that dared to get close to her. Despite how badly the Imperial Legion was losing they still put up a fight, as if they all though that they could defend the city and push back the Stormcloaks. Eventually they made their way to the courtyard where Castle Dour stood, only they found three people standing before the door, there was Tullius, a nord that Raika suspected was Legate Rikke, and then Elenwen. All three of them were armed and at the ready, as if they were the last line of defense for the Imperial Legion.
"Give up Tullius," Raika said, approaching the group of three with both of her swords drawn, "We have taken every hold in Skyrim, save for Solitude, and we have beaten your army. The Imperial Legion has lost the war and there is no reason for further blood shed."
"I will defend the Empire till my last breath," Tullius replied, "Come at us you vile demon!"
Raika sighed and leapt over the fire pit, crossing the distance between them and her in a matter of seconds, though when she landed she was immediately assaulted by the Legate. She raised her swords and blocked the attack, though when the Legate found her attack stalled Tullius pulled off to the side and swung at Raika's chest. Raika pushed against the Legate and leapt over her head, allowing Tullius' attack to pass by without her being harmed at all, but that was when she remembered that Elenwen was standing near them. The elf was preparing a spell, though Raika really didn't care if it was designed to harm her or imprison her so the Imperials could turn the tide of the war in their favor.
Raika twisted around and threw the Legate towards the elf, just in time as a blast of lightning hit the nord square in the chest and knocked her backwards. With Elenwen's vision blocked for the moment Raika leapt over the nord and landed right in front of her, bringing her swords down hard enough to cut into her shoulder. The force of the attack allowed her to cut even further, nearly cutting Elenwen in half before she pulled her swords out and pushed the body to the ground. Raika turned around in time for the Legate to get back up, piercing her chest with her sword, going all the way through her left lung until the base of her sword rested near her skin.
"Ha, so it is possible to kill a Dragonborn!" Legate Rikke exclaimed, tugging on her blade and finding it stuck, 'Even in death you taunt me Dragonborn?"
That was before something pierced her right in the chest, tearing through her armor and heart before coming right out of her back, sending blood flying everywhere. Raika stared into her eyes and grinned, using her other hand to grip the sword that was lodged in her chest and gently pull it out before tossing it to the ground. She pulled her hand out of Rikke's chest and held her heart up for everyone to see, right before she threw it into the fire pit and Rikke collapsed on the ground. With two of her enemies dead Raika turned to Tullius and kept her grin, knowing that, without his allies, Tullius really didn't stand a chance at this point.
"Shall you also die for the cause?" Raika asked, flexing her claws as she waited for Tullius to act, "Shall you die in battle, like everyone else on this day?"
Tullius shouted at her and leapt right at her, but Raika moved to the side, allowing him to pass right by her, before she brought her sword out on his neck, slicing his head off in an instant. Once the deed was done whatever Imperial soldiers remained immediately retreated, no doubt running to their hidden camps in the wild to form a new plan to retake Skyrim. As her comrades celebrated their victory and Ulfric began his speech Raika leaned against a wall and removed the top of her armor, revealing the area where the Legate had given her the wound. Where she expected to find a cut and some blood she found that the entire thing had been healed, her skin and fur replaced with the scales that were cropping up all over her now.
Trixie, Sombra, and Princess Cadence stood nearby, making sure to keep the Stormcloaks and anyone else away from her while she studied what had changed during the fight. Raika was truly blessed to have friends like them.
"Lord Ulfric," one of the Stormcloak soldiers said, "we, um, have a problem."
Raika moaned inside her head and pulled her armor back on, before she turned back to the gathering and spotted not one Jarl Elisif standing before Ulfric, but two of them. They both looked identical in terms of facial structure and they happened to be wearing the same clothing, making it impossible to tell who was the imposter. Princess Cadence, on the other hand, turned to the Elisif on the left, almost as if she knew exactly who it was.
"Hello Chrysalis," Cadence said, smiling at the second Elisif, "Its been a long time, hasn't it?"
The second Elisif glared at Cadence before she was consumed by bright green flames, which had erupted from the area around her feet and rose until it had completely covered her. The Stormcloaks watching took a step back and raised their weapons, fearing that a daedra had been living among the people of Solitude without anyone realizing it. Raika and Cadence stood still, watching the flames and waiting for whatever emerged, though Cadence had an idea of what everyone was about to see. When the flames receded into the ground and vanished the Stormcloaks gasped at what they saw standing before them, thought Raika was a bit surprised as well.
A woman stood before them, but where most of the people had light colored skin, reflecting their time out in the sun and the snow, the woman had an ebony tint to her body, which happened to look like the chitin one would find on a bug. There were a couple of small holes dotting her arms and legs, holes that everyone could all see all the way through, and she had insect looking wings on her back. Where Raika had been expecting a normal horn, like Celestia's or Luna's horns, this woman had a jagged black horn, which she suspected could harm someone if used on them.
"Princess Cadence," the woman said, nearly hissing at the Equestrian Princess, "one of the two ponies in all of Equestria that I would rather forget about. Yes, it has been a long time, yet I wish you would have just left me alone instead of chasing me to another world and hunting me down."
"Honestly, I didn't even know you were even here Chrysalis," Cadence replied, shrugging as she realized that the changeling still hated her, "I was just following the Dragonborn and she ended up leading me right to you. Say, how did you end up in Tamriel anyway?"
"Remember you 'little' love spell?" Chrysalis asked, referring to the one event that had ruined her invasion of Canterlot, "Well, it may have blasted my changelings back to the Badlands, but I got blasted right out of the world and ended up here, covered in snow that had somehow broken my fall. I ended up spending the remainder of the energy I got from your precious Shining Armor healing my wounds and giving me a chance to make my way out of the wilds. That was around the time that I met Jarl Elisif, who had been offering a war horn to a shrine of some legendary warrior and immediately raised her weapon to me.
I might have fought back, but after having to hike through the mountain side, without any maps or sense of direction, and fight off some savage wildlife I was exhausted. Instead of running me through with her blade the kind Jarl covered me with a pair of robes she happened to be carrying and brought me back to this city. I then spent the following week regaining my strength, which the Jarl helped me get back, before I spend the next few months tracking down countless bandit leaders and bringing them to justice."
"I find that hard to believe," Cadence said, crossing her arms as Chrysalis recounted her tale.
"Every good deed deserves another," Chrysalis told her, shaking her head, "She saved me, so I gave her and her citizens peace of mind. You and I may not like each other, Princess Cadence, but my time in this world has changed me into a better leader."
"So all is forgiven?" Cadence asked, hoping to get a yes from the Changeling Queen.
"No way in Oblivion are you getting off that easily," Chrysalis replied, staring hard into the Equestrian Princess' eyes, "Now that you exposed me to the entire city I guess its time I packed up and got a move on, though I am holding you accountable for all of this. I'll help you out on one adventure, but then I want a ride home so I can pick up the pieces of my broken empire, whatever is left of it anyway."
Before anyone could stop her Chrysalis turned around and made her way back to the Blue Palace, where Raika assumed that she had been living for the last few months and had stashed any armor she might have had. She honestly had no idea who this Chrysalis was, mostly because none of the Princesses or Trixie had mentioned her during their time together, though she didn't know if Sombra knew her or not. She sighed and knew that she had just added another member to their group, which was a good thing since one of her comrades had fallen in battle and the other had left to go over her new duties as the leader of a vampire army.
As the group waited for their new ally to come back Raika watched her brothers and sisters clear out all the broken pieces of the buildings and the rocks that had fallen on the city. The citizens had been scared as the war had raged outside their houses and places of business, but once the fighting was done and the winner had been decided they had finally come out. They took to the Stormcloaks as if they were still the Imperials, just dressed up differently and praying to all Nine of the Divines instead of the original Eight. It did Raika good to know that all her hard work had been worth it, as now none of them would have to worry about an evil dragon seeking to end the world or a vampire lord wanting to rule over everyone.
During their wait she also noticed that Trixie and Cadence were discussing something, but whatever it was they decided not to tell her and kept it between themselves.
"I am present," Chrysalis announced, stopping right behind her before taking a look around, "Now, where are the rest of the ponies at are traveling with you?"
"Well, Princess Cadence and Trixie are discussing something important," Raika replied, turning to face the creature that would be joining them, "and Sombra is, well, just leaning against a wall, waiting for the others to finish."
"Right, as if I'm going to believe that the Demon of the Crystal Empire is here in Tamriel," Chrysalis said, though Raika had no idea how she was overlooking Sombra when he was literally right behind her, "Sure, he may have been a kind hearted stallion that gave me and my subjects a refuge one winter when we were forced to move the location of our hive, but then one year he became a monster. I'm glad that my subjects and I managed to get out of there with all of our hides intact."
"He's right behind you," Raika commented, pointing right behind her.
Chrysalis turned around and her entire body went still as she realized that she had been wrong, that Sombra had been standing there the entire time and she had overlooked him. She was used to feeling the fear of those she hunted down and brought to justice, but whenever she looked upon the King of Shadows she could feel fear grip her heart. Sombra got out of the position he had been standing in for the last hour and approached the two of them, but where Chrysalis was expecting to find the monster she found the kind hearted stallion she had met a long time ago.
"Queen Chrysalis, it is a pleasure to see you again," Sombra said, giving her a little bow before straightening up, "I am pleased to say that the darkness that once clouded my mind and made all of Equestria hate me has been completely cleared, returning me to who I was before Discord tried to destroy me. I'm sure that Celestia will make a treaty with you once she hears of all the things you have done for the people of this realm while you were here. So Raika, what's our next objective?"
Raika sighed, knowing that she had absolutely no idea where she and her friends could find another Cultist or where their base of operations was located. All of the previous evils that she and the others had taken care of had basically come with instructions on how to find out where they were located and how to defeat them. The Cultists had sprung up out of nowhere and demanded that Raika die for 'pretending to be the Dragonborn', as their master would be the end of her. She was almost half dragon at this point, so pretending wasn't something that she could actually hide at that point, though she wished that she had an idea of where to find her last enemy.
"Honestly, I have no idea," Raika admitted, sighing as she noticed Trixie and Cadence approaching, "but how hard can it be to hunt down a group of Cultists and get some information out of them?"
"Actually, we need to make a stop at the College," Cadence said, surprising Raika bit before she sighed, "and then we need to visit where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna left Tamriel. I swear everything will become clear once we've gotten that far."
Raika held back a moan as she beckoned for Sombra to open a gateway for them, which would take them back to the College of Winterhold for whatever reason Cadence was withholding from them. Sombra nodded and the shadows parted to reveal the gateways that they had used for the last couple of days, saving an incredible amount of time in the process. Raika walked through the shadows, followed by Trixie and Cadence, though Chrysalis stared at Sombra for a moment before following the others through the shadows. Sombra nodded, made sure that no one was coming to look at the gate, and then entered it himself, flowing all the way across the land to their destination.
-----------------------------------------
Raika stepped into the cold wind of Winterhold, but she barely felt any of the chilling winds and knew that the blame for that would be shifted to what was happening to her. The guard that was patrolling the small town glared at her before sighing and moving along, just as the rest of her group appeared from the gateway behind her. Once everyone was accounted for, including their latest addition, they made their way up to the gates of the college, passing over the rotting bridge before entering the courtyard. Trixie made sure to ask one of the other teachers where Tolfdir was, where she was then pointed at the main building and proceeded to open the doors.
Lucky for them that they managed to find the old man when he was finishing up a lesson, giving them time to ask him whatever they needed to before they moved on.
"Ah, Archmage," Tolfdir welcomed, respectfully bowing to Trixie as they stopped in front of him, "it is wonderful to see you and your associates again. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"That there is," Trixie said, summoning the Staff of Magnus and holding it out for him to take, "my time in Skyrim is drawing to a close and I wanted to make sure that this staff had a good home in the College. Also, I managed to recover all of the masks of the Dragon Priests, so I was hoping that we might be able to keep them here for students to study one day."
"Wait, what?" Raika asked, causing Trixie to look at her, "Why are you leaving? When were you planning on telling me this?"
"Only alicorn's can open the way between worlds," Trixie told her, repeating the same thing that Princess Celestia had told them after Alduin's defeat, "Princess Cadence is returning home and she offered to take me with her. While I'd love to stay in Tamriel and practice magic for the rest of my life, there are ponies waiting for me in Equestria that are special to me. I know you'd love to have me stay for one more adventure, but I'm afraid that I'm a little tapped out at the moment. We were planning on telling you a day or two ago, but we got so involved with the Dawnguard that it must have slipped my mind until now."
"So I'll be left with Sombra than?" Raika asked, wondering why everyone was suddenly leaving her.
"Not to mention Chrysalis," Cadence replied, patting the changeling on the shoulder, "She'll made an excellent addition to your group with whatever abilities that she has acquired."
Chrysalis huffed as Trixie handed over the Staff of Magnus and all the masks that she had gathered, entrusting them into the care of one of Skyrim's finest mages. Trixie had no doubt that some pesky apprentice, namely J'zargo, would be staring at the masks after she was gone and thinking about swiping them, so she spent the next hour with Tolfdir. They made a plan that would keep the items safe until they were needed again, safe from the hands of those who would use them to do harm to the rest of Tamriel. Once the deed was done Trixie moved to hand back the Archmage robes she was wearing, but Tolfdir insisted that she kept them, just in case she decided to return to them one day.
Once they were done with that Raika beckoned for Sombra to open a gateway for them, which was designed to take them to the peak of the Throat of the World. However, when they stepped through it Raika found that they were at the foot of the mountain, standing in the center of Iverstead and making Raika wonder what happened.
"Great, they locked onto the gateway," Sombra commented, pointing out the Cultists that were holding crystals in their hands, "Guess what Raika, we managed to find the Cultists you were after."
"You might as well give up False Dragonborn," one of the Cultists shouted down at them, "We have spent the last few days tracking you across Skyrim, all so that we could destroy you and allow our master to rule over all."
"Great..." Raika moaned, just as an idea popped into her head, "So tell me, who is your master and where is his hideout located?"
"Our master is Lord Miraak, the First Dragonborn," the Cultist proclaimed, as if she thought that they could take down the Dragonborn, "who rules over the island of Solstheim. We came to Skyrim aboard a ship called the Northern Maiden, where we docked in Windhelm before coming and searching for you. Now that we have found you we are going to take great pleasure in destroying you and returning to our master with victory in our hearts."
Raika leapt into the air and landed right before the Cultist, her hand tearing through the chest almost immediately and ripping the heart out in seconds. The other Cultists stared at her as she crushed the beating heart and pushed the dead Cultist backwards, letting her hit the ground before moving to face the others. One enemy came right at her, but Raika simply picked her up and tossed her backwards, letting her friends deal with that one as she moved on. The last two Cultists came at her from both sides, intending to ruin her before she had the chance to defend herself, but Raika raised her hands and caught them with ease. She grinned as she forced each of their weapons into the others body, making sure that they were both put down before dropping them to the ground.
"So," Raika said, stepping in front of the Cultist she had wounded, "The Northern Maiden in Windhelm?"
The Cultist nodded and Raika snapped her neck, ending the foe in a second before she let out a sigh of relief. She had worried that she wouldn't be able to find her last enemy, but then they happened to find the Cultists and now they knew exactly where to go next. She actually thought it was funny that her enemy had given her the exact whereabouts of his hideout, as if he was inviting her to come and play. She was going to take great pleasure in dealing with this 'Miraak' and then take a break for as long as possible.
With another gateway they managed to get to the top of the Throat of the World, where Chrysalis finally reached over a rock and threw up from the amount of gateways they had been walking through.
Cadence approached the area where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had summoned their portal back home and let her magic fill the mountain top. The area before her began to bend and break, forming the same hole that the other Princesses had summoned and before Raika knew it the portal had stabilized in front of them. Cadence nodded and Trixie quickly said her goodbyes before approaching the mass of magic, the light covering her entire body before she disappeared. Cadence looked back at them for a moment before stepping into the light, vanishing from Tamriel and leaving Raika to sigh as she turned around.
She didn't get very far before a hand touched her shoulder, causing her to turn around and find none other than Princess Celestia, in all of her shining glory, standing behind her. As she stared at the solar princess the portal closed behind her, though she did notice that Chrysalis was trembling as if she didn't like what was happening.
"Please don't hurt me." Chrysalis said, falling to her knees as Celestia came near her.
Raika watched Celestia kneel beside the Changeling Queen, whatever that happened to be since no one explained what a changeling was to her, and embraced her. Chrysalis was caught off guard by the gesture, though over the next few minutes her trembling finally stopped and her regained the composure that she had earlier. Once her was calm again Celestia released her and looked up at Sombra, who she immediately embraced and wrapped her wings around without delay. Raika was glad to see the two of them together again, knowing that Celestia would be enjoying the moment until someone ruined it for them.
"Your not in trouble Chrysalis," Celestia chuckled, finally releasing Sombra and helped the changeling monarch onto her feet, "in fact, Luna's busy laying the groundwork to allow changelings to become citizens in Equestria if they chose to. You wouldn't have to hide behind a disguise anymore and could live whatever life you wanted. I imagine Cadence will have quite the shock when she discovers this, but that's for her to find out and for Luna to help her deal with."
"And him?" Chrysalis said, pointing at Sombra.
"Oh, you mean my husband?" Celestia replied, nearly laughing at the shocked face that Chrysalis had, "We got married over a thousand years ago and all the groundwork to let him live a normal life are in place, just waiting for him to return. Now, Raika...what in Oblivion happened to you?"
"Just my destiny as the Dragonborn," Raika said, shaking her head, "destroy dragons and become one yourself. We've already dealt with the Dawnguard and the vampire menace, so all that we need to do now is take a ship out of Windhelm and travel to the island of Solstheim. There's someone named Miraak on the island that sent those Cultists after me, so we're going to pay him a visit and see if we can't get him to stop harassing me."
Sombra took the cue and summoned another gateway, taking them right to the city of Windhelm, where Raika knew they would be able to find the ship that the Cultists used. Raika had to admit it though, having Celestia back increased their odds of wrecking whoever Miraak was and destroying his plans, if he had any.
-----------------------------------------
Apocrypha, the realm of Knowledge, home of the Daedric Prince known as Hermaeus Mora. A place where all knowledge was hoarded by the Prince, which was protected by his guards, the creatures known as Seekers to mortal men, and used to lure people to their doom. The Seekers roamed the plane of Oblivion, moving things around while beating those that sought the knowledge they guarded, who weren't blessed by their lord and master. The black waters stirred every now and then, the hidden denizens waiting for some foolish adventurer to make their way to their realm so they could devour them whole.
At one of the peaks a man, wearing a dark green robe that had golden pieces scattered about it and a special golden mask that covered his face, stared at a floating orb in the middle of the area. It showed him one person at a time, from anywhere in all of Solstheim and Skyrim, though there was only one person he wanted to watch at the moment. He had felt her the moment she had awakened and had met with the Greybeards in their mountain hideout, which was right before he had sent a few Cultists to invite her to his island. Now the person he was watching was boarding the same boat his minions had used, which would bring her right to the island and let her search for him.
"Come Yolrahtoor," the man said, his voice echoing just a bit, "come home, my old friend."
It had taken them half a day to reach Solstheim, the mysterious island that was apparently run by dark elves. That was what the captain of the ship, the Northern Maiden, had told Raika and her friends as they made their way around the waters that would take them to the island. Once Raika had found his ship, as it was only one of the three ships they had found at the Windhelm docks, she had told him that he had brought a bunch of cultists to Skyrim so they could kill her. He had insisted that he had no idea that they had come to kill her, but after some talking she had convinced him to take them to the island so she could speak with the person so sent the cultists after her.
During their journey to the island he had inquired as to why she and the others didn't just fly out into the wild sea and find the island for themselves, though the answer had been because they had no idea where it was located. He had also inquired as why he was taking the King of Shadows with him, though Raika just told him that he was on their side and that had, somehow, managed to calm the man down enough for him to agree to everything.
Celestia and Sombra spoke with Chrysalis, sharing with her all of the events that had transpired between them, starting when they had first met, going up to when Discord attacked, and stopping with their journey in Skyrim. They used their time to make the strange monarch feel more comfortable around them, breaking her fears into worthless bits and making her open up to them. It was then that Raika learned what Chrysalis was, a shapeshifter that could take on the shape of anyone she wanted and could feed off the love of whoever they targeted. It explained why Elisif might have also kept her around, possibly to say whatever farewells to her beloved husband as if he was still alive so she could get over her grief.
It was then that Raika considered that maybe all of the villains from Equestria were really just misunderstood creatures that wanted to be like everyone else around them....except Discord, who was just a prick.
Raika spent the majority of her time listening to the captain speak about the island, telling her about all the tragedies that had befallen the island and giving her a general feel for what the creatures that called the wild home would be like. She would need every piece of information she could get her hands on, so she listened to him talk and rarely spoke up unless he would not move on with her saying something to him.
--------------------------------------
"Here we are, Raven Rock," the captain said, beckoning to the small settlement that they were approaching, "Can't say I'm glad to be back, but make sure you give whoever sent those cultists to me a piece of my mind for me."
Raika rolled her eyes and waited until they had officially docked in Raven Rock's small port, where an elf walked onto the ship, passed her completely, and moved to the captain.
"Ah, Gjalund," the elf commented, staring into the eyes of the captain, "I was starting to wonder what had happened to you."
"Just got caught in some bad weather," Gjalund replied, though Raika could tell that he was bluntly lying to the elf, "and before you ask... yes, I got the supplies you requested, but...but the load cost me twice as much as it normally would. I'm sorry Adril, but the East Empire Company raised their prices again and there is nothing I can do about it."
"Don't worry about it Gjalund," Adril groaned, pressing the fingers of his left hand against his forehead, "they've been doing this for years now, so it doesn't surprise me that they're trying to drain us of every last coin we have. Let me talk with Lleril and we'll see what we can do."
"Its alright Adril," Gjalund said, waving his arms, "there's no need to rush it. Just pay me when your able to."
"You! Outsider!" Adril nearly shouted, finally spotting Raika and approached her, "I don't recognize you, so I'm assuming that this is your first visit to Raven Rock. State your intentions for coming to our community."
"I'm here for someone named Miraak," Raika replied, hoping that he had something to give her, "Do you have any idea who this person is or where I might be able to find him?"
It was like a different mind set had washed over the elf, because one moment he was outraged at her, for whatever his reason had been, and the next he seemed dazed. The elf was looking around like he had no idea who he was, where he was standing, and had likely forgotten everything that had happened in his life. Then it almost looked like he remembered something, as he seemed to recall what was happening around him and looked right into her eyes for a moment.
"I...I swear I know the name," Adril said, sounding like he was confused still, "I know the name has something to do with the Earth Stone, which is resting directly to the west of us. Other than that I cannot help you."
Raika nearly screamed in anger, which would have resulted in her tearing the entire port apart before storming off to find someone, anyone, that could tell her where her target was. Instead she forced herself to sigh and relax, before turning to the glowing stone in the distance and deciding that they at least needed to check it out for any leads. She and her friends made their way through the settlement, avoiding the curious looks that the locals gave them, and walked up to the Earth Stone, finding a bunch of people working around it. The only person not working on the stone was another elf, who seemed more interested in watching them than actually stopping them from their deed.
"You there..." the elf said, spotting Raika as they approached, "you are not in the same state of mind as the others are. That's very interesting. May I inquire as to why you came to Solstheim?"
"I'm hunting someone named Miraak," Raika replied, though she could tell by the way the elf was staring at her that he wanted to study her being as well, "Do you have any idea where I might find him?"
"Miraak eh?" the elf said, almost as if he had to think about it for a moment, "Oh yes, I remember the name now, but that doesn't make any sense. Miraak has been dead for thousands of years, so whoever is hounding you must be someone whose taken on his name to fool you into thinking that someone dangerous is after you. I may have something that might interest you; Miraak had an old temple in the center of the island, so if your intent is to search for him I would start there."
Raika thanked the elf and moved back to the path they had taken to get to the stone, so they could traverse the path back through the settlement and take the second exit the place had. She considered asking the elf to stop the workers, but she knew that, like every other mage she had met, the elf would only agree to that if he could study her. She wasn't in the mood for being studied by anyone, so she made sure to get away from the elf and walked out into the barren wasteland that greeted them.
"This place is as bad as the Badlands," Chrysalis commented, staring at their surroundings and finding a sense of peace with the ashy environment, "how are we supposed to find a temple with all this ash covering everything?"
"There's an old temple to the north of here," one of the guards commented, finishing off a creature that looked like a human made of ash, "We've had some reaver activity near the site of an old temple, but it doesn't look like the cultists that call the temple home mind their presence very much. I think they might have reached an understanding with each other, but whatever they did we don't have enough guards to press an attack on the temple and defend Raven Rock at the same time."
Raika knew that they weren't going to get any help from the citizens of Raven Rock, not when most of them looked like they were brain dead and were building whatever construct that was around the one stone. Despite that fact she knew that she didn't need the help of the guards, as she carried the blood, and soul, of a dragon inside her and had a few allies that would make any Jarl jealous. With the new directions they began their trek into the barren wasteland, turning to the north after passing by a burned down shack that a guard was standing outside.
Once they passed by the shack they came across a nordic burial mound that some elf was digging up, his miners working to clear the ash away while also clearing out whatever was inside the barrow. Past them, about five minutes away, was another camp, though this one contained several bandits that were all dressed up in armor that looked like they had been fashioned from insects. The bandits, what Raika assumed were the reavers that the guard had mentioned, picked up their weapons and approached the group, causing Raika to flex her claws for a moment. Just as she was about to leap forward and give them a piece of her mind Chrysalis held a hand to stop her and moved forward, the bandits laughing at her as she approached.
"Look here boys," their leader said, pointing right at her as she walked up to them, "this one has spirit. Too bad that this will be the end of her and her little group."
Chrysalis drew the weapon that she had brought with her out of her belt, spinning the blackened longsword around her as she approached the bandit's leader. Before the bandit had time to draw his weapon and defend himself she brought her weapon down hard on the area between his neck and his right shoulder, cutting through his chitin armor like it was butter. The other three bandits came at her, but she yanked her weapon out of the leader, spun around with the grace that Raika noticed that all of the Equestrian rulers had, and beheaded one of them before they could draw their weapon.
One bandit thought that she was going to be the lucky one and end their foe, as she drew her weapon and brought it down where Chrysalis was standing, thinking that it was over. Chrysalis, on the other hand, simply moved back just a step and let the attack pass her by without really doing any harm to her, much to the surprise of the bandit that stood before her. Without offering a chance for the bandit to bring the weapon back up Chrysalis brought her longsword down and severed both of her hands before twisting it around and beheading the bandit. With the third bandit dealt with she turned to the fourth and final bandit, who was standing by a tree with a look of fear in his eyes, fear that she could taste.
Before any of them moved to deal with him the bandit brought up his sword and drove it right into his heart, taking the cowards way out of the fight.
"That's a first," Raika commented, surprised to have witnessed such an act, "I have never seen a bandit take their own life like that, even when their entire company has been beaten and captured or completely devastated by someone."
They continued to the north, crossing the ashy hills until Raika finally spotted the temple that the guard and the elf had mentioned, but where they said one thing she found something different. The entire place looked like it had been dragged out of the ash, almost swept clean by the bandits that happened to be roaming the entire place. Unlike the previous group they met these bandits ignored them, hammering away at the structures and moving planks around as if they were preparing for something. In addition to the strangeness of everything they all seemed to be saying the same thing, repeating the sequence within a minute of them finishing.
"Here in my temple, here in my shrine, that you have forgotten." the bandits said, almost like they were in a trance of some kind, "Here do you toil, that you might remember. Here you reclaim, what faithless minds have stolen. Far from yourself, I grow ever nearer to you. Your eyes once were blinded, now through me do you see. Your hands once were idle, now through them do I speak. And when the world shall listen, and when the world shall see, and when the world remembers, that world will cease to be."
Raika wasn't completely sure if they were all speaking about themselves when they said 'I' or about the mysterious Miraak, who seemed to be the problem around the island. The one thing that had her worried was that they had passed by the ash covered corpses of at least six dragons, most of which were still buried beneath the ash. As they approached the center of the temple she noticed that they weren't the only people that hadn't been taken by whatever mind control was going around. The nord in question stared at Raika and her group before marching over to them, carrying two axes that were dripping blood over the ground.
"You there," the nord said, her eyes glaring at them as if she was determining if they were friend or foe, "what are you doing here? Who are you people?"
"These are Celestia, Sombra, and Chrysalis," Raika replied, not liking the nord's attitude towards them, "I am Raika Snow-Heart, the Dragonborn of legend. We're here because someone named Miraak sent a few cultists after me back when I was trying to kill Alduin, though it seems like he's been dead the entire time."
"Yes, he served the dragons before their fall from power," the nord said, sheathing her axes for the moment, "He served as one of their priests, but then something changed him and made him turn on them. They say he tried to take Solstheim for himself and the dragons, who would not stand for such a thing, destroyed him, slaughtered his allies, and burned his temple to the ground for his actions. Forgive me, but my name is Frea...wait a second, I know you now!"
"We have never met before today," Raika said, not knowing if she should be relived that someone recognized who she was or bothered by the fact.
"You are correct in that regard," Frea replied, her glare getting even heavier now, "but there is only one dragon in all of Solstheim's history that has red scales as bright as yours. You are Yolrahtoor, the Dragon Goddess of Fire, and Miraak's right hand before the assault on his temple. According to legend you once sided with the dragons, but then Miraak somehow turned you to his side, where you used your destructive powers to lay waste to your former allies. The people of Solstheim suffered greatly from your attacks on them, all on the order of your new master, until Alduin himself came and ripped your soul asunder.
I should kill you where you stand, but the All-Maker has said that anyone, no matter how corrupted by others they have become, can be redeemed by their own actions. Despite all the sins you committed back when you served under Miraak you can make up for them by destroying your old master and bringing peace to Solstheim."
Raika moaned and moved past Frea, annoyed that she was being blamed for something that had happened a long time ago, when the dragon that she shared her soul with had lived its life. She wondered what else Yolrahtoor had kept from her, because ruining the lives of hundreds of people was something major that she should have known about when she had first met the dragon. She found a ramp that lead down around the temple, so she pulled out one of her swords and walked down, knowing that the others would be following her closely. Two cultists stepped out of a door she found, but before either of them could raise a weapon to defend themselves she spun around and dropped the both of them, their heads rolling around the ground as their bodies hit the stone hard.
Once they were inside the temple Raika moved down the corridor, passing by two rooms that looked like they were almost wrecked beyond belief. Frea wanted to check them out for any provisions that would help them for the coming trial, so Raika gave her five minutes to look around both rooms before moving on. It turned out that there was nothing for them to take, which told Raika that the cultists had taken what they needed and had left nothing behind for anyone else to take. They reached an area with what looked like pressure plates scattered about, but Frea ran forward and swung her arms, her axes taking off the heads of two cultists before they had a chance to even see who was attacking them.
The next chamber they reached had a great view of all the drawn up corpses that Raika assumed Miraak had hung to display that he was in charge and nothing could stop him. Frea spotted a chest on a platform above them, but Raika merely flared her wings for a second and landed before the chest, which she opened with delay. She found it wasn't really worth the effort, but then again she wasn't interested in the golden necklaces with an assortment of gems in them that she found. She did take the ebony sword that had been stashed inside the chest, but that was the only thing of interest that she even considered taking with her.
They rounded the corner and came to a couple of coffins, which opened up and three draugrs came walking out, though they were all dressed up as if they were all Dreadlords. Before they could even get to fighting them a flash of lightning passed them up, followed by a shout as four cultists came walking up a set of stairs near them. Frea charged at the cultists, her axes swinging through the air as she battled the magic that they carried, though Celestia stood at her side and they took them together. Chrysalis, Sombra, and Raika each took one of the Dreadlords, separating them from each other in the off chance that one of them ran to their allies aid.
Raika had to admit it when they were done with the group of enemies, she was somewhat glad that she had gotten more power from her other side, despite the fact that the dragon continued to lie to her face. She was using all of her power, and all of the dragon's power for that matter, to destroy every enemy that threatened the safety of Skyrim and Tamriel. Still, she could not bring herself to tell the others that the source of her new power was not only the rage she had for everyone, ally or enemy, ignoring her status as the Dragonborn, but the dragon she shared her soul with.
They continued deeper into the temple, finding a few more draugr, which Frea dealt with before they even reached them, but they eventually reached a long tunnel that was full of swinging blades. Raika knew that, just by looking at all the blades, that Miraak had devised this part of the temple to kill anyone who wasn't an ally to his cause, like the cultists.
"I am not traversing this part," Frea commented, taking a seat before the path, "just let me know when its all said and done."
Raika turned to Sombra, whose shadows reached across the tunnel and allowed him to summon a small gateway that took him to the other side of the tunnel. Not a moment later the swinging blades stopped moving, stalling on the sides of the tunnel and going completely still, which caused Frea to stare at Raika with a dumbfound look on her face. Raika chuckled and they moved up the tunnel, where Sombra was merely leaning against the wall, smiling because he had done exactly what Frea had wanted, just without harm to his body. Raika was enjoying the fact that she could get more done with Sombra's powers, which he seemed okay with every time she asked him if he could do something to move things along.
The next area they came to had several raised wooden bridges, though Raika had the feeling that the moment they walked down their bridge the other three would open and they would find a group of enemies waiting for them. Frea walked down the wooden bridge and sure enough the other bridges opened up, two draugrs and a cultist walking down to greet all of them. Chrysalis held a hand up and stopped the others from joining the nord, but instead of standing still she walked down with her, appearing to be ready to fight as well.
The draugr approached Chrysalis, but she spun around and drove the point of her longsword into the closest one to her, straight into the still heart and silencing it within seconds. The second draugr swung its weapon at her, but she ducked under the attack and pulled her weapon out, allowing the first to fall to the ground with a thud. Her opponent moaned at her and continued to swing at her, so in response Chrysalis continued to dodge its every attempt to hurt her, ducking left and right as it kept going at her. It eventually managed to land a blow on her right arm, but the moment that happened Chrysalis twisted her sword and brought it down hard enough to cut the draugr in half.
Frea, on the other hand, had to constantly move around the area until she got an opening to cut off the hands of the cultist she was fighting, before she twisted her axes around and cut off its head.
"You okay Chrysalis?" Raika asked, seeing the wound and wondering if she needed it bandaged up, as they didn't have any potions to use at the moment.
"Yes, he just caught me by surprise," Chrysalis replied, a bandage made of pink energy wrapping around her wound and sealing it completely, "ah, as good as new. Never underestimate the power of Love as they say."
Raika didn't know what the power of love that Chrysalis spoke of was, but if it was a source of power for the changeling Queen then she wasn't going to even ask. As long as she was okay and didn't need a break from all the fighting Raika was okay with her using whatever type of magic she wanted, like Sombra calling on the shadows. With the enemies dealt with Raika smiled and they continued on their way, passing though another iron doorway that was always in the ancient nordic barrows.
They came to yet another bridge, though this one was guarded by six skeletons, which they simply had to punch hard enough in the skull to make them fall apart. The ruined area that followed was easy for them to navigate, as they decided to walk over the wreckage and continue on their way, until Frea commented about there being a few spell tomes laying around a side area. Raika had to resist the urge to throw her in front of one of the draugrs or Miraak's traps, though they did find quite the number of enemies in the next area. The chamber they arrived in had an open pit in the center, so what they did was move around the edge and beat up anyone in their path until they came out on the other side.
They took the pathway down, even deeper into the island, causing Frea to comment on how powerful Miraak must have been to have such a large and terrible temple built for him. The small chamber they came to had a few coffins lining one wall, a coffin on the wall in front of them, a word wall to their immediate left, and the corpse of a dragon hung above their heads. Raika approached the word wall, intending to get the experience over with, but the moment the lights died down the coffins began to open and even more draugr began to spill out. The minor draugr were dealt with in mere seconds, but when the main one opened up and a Dreadlord walked out Raika was on top of him within seconds.
The Dreadlord didn't stand much of a chance, not when Raika broke off its head and tore out its heart, both of which she proceeded to drop to the ground after removing them. Once the deed was done she picked up a small key and approached another door, which happened to hang behind the coffin the Dreadlord had come from.
They came to another chamber, though this one was filled with a bunch of stone tables, discarded food items, and a couple of mugs with empty bottles of ale scattered about the place. Raika didn't have to search for a hidden handle for long, which opened up another hidden passageway that took them down a tunnel until they came to another set of stairs. They followed the path even further down, turning around and about until they finally came to a lever sitting next to a bare stone wall, though Raika pulled it down and the wall rose to reveal more stairs.
The next chamber they came to was massive, which made sense seeing how they had done quite a distance without coming to an area like the one they were standing in. At least twenty skeletons and ten draugr walked around the chamber, each of them looking like they were ready to deal with any intruders that might disturb them. The five of them rushed into the open area, weapons at the ready as they clashed with the walking dead that called the place home, weapons clashing in seconds.
Raika didn't have to worry about the undead getting at her, as she merely dodged their attacks until an opening presented itself and she took an enemy down. As kept her eyes on her targets she noticed that Celestia danced around her foes, making them confused as she would trade places with Chrysalis, who had taken her form without Raika noticing. Frea did what she did best, throwing her axes around and killing whatever enemy came close to touching her, dropping at least three of them with one attack. Sombra let his enemies come at him before impaling them on smaller versions of his crystal spires, knowing that if he made them too big it might cause the entire place start falling apart.
Once the enemies were done they approached the back of the chamber, passing by a statue of some strange creature that Raika assumed was one of the Daedric Princes. They followed yet another hidden tunnel until they came to a smaller room, one that had another statue of the strange creature in the center and had a large black book resting on a pedestal.
"I'm going to open that book," Raika said, knowing that she may very well regret the choice later, "I just want all of you at a safe distance in case this thing does something strange."
When she was sure that everyone else was at a safe distance she took a deep breath before she touched the book and pried it open, letting the cover and back touch the pedestal. For a moment nothing strange happened, which made her believe that she had been wrong about something terrible happening, but then it hit her hard. Black tentacles erupted from the book and wrapped around her body, tying her arms and legs to her body and preventing her from really doing anything to stop them. Then, before she knew it, her vision was fading as she succumbed to whatever foul magic the tentacles were working on her body and mind.
--------------------------------------
When Raika came to she moaned slightly before looking up at her surroundings, finding a place that looked like it was full of books, scrolls, and an eerie black water that she didn't like the look of. Standing before her were four strange looking creatures that appeared like they were covered in large torn robes, though they looked nothing like the statue she had seen in Miraak's temple. That was when she noticed the man standing in the center of all the creatures, wearing a dark green robe with gold pieces scattered about and a strange mask that looked nothing like the masks she had seen the Dragon Priests in Skyrim wearing.
Without having to be told who the man before her was she immediately knew, which meant she was in trouble as she was still laying on the ground and he was standing.
"Normally I would ask 'who dares to set foot in this realm', but I know you," the man said, staring down right at her, "You are Yolrahtoor, called Raika Snow-Heart in your current incarnation. You have slain Alduin, an annoying thorn that would have come back to the island to fight me again, but now I don't have to worry about him anymore. Ah, but I forget myself sometimes. Surely you know exactly who I am?"
"Miraak!" Raika growled, though the strange thing was that it hadn't been her that had spoken the man's name, rather it had been the dragon that had once served him.
"Ah, I see you have partly awakened who you once were," MIraak replied, sounding as if he was pleased, "It is a shame that Paarthurnax didn't realize who you were the moment you spoke to him, as it would have been humorous to see him turn on the Dragonborn in an attempt to end your life. He is the only remaining dragon that could possibly stand before you now my dear, and once he's dead you shall stand by my side as the Queen of Dragons."
"To...Oblivion...with you," Raika moaned, her mind hurting still and wondering if it was due to what had happened before she had picked up that black book.
"I see your current incarnation is still fighting to keep herself alive," Miraak said, kneeling in front of her and holding her chin as if he wanted to look straight into her eyes, "though she should have given up by now. You should have realized it by now my dear, your whole life was merely to act as a vessel for the lucky dragon that would be given a second chance at life. If you had been one of Alduin's underlings you would have flocked to his side the moment that he showed up in Helgen, saving your life without knowing who you were. You could have been one of those rogue dragons, who would have only destroyed Alduin to show that you could. Instead you carried the soul of my right hand, the dragon that everyone on Solstheim feared, and now you have brought her back to me, where she belongs."
"I'm going to kill you!" Raika declared, struggling to get up as she fought whatever was keeping her down.
"I see that I'll need to hurt your current incarnation in order to release you," Miraak said, almost as if he was speaking to the dragon and ignored Raika completely, "It will be a painful process, my dear Yolrahtoor, but when I'm done you will be restored to your former glory and your incarnation will be nothing more than a figment of the past. Gol Hah Dov."
Raika was more than willing to fight against whatever magic was keeping her from getting onto her feet and running Miraak through with one of her swords, but the moment he uttered those three words everything changed. It was as if Miraak was trying to insert himself into her head, making her believe that he was her master and that she needed to follow his commands, which only resulted in her head hurting even worse than before. Pain shot throughout her body, adding to the pain that she was already feeling from having some stranger trying to force his way into her mind and dominate her. Despite Miraak's absurd claims she knew that she was in charge of her destiny and that she had been the one whose time it was to live, not the dragon that had lived a long time ago.
Try as she might the pain finally got too much for her to handle at that moment and she finally blacked out, hitting the floor hard and remembering nothing after that point.
--------------------------------------
Sombra had been watching the black book and Raika's body, which each of them could see through as if she was both there and not there at the same time. They had done nothing for the last ten minutes, merely waiting for Raika to return with news about whatever the book was showing her and if she had found her final enemy. Frea continued to say that it was a bad idea to even open the book, so she stayed as far away from it as she could get, leaving the rest of them to wait near it. Then, just as Sombra was about to say something to make conversation with Chrysalis, Raika's body vanished completely, the black book slamming shut as it waited for someone else to open it.
"Um...what just happened?" Chrysalis asked, wondering if something like this was common when dealing with Raika.
"All-Maker preserve us," Frea said, realizing what had happened, "The Dragonborn's been trapped inside Apocrypha."
"Am I the only one who has no idea what this Apocrypha is?" Chrysalis asked, looking around at the rest of their group and only seeing a slightly confused look on Sombra's face, "And what do you mean that Raika's been trapped?"
"No time to explain here," Frea said, casting a look at the black book as if she wanted to rip it apart and completely destroy it, "We'll need to take this cursed book with us if we want to have any hope of rescuing the Dragonborn from the fate that I fear that Miraak has planned for her. But how can we transport it without it trying to consume another one of us?"
Sombra walked up to the black book and allowed the area around him to blacken, though after a few seconds the shadows rose out of the ground and began to wrap around the book. The book violently shook as the shadows wrapped around it, but eventually it died down as they tightened around it and dragged it into the rest of the shadows. Before sealing it off he made sure that there was a container somewhere in the shadows, where he could contain the book and its evil until they had need of it or its power again. Once the deed was done the shadows retracted to where they had been before he had called on them, settling down before the area lightened back up to its original shades.
"Done and done," Sombra said, looking up at Frea with a smirk on his face, "So, what's next on the agenda?"
Frea shook her head and beckoned for them to follow her, as it just so happened that she had found an exit point while they had been waiting for Raika to return. They made their way out of the temple, glad to be out of the stale air they had been breathing and get some of the fresh winter air that blew around Solstheim. They continued down the side of the mountain, making one turn so they could cross over the wooden bridge that they found, though there was something that Frea needed to tell them.
"That down there is the Wind Stone," Frea said, pointing down to a stone structure that looked like the one they had seen in Raven Rock, "where many of my people are forced to work against their will, building those monstrosities that bend the power of the stones to Miraak's will. I do not know how he survived the siege the dragons waged on his temple, but I do know that my father, Storn, might be able to help you determine your next course of action."
As they approached the small village that Frea had led them to Sombra noticed that there was a magical barrier protecting everything, though he had some idea of what they were hoping to avoid. As they entered the village he spotted that there were only three people left, all of whom were sitting around a circle as if they were pooling their magic together to keep the barrier up. Two of them continued to ignore them, even as they arrived at the circle, but the third person looked up at them and gave them a weary smile, telling them all that he was tired from his duties.
"Frea, you have returned!" the man said, not getting up as Frea moved near him, "What news do you bring from Miraak's temple? Is there a way to save our people?"
"I do not know Father," Frea replied, beckoning to the group and causing Storn to look up at them, "but while I was there I met this group of adventurers and their leader, the Dragonborn of legend."
"Yet she is not here with her friends," Storn commented, as if he saw through what had happened, "this means that, not only did you come baring some good news, but you also brought bad news as well. Tell me, what happened in Miraak's old temple?"
"Yolrahtoor has returned," Frea answered, not even missing a beat as her father gasped in shock, before returning to his neutral expression again, "I saw her the moment that I met the Dragonborn. Unlike the other Dragonborn's of legend this one, Raika Snow-Heart, has begun to change in shape, parts of her twisted into what they would look like if she was a dragon. I thought it was strange to see a person of legend look so strange, but then I noticed the bright red scales that littered her body and I immediately knew we were in trouble. Unfortunately, Raika has been trapped inside Apocrypha and that means that Miraak has been given his oldest ally back, which also means that its only a matter of time until Yolrahtoor returns in her full power."
"May the All-Maker save our souls," Storn sighed, as if the news troubled him greatly before he looked up at the others, "You all might want to sit down, I'm afraid that the tale I'm about to tell you might take some time."
It didn't take them long to sit around the circle, each finding a place where they wouldn't interrupt the magic that was still happening as Frea sat beside her father.
"I'm sure that Frea told you little about what Yolrahtoor has done," Storn said, staring at the magic and no one else, "In the beginning of the recorded history of nords interacting with dragons, back during the days of the dreaded Dragon Cult, there were three dragons that ruled over their kind with their iron will. The first I'm positive you've already met, as it was none other then Alduin the World-Eater, and the second was his brother that later turned on him, Paarthurnax. Most of what remains of the two of them, of which I'm sure there is little of, likely doesn't mention that there was a third dragon, who, while never sharing a family bond like Alduin and Paarthurnax, was almost as powerful as the both were separately.
This third dragon was named Yolrahtoor, the pieces of her name meaning Fire, God, and Inferno, referring to her devastating power over the element of fire. During the old days, long before Miraak came around, she was an enforcer, who flew around Skyrim at her master's orders, burning down any foe that would dare to stand against Alduin. One day three of the weaker dragons under her command thought they could rebel against her and tear her to pieces, though they were sadly mistaken as she beat them into the ground with barely an ounce of their life remaining. She brought them before her master, who swiftly decreed that they were to be slain for turning their backs on their brethren and issued that Yolrahtoor would be the one to do the deed, who slew the three dragons without pause.
After a decade or two she was reassigned to Solstheim, where she was supposed to help teach the latest batch of Dragon Priests as they prepared for whatever dastardly plan they had. It was there that she met Miraak, the Miraak that wasn't planning on turning against his masters, and got into training him and the other four students. Those students would come to be known as Ahzidal, Dukaan, Zahkriisos, and Vahlok, four of the five strongest Dragon Priests that would ever be trained on Solstheim,of which Miraak was the fifth. It was sometime after his training with Yolrahtoor that Miraak discovered the means to turn dragons to his side, forsaking them in favor of his mysterious new master.
Yolrahtoor learned of her star pupil's betrayal and immediately sought him out, following him all the way to the summit of Solstheim, where she confronted him. It was then that Miraak used his unholy power on his former mentor, binding her will to his own before he began to poison her mind with whatever he had learned. It is said that every time she came close to breaking free Miraak would double his efforts, until one day she eventually settled down, enough to make him unbind the power on her mind. It had taken a month of solid brainwashing, but somehow Miraak had broken her mind and had turned her against Alduin, where she would enslave the entire island for her new master. However, it was more than that, as Miraak had given her the choice to turn against Alduin, which, thanks to her new mindset, she took without much thought.
In the beginning of their deadly rampage across the island, none of the other four Dragon Priests knew of their plans to enslave everyone, but Vahlok grew suspicious. He heard the tales of a bright red dragon burning villages down and slaughtering nearly everyone around, save for those that had somehow escaped. One day Vahlok decided to trail Miraak, following him deep into his temple until he lost sight of him, though what he found was something that made him go cold. He had found Miraak's plans to destroy Alduin and take over all of Skyrim, though there was something he needed to do before that happened; he needed a suit of daedric armor made."
"Why would Miraak need a suit of armor?" Sombra asked, trying to wrap his head around the story.
"Because it wasn't for himself," Frea replied, cutting her father off, who simply sighed and returned his attention to the barrier, "Miraak planned on crafting a suit of armor that would make the wearer nearly invulnerable, though by the scale of it he wasn't making it for a mortal to wear. Miraak planned to have a large suit of armor made for a single dragon, making Yolrahtoor one of the deadliest dragons in all of recorded history, as if he was planning on pitting her against her former master. Before the plan could be put into action Vahlok turned their plan over to Alduin, who personally lead the assault on Solstheim and destroyed his former general, tearing her soul into hundreds of pieces and shattering her body across the island.
Miraak, his plans now ruined, vanished into thin air and Vahlok became the caretaker of Solstheim, serving his masters until he and his fellow Dragon Priests were sealed in their tombs, waiting for the day that they were supposed to come back."
Sombra sighed and pressed his fingers against his forehead, wondering what they could have missed until he recalled the black book that was floating in the shadows. With a slight snap of his fingers he summoned an image of the book, taking care not to actually bring it back in case the barrier was keeping the book's master out of the village. Frea continued to glare at the book, resisting the urge to burn it and rid the world of all the evil that it seemed to contain, though Storn looked even more concerned about it.
"Ah, one of old Herma Mora's black books," Storn commented, "one of seven if my memory is correct. That explains who Miraak's new master was, which also means he gave him sanctuary for all these years as he formulated another plan of attack. Miraak's been waiting all these years, was if Herma Mora told him exactly who was supposed to come back as the Dragonborn of legend, where his plan could be put into action at long last. This does not bode well for any of us."
"What does that mean?" Chrysalis asked, not really following most of what the nord had said.
"He's going to break Raika until she's no more," Storn replied, staring up at the sky and his barrier, "until only the dragon Yolrahtoor remains and his plan could be put into action. Once the dragon is back Miraak is going to enslave the island and then burn his enemies down across Skyrim, until only he and those that bow before him remain. He's going to declare war on everyone else, and Yolrahtoor is going to be the centerpiece of his entire plan."
----------------------------------------
"Miraak! Miraak!"
His name was stretched as his master appeared in the air behind him, which he had gotten used to feeling every since he had stepped into his sanctuary thousands of years ago. Hermaeus Mora loved to hoard forbidden knowledge and knew most of what was supposed to happen as the fates decreed, though he didn't share most of it with anyone. Miraak knew this to be true, as the only thing Hermaeus had shared with him was the fact that his most trusted ally would one day be returned to him. The only time that Hermaeus stretched out his name was when he wanted something from him, which was the only reason he left the location where he had placed his old friend's current incarnation.
"Yes, Lord Hermaeus?" Miraak asked, holding his annoyed tone back as he faced his master, "What is it this time?"
His master had no physical form, save for the mass of eyes and tentacles that he chose to appear as whenever mortals summoned him to Tamriel. Miraak had no desire to share anything with him anymore, but knew that he had to tell the Daedric Prince something so he wouldn't thrown back before he was ready.
"Who is this you have brought into my realm?" Hermaeus asked, a set of eyes glaring at where a khajiit-dragon hybrid was chained to a wall, "I'm sure I could guess, but I'd rather hear it from you."
"This is Yolrahtoor's current incarnation," Miraak replied, glancing back at her for a moment, "the khajiit named Raika Snow-Heart. I plan on destroying this version of her, so that she can return to who she once was."
"And...the armor?" Hermaeus asked, referring to the constant hammering that even he could hear, in his own realm that was usually quiet, "I assume you have a plan for that?"
"All for Yolrahtoor," Miraak said, though he sounded pleased with his progress, "Raika is weak, she lets her anger rule her mind and that gives my friend a foothold each time a change rocks her body. I do not have the time before her friends come looking for her, so I intend to awaken all the memories that Yolrahtoor has, which will tear the khajiit to pieces. Once the khajiit is gone and Yolrahtoor is restored we'll destroy Paarthurnax and the dragons will be under our rule with no one to stop us."
Hermaeus knew what was coming, but chose to say nothing, knowing that the entire issue would be resolved without him having to interfere very much. He let Miraak build his armor and turn the Dragonborn into the dragon that she shared her soul with, who had served Miraak while she had lived her first life. He only wondered who would emerge victorious, Miraak or the Dragonborn's friends.
"So, how do we stop Miraak?" Chrysalis asked, not wanting to voice her concern that it sounded like there was no way to reach their enemy's location, "How do we find where he is hiding and stop him before he puts this plan into action?"
"With the Black Book you hold locked I would think it impossible to go exactly where Miraak is," Storn replied, shaking his head as if he was recalling something, "but maybe if you gathered the other six Black Books you might be able to force open the lock and follow the Dragonborn into Apocrypha. A dark elf by the name of Neloth came to our village some time ago, asking where he could find one of the Black Books, but we could not tell him anything about them. Maybe he has uncovered some information about them and might share them with you, but I cannot say if he'll do that."
"And where would we find this Neloth?" Chrysalis continued, hoping to get the information so they could leave.
"His home, a place he calls Tel Mithryn, lies to the south of our village," Storn told them, beckoning to the south of where he was sitting, "You'll come across a structure that looks like it was grown out of a massive fungus, that would be his home, no matter what you think of it. He and his apprentice should be inside the building, but that is all I know about him. Before you go, maybe I could ask you to do something for me?"
"And that would be?" Chrysalis said, raising an eyebrow at the old man.
"You have no doubt seen the All-Maker Stones that litter Solstheim's landscape," Storn said, sighing before looking up at the, "if you find a way to crack through Miraak's hold over one of them then maybe we can shatter his hold over the island and her people."
"We'll see what we can do," Sombra spoke up, casting a look over at the Wind Stone that laid just outside the village, though he had no idea if his plan would work.
Storn bowed his head and returned to the task of keeping the barrier up, giving Sombra and his friends the chance to get up and make their way over to where the Wind Stone rested. They crossed the bridge and got closer to where the Stone was resting, finding all the villagers that had been taken and forced to build the contraption against their will. The villagers, and the three bandits that worked with them, took no notice of their arrival, but Sombra had expected to find something like this before they had even arrived at the Stone.
"So what's the plan with these guys?" Chrysalis asked, staring at Sombra as she wondered what was running through his mind at that exact moment.
Sombra sighed and the air around him seemed to darken, the shadows coming out of the ground around his feet and stretching up to where his hands were. Chrysalis jumped back and watched as his shining armor seemed to darken, in the same moment that tendrils of dark magic seeped out of his eyes. It shocked her to see Sombra suddenly shift from the peaceful pony she had known into the violent tyrant that everypony feared before he was defeated. She looked over to Celestia, hoping that she would stop him from doing something dangerous, but she just shook her head and watched her husband.
Sombra approached the Stone and sent the shadows outwards, allowing the darkness to wrap around the villagers before he forced his own version of mind control on them. As it turned out it wasn't very easy to take over their minds, as Miraak's control hung on them with a tight grip, but Sombra was determined to win. For a few moments the villagers did nothing while he worked his magic on them, but eventually his shattered Miraak's hold on them and his shadows seeped out of their eyes. Once all of the villagers were saved he released them, taking the darkness out of their eyes, and sent them on their way home as the structure they were working on fell apart.
As the structure crumpled Sombra fell to his knees for a moment, but it had to be expected from the magical duel he had to pass if he wanted to free people from Miraak's control.
"You okay dear?" Celestia asked, helping her husband onto his feet, "That looked exhausting."
"I...was not...expecting such resistance," Sombra huffed, trying to shake his exhaustion off, "Miraak's will is strong, so I can only imagine how strong he truly is in person. Let's move on and find that elf."
-----------------------------------------
Miraak felt it long before one of the Seekers came floating over to him, he had somehow lost one of the Stones that were scattered around Solstheim. How he had lost the Wind Stone he did not know, but with the other five Stones still under his control he could easily regain the other one in time. He sent the Seeker away and turned back to his workbench, where he had crystal shards that his cultists had painstakingly collected from the wreckage outside Whiterun. His followers had used them to lock onto Sombra's unique magic and prevented him from reaching the top of the Throat of the World, where they had been nearly destroyed.
He was pleased that his followers had the sense of mind to divert the attention of the strange nords away from Whiterun, giving the second group of followers time to drag a chunk of crystal out of the hole it had been lodged in. Where his followers wanted to end the life of the 'False' Dragonborn, Miraak wanted to devise a way to use the magic to create a gateway out of his realm. He had been working on this for the last few days, ever since he had received the first batch from a follower that had returned with a small crystal in his hands, Hermaeus had taken a liking to the possible magics of the crystal and let Miraak study it, but whether or not he knew his plans Miraak did not know.
Hermaeus was, as to his very nature, a hoarder of knowledge, so now that there was something new for them to study, catalog, and write volumes on, he was willing to leave Miraak alone. It was also because he had given the Daedric Prince a chunk of crystal for him to study, with the promise that they would exchange notes later that week. As long as Hermaeus stayed away from his research books and his notebook Miraak was content to let the Prince do whatever he wanted in his realm, though he'd be done with him soon enough.
He glanced back at the drawing he had made on the first day and grinned, his plan was nearly ready and the only thing that he needed to do was awaken Yolrahtoor.
-----------------------------------------
Sombra and his friends eventually reached the area that Storn had called Tel Mithryn, the fungal tower that seemed to be growing right out of the ground itself. As they arrived outside the tower they found two people arguing over how to properly summon what they called an 'Ash Guardian', with one mentioning that the second should just ask Neloth about the summoning again. The pair spotted the three of them coming and stopped what they were doing, staring at them as they made their way up to the wooden door and entered the tower. Sombra found a sphere of magic and simply touched it, letting the magic grab him and haul him all the way to the top of the tower, where it dropped him off on a small walkway.
As soon as he stopped off the walkway he spotted the elf they had seen in Raven Rock, who was poured over a book that looked like it was open to the middle. That was before he spotted a second Black Book sitting in a locked room, though he could feel the book that he carried pulse as he drew closer to it.
"Can I help you?" the elf said, making Sombra turn around and look at him, "Ah, wait, I remember you. You were one of the strange nords that traveled with the Dragonborn, Raika Snow-Heart. You are Sombra, known as the King of Shadows to every nord across Skyrim. Do not look so surprised, I have heard the tales that the sailors tell of you in Raven Rock, waiting for their next ride out of the miserable little town they are forced to rest in."
"The chief of the Skaal sent us to you," Celestia replied, walking up to them with Chrysalis not far behind, "We found one of the infamous Black Books of Hermaeus Mora and he pointed us to you, telling us that you might be able to help us find another one."
"Wait, there are only three of you gathered before me," Neloth said, staring at them as if he was piecing together a puzzle in his mind, "Ah, the Dragonborn! Where is she? She is the only one who could have found one of the elusive Black Books that I have been searching for."
"Allow me to answer your question with another question," Sombra spoke up, causing the elf to turn to him, "How much do you know of a dragon that goes by the name of Yolrahtoor?"
"Ah, an excellent question indeed," Neloth replied, walking over to a bookshelf and pulling out a rather large volume, "I found this rare and ancient volume in an ancient ruin, perfectly preserved as if the nords that had penned it down knew that it would be of use to the future generations. The ancient nords warned that, despite her defeat at the claws of her former master, Yolrahtoor would one day return to Tamriel, to finish what her new master started. Ah, now I see that your question was meant to tell me my answer; the Dragonborn has been carrying around Yolrahtoor's soul and now the dragon is waking up.
That also tells me why you are looking for the seven Black Books, which are fragments of Hermaeus Mora's forbidden knowledge; you are looking for a way into Apocrypha that does not lie through the book you found. As you can see, I have one of those books locked up for my personal research, but I cannot allow you to simply take it without allowing me to finish. I can, however, show you where a third Black Book is located. To the northeast is a sunken dwarven ruin called Nchardak, where I found the book, but I could not open the case the dwarves placed it in. Maybe with your help we might be able to crack the container and retrieve the book."
Before any of them could stop him Neloth moved to the walkway and descended right towards the bottom level, where the front door was located. Sombra sighed and they followed after him, descending to the ground before following the elf out of the fungal tower, heading in the direction that he had indicated. As they walked Sombra spotted a fourth Stone not too far away from where the tower was located, workers putting up the same structure that the workers near the Wind Stone had nearly finished putting up. He would have turned on the structure and freed the prisoners from Miraak's mind control, but he wasn't up to having another bout with the deranged villain at the moment.
When they reached the sunken city they were attacked by the local bandits that had taken the place as their home, but Neloth blasted them from where they were standing and cast them into the water around them. Sombra let him go about his business, tossing the bandits lifeless bodies off the ruins and clearing the way for them to work their way around the structure until they came to a locked door. Neloth approached a small pedestal and pressed a cube into the waiting area, waiting for a second before the giant door unlocked before their eyes. Neloth chuckled to himself and entered the building, leaving the rest of them to follow him.
"See here?" Neloth asked, showing them around the reading room before showing them the case with the Black Book, "This is where the dwarves contained the Black Book, locked in a container that would require us to rebuild the steam connection to this room. That, in itself, isn't easy, as we need to find four more cubes like the one I used to open the door which will, in turn, activate the steam and unlock the Black Book.
The last time I was here I made sure to research where the remaining cubes I would need to open the container were located, though I quickly discovered that I would need an assistant to aid me. Now that all of you are here I think that we might be able to open the container and retrieve the Black Book, though we won't be able to do that if we've got the dwarven constructs attacking us. Come, let us find those cubes and get that case open."
He lead them down to another level of the ruin, where they were greeted by an enormous chamber that was nearly completely full of water, though Neloth didn't seem bothered by that fact. He approached an area that had two pedestals and told them that they would need to use the both of them to access where the last cube he could locate rested. Once that was done he turned to the left and approached another large door, where he set the cube down and opened it wide open for them. Sombra sighed and followed the elf into the next room, where they found a cube sitting on a pedestal, beckoning for them to reach out for it and pick it up.
Once the deed was done they heard the familiar sound of the dwarven machines waking up, but Sombra was faster as a dozen metal spiders came near them and he crushed them with his crystal spikes. They followed the pathway the spiders had come from, coming to a submerged chamber with a simple bridge, which they crossed without pause. Once on the other side Neloth placed both cubes on the two pedestals, the gears in the walls activating and began to lower the water level so they could travel to where the third cube was located. The only unfortunate thing about that was that the ancient machines that were still working woke up and pulled themselves off the ground, though Sombra was beginning to hate dwarven ruins as much as Raika had.
"Allow me to do this," Celestia said, holding a hand out to stop Sombra before a light wrapped around her, "I've been itching to get some real exercise since I've returned."
Flames leapt out of her weapon as she landed around the machines and cut one of the monstrous giants down before it could even get close to her. The spiders, now aware of the potential threat that she posed, turned on her and gathered around her, allowing their lightning to leap off of their bodies and surge right at her. Celestia held her sword up and the lightning was pulled to the blade, where she spun it around and coursed the lightning to those that had sent them at her, piercing their metallic shells and silencing them with ease. A second giant came at her, but she ducked under its attack and put into the arm, allowing her heated blade to cut through the metal before she destroyed the core that powered it.
"Oh yes, that was good," Celestia said, stretching her arms as she looked up at the others, "Let's go get that cube!"
The third cube was easy to find, as it was literally above where they were standing, though the spiders that emerged from the walls when they removed the cubes died in seconds. Sombra spotted another walkway past the bridge they had crossed, though when he mentioned it to the group Neloth removed both of the cubes he had placed and raised the water back up, barely giving them time to move before the water was back at its original level. With the water level raised back to its original height they managed to cross to a higher area, though Sombra had them halt as he spotted a sentry waiting for them.
He connected to his magic and summoned a crystal spike, going right through the ground below the sentry and piercing it so hard that he ended up splitting it in half. A third monstrous machine woke up and came their way, but Sombra wanted nothing to do with it as another pillar erupted out of the ground and tore the machine apart. He lead them up to where the cube sat, but the moment they reached it Neloth took it off its pedestal and opened a bridge for them to return to the gate they had used earlier.
Once back in the main chamber Neloth approached the two pedestals and deposited two cubes on them, activating the larger pumps in the walls and lowered the water down so they could access the second area. There were two more sentries waiting for them near the door, but Sombra was more than ready for them as two spires tore through them like they were paper.
"The stories the sailors told about you were true," Neloth remarked, just as they passed into the next area, "You must let me study one of those crystals of yours before you leave."
Sombra shook his head as he took stock of what rested in front of them, an area that had three bridges that looked like they were waiting to be lowered. He then spotted three pedestals resting above where they were standing, so he acquired the cube that Neloth still held and moved up there, wondering what would happen if he pressed a cube into one of the slots. He pressed the cube into one of the slots and the bridge to their left lowered down into position, only for the one on their right to raise back up. He growled and tried again on a different slot, causing the middle bridge to lower into place as the left one, that he had just lowered, raised back up.
After five minutes of twisting them around he finally discovered the key that would allow all three bridges to lower and build the walkway for them to cross. The machines that lived in the walls woke up and came after them, filling the room with spiders and spheres, but they were more than prepared for them. They fought their way across the first bridge, up the nearby set of stairs, across the second bridge, down a second set of stairs, and across the third bridge before they managed to walk up a third set of stairs. Along the way they had broken many of the machines that had woken in the initial wave, but as they reached the top of the stairs they noticed that even more were waking up and were coming their way.
"I knew Nchardak had an army sleeping in its depths," Neloth commented, blasting a sphere to pieces as the others neared him, "but with as many constructs as there are in front of us I'd wager that we might die here. If any of you have a plan I'd like to hear it."
A light flashed in the middle of the construct army and a dozen of them went flying into the air, crashing against the walls and exploding into pieces in seconds. At first Sombra wondered if Miraak had somehow found where they were and had come to finish them off himself, but then he caught the sight of a familiar ebony battleaxe and knew who had come. Luna, dressed up in her suit of ebony armor, leapt into the battle and cut into their foes, either tossing them into the air or crushing them against the ground. Sombra smiled and watched her make short work of their enemies, though she seemed interested in keeping them at bay then speaking to her friends.
Neloth sighed and pressed the cube into the final pedestal, lowering the water level and allowing them to see a barred gate that could only lead to the fourth cube. Sombra had Celestia and Chrysalis stay with Luna, so they could hold off the seemingly infinite swarm of enemies while he grabbed the tool they needed to press on. Once they were ready Sombra traversed the shadows and appeared in the area they had opened, far enough from the machines so that they wouldn't spot him. He nodded to Celestia and turned around, heading down the passageway while she stayed with her sister.
The passageway lead him right to a small chamber that had spinning blades, but he stared at them for a few moments as he made sure they wouldn't catch him. Then, after studying them, he shook his head and conjured a small wormhole on the wall near him, where he slid his hand through the hole, grabbed the metallic cube, and pulled it off while pulling his hand out. With the cube in hand he felt the water begin to raise back up, so he turned around and hightailed it back to where the others were still fighting. When he arrived he snapped open a portal and took them back to the main chamber, giving Neloth time to take the cube he had used so they could proceed.
Once they were back in the main chamber Neloth removed one of the cubes from the two pedestals, raising the water level so it would give them the keys they needed to open the steam up. Luna stood guard near the ramp, her eyes peeled for any more creatures that would come to do them harm, while Sombra and Celestia put the four cubes into the four pedestals. Once the cubes were all in place the ruin shook for a bit before steam was released into the busted pipes, to which Neloth signaled the retreat. They made their way back to where the entrance to the main chamber was located, though they were immediately followed by the annoying constructs that seemed to pour out of the walls themselves.
Once they reached the ramp that would lead them up to the reading room Sombra turned around and summoned a crystal barricade, which would stop the flow to the constructs until they could lock the main gate again.
"Now then, all that remains is to press this button," Neloth said, stretching his arms the moment they returned to the reading room before he pressed the button.
The case that contained the Black Book opened up moments after he pressed the button, cracking in half before the two pieces receded into the ground beneath their feet. The book rose up until the ground that carried it was in line with the rest of the floor, though it took a moment before they heard a faint click. Then a pedestal rose up and stopped as it reached the height of a normal nord, giving them all a view of the Black Book and Neloth glared at it as if he truly wanted it.
"Go ahead," Neloth said, beckoning for one of them to approach the book, "take a look and find the knowledge you'll need to open your gateway to Apocrypha."
Sombra smiled and the shadows leapt off of the ground, twisting around the Black Book as he made sure it held no nasty surprises for any of them. Once he was sure that the book was safe to take from its pedestal he opened the container that contained the book they had collected from Miraak's temple and stashed the second book with it. The moment that the book was sealed away he slammed the container shut and looked over at Neloth, who stared at him in utter disbelief and shock.
"We need all seven of these Black Books," Sombra told the elf, knowing that there were four more that were unaccounted for, "You are going to help us find the other four and then, once we have them all, you'll turn yours over. Now, once everything is said and done with Miraak, I'll be more than happy to let you take all seven of them and learn whatever forbidden knowledge your searching for."
Neloth stared at them as they made their way out of the ruins, where they happened to find two serpent looking dragons staring down at them as they beat their wings. The one on the left looked like nearly every other dragon they had seem in Skyrim by the color of its scales, dirty brown with a hint of some small scars that had never healed. The second was a light blue scaled dragon, who just glared down at them as if he had the intent to simply attack them and wipe them all out in an instant.
"More dragons?" Luna asked, a grin appearing on her face as she studied both of their opponents, "Sister, I would love to fight the serpent dragon, but, seeing how I chose the last time there were multiple dragons, I leave the choice to you. Which do you want?"
"I could honestly care less," Celestia said, staring up at the dirty brown dragon, "but, seeing how you came to have fun, I'll just take the dirty brown dragon down and leave you with the serpent."
Luna's grin only widened before she blasted into the air, racing right towards the serpent dragon before it had any time to beat its wings and get out of the way. She hit it right in the chest, causing it to stagger out of the air for a moment before flinging her off of it, roaring at her as they both corrected themselves. Ice leapt out of the dragon's mouth and raced towards Luna, who simply ducked under the attack and soared right up to the dragon, swinging her battleaxe and cutting its its chest just a bit. The dragon roared in pain and reached to grab her, but Luna circled to the dragon's back and sunk her weapon into the space behind its heart, cutting through the scales like they were butter. Then, before the dragon could recover, Luna moved up to its head and swung her battleaxe as hard as she could, piercing the skull and going right into the brain, effectively dropping it from the sky and crashing it against the roof of the reading room.
Celestia, on the other hand, followed the movements of the dirty brown dragon, her wings beating as she waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. The dragon roared and breathed a gout of fire at her, but she spun her sword around and caught the flames, ripping the control to her side before sending them back at the beast. The dragon barely noticed the attack, but as it circled around the attack Celestia surprised it by attacking the back and cutting a small gash in the scales. She ducked as the tail came at her and circled round once more, swinging every now and then as she got the chance, cutting some gashes to wear out her foe. The dragon growled and noticed three sitting ducks, so it decided to forsake its current opponent and flew down to where the others were standing, only to have a crystal pillar erupt out of the water and pierce it right in the chest.
"I must thank you, friends of the Dragonborn," a voice said, as a shadowy robed man wearing a mask appeared before them with two sphere pulsing around him, "for giving me their power. Soon you shall feel the power of my wrath, so don't get comfortable anytime soon."
With that said the man, who Sombra assumed was Miraak, disappeared into thin air, taking both souls with him to Apocrypha, though for what purpose he did not know.
"So," Luna commented, glad to have had some fun as she landed by the group, "who was that and what have I missed?"
"I think that was Miraak," Sombra said, as there could be no one else in his mind, "and he's holding Raika captive."
"What do you mean she's being held captive?" Luna asked, following the group back to the fungal tower known as Tel Mithryn, "How does someone have the power to hold back the power of the Dragonborn?"
"We're not exactly sure sister," Celestia replied, glad to be out of the ashy area so they could plan their next course of action, "We went to Miraak's temple, found something that we later discovered was called a Black Book, and, when Raika read the book, she was transported to a realm called Apocrypha. We can only assume that Miraak ambushed her the moment she arrived and, seeing the soul of his long dead friend Yolrahtoor inside of her, he somehow prevented her from leaving. All we know is that we need to find the other Black Books so we can somehow open a portal to Apocrypha, of which there are four more of."
"Sounds like a plan," Luna remarked, gripping her battleaxe as she looked down at the map of Solstheim, "So, where are the remaining Black Books and whose going to retrieve them?"
"Unfortunately, I do not know where the other four Black Books are," Neloth said, tapping the map as he thought about it, "Miraak must have found each of the seven at one point, which meant that the Dragon Priests that trained with him might know where they are located. However, I have no idea where any of the four of them are buried, as they went through great lengths to hide themselves from the public eye the moment they fell."
"Wait a second," Sombra said, remembering something that the Skaal leader had told them, "Storn told us that Vahlok and his comrades defeated Miraak, but before they could deal the finishing blow he managed to escape to some unknown location, which we now know is Apocrypha. I think we may have a way to find Vahlok and, as an extra bonus, the other three Dragon Priests that served under him before their master's defeat. Celestia, how long would it take for someone to return to Equestria, find Trixie, bring her back to Tamriel, and then pick up one of the masks she found before coming here?"
"At least half a day," Celestia answered, her eyes lighting up as she realized exactly where Sombra was going with that train of thought, "Do you think that Vahlok will listen to her, even if she was wearing one of the other masks?"
"She spoke to the others just fine," Sombra told her, "but our plan would be ruined if we don't find where Vahlok is buried. While someone goes to find Trixie the rest of us will need to pour over the volumes written about both him and the others that served him. The longer we delay the more pain and suffering that Miraak will inflict on Raika, so we have to be as swift as we can in finding Vahlok, his friends, and the other Black Books. I can only imagine the pain that he's already inflicted on her."
"Ah, Miraak, you have returned." Hermaeus said, staring down at his champion as he walked over to where the Dragonborn was chained up, "And I see you have brought a prize with you. Tell me, what do you intend to do with those dragon souls?"
"I intend to awaken Yolrahtoor," Miraak replied, stopping in front of the khajiit as the two souls danced around him, "I will destroy this shell that she has come back in and bring her back as the terror that she was. I shall give her these souls, so that they might power the reaction that allows her to awaken before I start shattering everything that makes Raika who she is. Soon the Dragonborn will be no more and Yolrahtoor will live again."
Before Hermaeus could respond, though he hadn't planned on making one at all, Miraak sent the souls racing towards Raika's body and they were absorbed in a matter of seconds. For a moment nothing happened, but then her body started to convulse and Raika gasped in agony, just as the scales continued to take the place of her fur. Her horns grew longer and there were signs that her arms and legs might be getting ready to reconfigure themselves, to change into what an actual dragon's arms and legs looked like.
"Ugh...not you again," Raika moaned, more in pain as she looked up at her captor, "Why don't you just get this over with and kill me? If you don't kill me then I can promise you that I WILL kill you instead."
"I'll be killing you in a way," Miraak said, placing his right hand on her head as he looked for a powerful memory and found one right off the bat, "Ah, the nord called Ralof, a strong warrior who stands by his brothers and sisters and stands up against a legion of soldiers to protect what he believes in. A fitting target for what I'm about to do to you."
An image of Ralof appeared before Raika, but as she looked up at him Miraak turned around, yanked his sword out of its sheath, and brought it down so hard that the image shattered into mere fragments. Just a few seconds after the image shattered Raika felt a wave of pain hit her hard in the head, though as the seconds went by the pain continued to get worse and she felt like she was going to pass out. Then, as if by some miracle, the pain suddenly went away, but as it did she realized that there was something wrong with her memories and couldn't recall who Miraak had been talking about.
"I have erased him from your memories," Miraak said, staring at her as he picked around for another memory to destroy, "For every person and event I erase from your mind I shall awaken one of Yolrahtoor's memories, erasing your very existence until only she remains. Ah, I may have found a memory that could save me some time if I destroy it now."
Raika looked up as an image of Ulfric Stormcloak appeared in the area where the previous image had been standing, though she dreaded what was coming next. Ulfric had been in many events across her entire life, so if Miraak destroyed the image of him she knew it would cause so much damage to her memory that she didn't think she'd be able to recover from it. She struggled against the chains that held her, trying to twist each and every way she could so she could get out of them, but no matter what she tried the chains seemed to stay solid. She glared at Miraak in time to watch him spin around and shatter the image of her lord, which was followed by an intense pain that cut its way through her memory and a scream that tore itself out of her mouth.
It went on in the same fashion for an hour; Miraak would pick his way through the ruins of Raika's memory and summon an image of someone important, only to shatter it in front of her. The chain reaction to the image being broken only furthered the fracture that had developed in her mind, deepening every time her memories were broken. He made sure to break the images of the strange nords, the Equestrians as Raika knew them, last, which would have broken her the moment they were all gone. Once all of her images were broken and her memories were erased Miraak began to unravel the memories of his old friend, which had been buried deep inside Raika's mind.
The best thing about breaking through her mind was now neither Miraak or Hermaeus Mora had to listen to the screaming that had come from him breaking Raika apart. Raika's body was limp now, basically hanging in the chains as her mind waited for something, anything, to happen to it so it could know what was happening.
"Don't worry Yolrahtoor," Miraak said, patting Raika's head slightly, "soon you shall return to this world and then nothing will be able to stop us, not even those pesky Equestrians."
That voice, the rough commanding voice, she knew it well. She pulled her eyes open and yawned, somehow tired from something she had done the previous day, but what it was she did not know at the moment. Sitting before her were two large dragons, the one on her right had scales that glimmered in the light, like they were almost made of silver, while the one on her left had scales that seemed to suck in the light, as they were nearly as black as the night itself. She knew these two, they were Alduin and Paarthurnax, the brothers that ruled over all of dragon kind.
"Rough night Yolrahtoor?" Paarthurnax asked, almost chuckling at her for some reason, "I understand what you are going through, having to fly across the region, punishing those that would dare to rebel against us and making examples of others. Still brother, there are those that show promise of becoming devote followers of our kind. Maybe we can turn them to our side and use them to control the others."
"Maybe..." Alduin replied, though he sounded annoyed with something as he looked over at her, "What do you say, Yolrahtoor? Shall we trust these nords to bend to our will and lead those that are not under our will as we tell them to? Should we bother creating an order of followers, when we could just burn everyone that dares to get in our way?"
That name again, Yolrahtoor. The way they said the name made it sound like it belonged to her, but surely she wasn't who they were saying she was. She looked down at the pool of water that sat between the three of them, finding a third dragon, whose scales were bright red, staring back at her. So she was a dragon after all, which struck her as strange and odd, but she wondered how she could have forgotten someone so important like that. So she was Yolrahtoor, as she recalled all of a sudden, and both Paarthurnax and Alduin had referred to her as a third ruler of their kind, though most knew her as Alduin's enforcer.
"I think the creation of a Dragon Cult could be to our advantage," she said, recalling all the studying she had put into the subject before this meeting had been called, "Yes, there are many dragons all throughout the province of Skyrim, but all of us get tired and we would need someone we could trust to act in our stead. I propose that we create a cult of followers, led by eight of the most talented of them all, to lead everyone while we either sleep our troubles away or plan for what's coming next. We could work out all the details later, once we decide if we're going to go through with this, but I am in favor of creating an order to follow all of our commands to the letter."
During her speech she had noticed that she had been speaking in the dragon language the entire time, though she wasn't sure how she had slipped into it in the first place. It was clear that her partners were also speaking in the same language as she was, so she could understand what they were saying and they could understand what she was saying.
"Very well then," Alduin replied, still sounding annoyed despite the fact that she had agreed with his brother, "I shall speak to the rest of my generals and see what their opinions are. I shall call upon the two of you at a later date, when I may iron out the details for myself. We are done here."
The next thing she knew she was flying through the air, though she felt that some years had passed between the time she had that fateful meeting with Alduin and Paarthurnax and what she was doing now. From what she could recall she was flying to her perch, where she could land and get some sleep from the harsh day she had just been through. She always enjoyed having the wind blowing across her wings, though from what she was feeling she suspected that something was going to happen before she got home.
She was right in some way, as something hit her back, just between her wings, hard enough to knock her off her course, but she corrected herself and stopped in her tracks, her eyes scanning for what could have hit her. That was when she spotted three smaller dragons flapping their wings in front of her, each of them looking as if they wanted to do harm to her.
"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, growling at the three young dragons, "Do you have any idea who you attacked?"
"Oh, we know who you are, Yolrahtoor," one of the dragons, a dirty brown scaled dragon, replied, "and frankly we've had enough of listening to you and your orders. So the three of us decided to strike when you were weak and cut you out of the equation, so that way we could be reassigned to Alduin's command and kill those that oppose him."
"Very well then traitors, come and get me!" she roared, flapping her wings and soaring right towards the three of them, scattering them before she could grab one of them.
One of them, a light blue dragon, darted behind her, but she spotted the third dragon, a dark green one, coming right at her and understood what their plan was. She grinned and spun around, her wings clipping each of them hard in the face and knocking them backwards, causing them to growl in annoyance. The other dragon came at her head one, but her tail whipped around and hit him right in the chest, piercing an area between his left wing and body that knocked him out of the air completely.
The other two tried another pattern they had developed in their spare time, one of them coming at her from above while the partner came at her from below. She suspected that, after their cowardly attack at the beginning, that they might have more tricks to show her and she was beginning to see that she was right. Instead of trying to figure out a complicated method to dodge the attack she simply flared her wings hard enough to propel herself backwards, allowing the two of them to crash into each other. They fell halfway to the ground, where their comrade was laying, but they regained themselves after a few moments and came at her again.
This time the blue dragon decided that he'd try freezing her solid, so that the crash of her frozen body against the ground would kill her, but she was not about to let that happen. Flames danced around her body and a gout of fire erupted out of her mouth, catching the dragon square it his chest and blackening the scales around where she had hit him. For a moment he seemed to have withstood the entire attack, but then his wings stopped beating and he fell out of the sky, crashing against the ground near his comrade.
"I will enjoy killing you," the last dragon shouted, trying to circle around her and get the drop on her, though it was ruined by him even speaking and gave her the chance to end the fight.
She spun around and flexed her claws, raking them across the back of the dragon, cutting into the skin so hard that she actually ripped several chunks of scales out in the process. The dragon roared in pain before crashing against the ground, though this one landed some distance away from the other two, both of which were too broken to try moving away. She landed beside the fallen dragon, staring at him as he coughed blood from the impact and from the cuts on his back, though she did not feel any pity towards him.
"Alduin will never let you get away with this," the dragon chuckled, coughing in the process.
"He will when I tell him that you three attacked me first," she replied, flexing her claws as she prepared to end the task, "I'll suggest bringing you three in for trial, but knowing him he'll just say that you three will need to be put down for treason, so I'll spare you the torment of waiting for me to return."
She raked the life out of the fallen dragon, ending it quickly so he didn't suffer more than he deserved, before turning to the other two that laid near each other. One of them spotted her coming and tried to lift himself up so he could run away, but she leapt onto the dragon's back and crushed him against the ground. She made sure to do it hard enough to crush his heart, though he would have felt several of his bones crack before his life ended seconds later. The final dragon just laid there in pain, but instead of crushing him as well she let another gout of flame erupt from her mouth, burning the dragon alive and charring the ground around his body.
With all three dead she sighed and knew that she needed to speak with Alduin, though she knew he would be irritated by three of their underlings attacking her like this.
She felt the time skip again, as if she was remembering the key pieces of her life, but this time she knew that it had been at least a decade between instances. Alduin had asked her to travel north to the island of Solstheim, where she would find five initiates that could have the potential to become Dragon Priests. Before she had begun her flight to the island she had studied up on who she was going to be meeting and found that one of them, named Miraak, was not only a scholar, but was lightly skilled in both magic and weapons. She decided that he might have the most potential of the five, but even as she flew to the island she knew that her opinion might change over time.
She eventually reached the island, where she landed near the water and stared up at the approaching robe wearing cultists, of which she counted five of.
"Greetings Mistress Yolrahtoor," one of the cultists said, speaking in the dragon language to impress her with his knowledge of dragon culture, "we have been awaiting your arrival for the last week. I trust that your journey was not too harsh on your body?"
"Not at all, I had the wind at my back so I could glide here without much effort," she admitted, staring right at the cultist that had spoken, "I see that you have learned the proper way to speak in the dragon language, which means I will not have to teach you much more than other words and their meanings. Tell me initiate, what is your name?"
"I am Miraak," the cultist said, bowing as he answered her, "and these are my fellow initiates Ahzidal, Dukaan, Zahkriisos, and Vahlok. We are prepared to start training immediately, but we also know you might require some rest after such a long flight and will not hold anything against you if that is what you choose."
She stared down at the group of initiates and wondered what the one known as Miraak had meant, but knew that taking a rest would do her body some good after her flight. She studied the other four initiates, taking in each and every movement they made while she considered what her next course of action would be. She could always start training the five of them immediately, just as her Lord Alduin had commanded her to do, but she had no desire to waste her energy when she was tired from the flight.
"I would like to rest from my flight," she declared, making her decision and catching a glimpse of joy on the faces of three of the initiates, "however, I will leave you with a small bit of studying to be completed before tomorrow morning. I will leave what you want to study up to each of you, but I expect a small report tomorrow morning when our lessons begin."
The five initiates bowed to her and made their way back to the temple, leaving her alone on the beach to enjoy the air before she even considered heading to her designated sleeping area. Alduin had planned out her entire visit to the island, outlining what he wanted her to teach the initiates before he called upon them to deal with the rebels. There was a faction out there that wanted to see Alduin, Paarthurnax, herself, and the rest of their kind hunted down and eradicated until only the nords and the other races were all that remained. She, on the other claw, knew that there was no force that could stand against her master Alduin and the might that he commanded, be it the dragons that followed him or the power that coursed through his body.
She yawned and shook her body, realizing that she was more tired then she had told the initiates and flapped her wings so she could get to her resting area. She could consider the threat after she had some sleep, but she'd be prepared to fight any rebels if they came to take Solstheim from her and her comrades.
It had been months since her last visit to Skyrim, where the last time she had met with her master Alduin and his brother Paarthurnax she had been charged with the safety of Solstheim, until the time when she was ordered to return. She had spent those months training her initiates, giving them the knowledge that Alduin wanted her to share with them and becoming pleased by who well they were adapting to her at their teacher. The initiates in Skyrim that she had seen were all scattered in their abilities, making it difficult for those training them to uncover who had the skill and who didn't.
Last she had heard there were nine initiates that might have the skill to become the Dragon Priests of Skyrim, though she knew, from Paarthurnax himself, that Alduin desired eight priests and not nine.
"Mistress Yolrahtoor," one of the servants said, bowing before her as she turned to face him, "I have news. The dragon you ordered to watch over Master Miraak's area of Solstheim has not reported in since yesterday. Would you like me to send out another dragon to see where he might have disappeared to, or would you like to take charge of this yourself?"
She sighed as she thought about the missing dragon, which was the third dragon to have suddenly gone missing from the island as a whole in the last week. The first dragon was supposed to have been protecting the area where Ahzidal had started the beginnings of his own temple, while the second dragon had been to the west of that location, protecting Dukaan's lair until he also vanished. Now Miraak's protector had gone missing, as if something, or someone, was hunting down her kind and was slowly taking the island away from them all. She knew the course of action that she needed to take, but that didn't make she had to enjoy leaving to find out the truth for herself.
"I shall head to Miraak's summit and see if he has any information for me," she said, straightening up to her full height before making her way to the gates she used to enter the chamber, "Please inform the others that I shall not be in for the lesson this afternoon and that they are required to practice their Master level elemental spells by themselves. When I am done with my investigation I shall return to them and judge how well they are doing in their training."
"By your orders Mistress," the servant replied, bowing again as he waited for her to leave the chamber first.
Before any of the other underlings could come up to her and request an audience with her, she spread her wings and took off, heading towards the sky and away from the temple. As she corrected her course and headed towards Miraak's summit she caught sight of one of her comrades, who roared in acknowledgement as she passed him. She cast a look at the sky as she flew, noting the lightning that coursed from one cloud to another and wondered if that was an omen, one that made her feel that she was going to find something wrong at the summit.
Eventually she reached the summit, where she landed and immediately noticed that there was a dragon standing guard, the same one that she had assigned to the area in the first place.
"Hail brother," she said, greeting the dragon and getting absolutely no response from him, "I was informed that you had gone missing and I had feared that you would end up like the others, but here you are, alive and well..."
She got no further as the dragon collapsed in front of her, giving her the chance to finally see all the cuts and gashes that had been etched into his back. One of her worst fears had been realized, someone on Solstheim was hunting her kind down and, by how much the dragon had been through, was torturing them as well. Before she could even inspect the wounds, so she could determine what had killed her fellow dragon, his body burst into flames and his soul literally escaped from the broken body. Her eyes widened as she understood what this meant, as she had been warned by Alduin that his father, Akatosh, might have created a warrior called the Dragonborn to stand up against him and the rest of the dragons.
As she thought about it she realized that she might have found the whereabouts of the First Dragonborn in all of existence, though it seemed like the warrior was not on their side at all.
The soul floated in the air for a few seconds before heading into the summit, which made her suspect that she would find whoever did this act in no time. It also seemed like whoever had done this had studied the whereabouts of her five initiates, so they could decide who was the best one of them to frame for the murder of the dragon that rested before her. She debated if she should follow the soul into the summit and find whoever did this, or head back to the temple so she could sent a message to Alduin and warn him that that Dragonborn was here on Solstheim.
Against her better judgement she followed the soul down the mountain side, following the pathway that Miraak had crafted into the landscape when he had first created the summit. She wished that she could have visited the summit under happier conditions, but dragons were disappearing and she needed to get to the bottom of who the Dragonborn was. The only sound she could hear was the sound of her claws against the ground, which made her worry that whoever had slain the dragon outside may have already killed Miraak. If someone had managed to kill her star pupil then she would take great pleasure in making sure that person never saw the light of the sun again.
She eventually came to the inner sanctum of the summit, the place where Miraak had set up his own personal library and would spend most of his time these days. She spotted the dragon's soul curved around the corner and disappear into the study area, where she turned towards the moment that she was in front of it. To her horror the soul she had been following was being devoured, but while she suspected that the Dragonborn might be there nothing could have prepared her for what she saw; Miraak devouring the soul of the fallen dragon.
"Miraak?!" she gasped, not believing what her eyes were showing her and causing her star pupil to turn around, "How could you betray my trust and kill one of our own?"
"Ah, Yolrahtoor," Miraak said, his voice stronger and colder at the same time, "My new master has shown me that the dragons are not the absolute power that they believe themselves to be and has offered me the power to change the world as I see fit. With my eyes wide open and my mind now clear I shall raise my army in Solstheim, preparing for total war against the might of Alduin and the empire that he has built. And you, my dear Yolrahtoor, shall be the instrument of my will until such an army can be created."
"You are a fool if you think that, even for a moment, that I would even consider betraying Alduin," she snapped, flames gathering in case Miraak decided to attack her.
"Oh, but we are friends aren't we?" Miraak said, not even bothering to comment on her remark, "The teacher and her star pupil. I guess that I should simply just show you exactly what my new master has taught me. Gol Hah Dov!"
As experienced as she was in all forms of combat nothing could have prepared her for the intense pain that followed once Miraak uttered those three Words of Power. It was as if he was enforcing himself on her mind, causing her to hit the ground where she had been standing and the flames she had been preparing just went out like a light. As she struggled against his power she wondered if he had been born with this much inside of him or had his new master given him even more power than he had had originally, which is what she suspected was the case.
After ten minutes of feeling his presence in her mind Miraak was no closer to claiming her than he had been when they started the fight, but she knew that, if he continued his efforts, she would fall in time.
"I knew you had a strong mind," Miraak commented, staring into her eyes for a moment, "and I can tell that it will take some time before you open up to me. I shall spend as much time as I can to help you see that my plan for me and my army ruling all of Skyrim is not as foolish as you made it out to be."
A month. That was how long Miraak tortured her mind, implanting his ideals into her mind and trying to break her unwavering loyalty to Alduin, before she finally broke. She had fought him off easily during the first week, but that seemed like a feint on his part as he continued to come back even stronger every time. The second week cracks started to form in her mind, places where Miraak was trying to break her so she would eventually forsake everything she had stood for. The third week he managed to open a fracture in her defenses, giving him the entry he desired and began to pour his betrayal into her mind.
It wasn't until the fourth week that her defenses finally shattered and Miraak had complete control over her, but at the moment of his victory he backed away from her completely.
"What do you choose Yolrahtoor?" Miraak asked, staring at her from across the summit, "Will you choose to further the agenda of Alduin, who wants nothing more than to destroy Tamriel as we know it, or will you choose to side with me, so that we might conquer all of Solstheim and Skyrim?"
She had started to wonder why he had pulled out of her mind so suddenly, but as she pondered the question she began to realize exactly what he had done. He had implanted his ideals into her mind, letting them take shape and grow, but instead of forcing her to follow him down the path of insanity he wanted her to do something different. He had pulled out for one reason and one reason alone; he wanted to give her the choice in her destiny, so she could decide, for herself, to she was going to side with. It was an evil plan on his part, one that he must have been planning since he fell into his new master's lap, but she knew that at this point the other dragons might have given up on her and she was all alone now.
"You win Miraak," she weakly said in defeat, her stomach growling as she barely looked up at her former student, "do with me whatever you have planned."
Whatever Miraak had said to her was lost, as she closed her eyes and let the exhaustion take her for the moment. When she next opened her eyes she awoke to the smell of something, which she thought she could identify as a cow, being cooked over a fire. She moaned slightly and thought she might be able to be left alone, but then something slid up to her and she turned to look at it, finding a rather large iron plate with a chunk of cow laid on top of it. She turned her head in the direction it had come from and found Miraak sitting by a fire, cooking a piece of the cow that had not been given to her.
"Good, your awake," Miraak said, tearing a piece out of what he had cooked before devouring it, "Go ahead, eat up. I wouldn't want my old friend to starve herself before we got started on our work across Solstheim."
She knew exactly what he was talking about, as he had imprinted several pieces of his master plan in her mind while he was trying to break through her defenses. She had gone over the plans during the small breaks he had given her, finding that Miraak had been planning to betray Alduin and the rest of the dragons ever since he found something called a Black Book. He had gone into detail about how he was going to subdue the entire land, creating an army of mind controlled soldiers that would follow his orders without question. If she had refused his offer and stayed loyal to Alduin she knew that he would have either erased her mind of the last month and sent her back to her teaching, or he would have slain her on the spot.
She also recalled that, in the moment that Miraak had shattered her defenses and left her mind bare for him to do what he pleased with her, he asked her whose side she would rather be on and she had, to her immediate horror, forsaken Alduin. Miraak must have known she would have been horrified with her choice, because he had a spell in place that calmed her to the point where she couldn't feel any regret for what she had done. She sighed and knew that she had better get started on whatever Miraak had planned for her, which he had left out and she needed to know before she left.
"So, whats the first step of our plan?" she asked, tearing a chunk of meat out of the cow and devouring it as her hunger got the better of her for the moment.
"There are a few rebel villages on the island that don't support Alduin," Miraak told her, staring into the night sky, "so I plan on visiting them and seeing if I can 'convince' them to join us instead. Here's where you come in my friend, if they refuse my offer I'll call you down and have you annihilate them from the face of Solstheim, to show the other villages what will happen to them if they choose to side against us."
She wasn't exactly sure if she was going to like burning an entire village full of innocent people down, but now that she was sworn to aid Miraak she would do for him like she had done for Alduin.
She sat, alone, in Miraak's summit, reflecting on all the destruction she had caused in the last few months. Miraak had approached seven of the nine settlements that defied Alduin already, but each of them had basically spit in his face and told him to get lost. In return she had swooped out of the sky, gouts of fire jumping out of her mouth and hitting the small houses that the resident nords had constructed, lighting the fires that would eventually eat the village as a whole. She had thought that she would have regrets about killing innocent people, but as she thought about it for the first time she realized it was the exact same thing she had been doing for Alduin before she came to Solstheim.
That, and she quickly realized that she enjoyed slaughtering people and burning everything they owned to cinders, charring the ground wherever her flames hit.
"You know he's coming here," Miraak said, slipping on a mask that his new master, who she had learned was the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora, had gifted him some time ago, "Vahlok found my plans a lot sooner that I had planned for him to and he's already informed the others that neither of us are to be trusted anymore. I have word from a reliable source that Alduin should be here in the next few minutes, so I hope your prepared to face him down like we had planned."
"Go Miraak," she told her friend, nudging him with her snout, "make sure that our plan is in place and prepare to destroy Alduin when he arrives, for only one of us shall escape this area alive."
The plan had been for them to create an army so they could stand against Alduin and his forces, but there were too many variables that existed across the island. They were nowhere near ready for the onslaught that was coming their way, but Miraak was determine to hold his own so she could defeat Alduin when he arrived. Her friend would be facing the might of dragons, their soldiers, and the four Dragon Priests that she had been training alongside Miraak, all of who were united with the dragons. The plan had been ruined by Vahlok, who Miraak was determined to kill before the whole ordeal was over with, though he was quick to leave her alone as she waited for Alduin to arrive.
She waited for a good ten minutes before she heard the sound of beating wings, a single pair she realized, and a roar from a dragon she had not spoken to for half a year.
"YOU DARE DEFY ME YOLRAHTOOR?" Alduin shouted, appearing above her and causing her to look up at him, "I, WHO HAVE GIVEN YOU POWER AND RESPECT AMONGST OUR KIND! YOU DARE SPIT THAT IN MY FACE AND BETRAY ME LIKE THIS? I SHALL REND THE LIFE FROM YOUR BODY AND RIP YOUR SOUL INTO THOUSANDS OF FRAGMENTS, SO THAT YOU WILL TAKE THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO BE REBORN, IF AKATOSH WILLS IT SO!"
She roared and took to the air, barreling into Alduin's chest and scratching at him almost immediately, hoping that she could wound him enough for Miraak to kill him. Alduin rolled around and threw her off of him, tossing her right into the side of the summit and cracking the ground around her, though she wasn't hurt too badly. She gathered the flames in her mouth and then sent a gout of fire up at Alduin, who countered with his own set of flames and let the two gouts meet between them.
She knew it would have remained a stalemate between the two of them, but as their duel stretched on something icy hit her back and broke her concentration for a moment, allowing Alduin's flames to approach her before stalling. She growled and redoubled her efforts, but the moment she did some a spake ran across her body and let Alduin's flames get even closer to her before she shook it off and stopped them yet again. She attempted to hold back the flames for the third time, but just as she was about to do so she cut off her attack and jumped backwards, just in time for a fireball to pass by where she had been standing.
"I know this formation like the back of my claws," she growled, turning to the shadows while keeping an eye on Alduin, "show yourselves, Dukaan, Ahzidal, and Zahkriisos."
Sure enough the three priests she named stepped out of the shadows, though each of them now bared a uniquely colored mask that was different from the masks that the Dragon Priests in Skyrim wore. Her suspicions had been right, they were here with their master and were prepared to fight whatever and whoever his enemies were, even if it turned out to be their teacher. She growled again and turned to face Alduin, though in her fury she failed to see the priests wrap heavy chains around her, so when she saw them it was too late to do anything besides trying to shake them off.
"So you can't face me alone?" she asked, directing the question to Alduin, who just stared down at her, "Am I not worth that much?"
"You are not worthy of a fair fight," Alduin replied, flames gathering before him as he prepared an attack, "and as such I shall destroy you without an ounce of hesitation. I will, however, give you the honor of speaking your last words. Tell me, what shall your last words be?"
"I can promise you one thing," she shouted at them, making sure to gather the attention of everyone who had gathered to see her be executed bu Alduin himself, "even if you kill me now I shall return one day, far in the future, and I shall have the pleasure of destroying you. So go ahead, kill me where I stand, I shall just come back one day and give back what you give to me."
I'm sorry Miraak, she thought, hoping that he might hear her last thoughts before Alduin destroyed her, I hope you create the world we both longed to create.
The was the last thought that ran through her mind as Alduin unleashed his attack, a giant fireball that rushed down to where she was chained and collided with her body. She could feel the power behind the attack, tearing at her scales and the muscles underneath them, almost as if it was separating her soul from her mortal shell. The pain was unbearable, but it eventually disappeared as she drifted off into the abyss, where she assumed she would reside until something brought her back. After that she truly remembered nothing more.
Hermaeus had ignored the screaming from most of the time that Miraak had been working on the Dragonborn, but as he studied the crystal he had been given he eventually noticed something; the Dragonborn had stopped. He looked up from the crystal and began to fade from where his private study area was located, crossing the length between himself and where Miraak's chains were in a matter of seconds. Once he appeared he looked around for his champion, finding him standing in front of the area that he had chained the Dragonborn in, with one major problem.
"Miraak?" Hermaeus said, his champion not even turning around as he called out his name, "What have you done?"
He was referring to the fact that the Dragonborn was no longer the khajiit that had been chained up in the area the last time he had seen her, which was earlier that morning. In her place was a fully grown red scaled dragon, about the same size that Alduin and Paarthurnax were if he could trust the stories Miraak told him whenever he asked. Unlike the khajiit, who had been chained, this dragon bared no chains at all, so Hermaeus wondered if it would flee the moment it awoke or if it would stay like Miraak hoped.
"The Dragonborn known as Raika Snow-Heart is no more," Miraak replied, a grin appearing under his mask as he gazed upon the large dragon, "and in her place is Yolrahtoor reborn."
It had taken Sombra and his friends an entire day to plan how they were going to go about finding out the best way to gather the missing Black Books, though their host wasn't too pleased with the idea himself. Once they had determined that they needed the help of the Dragon Priests that stopped Miraak in the past, the same they believed that had hide the missing books, they realized that they were in need of a way to speak with the Priests. Luna had jumped at the idea to head back to Equestria, hunt down Trixie, explain the situation they found themselves in, and then come back with one of the original masks she had collected.
Sombra had agreed that getting Trixie back would be in their best interests, so while Luna embarked on her quest to find Trixie he and the others set out to find out where one of the Priests had been buried. It wasn't an easy task to accomplish, as nearly every piece of information on the whereabouts of the barrows had been lost to history, save for a few scraps that Neloth had salvaged from rotting books. According to the elf one of the Dragon Priests was said to have been buried near Raven Rock, but the only barrow in the area was still being dug out and there was no telling when they'd be able to go in and look around.
The had scoured every book and scrapping that the elf could provide them, but after hours of searching they came to the same conclusion that continued to plague them; the locations of the barrows of the four Dragon Priests may have been lost to history. That was until a historian by the name of Tharstan came to the door of Tel Mithryn, asking to speak with Sombra and his friends for a couple of minutes.
"So, Tharstan," Sombra said, looking up at the nord as he took a seat near a table, "What can we do for you?"
"Well, I found a new crypt and I was going to explore it," Tharstan replied, seeming eager to tell his tale to them, "but, I am not an adventurer and I wouldn't last more than two minutes once the draugr woke up. What I need is someone, or a group of someones, to help me move through the crypt, so I can study whatever we find and compile the notes into a book for all to see."
"And why should we care about your crypt?" Chrysalis asked, curious as to why they would need to abandon their quest to help him search an old crypt.
"Because it is the final resting place of Vahlok the Jailor," Tharstan told her, watching as everyone's eyes lit up, "Its just south of the Skaal Village, though they referred me to all of you and told me that you, and I quote them here, 'require the help of the leader of the Dragon Priests that ruled over Solstheim'. But I know that's impossible, because all four of the Dragon Priests that ruled this island in the ancient days are long since dead at this point."
"You'd be surprised then," a voice said from behind him, causing everyone to face the walkway and found Trixie standing there, with Luna right behind her, "After I slew Nahkriin the other seven Priests woke from their ancient slumber and converged on the Labyrinthain, where they waited for me to arrive. Before that happened I met Rahgot and defeated him, though they knew what I was doing to their order. If these Dragon Priests are anything like their counterparts in Skyrim they've already felt the deaths of the other eight and are eagerly awaiting my arrival in their barrows."
"And who would you be my dear?" Neloth asked, curious as to who this latest Equestrian was so he could document her with the others he had already met.
"I am Trixie Lulamoon," Trixie replied, pulling out an ebony mask and a glowing staff, "Archmage of the College of Winterhold, Bearer of the Staff of Magnus, and Slayer of the Skyrim Dragon Priests. I understand the Dragon Priests better than anyone else in Skyrim, so I am fairly certain that I can calm down Vahlok before he tries to kill us all. Say, where is Raika anyway? I haven't seen her yet."
"Miraak's captured her, remember?" Luna told the young mage, not surprised that she had already forgotten that piece of information, "We suspect that he plans on using her to escape from Apocrypha, but the only way we can get into the realm of a Daedric Prince is by summoning a special portal. We need the seven Black Books of Hermaeus Mora to do so, but while we have three at the moment we need Vahlok and the other Priests to tell us where the rest are."
"That's right," Trixie said, turning to Tharstan for a moment, "Just point us in the direction of Vahlok's tomb and we'll be sure to meet you there later this afternoon."
Tharstan quickly jotted down a note, handed it to Sombra, wished all of them luck gathering whatever equipment they would need for the journey into the crypt, and then left them all to whatever they needed to do. Trixie waited until the nord was long gone before she even asked what had been plaguing her mind since Princess Luna had informed her of what had transpired since she had left Tamriel.
"Princess Luna told me that we found out what was causing Raika to change," Trixie commented, tapping the staff against the floor, "something about a dragon that was called Yolrahtoor?"
"It appears that the dragon whose soul gave Raika her Dragonborn powers was none other than one that had turned on Alduin," Sombra replied, sighing as he recounted the information, "but, instead of telling us about this dragon, Raika chose to keep the information to herself. I doubt she knew that she was the host for such a dangerous dragon who, according to what the Skaal told us, is supposed to be the Goddess of Fire. All we ever saw was Raika's rage, which apparently served as the perfect catalyst for the dragon to begin her hostile takeover of Raika's body, as each of us saw.
We came here to defeat Miraak and save the island by shattering his influence over its people, but instead we ended up delivering his greatest ally right back to him. Now Raika is trapped in Apocrypha, though there is no doubt that Miraak is likely tormenting her in an attempt to force her to give into Yolrahtoor's power. We can only hope that Raika is resisting both the dragon's powers and whatever Miraak is tormenting her with, because the longer she resists the more time we have to find and save her. In order to do any of that we need the help of the Dragon Priests that ruled Solstheim, which only you can communicate with at this point Trixie."
"I'd rather not keep Vahlok waiting," Trixie said, slipping Nahkriin's mask on over her face, "though I only hope that he knows where the rest of these Black Books are located and this won't be a waste of our precious time."
----------------------------------
An hour later they were standing outside the area that had once covered the hidden tomb of Vahlok, which Tharstan told them that it had been revealed a day or two ago. Sombra thought it was odd that the tomb had only revealed itself so soon, as if it had somehow been unlocked the moment that they had traveled into Miraak's temple. According to what they could find on the strange leader of the Solstheim Dragon Priests it was said that his tomb was somehow linked to Miraak's own, so he could maintain a vigil over the land. It made complete sense that he might be awake even now, working on how to find his ancient enemy on his own instead of working with his old team.
The inside of the tomb they came to was nothing impressive at first, just a simple hallway that eventually lead them to a large open chamber that rivaled the one they had found in Miraak's temple. Two statues, similar to those they had found in previous barrows, rested before a locked cage, each of them baring a keyhole that resembled the strange claws they found in other dungeons. Behind the cage was another opening, but the more Sombra looked at it he found that there was a chasm between the cage and the other opening. He also spotted two more tunnels, one on their right and one on their left, and suspected that they might find the keys down either side.
He spotted a pedestal resting above a flaming pit, one that was covered by an iron gate, with a lever resting below the pedestal, though before Sombra could comment on it Tharstan approached it.
"Ah, an ancient inscription written in the dragon tongue," Tharstan said, his eyes scanning the text as if he was translating it in his mind, "this may hold a key as to how we might be able to move on through the tomb. Let's see here; it says..."
"'A sacrifice will bring you closer to that which you seek'," Trixie finished, stepping past him and glancing down at the pit, "It means that something needs to go into that pit so we can move on, though I'm thinking that we could easily use one of the draugr's bodies that are already scattered around us."
Sombra approached the pit and grabbed one of the bodies by the leg, gently moving it across the chamber before he laid it across the iron bars that rested above the flaming pit. He nodded to Trixie, who reached out for the level and pulled it, which in turn caused the iron bars to open and drop the corpse into the waiting flames. At first nothing happened, which made Sombra worry that they might have misunderstood the riddle, but then the torches lining both tunnels burst into flames. He suspected that the doors that had been locked must have opened, so he beckoned to the passage on the pits left and they made their way towards it.
The moment they entered that area of the tomb they found four Dragur Deathlords waiting for them, leaving Trixie and Tharstan to watch the fight. Celestia and Luna grabbed the first two that came their way, parrying the attacks and dragging them away so the others could have room for their own fight. Chrysalis, not even caring about the undead, draw her weapon and cut her opponent down in a single swing, letting the halves fall to the ground before moving on. Sombra parried a few of the attacks, giving his foe some chance for a decent fight, but eventually cut the dragur down just like Chrysalis had done. Not moments after they finished both Celestia and Luna also finished, pushing their foes into the walls and cutting them down.
The next chamber they reached was similar to the first one they found, in the way that there was a pedestal for them to read and a riddle for them to figure out. The odd thing was that there was a pillar in the center of the chamber, with three smaller stones resting around it, each of them colored differently and facing a different symbol. Sombra circled around it, finding a symbol that resembled a sword, one that resembled an arrow, and a third that resembled a staff that was surrounded by magic.
"'All men must die'," Trixie recited, staring at the pedestal and translating the words, "'often by their own means.' I guess this means that we might need to activate each of these stones, likely by whatever their side of the main pillar shows them."
Sombra nodded and approached the stone that rested before the sword symbol, taking a swing at it and nailing it in the center before it started to glow red. Celestia summoned a small amount of magic and approached the stone that bared the symbol for magic, allowing it to pass through the stone before it glowed blue. Luna, having gone out of the chamber to grab an arrow, quickly approached the final stone and stabbed at it with the arrow, causing the stone to start glowing green. Once all there of them were glowing the gate in front of them opened up, though none of the Equestrian's lowered their weapons as they entered the chamber.
Sure enough three Draugr Deathlords came out of their coffins and approached the group, but before they reached them Trixie held out the Staff of Magnus and blasted each of them into the back wall, killing each of them with the magic alone. Sombra made sure to search the fallen corpses for anything that might be able to aid them, finding half of a claw that had to have been made out of amethyst, something that he knew they would need later on. Tharstan made a comment how the word wall told of a Guardian that did battle with Miraak long ago, which meant that they were definitely in the right place.
They entered a sarcophagus that rested against the wall, walked through the tunnel they could easily see from the chamber, and found themselves back in the main chamber. Once they climbed off the edge they found themselves on they then made their way to the second tunnel they had opened. The tunnel they traveled down, oddly, did not have any draugr to fight, but when they reached the end they found yet another pedestal with another riddle written upon it.
"Let's see here, 'Continue along the path,'" Trixie began, reading the latest riddle while the others gathered around her, "'don't tread where you've been'. I'd have to guess this means that one of us would have to walk along this stonework, never touching the same square twice until they have touched each one once."
Luna chuckled and stepped onto the first stone, following the path backwards until she had stepped on the three stone, before turning and following the path by stepping on two more stones. Once those ones were pressed she made sure to step onto the one right next to the one she had stepped on first before moving onto the last stone, the one in the middle. At first nothing happened, but as Luna was about to comment on how she must have done something wrong the iron bars lowered into the floor, allowing them to pass into the next chamber. This time five draugr stepped out of their coffins, four of them looking ordinary, but the fifth was another one of the Deathlords that they had fought many times already.
"We don't have time to waste on these creatures," Chrysalis said, swinging her sword around her for a moment before approaching their enemies, "I'll make this as quick as possible."
Chrysalis let the first draugr approach her, spinning around and bringing her sword down hard enough to cleave it in half, before the other three got near her. Two of them approached her, though she laughed at them and spun around, arching her sword at an angle that cleaved the head of one clean off before cutting the second in half, after delivering a diagonal gash to its body. The fourth draugr approached her, but instead of swinging her sword Chrysalis just punched it in the chest and tore the rotten heart free, killing the undead as she dropped the heart.
The Deathlord roared at her, but she grinned at it and beckoned for it to come at her, which made it pick up the battleaxe that it carried and run right at her. It swung its weapon at her, as if the sight of the weapon would make her surrender, but Chrysalis backed up just a bit and let the weapon hit the pillar that had been behind her. The Deathlord pulled on the weapon, but the attack had been so hard that he had stuck the blade deep in the stonework and that, in effect, left him without his weapon. Chrysalis, deciding to finish it in one attack, approached the annoyed draugr and swung her own weapon, cutting off her opponents head and letting both it and the body hit the ground.
As Tharstan commented on how the Word Wall in the back mentioned how the Guardian inspired both men and dragon alike, Sombra noticed that the Deathlord had been carrying the other half of the claw he had picked up earlier. He had no idea what the purpose of the two halves of the dragons claw was, but he was sure that they were going to find out before they were done with the tomb.
Once they were done in the chamber they made their way through one of the coffins that had opened, walking through another hidden tunnel and coming out on a small edge near the main chamber. It was then that Sombra noticed the two statues near the caged pedestal each bared a keyhole like the Puzzle Doors he had seen in the previous barrows, though these ones were cut in half. At first he had no idea what to do with the two keyholes, but then he realized what the answer was and pressed the halves against one of them, using the half found in the left tunnel in the left hole and the right fragment in the right hole. Once he had pressed them in he heard a click and the cage in front of him opened up, though he made way for Trixie to read the next riddle, knowing that they were one step closer to finding Vahlok.
"Ah, 'Stay your course.'" Trixie commented, running her hand over the riddle before noticing a small lever, "'To idle is to die.' I guess that we're supposed to pull this and..."
The moment that she pulled the lever a light blue circle appeared on the ground in front of the cage's second opening, resting above the open chasm that had been built into the tomb. Trixie smiled and approached the circle, stepping onto it and causing a second one to appear out of thin air, though she realized what the riddle had meant almost immediately. She followed the pathway that the circles laid out for her, twisting whenever they happened to twist and making the turns that were required of her, before she reached the end of the walkway. She wondered if the others would have to repeat the process she had just gone through, but then she spotted the walkway that connected where she was to where the rest of her group was.
Trixie, taking the lead as she knew how to use the walkways, activated the next three magical walkways that they came across, which were only activated by pulling the lever near the beginning of their path. The first one was as slow as the one she had completed by the gated riddle, which meant that she was done with it in a matter of a minute or two. The second walkway was a tad bit faster than the first one, though she watched where they appeared and made sure to keep in pace with the circles. The third and final walkway was even faster than the previous two, as they appeared in rapid succession and required her to keep up with them, least she be dropped into the waters below where they were standing.
In the end Trixie stood at the end of the challenge, though she was out of breath as the others eventually joined her, so they could delve deeper into Vahlok's ancient tomb. That was when the reached the Hall of Stories and the Puzzle Door, which told Sombra and his companions that they had finally reached the main goal of their small quest.
"Ah ha!" Tharstan exclaimed, rushing to one of the walls and running his hands over the stonework, "The Hall of Stories, just as I predicted! With this we can open the door and finally see Vahlok's ancient body for ourselves. Perhaps there's enough undamaged text in these etchings to tell us the combination. Ah, yes, here's something. The first one has to do with a breeze, or maybe it's wind. The second one mentions the night sky, and the moon. And the third has something to do with fire. It also seems to mention scales."
Sombra, having studied the various inscriptions that had been in the books they had been reading earlier that day, thought that he knew exactly what the combination was. He approached the door and spun the largest ring around, moving it around until it was showing the symbol of an eagle, lining up with the wind. The middle ring was next, which he continued to move around until it was showing the symbol of a wolf, which he connected to the moon. The final ring he moved until it was showing the symbol of a dragon, which lined up perfectly with the fire and scales the wall mentioned. Once the work was done he connected the two halves together and pressed them against the keyhole, causing the rings to spin before the door opened before them.
The room in front of them was like a giant oval, though there were a bunch of coffins that lined the walls and one rather large one that sat in front of a third Word Wall. Neither Sombra nor the rest of his friends needed to be told who was sleeping in the coffin, as they had dealt with plenty of Dragon Priests during their time in Skyrim. Chrysalis merely guessed that was who was resting in the coffin, but she was in no hurry to walk in and wake whatever it was from its ancient slumber. Trixie sighed and walked into the chamber alone, letting the echo of her staff touching the floor be the only noise that filled the ancient chamber.
The moment that she neared the coffin the lid slid right off and the Dragon Priest that had called the coffin home, Vahlok, rose from his slumber for the first time in two thousand years.
"Who dares awaken me from my...!" Vahlok nearly shouted, speaking in the Dragon Tongue as he realized who was standing in front of him, "Oh, its you. The Slayer of Dragon Priests. Tell me, have you come to end my life as well? Have you come to kill me, so that Miraak might finally triumph over the one that bested him in combat?"
"No Lord Vahlok," Trixie said, giving the old Dragon Priest some respect, as he had bested Miraak at one point in his own lifetime, "but Miraak is why my companions and I have roused you from your ancient slumber. We're afraid that Yolrahtoor has returned to Tamriel and that Miraak might have already claimed her power once again. We need your help to open a gateway into Apocrypha, so we can take the fight to him and defeat him before he has a chance to use her power against the rest of Tamriel."
It wasn't her attempt to make him trust her, which she had gone out of her way and had called him a 'Lord', which could have been accurate considering everything the dragons had given him. Rather, it had been the threat of Yolrahtoor, the very dragon that had taught him much of what he knew and had later betrayed everyone because of Miraak, that caught his attention. It was almost as if whatever blood still remained in his body had chilled at the mention of his former master returning, but then he turned fierce once more.
"If you expect me to be your ally in this fight you'll have to explain how this came about," Vahlok moaned, picking up his staff before turning to the open doorway, "I need to know exactly how Yolrahtoor returned to Tamriel before I do anything else to help any of you stop my ancient foe."
"I don't mean to insult your wisdom Archmage," Neloth said, walking behind Trixie as they made sure the Skaal were out of the way of what they were doing, "but are you sure that we can trust them to do as they promised? I mean, they have been sleeping for the last thousand years, but I cannot say that I trust them after everything that they have done to this island."
"Normally I would be agreeing with your friend," the Skaal Leader, Skorn, commented, speaking as they approached the circle that had been made in the ground, "I would not normally trust the Dragon Priests that ruled over Solstheim with an iron fist, but we have no choice in this matter. If we cannot put aside our hatred for each other and band together, then I'm afraid that Miraak will have already won the war and nothing we do would stop him."
Trixie and her friends had ventured into the tomb of Vahlok the Jailor, the Dragon Priest that was responsible for the downfall of both Miraak and Yolrahtoor, and had come out with the knowledge of what they needed to do. Vahlok had disappeared into the evening breeze, a promise echoing that he would awaken the other Dragon Priests that had ruled under him and bring them, and more importantly their Black Books, to the village. That was where Trixie, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Queen Chrysalis, Skorn, and Neloth had constructed a circle of magic that they had pressed into the ground in the center of the village.
It was here that they planned on siphoning the power of the seven Black Books to tear open a portal to Apocrypha, where Miraak had been spending the last three or four thousand years. They wouldn't be able to destroy any of the Black Books, as Sombra said that it was impossible to destroy them without forcing their maker to do so, but they could lessen their influence on the world. He had constructed seven pedestals, identical to the one that held the Black Book of Nchardak, expect his were made of crystal and could contain the corrupting power of the Books. The Books that he and his friends had already acquired were placed in the circle, one of the outer ring while the second, the one they had found in Miraak's temple, was resting in the center.
"I trust that none of them would like to see Miraak or Yolrahtoor return to power," Trixie commented, tapping the Staff of Magnus on the ground as she stopped beside Skorn, "They'll come, and then they'll help us enter Apocrypha. Once we're inside its only a matter of time before we find Miraak, and hopefully Raika as well, where we'll put him down and save the island from further harm."
A gust of wind whipped around the entrance of the village, the same that Trixie and her friends used every time they came to the village, and a group of figures appeared before them. They were none other than the Dragon Priests that followed Vahlok until the end of their days, the ones that had stood against Miraak and his Daedric master. Trixie had been expecting them to arrive at some point that afternoon, but it amazed her that Vahlok managed to find each of them and convinced them to help the nords that called the island home. Three of them were carrying large black tomes of knowledge that seemed to be emitting darkness from them, while Vahlok himself carried two of them in his hands.
"I don't believe my eyes," Neloth said, sounding amazed at the sight before him, "all seven of Hermaeus Mora's Black Books, assembled in the same location, for the first time since Miraak's defeat. This is truly a sight to behold."
"We have come, just as you asked us to," Vahlok said, speaking to Trixie, as she was the only one who could understand her, "baring the books of our enemy, the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora. You say we can siphon their energy to open a portal to Apocrypha, but no such spell exists in our world."
"That's where Sombra comes in," Trixie replied, directing the Black Books into the remaining pedestals, "he has the most experience in this particular field, so he knows a few spells that we can use to achieve our goal. He'll siphon as much dark energy as he can from the Books before opening the portal to Miraak's sanctuary, which we will use the moment we are ready. Once we are inside Apocrypha we will begin our search for Miraak and Raika, the Last Dragonborn, before he has a chance to truly awaken his old ally. As soon as we find him we'll need to put him down, so be on your guard the moment we step through that gateway."
"He can pull off such a spell?" Neloth asked, an eyebrow raised as if he didn't believe what she was saying.
"I can," Sombra said, standing at the edge of the circle and making sure all the runes they had placed were the correct ones that they needed, "Most mages from our home world cannot handle the sheer raw and corrupting power that comes from using Dark Magic, with the exceptions of Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, and myself. My special talent is, and will always be, control over Dark Magic, unless some creature, like Discord for instance, comes along and shatters my concentration. Now, when I perform the spell we might experience some fiends that want to prevent us from reaching Apocrypha, so I need each of you to be ready in case something comes out before I stabilized the portal."
Trixie repeated what Sombra said to Vahlok, who nodded his understanding and shouted a command to the rest of the Dragon Priests, who spread out and faced the summoning circle. Trixie, Neloth, and the rest of her friends did the same thing, their weapons at the ready in case something actually did come out before Sombra finished his spell. Sombra drew out his scythe and spun it around his head before slamming it down on the rune that rested at his feet, the one that had been designed to activate the others. The shadows wrapped around the circle and all six of the Black Books on the outer ring opened, their pages flapping between each other as if they were trying to find a certain page.
That was when a steady stream of purple energy rose out of each of the Black Books, gathering around the book they had found in Miraak's Temple. The sky darkened around them, telling anyone that was familiar with Sombra's magic that the spell was definitely working, while the book itself began to violently shake. Sombra groaned for a moment, feeling the Black Book fight him and his magic, but the moment that followed he gained the purple wisps of magic that flowed out of his eyes. With his bond to the dark magic strengthened he sent out another surge of magic, hitting the book so hard that it literally snapped open, the spell that had been keeping it sealed shattering within seconds. Behind the book's pedestal a mass of shadows gathered, forming a large opal shape that eventually collapsed on itself, opening the portal that would take them to Apocrypha.
Everyone waited for a few moments, watching for anything dangerous to emerge from the newly created portal, but when nothing came out Trixie smiled.
"Okay, here's how we're going to do this," Trixie said, turning to face everyone around her, "Vahlok, the Dragon Priests, Sombra, and myself will head into Apocrypha and try to find Raika and Miraak, but the rest of you should stay here. In the unlikely event that the creatures of Hermaeus Mora discover the portal we'll need someone to defend the village against them, so with the rest of you staying here I'm positive we won't have to worry about it."
Sombra chuckled and approached the gateway, making sure that it was as stable as he thought it was and, finding that he was correct, began the journey into Apocrypha.
-----------------------------------------------
Miraak paced around his summit for a moment, his mind wandering as he worried that Yolrahtoor wouldn't be ready for when the Dragonborn's friends came to look for her. He had shattered Raika's memories, her mind, and her body to bring Yolrahtoor back, but he feared that, in the process, that his previous spell he had placed on her could have been shattered. There was the slimmest possibility that the original Yolrahtoor, the one that had served Alduin until Miraak had changed her mind, was still in there and could surface at the worst moment for all of them.
But while he feared that he may have brought the original Yolrahtoor back it paled in comparison to his joy that he could finally send her out to exert his will on everyone else.
"Miraak...Miraak..." his master said, phasing into the space behind him, "The friends of the Dragonborn have opened a portal into my realm, breaching the magical barrier I placed around my Black Books. When they come for you, and I know they'll come for you, I want you to stay your hand for a moment, so I can take their knowledge for my...collection."
"Oh course Lord Hermaeus," Miraak said, though he had absolutely no intention of sparing any of their lives, "I'll be sure to do so when I fight them later."
He knew that, even if he were to fall to the Dragonborn's friends, he had a plan in place that would allow Yolrahtoor to escape into Tamriel without his enemies knowing until it was too late. So while he waited for his enemies to arrive he had what little minions he could spare placing the armor he had made on Yolrahtoor, prepping her for battle. His enemies were in for quite the surprise, if they managed to make it to his summit.
-----------------------------------------------
"So this is Apocrypha," Trixie said, staring out at the bookshelves, piles of books, and the eerie black water, "I must say, this is what I expected from the Daedric Lord of Forbidden Knowledge."
"Unfortunately, it seems that Miraak was expecting us," Vahlok replied, pointing a bony finger at the line of creatures coming their way before pulling out his staff, "so it seems that we're going to have to fight out way to the summit."
Sombra remembered seeing a low detailed picture of several of the creatures that were coming their way, the creatures that the Black Books referred to as Seekers and Lurkers. They were all loyal to the Daedric Lord Hermaeus Mora, so it made sense that they would gather together to protect his realm from any intruders. It also made some sense that they would also serve Miraak, who was using them as his own personal army until he brought back the greatest weapon in his arsenal; Yolrahtoor.
"I'm not sure if we can take them all by ourselves," one of the other Dragon Priests said, "I'm positive we could beat them all if we still had our armies, but with only six of us I don't think we'll get anywhere near the summit."
Trixie sighed and leveled the Staff of Magnus with the oncoming wave of enemies, magic surging out of the top and connecting with the chest of one of the Lurkers. The lightning branched outwards and suddenly a couple dozen of the creatures were blown off their feet, blasted right into the water and devoured by whatever creature called the water home. Sombra, on the other hand, simply ran towards their enemies and swung his scythe through the first creature he came to, a wave of darkness emitting from the head and cutting through whoever was unfortunate to get caught in its path. He was glad that the wave only went in the direction that the weapon was swung in, otherwise he would have to hear it from the others that they didn't know about the attack.
The Dragon Priests, now seeing that they were being left behind by two nords, who happened to be from another plane of existence, drew their staffs and charged into the battle. Magic erupted from their ranks, smashing into the Seekers and Lurkers, blasting them backwards and giving them a chance to draw closer to their allies. Trixie nodded to Sombra and he slammed his scythe into the floor, creating a wall of crystal nearby that he would soon wrap around them so he could stop the enemies advance. It would help separate them from their enemy, forcing them to go around it and giving them time to figure out where to move on to next whenever they found an exit.
Fortunately for them the wave was enemies was the only threat that they faced in the current level they were in, though Trixie was quick to discover how they were supposed to move on. She approached the open book near the back of the chamber they had appeared in and disappeared, causing the others to follow her and appear behind her in the next area. There they found a couple of staircases and a bridge, but they were patrolled by dozens of Miraak's minions, who came at them almost immediately.
As the others fought off the enemy Sombra noticed a book resting on a pedestal with two Lurkers protecting it, which told him that it was important in some way. He willed a crystal spire out of the water and pierced one of them in the chest, killing it almost immediately, and gave him a walkway that he used to draw closer to the second Lurker. His enemy raised its hands to defend itself, but Sombra spun around in the air and drove the head of his scythe into the Lurker's chest, crashing it to the floor. Once he was sure that the deed was done he grabbed the book and stored it away, knowing that they would likely have a use for it later on.
They continued their advance against Miraak's forces, felling any of them that dared to get in their way while blasting any that chose to flee before they could bring back reinforcements. They reached a corridor that eventually lead them to a gate, though they fought with the Seekers and Lurkers that had been chosen to guard the tome that Sombra spotted. It was quite easy to clear the room of enemies, but as Sombra gathered the second tome he began to wonder if Miraak was even trying to stop them. His forces were beginning to flee before they could even reach them, giving them time to recover their magicka before pressing on through the corridors. Though before they moved deeper into Apocrypha Sombra spotted a third glowing book and took it upon himself to grab it, knowing that they'd need it later on.
They passed through a crossroads, where they followed it down a path, only for it to bend around and force them to travel down the second hallway. The group followed the pathway deeper and deeper into Miraak's realm, eventually coming to room with a fourth glowing book, so while Sombra grabbed it and stashed it away the others pressed on. Seekers and Lurkers fell to the combined magic of Trixie and the four Dragon Priests, littering the ground with either their bodies or the armor that the Seeker's wore.
Eventually they came to a chamber that was held up way above the one they had just been on, though Sombra noticed that there were no enemies floating about and that there were five stands waiting for them. Four of them, he noted, were bare, almost as if they were waiting for something to be placed on them.
"I see what they did," Sombra commented, pulling out the four books he had collected and spotted a symbol on each one of them, "We'll need to place one of these books on a certain pedestal, though I am positive that there might be a lingering spell that we're not aware of yet. Give me a moment or two and I'll be able to determine which spell they used on these pedestals."
"No have no time," Vahlok replied, grabbing the tomes and giving one to each of his followers, keeping the one with an orb on it, "If there is a spell in this chamber than my followers and I shall suffer the consequences."
Sombra sighed and moved for them to pass him, watching the four Dragon Priests spread out while they searched for the pedestal that their glowing book belonged to. Ahzidal, carrying the book with the symbol of limbs, moved to the back of the chamber, directly across from the first pedestal, where the Trixie and Sombra were standing. Dukaan, carrying the book with a pair of pincers on the front, settled to the right of where they stood, which Zahkriisos, carrying the book with a pair of blades, settled on their left. Vahlok, seeing the other pedestals taken, returned to the one they were standing at and positioned himself in front of it, before nodding to the other Priests. all four books touched their pedestals at the same time, but none of them moved an inch in case there was a hidden spell they didn't know of.
Then, just as they were about to release their books, a spark of lightning erupted out of each book, tearing through the chest of the Dragon Priest that stood in front of it before gathering around the final pedestal, where the book that rested upon it opened up.
"Agh...damn Miraak to Oblivion..." Vahlok moaned, collapsing on the wall as his comrades did the same, "I...should have...listened to you...Sombra..."
"Don't worry Vahlok," Trixie said, standing in front of him while Sombra waited nearby, "We'll stop Miraak and whatever he has planned for Yolrahtoor."
"I...believe...you..." Vahlok started to reply, but whatever magic was keeping him alive expired and he collapsed on the ground, followed by his followers.
Trixie sighed and followed Sombra up to the next floor, where they found a Seeker floating in front of an open wall that was covered by a scroll, which also had swirling words on it. Sombra approached the Seeker and swung his scythe through it, causing it to collapse into a heap on the floor while his weapon absorbed the soul. Once the immediate threat was dealt with he stared at the open water in front of them and began to plan where he needed to summon his pillars. The moment that he knew exactly where they needed to go he placed his hand on the ground and summoned his magic, several pillars erupting from the water and raising in a diagonal fashion.
"This is our bridge," Sombra said, his voice darkening just a bit, "Its time to end this."
-----------------------------------------------
"Where are they?" Miraak commented, speaking to himself while he waited for his enemies to arrive, "I know I felt my spell on those books go off, but I would have expected them to arrive sooner than this..."
That was before a crystal spire entered his field of vision and he turned to face it, seeing two nords running up the side before jumping off and landing near the rim of his summit. One of them was dressed up in the robes of a major mage, which meant that she could only be the infamous Archmage of Winterhold that Miraak had seen in Raika's memories, Trixie Lulamoon. The second nord was dressed up in steel armor, but the lush red cape, the pure black moving hair, the steel crown, and the tendrils of magic coming out of his eyes told a different story. Miraak knew the nord could only be Sombra, the King of Shadows, but he was too confident to let the presence of such a powerful mortal phase him.
"Ah, finally," Miraak said, drawing his sword and his staff as they approached him, "the friends of the Dragonborn. I expected more of your pitiful band to come here, to the seat of my power. What's wrong? Did some of your friends die at the hands of my spell earlier? Is that why it took you so long to reach me?"
That was moments before a second crystal spire erupted out of the ground, tearing through the floor and impaling Miraak in the chest, before lifting him right off the ground. He coughed and blood erupted out of his mouth as he dropped his weapons; he had been expecting some form of fight, not an instant near win for his enemies. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the spire retreated into the floor and disappeared, causing Miraak to lay against the ground, bleeding out.
"There, your basically dead," Sombra said, kneeling in front of the dying villain, "Now, tell me where Raika is and I'll end your misery in an instant, just like I did with my crystal spire. If you don't tell me then I will make sure to make you suffer, which will eventually lead you to telling me everything I want to know before I end your existence."
Miraak had to chuckle, despite Sombra's threats to torture him to get whatever information he wanted. His plans would all be coming to reality, all thanks to what Sombra had brought to Tamriel. He pressed his right hand into his blood and drew a rune on the closest book he could find, his magic flaring wildly as his final moments drew closer to him. Even from where he was laying he could hear the sound of water moving, telling him that his plan was now in motion and that he could pass on if he desired.
"The Dragonborn is no more," Miraak coughed, leaning against a stack of books as he stared out at the open water, "and soon Yolrahtoor will enforce her will upon Tamriel. I must thank you, King of Shadows, for giving me the tools to create a portal that would allow me to leave this realm without Hermaeus Mora finding out. Thanks to you my plans can finally be set in motion, even if I won't be around to see what happens next..."
Sombra and Trixie turned around in time to see a large ring of crystal rise into the air, located somewhere in the distance from where they were standing. Even from their distance Sombra could tell that the ring was large enough for a dragon the size of Alduin to pass through, though he didn't like what that was telling him. Magic pulsed around the center, as if it was awakening whatever magic Miraak had poured into its construction, which they had been told was a portal. Before he could move forward to summon a pillar to get him to the ring he felt the tower they were standing on shake, almost as if something had hit it.
"Pain..." a voice echoed, sounding nearly identical to Alduin's voice despite sounding like a female dragon, "Agony..."
Once the second word was said the tower shuddered for a moment, which told Sombra that something was definitely attacking the tower at its base. A roar echoed around them, scattering the books across the summit as the tower began to tilt just a bit, though Sombra was more concerned with whatever Miraak had released. He heard the sound of something large erupting out of the water below them, though whatever it was tore through the air and unfurled its wings the moment it was in front of them. It was a large bright red scaled dragon, the same one that he believed the nords of Solstheim called Yolrahtoor, but despite the fact that he could see the scales around her eyes he noticed that something was off about her.
The armor that she was wearing, the one he assumed that Miraak had created for her, wasn't attached to her like a nord would wear a piece of armor; it was literally fastened to her scales and her body.
"Go...Yol...rah...toor," Miraak weakly said, causing Sombra to look back at him for a moment, "Do...what...you...."
This time when Miraak stopped speaking Sombra made sure to feel for a heartbeat with his magic, though he found none and was glad that the villain was dead at least. He turned to the dragon that was staring down at them, almost as if she was making up her mind whether or not she should just kill them or leave them for Hermeaus Mora. Sombra gripped the handle of his weapon and waited, hoping that Raika was still inside the dragon somewhere so he could reason with her instead of resorting to violence.
"I WILL DESTROY TAMRIEL!" Yolrahtoor roared, rotating herself so she could face the portal, "I WILL RAZE EVERYTHING TO THE GROUND AND SLAUGHTER EVERYONE IN A SEA OF FLAMES! NEITHER THE DIVINES NOR THE DAEDRA WILL STOP ME!"
Before either Sombra or Trixie could stop her Yolrahtoor released a savage roar and flew into the crystal ring, escaping to wherever Miraak had the ring set to.
-----------------------------------------------
Storn had been waiting patiently, waiting for the group that went into Apocrypha to return with news that Miraak had been defeated and his plans had been ruined. He had faith that Sombra and Trixie would be able to defeat the First Dragonborn, but he didn't trust the Dragon Priests that had traveled in with them. As he sat in front of the portal he felt the ground shake, not too much before it faded, but the second hit was violent enough for everyone in the village to cry out in terror. Then he heard the roar, the one that his ancestors had described in great detail, and knew that the village was still in danger as he looked into the sky.
There he found a massive red dragon, covered in black armor that looked like it was burning between the pieces, flying though the air, a trail of flame following her.
"All-Maker preserve us," Skorn said, his old heart rapidly beating at the sight before him, "Yolrahtoor has returned..."
Celestia had felt the great magical disturbance long before she heard the roar that shook the sky, causing everyone around her to lift their eyes to the mountain. Long before she felt the ground beneath their feet shake, almost as if something was creating an earthquake while scaring the villagers at the same time. When the source of the disturbance revealed itself everyone in the village was knocked off their feet, hitting the ground as the portal to Apocrypha stayed still, showing all that Sombra's skill was not to be underestimated. Celestia got onto her feet and stared up at the sky, finding the cause of the disturbance with ease, though she was surprised by what she found.
Floating quite a ways above the village was a dragon that was the size of Alduin, though Celestia knew that Paarthurnax was somewhere in Skyrim and knew who this dragon was. What surprised her was that she had armor fastened to her body, as if Miraak had been paranoid and believed that she would be vulnerable without it. Yolrahtoor didn't look like the Goddess of Fire that the nord's described, instead she looked like a Destroyer that had come to destroy everything and everyone that stood before her.
When Skorn said the dragon's name out loud every villager began to panic, as the source of their ancestor's misery was now looming above their heads as she debated what to do with them.
"What do you want, Yolrahtoor?" Celestia shouted, barely covering her eyes as she hoped that the dragon would be peaceful and say that she would not be destroying anything.
"I WILL BURN TAMRIEL TO THE GROUND!" Yolrahtoor shouted, her voice echoing across the island as flames began to dance around her body armor, "I WILL RAZE EVERYTHING AND SLAUGHTER EVERYONE IN A SEA OF FIRE, LEAVING NONE ALIVE IN MY QUEST TO FINISH WHAT MY MASTER, LORD ALDUIN, STARTED! PRAY TO WHATEVER GODS YOU WANT, MORTALS, FOR NONE OF THEM SHALL SAVE YOU FROM MY WRATH!"
Celestia recognized the tactic that Yolrahtoor was using, she was making sure that their attention was purely on her while she prepared an attack that would devastate them all. As she watched the flames she noticed them gathering into a ball shape below the dragon's mouth, a ball that was quickly growing in size as more fire was added to it. The attack, on the other hand, was similar to one that Celestia hardly used anymore, as the power in her own attack was powerful enough to obliterate an island off the face of any map. If the attack that Yolrahtoor was preparing was the same that Celestia was thinking of, and she was painfully sure that it was, then there was only one way to stop it before it went off...
...she was going to have to absorb the entire attack into herself and pray that her power over the sun was enough to defeat the power of the nord's Goddess of Fire.
"Luna, I need you to summon your strongest barrier that you've got," Celestia said, her worn armor melting away as her golden armor wrapped itself around her entire body, "because I'm not sure if I'll be able to withstand the power of that attack."
"I will try sister," Luna replied, her ebony armor appearing as she pressed her hand against the ground, "but remember the last time you tried this? The last time you tried this you ended up in the hospital with all your legs broken, most of your ribs were cracked, patches of your coat were charred and needed to be removed, and part of your mane and tail were missing. It took you two whole months to recover from the ordeal..."
"I am fully aware of the pain I'll be going through," Celestia said, silently wishing that Sombra would come out of the portal and suck the attack right out of the sky before it hit them, "just keep the village and our friends safe."
Celestia pumped her wings and got into the air, moving past the tallest building in the village before a shimmering light blue barrier closed behind her. She fixed her eyes on Yolrahtoor and prepared herself, knowing that what was going to happen next was either her saving the island or its destruction. Yolrahtoor shouted something and released the attack, letting the gigantic orb of fire hang in the air for a moment before it began its descent down to the village. Once Celestia was close enough to the attack she thrust her hands out and touched the rim of the attack, feeling the pressure as it began to push her back towards the ground.
As the sphere of fire pushed her back Celestia opened her body to it, grunting as she focused on channeling as much fire as she could into her own body. As she got closer and closer to the barrier she began to sweat, which was understandable as she was caught between the intense heat of the sphere and her own body temperature was rising. She was beginning to think that she might have underestimated the sheer power of the attack, as it had barely decreased in size from the moment she had started. Then the one thing she had been trying to prevent happened, the sphere forced her to make contact with her sister's barrier and released an explosion that rocked the entire island.
------------------------------------------
"We were too late," Sombra moaned, balancing himself as the tower began to tilt once more, "We've got to get out of here before the tower completely falls."
"The way we came from is broken," Trixie pointed out, noticing the fallen spires they had used to reach Miraak's summit, "which means that the only way out of Apocrypha is to use the same portal that Yolrahtoor used. But how are we supposed to reach it?"
Sombra looked over the edge of the tower that was breaking as a thought entered his mind, one that he believed would be able to get them closer to the portal. He ran over to the side that faced the portal and placed his hands on the floor, willing the crystal spires to listen to him as he made several platforms rise out of the water. He made sure to space them apart, just in case the falling tower made them hit each other while Sombra and Trixie were making their way to the portal. Once that was done he summoned one more spire, but this time he aimed it right at the base of the tower that was in front of them, so it would fall and give them a chance to jump.
"We're going to jump to it," Sombra shouted, just as the tower began to tip forward, "be prepared to leap off the tower the moment we reach the platforms."
Trixie nodded and braced herself, just as the base of the tower snapped and began to fall forwards. As the tower fell Sombra noticed that it was falling too close to the first platform he had conjured, which meant that they'd have to jump to the second one instead. Once they were close enough Sombra nodded and the two of them literally threw themselves off the tower, aiming right for the second platform. Trixie hit the floor and rolled, making sure she was fine before noticing Sombra hadn't made it and was about to scream for him, but then noticed the shadows push him out onto the crystal floor.
Sombra moaned as they continued, leaping from the second platform to the third, cutting the distance to the portal down before he heard something behind them. He cast a quick glance backwards and found an army of Lurkers and Seekers coming after them, which meant that Hermaeus Mora wasn't about to let them leave his realm. As they clawed at the platform they had skipped Sombra clapped his hands together and canceled the spell that held all the platforms up, causing them all to shudder before starting to fall.
"Run!" Sombra shouted, causing Trixie to kick it into high gear as they made their way across all the platforms.
They jumped across the platforms, dodging the army of Hermaeus Mora, until they arrived at the platform that rested just before the portal, though it hadn't started its fall yet. Sombra latched his magic onto the portal and shredded the magic that Miraak had placed on it, changing it so he and Trixie could leave Apocrypha through the portal he had created earlier. The portal would hold only two charges, one for each of them, and then when one of the Daedric Lord's minions tried to use it after them, which Sombra knew would happen, the portal would explode and Miraak's work would be lost to his former master.
Once they reached the portal Trixie immediately jumped through it, disappearing in a flash while Sombra made sure to force their enemies back a bit more. When he was pleased with the distance between him and his enemies he turned around and leapt through the swirling magic, disappearing before the Lurkers could grab him.
When he stepped out of the portal in the village he was surprised to find that there was a bunch of smoke, flames that were eating at the tops of some of the buildings, and people scattered everywhere. Luna sat near the portal, huffing as she lifted her hand from the ground and picked herself off the ground, her head pointed at the sky. Chrysalis emerged from the shadows, though by the fear in her eyes Sombra knew that she had seen something that had frightened her to her very core. Then Sombra noticed Celestia coming their way, but she was limping and Sombra was immediately at her side, helping her towards the portal as it slammed shut.
"Celestia!" Sombra exclaimed, worried about her and the rest of the villagers, "What happened while we were gone?"
"SHE came," Celestia moaned, still feeling the effects of her attempt to stop the attack, "Yolrahtoor came to the village, declared that she was going to basically destroy Tamriel, and fired a gigantic ball of fire at us. She didn't stay around to make sure she destroyed us, but I dread to think where she's heading right now and pray that whoever she comes across hides before she attacks."
"She's going to kill Paarthurnax," Sombra said, the truth dawning on him as he stared up at the sky, "Think about it; Alduin, Paarthurnax, and Yolrahtoor balanced each other out, so the only creature in Yolrahtoor's mind that can stop her is Paarthurnax. She doesn't believe that any of us are a threat to her, so she's going to tie up the loose ends before she starts to purge everything from Tamriel. I'm going to summon a gate and get you guys to the mainland, so you can alert Paarthurnax that he's in danger and prepare for Yolrahtoor's arrival. I'm going to follow from the sky, though I'm hoping to catch her and talk some sense into her before I have to resort to fighting her."
"This Yolrahtoor cannot be reasoned with," Skorn commented, coughing as Sombra turned to look at him, "this is the Enforcer, the original version of Yolrahtoor before Miraak created the Betrayer. Now she is the Destroyer, bent on finishing what Alduin started and not caring who she kills in the process. The only way to beat her is to kill her."
Sombra sighed and summoned the shadow gate, positioning it right outside High Hrothgar, so the others could warn the Greybeards about what was coming and, hopefully, prepare for her coming. Trixie and Chrysalis moved into the gate and disappeared, though Neloth cast a look at it and decided that he wanted to study the gateway, as he entered it as well. Luna helped her sister stand and prepared to move them through the gateway, but Celestia shook her head and turned back to Sombra for a moment.
"What do you intend to do if she proves stronger?" Celestia asked, though she thought she knew exactly what his move could be.
"I'd have to open the Doors," Sombra replied, knowing what might happen if the fight came to that, "but I will do what I can before it comes to that."
Celestia nodded and entered the gateway with her sister, the two of them disappearing as they traveled to High Hrothgar. Once Sombra was sure that they were on the other side he slammed the gate shut and sank into the ground, hoping to use the clouds to find the gigantic dragon that was heading towards Skyrim. Thanks to the flames that were dancing around the island, of which there were plenty, the sky had darkened around the island and provided him with an easy way to follow his target. The clouds seemed to follow Yolrahtoor as she flew through the air, so Sombra was able to catch up to the massive dragon without her discovering him.
Once he was leveled with her neck he leapt out of the shadows and swung his scythe into the armor plating, though he began to slide off as his weapon merely scratched the armor.
"SO YOU WANT TO PLAY ANT?" Yolrahtoor shouted, feeling the attack on her armor, "VERY WELL THEN, I SHALL ENJOY DESTROYING YOU AS A WARMUP FOR WHEN I REACH SKYRIM!"
Sombra latched his shadows in between two of the armor plates as Yolrahtoor began to roll in the air, trying to shake him off while keeping herself on course, but Sombra would not lose to her so easily. He pulled himself around her side until he was right on top of her belly, where there should be the lowest density pieces of the armor and would provide him with the perfect place to strike. Once he was aligned with her he pulled his arm back and swung his weapon again, the head biting into the armor for a moment before it was forced back.
Sombra grunted, whatever magic Miraak had poured into the construction of the armor was protecting it, and Yolrahtoor, against the most basic of his attacks.
Yolrahtoor roared and flames began to dance about her armor, but instead of focusing them at any one point she allowed them to gather around her. Sombra's eyes widened as he realized what she was doing the moment he stared at the clouds, the speed she was flying and her flames were causing the sky to catch fire. Clouds gathered the fire and burst after a few seconds, spreading the flames as they danced around them, but also destroying the shadows he could use if he fell off her back. Before he could form a plan of attack Yolrahtoor began to spin again, returning to the upright position, and not caring about who was trying to hurt her.
Sombra, thankful that the dragon was so arrogant, raised his scythe into the air and began to channel his innate darkness into the head of the weapon, giving it an eerie glow. Once the weapon was ready he ran up her back, which wasn't as easy as it had been the previous time, until he reached the area of her neck once more. Before he stopped moving he swung the scythe into the plating and cut right through it, going all the way to the scales and even piercing Yolrahtoor's protective hide. The moment that happened she roared in pain and her wings snapped to her side, allowing her to spin around in midair while her tail coiled around and whacked Sombra square in the chest, knocking him off of her back.
Despite falling downward to the sea Sombra had to grin, he had managed to cut through the armor that Miraak had forged in Apocrypha and fastened to Yolrahtoor's body while she had been unconscious. Once her wings were back out and she was heading towards the mainland Sombra faded into the small crystal that he had given to Raika a few days ago, which had only been returned while they had rode the ship to Solstheim. He reappeared beside his scythe, which he had been wise to leave lodged into the plate he had struck, as it served as a way for him to continue the fight easily.
He gripped the scythe and yanked it out, tearing through both scale and plating before he struck again, tearing into another section of Miraak's 'invulnerable' armor. Yolrahtoor roared again, but this time when she tried to throw him away he pressed himself against the plating and watched her tail pass over his head with ease. Sombra grunted with effort as he dragged the scythe down Yolrahtoor's back, attempting to cut a long gash that would knock her out of the air, but he was rewarded with some movement. After a moment he was rewarded with even more movement, though this time he began to pull it all the way down Yolrahtoor's back and deepened the wound he had inflicted on his enemy.
"I SHALL ENJOY DESTROYING YOU, ANT!" Yolrahtoor roared, blasting the clouds in front of them into pieces as they neared the mainland, "AND THEN I SHALL PURGE THIS WORLD, JUST AS MY MASTER WOULD HAVE DONE!"
"Not happening," Sombra shouted back, holding tight onto his scythe as Yolrahtoor began to descend, "I will defeat you before you get anywhere near your endgame."
------------------------------------------
"Master Arngeir," Celestia said, bowing politely as the Greybeards came to a stop before her and the rest of her group, "it is good to see you again. I just wish that it was under better circumstances."
"Ah, Princess Celestia, it is nice of you to visit again," Master Arngeir welcomed, his eyes glancing over the assembled group until he noticed that someone important was missing, "Tell me, where is the Dragonborn?"
"I assume you know the tale of a dragon known as Yolrahtoor?" Celestia replied, hoping that the Greybeards did, as they didn't have enough time for her to tell the whole tale before the dragon reached Skyrim.
"Ah yes, my predecessor told me the tale many times before I took over," Master Arngeir commented, recalling the tale with ease before realizing where she was going with her question, "Are you telling me that she's back?"
"Raika was carrying Yolrahtoor's soul the entire time," Celestia answered, "and we, unknowingly, delivered her to Miraak, who tormented her and awakened the dragon that had been sleeping inside her. Yolrahtoor is on her way to Skyrim as we speak, so she can destroy Paarthurnax and make it so that there is no one that can stand up against her. We need to warn him that he's in danger and prepare for her eventual arrival."
"There will be no need for that," Master Arngeir replied, waving a hand as he cut her off, "Paarthurnax departed for the location of where he, his brother Alduin, and Yolrahtoor used to meet when they ruled over all of their kind. Knowing Yolrahtoor, she's likely heading for that exact location so she can confront him, but that's where Paarthurnax plans on getting to her before she gets to him."
"And where was this meeting area?" Luna asked, knowing that it was important to know where the location was so they could provide Paarthurnax with aid.
"In the area that has become Whiterun," Master Arngeir said, "if you leave now you might be able to aid in the relocation of the citizens of the Hold, as I'm sure they're moving out before Yolrahtoor arrives."
------------------------------------------
Paarthurnax sighed as he stared out of the Great Perch that was used to trap dragons that had dared to attack Whiterun since the day Dragonsreach had been constructed. He knew that the trap wouldn't be able to do anything against Yolrahtoor, his best friend before she let Miraak corrupt her mind, and would result in the destruction of the entire castle before she would escape it. He knew that she would be coming to destroy him, which was why he had ordered the Jarl of the Hold to lead his people out of the city and into the nearby cave.
"Paarthurnax!" a voice called out, causing him to look behind him and noticed the friends of the Dragonborn approaching, "Master Arngeir told us you'd be here."
"I am waiting for Yolrahtoor to arrive," Paarthurnax replied, shaking his head as he stared outside once more, "I was meyus, foolish, to believe that she would not return to Skyrim. When I felt her nuvah, her presence, in the Dragonborn's shout I should have destroyed her while I had the grozein, the chance. Before she could have regained her terrible suleyk, her terrible power. I do not know how we would have destroyed Alduin without Raika, but we should not have allowed Yolrahtoor to daal, to return, to Skyrim.
Tell me, Princess Celestia, where is the Jun do Vokun? Where is the King of Shadows, as the bron, the nords, of Whiterun call him?"
"Sombra's riding on Yolrahtoor, trying to stop her before she reaches us," Celestia said, shaking her head as she looked outside, "There's no telling how angry she is at Miraak turning her against Alduin or if her armor will hold up against Sombra's assault, but we should be expecting them very soon."
It looked like Paarthurnax was going to say something more, but then a roar pierced the air and the sky seemed to catch on fire, telling Celestia that their time was up. She bid the dragon farewell and leapt out of the perch, her wings catching the air as she and her friends flew towards the nearby tower so they could keep an eye on the city. Trixie, unable to fly because she had no wings, was carried by Chrysalis, who seemed annoyed with the deed until they were safely on top of the tower. For a moment nothing happened, but then part of the clouds above Whiterun broke open and Yolrahtoor, in all her blazing glory, descended upon the Hold.
Then Yolrahtoor's tail flipped around and wrapped around something on her back, which she proceeded to throw right into the heart of Whiterun as if it was a piece of trash.
------------------------------------------
Sombra moaned as he picked himself off the ground that he had been flung into, thankful that his shadows could also act as some protection against some of the toughest of enemies. Yolrahtoor was one of those enemies and as he straightened himself he spotted her, floating in the air and staring at her, daring him to come at her once more. He was going to attack her again, but he knew that, in his current state, she simply out powered him and he needed to unlock the Doors that he had kept locked since he defeated his evil nature.
"Hey, Yolrahtoor!" Sombra shouted, spitting a bit of blood out of his mouth as he stared up at his opponent, "How does it feel to be winning against someone whose not using all of their power? Wouldn't you want to beat me when I'm using all of my power? Wouldn't you want to brag to all of Skyrim, nah, Tamriel that you beat the King of Shadows in fair combat?"
"SAY WHAT YOU WANT, MORTAL," Yolrahtoor shouted, her voice echoing across the Hold, "GO AHEAD, UNLOCK YOU 'POWER', FOR I SHALL DESTROY YOU AND ANY WHO DARE STAND AGAINST ME!"
Sombra chuckled and held his scythe in front of him, channeling the Dark Magic all around him into the head before he snapped it backwards, turning it into a spear. Once that task has been completed he reached deep into his being and touched the keyhole that kept all his barricades sealed tight, which also prevented his darker side from coming out again. The moment he had a firm hold on the keyhole he willed it to appear before him, because the only way for something like this to work he needed to do it in the real world and not in his spiritual world. The shadows sharpened into points and pierced the ground, moving around until the shape of a large keyhole appeared before him, the center shrouded in shadows.
Once the keyhole had formed before him he spun the spear around his head, gathering more of the Dark Magic that floated around him, before he slammed it right into the hole, the entire head disappearing into the shadows.
"Unlock," Sombra said, twisting the spear as if it was a key until he heard the clicking sound, "my Doors of Darkness."
Shadows began to wrap all around Sombra and covered him in seconds, causing Yolrahtoor to frown for a moment as she wondered what was going on. Then the shadows formed into a pillar of sorts, ascending towards the sky until the clouds darkened and the center of the sky began to swirl, as if a vortex had opened above the Hold. Black lightning leapt out of the sky, causing Yolrahtoor to avoid the ones that got close to where she was floating, but the ones that hit the ground caused a cluster of black crystals to grow. Eventually the pillar faded, but the terrible weather that had appeared and the vortex remained, almost as if something powerful was keeping them in place.
When the shadows revealed Sombra Yolrahtoor nearly gasped as she saw the changes that had taken place. The glowing steel armor that he had been wearing had darkened to a vile dull grey, giving him the look of something that wanted to destroy everything around him. The lush red cape was still attached to his back, but now the shadows seemed to seep out of them, almost as if they were an extra layer of protection for him. The eerie shadows that came out of his eyes was still there, but when he showed her his eyes she noticed that they were deep red surrounded by a vile green color.
Sombra smiled as the shadows wrapped around him once more, it was good to have all his power out for everyone to see.
"What...what is this unnatural power?" Chrysalis asked, her voice trembling as she focused on the terrible weather that was forming all around them and the Hold.
"This is Sombra's TRUE power," Celestia replied, almost sounding excited as she stared at Yolrahtoor, waiting for the battle to begin, "This is the power of the former King of the Crystal Empire, who mastered the power of Dark Magic to a degree that nopony has been able to replicate to this day. Observe, Chrysalis, as Sombra shows us how we used to fight over a thousand years ago."
Yolrahtoor floated in the air and stared down at the strange nord that dared to stand before her and her terrible power, deciding how to utterly destroy him. She was not scared of him and his little tricks, some of which he had displayed by darkening the sky and summoning a few crystals from the ground. She knew that she could easily defeat him, as she had easily defeated the one called Celestia earlier, though the thought gave her an idea on how to end her foe quickly.
"YOU SHOULD FEEL HONORED, MORTAL!" Yolrahtoor shouted, flames gathering around her as she prepared the same attack that she had used against Celestia, only this one would be even bigger, "IT IS RARE THAT I ALLOW SOMEONE AS INSIGNIFICANT AS YOU TO FACE ME IN A PROPER BATTLE! I SHALL ENJOY CASTING YOU INTO THE DEEPEST REACHES OF OBLIVION, WHERE NOT EVEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ESCAPE FROM THE DAEDRA'S COLD GRASP!"
Sombra stood there and stared up at Yolrahtoor, whose mouth snapped open and revealed the sphere of flames that she planned on dropping on him. He extended his right hand and the shadows gathered around it, though instead of attacking her directly he simply willed them to conjure something that had once been lost to him. A black sword, one that had been tainted by Dark Magic over a thousand years ago, appeared before his hand, which he wrapped his hand around before bringing it up to his face. This was the blade that Celestia believed to have been lost when he fell into the darkness and became the tyrant, the same blade that she had forged a replica of, but now it would go into battle with him once more.
"Its twice the size of the previous one," Luna commented, her eyes widening as she stared at what was happening, "Yolrahtoor isn't planning on blowing up an island, she's going to invite total ruin to the entire Hold. This would almost be like dropping a miniature sun on top of something."
"Sombra is the only one to truly stop something like this without causing harm to himself," Celestia replied, her eyes locked on the dragon and her attack, "so believe in him and his ability to finish this fight."
"DIE, MORTAL!" Yolrahtoor roared, pushing the larger ball of fire down towards Sombra, who merely watched her the entire time she floated there.
As the ball of fire slowly descended upon Whiterun everyone that was watching the battle held their breath, wondering if Yolrahtoor's attack would obliterate the city without Sombra doing anything. Then a black barrier appeared above the city and the ball collided with it, but instead of a gigantic explosion the ball was absorbed into the barrier and a layer of smoke blew out from where the two spells connected. Yolrahtoor raised herself higher so she could see through the smoke, knowing that it would be hard for either of them to see their opponents until it cleared.
That was before a crystal spire shot out of the smoke and forced her to move to the right, though when she spotted Sombra standing near the tip she wondered how he could have seen her through all the smoke. Before she could fire another attack at her enemy he leapt off his spire and landed on her chest piece, placing his hand on one of the heated plates. She chuckled and opened her mouth to obliterate him with a well placed blast to the face, but then the area around his hand began to light up and she knew that she must have fallen for some trick of his.
"Reflect," Sombra coldly said, pressing part of Yolrahtoor's attack right into her chest piece and literally blew her right out of the air, forcing her to crash into one of the buildings.
"He absorbed it?!" Chrysalis nearly shouted, not believing that Sombra could have pulled of such a feat when Celestia couldn't do it.
"And reflected it," Luna said, nodding as she waited for Yolrahtoor to show herself again, "this means that the fight is about to get real serious real fast."
Sombra spotted Yolrahtoor moving around the broken building and snapped his fingers, several small spheres made of fire and surrounded by shadows appearing behind him. The moment before Yolrahtoor burst out of the building Sombra moved his hand down, the spheres surging through the air until they came into contact with her chest. Several more explosions blasted Yolrahtoor out of the air and into a second building, though this time she barely wasted a second before getting back into the air and soared right up to Sombra. Once she was level with him she spun around and planted her tail squarely in his chest, using the force to toss him into the destruction below them.
The shadows reached out of the ground and caught Sombra before he could hit any of the buildings, lowering him onto the ground before releasing him.
"IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO, MORTAL?!" Yolrahtoor shouted, arrogance dripping from her voice, "IF SO, THEN I SHALL OBLITERATE YOU AND THIS PATHETIC CITY YOU STAND IN!"
Flames danced around her body before gathering in her mouth, which she opened and released a torrent of flames upon the entire Hold, causing the standing buildings to catch on fire. Before she finished her attack she turned to Dragonsreach and poured an extra torrent of flames on top of it, so she could burn the offending building to the ground. She returned to where she had been floating and admired her work, watching for any signs that Sombra would come out so she could rip him apart with her claws.
Shadows began to dance around her flames, consuming them until they were all completely extinguished, but then crystals began to form where the flames had been. The crystals began to come out of the buildings, the stone that had served as the walkways, and even the water that ran throughout the entire city. Yolrahtoor watched as the entire city became covered in her enemy's crystals, though as she looked around she had to wonder where he was amongst the mess. The she saw him, stepping out of the shadows as if he were the master and then element was merely his servant, but all that did was make her even angrier.
"SO, THE MORTAL CAN WITHSTAND SOME OF MY FIRE?!" Yolrahtoor roared, flames dancing around her entire body as several spheres appeared around her, "WELL THEN, I SHALL SIMPLY INCREASE MY OUTPUT AND DESTROY YOU IN SECONDS!"
"She can fire multiple spheres?" Chrysalis exclaimed, fear taking hold in her heart as she watched the fight, "How can Sombra survive such an onslaught?"
Sombra chuckled and held his left hand towards the sky, connecting to the Dark Magic that had seeped into the clouds around the city and prepared an attack that Yolrahtoor wouldn't see coming. He mentally counted how many spheres that had been summoned and found that Yolrahtoor had called seven of the dangerous spheres into existence around her. Once he had an accurate idea of where his enemy was floating and where the spheres were in relation to her he willed the magic in the clouds to ignite. Black lightning leapt out of the sky, but instead of impaling Yolrahtoor in the back he pierced each one of her spheres multiple times and linked each one of them together.
Once he was pleased with his design he closed his hand and brought the spheres together, forcing all seven of the fiery orbs to collide with Yolrahtoor and explode on impact, literally blasting her right out of the air once more. Yolrahtoor crashed into the general goods building and pulled herself up, smashing the rest of the structure as she stared up at her enemy, growing even more annoyed with him. She loosed a roar and soared into the air, but in her blind rage she failed to notice another dragon fly into the city and barrel right into her side, its claws trying to tear at her before it tossed her towards Dragonsreach.
When she corrected herself and stared at her newest enemy she wasn't surprised to find out who it was, she was, after all, expecting him to have arrived sooner or later.
"PAARTHURNAX," Yolrahtoor growled, staring at her former friend as he flew beside Sombra, "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU WOULD SIDE WITH THE CREATURE THAT HELPED DESTROY YOUR BROTHER, SEEING HOW YOU BETRAYED HIM SO LONG AGO! I SHALL TAKE GREAT PLEASURE IN DESTROYING THE BOTH OF YOU BEFORE I FINISH WHAT LORD ALDUIN STARTED!"
"Yes, I betrayed my brother," Paarthurnax replied, his eyes locking with Yolrahtoor's, "His pahlok, his arrogance, drove him to do battle with the joor, the mortals, of Skyrim. Alduin believed that, as the Diistkiin, the Firstborn, it was his right to rule over Tamriel and decide the dez, the fate, of everything and everyone. I had no choice but to teach our Thu'um to the joor, so they could defend themselves against my brother and the rest of the dovah, the dragons, that followed him. Alduin was defeated and his army was scattered, but I knew that one day the both of you would return, so now it falls to me to finish the cycle that we started so long ago."
"I WILL BLOW THE BOTH OF YOU TO OBLIVION!" Yolrahtoor roared, soaring past the two of them until she was higher than the tip of Dragonsreach and turned to face them.
Flames danced around her body, rolling over her plates as they slowly gathered in front of her, building into the familiar shape of the spheres she continued to fire. This time she wasn't taking any chances now that Paarthurnax had joined the battle, she was going to increase the amount of power and drop a sphere that would destroy half of Skyrim once it touched the ground. She also began to pull the flames out of the clouds around her, causing them all to burst as she forced her sphere to continue to grow until it was ready.
"Just how much power does she have?" Chrysalis asked, sweat rolling down her face as she quickly realized that they were all in harms way if the newest sphere hit the ground.
"She is the Dragon Goddess of Fire," Celestia replied, now beginning to sweat herself, "I guess she'll put everything she has into each attack so she can defeat her enemies."
"DIE, ENEMIES OF ALDUIN!" Yolrahtoor roared, releasing the magic and allowing the gigantic ball of fire to begin its descent towards the ruins of Whiterun.
Sombra, instead of hitting the attack head on like the last time, flew back to the ground and lightly touched the blackened stonework, which had the slightest hint of flames on them as the sphere neared the city. Knowing that time was of the essence he pressed his left hand against the stone and concentrated on the shadows that had sunken into the entire city, willing everything to rise. A mass of shadows began to rise out of the ground, breaking free from all the crystals that he had summoned across the city, until it began to collect above where he was standing.
Instead of leaving the mass of shadows to wander in the form it was currently in Sombra gave it one final push, caushing the shadows to gather together until they formed a gigantic shadowy version of himself.
"The Avatar of Darkness," Luna breathed, her eyes widening in awe, "versus a Sphere of Fire and Destruction...my bits are on Sombra trashing Yolrahtoor once more."
Sombra huffed for a moment before pressing the hands of the Avatar against the incoming sphere of fire, trying to halt it before it could crash into the city. Once it had a firm hold on the sphere Sombra began to siphon the energy into the shadows, trying to shrink the attack down despite how much power had been poured into it. At first the only thing that he could see was the Avatar being pressed downwards, telling him that the power of Yolrahtoor's attack was far greater then he had expected, but then he noticed it shrink just a tiny bit. With that piece in mind he pressed against the attack and the Avatar raised up once more, the shadows around them reinforcing it while Sombra fought against his enemy.
Paarthurnax, seeing the opportunity to strike Yolrahtoor present itself, flew behind his enemy and rose behind her, his claws and his Thu'um at the ready. The moment that he got behind her he crashed into Yolrahtoor's back and dug his claws into her plates, cutting her concentration to her attack into pieces before blasting her in the back of her neck. Yolrahtoor growled in annoyance and twisted to bite him in return, but Paarthurnax moved out of the way as he noticed that the sphere was being pushed back their way just a bit. That was when an idea, one that could end the fight, came to mind, so he stopped beating his wings and let himself fall, his claws catching between the plates and dragging Yolrahtoor down as well.
The moment the two of them connected with the sphere the sky lit up in a gigantic flash, followed by an explosion that rocked the foundations of Whiterun and could be heard all across Skyrim. The aftershock rippled through the air, tearing apart the Avatar and forced everyone that was watching to cover their eyes until the light was gone. At first there was nothing, almost as if both Paarthurnax and Yolrahtoor had been consumed by the fire, but then a large body crashed into Dragonsreach, smashing through the front door completely. Sombra recognized Paarthurnax anywhere, so his eyes turned back to the sky and began to search for Yolrahtoor, knowing that if one survived then the other had to as well.
Even without having to be right next to him Sombra's shadows wrapped around Paarthurnax for a moment and his fears came true; Paarthurnax had sacrificed himself to end Yolrahtoor, so Sombra turned to his missing enemy.
Then Sombra saw her, though she limped through the air until she landed on the ground near Dragonsreach, but as he stared at her he was surprised to find how much damage she had taken. Pieces of her armor plating were cracked from the intense power she had fallen into, but there were a few plates that looked like they had been broken completely. From the wounds that Sombra could actually see it was clear that Yolrahtoor was wounded and bleeding, which meant that she was exhausted and running low on power. He couldn't blame her for feeling that way, because with the amount of magic that went into summoning the Avatar drained him as well, though he had enough for one good attack.
Sombra was not about to let Paarthurnax's sacrifice go in vain, and it was that determination that lead to him steeling himself so he could see the fight through to the end.
"How do you feel?" Sombra asked, huffing as he readied his magic, "Are you...prepared to...end this fight?"
"DO NOT...Concern yourself...with my condition...mortal," Yolrahtoor roared, though by the tone of her voice it was clear that she was reaching her limit as well, "I...have more than...enough power to...destroy you!"
Sombra chuckled and pressed his hand against the ground, using a bit of his power to summon a flat pillar for himself so he could be above the ruined city. A second flat pillar rose underneath Yolrahtoor, who nearly fell off of it in surprise, but held onto it until it came to a halt and leveled with Sombra's pillar.
"One last attack," Sombra called out, shadows wrapping around his right hand and his sword, "one final exchange of power between the two of us. Bring your best attack, Yolrahtoor, because I wont be holding back."
Yolrahtoor coughed and pulled her head back, gathering as much fire as she could from the surrounding area so she could obliterate her enemy with ease. Sombra, on the other hand, called what shadows remained in the clouds and the ground to his side, allowing them to wrap around his sword until there was a mass of them. He glanced down at the blade for a moment and noticed a small crack in the edge of the blade, though he knew that his beloved weapon was at the end of its days. Then, as Sombra prepared to dash forward, Yolrahtoor brought her head level with him and released a large burst of flames in his direction. Sombra pulled his arm back and then swung, releasing the shadows into a wave of darkness, one that clashed with the flames and forced the two elements to battle each other.
At first the two elements merely battled for superiority, but then, unknown to Yolrahtoor, Sombra leapt into the darkness and followed through with his swing. Once he connected to the flames he began to slice through them, though he continued through the flames as fast as the shadows would allow him to do so. The moment that he past the worst of the flames he ducked under Yolrahtoor's fire, so she wouldn't see him immediately, and swung his shadow-infused blade at the armor plating as hard as he could muster. The instant that his blade connected to the armor he could feel the metal bend under the attack, so when he was standing behind Yolrahtoor he knew that he had accomplished his goal.
Yolrahtoor roared in pain as her armor plating, the armor that Miraak had promised would be indestructible, broke into pieces and fell onto the ground around her. She coughed up blood and stared down at the long horizontal cut that went from where her chest was all the way down to her hind leg on the left side of her body, though her wing had been missed completely. The cut was deadly all by itself because of how deep it had been, but with the shadows attached to it she could feel the cold beginning to devour her inner flame. She tried to move and fell down on the right side of her body, though as she laid there, dying as if Skyrim's winter season was slowly taking the life from her, she glanced at the sky for a brief moment.
"I...admit...de...feat..." Yolrahtoor coughed, feeling the cold wash over her as she finally laid her head on the ground.
Sombra, on the other hand, fell to his knees and dropped the handle of his sword, as that was all that had survived the battle with Yolrahtoor's flames. His entire left arm was burned from the ordeal and part of the left side of his face had been hit as well, but he considered himself lucky. He had poured everything he had into that one attack, knowing that if he failed he could have broken himself beyond repair if he had survived the battle, but in the end he had succeeded. He chuckled for a moment before coughing up blood, which was followed by him hitting the ground and resting his eyes on the still body of Yolrahtoor.
That was before a ghost chose to appear before him, but he knew who it was just by staring up at her face; it was Raika. It wasn't the Raika that had been angry at her friends for being the target of everyone's obsession. It wasn't the Raika that had grown to hate nearly everyone thanks to the power of an evil dragon pushing her emotions into her. It even wasn't the Raika that had taken to despising Discord and the games that he played, which had lead to the loss of her Housecarl so long ago. This Raika was the one that Sombra remembered, the one that would do anything and everything to make sure that she could save Tamriel from Alduin.
It was the Raika that he had met at the beginning of his journey to discover who he was, who had taught him how to fight and eventually reunited him with the love of his life.
She knelt beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder, almost as if she was there to comfort him, telling him that she was okay with him destroying the creature that had taken her body, despite losing herself in the process. He wanted to say something, anything to her, but even though he couldn't find the energy to do so she pressed a finger to his lips to stop him anyway. After a moment a second figure appeared behind Raika, though Sombra wasn't too surprised to find Shadow, the Knight of the Nine, standing behind her. Next to him stood Rend Org'resh, the Hero of Kvatch, who nodded to both Raika and Sombra, though Raika nodded back and stood up to join them.
Sombra knew what it was; Raika, the Last Dragonborn, the Slayer of Alduin the World-Eater, was finally being welcomed back into Sovngarde, where she would rest with the rest of the legendary heroes.
As the trio vanished Sombra smiled and closed his eyes, knowing that, while exhaustion took him, he had freed whatever sliver of Raika's soul that Miraak had missed. In the end, the good guys had won. And Sombra was just fine with that outcome.
Sombra moaned as the sunlight hit his eyes, telling him that he needed to wake up and get the day started, but he was so tired that all he could think about was sleep. The last thing he remembered doing was fighting against a large red dragon, a creature that had been called Yolrahtoor, in the middle of a city that rested on a plain. He knew why he was tired, he had over extended himself at the very end of the fight and he had collapsed near the fallen body of his enemy, saving the citizens of the city in the process. In the moment he fell he was sure that he had seen the ghost of the person, the khajiit, that had traveled with him from the beginning, Raika Snow-Heart.
She had been fiercely loyal to the Stormcloak leader, Ulfric Stormcloak, and fought for her cause, the cause that she had been born into, with her teeth, her steel, and her claws. She had been the one to find Sombra when he had no idea who he was and, while having the greatest patience Sombra had ever seen, she managed to restore his mind. She had been the Dragonborn of nordic legend, the sole person who could completely slay a dragon by devouring its soul, but that had come with the cost of carrying the soul of Yolrahtoor within her. In the end Raika had been consumed by the dragon Yolrahtoor, who sought the end of Nirn, but Sombra had no choice but to put the dragon down.
Sombra sighed, he just wanted to sleep and remember nothing more about what had happened over the last few weeks, so he could embrace the cold touch of winter once more.
"Really Sombra?" a familiar voice called out, though it sounded closer than it really was, "Your sleeping? Come on sleepy stallion, get up and smell the crystals."
Sombra moaned again and weakly opened his eyes, finding himself in the middle of a desert that was made up of white sand and had nothing around for miles. Then he saw her; the dark blue coated mare, with a dual blue mane that waved through the air as if it was being moved by the wind itself, despite the fact that there wasn't any wind at all. He recognized her almost immediately; she was Princess Luna, the sister of Princess Celestia, and the third friend he had made other than those in the Crystal Empire.
"Princess Luna...I'm so tired," Sombra said, laying his head on the sand once more.
"Yes, that would make sense," Luna remarked, a smile appearing on her face as she sat by him, "You burned through so much of your magical power in your duel against the dragon Yolrahtoor that you began to fade back into the shadows. Luckily Celestia recognized the signs and cast a spell to prevent your body from following your spirit, though it makes it look like your in a coma. I came here, intending to follow you into the Dream World, but here I find you waiting for the end. Grab my hoof, Sombra, and I'll take you back to the Waking World."
Sombra looked up at her again, glanced down at her waiting hoof for a moment, and then, after a few brief seconds of thought, raised his hoof and pressed it into her's. For a second nothing seemed to happen, but then something wrapped around his mind and grabbed onto him, yanking him out of where they were sitting.
----------------------------------
"Ugh..." Sombra moaned, opening his eyes and raising himself into a sitting position, "Where am I this time?"
"In Whiterun silly," Luna chuckled, though this time she was in the form of a humanoid figure, a nord he realized, "The moment we found you, collapsed on the ground near Yolrahtoor's cold body, we took you inside the remains of Dragonsreach and made sure you weren't hurt. You burned your arm during the fight, but it was nothing that Celestia and I couldn't heal."
Sombra looked up at the ceiling and found a gaping hole in the woodwork, giving him a decent view of the night sky while showing him the damage Yolrahtoor dealt to the castle. He was surprised to see how much had been ruined, because at the time of the battle he had been more focused on his opponent than was happening around them. It was then that he realized that he was in the Porch area of the castle, though this time there weren't any guards walking around him like the last time he had been there.
"Where's the guards?" Sombra asked, looking over to Luna, "Shouldn't there be someone standing guard over me, after what happened earlier before the dragon came?"
"Almost all of them are scared to be around you," another voice said, just as a guard walked in behind Celestia and Trixie, before green flame wrapped around her and Chrysalis stood before them, "I mean, after summoning the Avatar of Darkness and defeating the attack that Yolrahtoor had prepared to destroy the entire Hold, only to beat Yolrahtoor herself, you've scared them to their core. Your fight ended up destroying half of the city itself, but the nords that live here are saying that they can rebuild, if there isn't anything else that could take away from them doing so.
Basically the guards are either busy defending the citizens of the city from bandits, helping out in the reconstruction, or just staying away from you in case you decide to kill them."
"So, when will we head home?" Sombra inquired, both looking forward to heading back to Equestria and dreading it at the same time.
"We were just waiting for you," Trixie replied, slipping off the mask she was wearing, "I am unfamiliar with the magic used to create the portal home, but Celestia said that your magic would help out in the long run. I'll allow her to explain."
Sombra knew what Trixie was referring to almost immediately, even if the young mage had no idea what she had said herself before passing it onto his wife. Celestia wanted him to build an arch out of crystal, which would act as a temporary anchor for the magic, allowing them to open a portal to Equestria that would allow all of them to leave. The original spell, as far as he knew, was designed to work similar to his own shadow gates, where the gates needed to be told how many were leaving. This addition would remove that restriction and would allow everyone to return home safely, though he had to wonder if he had the magic to pull it off.
"I hate to ask something like this of you, after your fight earlier," Celestia said, taking a seat next to him and wrapping her arms around him, "but do you think you can manage the spell? If not then I would understand. We can always wait until tomorrow or the next day to return to Equestria."
"No...we have overstayed our welcome in this world," Sombra confidently said, pulling himself out of her arms and getting onto his feet, despite feeling dizzy for a moment, "I shall work whatever magic I can."
Sombra pressed his hand against the stone floor and took a deep breath, reaching out for his magic and hoping that, against all odds, that there was still a spark for him to connect to. After a few seconds of searching he found only a single spark, though every time he reached for it it continued to move further away from him, as if it was simply drifting away. Then he felt a hand on his back and a bit of magic trickled into his body, strengthening the bond between him and the spark that he had discovered. With his renewed energy he gripped his magic and grunted, the stone breaking as two slim crystal pillars rose out of the ground, reaching until they passed how tall Luna was before making the arch.
Once the deed was done, and the empty gateway was created, he sighed, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and got up so he could face his friends. He nodded to Celestia and returned to the bed he had been sleeping in, though Celestia got up and moved towards the gateway, Luna following suit and standing across from her. Both of their horns began to light up, but instead of the magic hitting anything around them they pressed their hands against the gateway and poured the spell into the crystal. For a moment nothing happened, but then the magic sparked and the gateway sprung to life, the magic swirling around between the two crystal pillars and the arch.
"The portal home is stabilized," Luna said, backing away for a moment, "Will Cadence be expecting us?"
"She would have felt the portal open like last time," Celestia commented, smiling as she stared at the gateway, "I'm also sure that Twilight felt it and is already on her way to Canterlot. We had best be on our way before a guard comes looking for us."
Trixie nodded and stepped into the portal, disappearing from the porch and returning to Equestria, though Sombra noted that she was still carrying the Staff of Magnus and one of the masks with her. Chrysalis moaned for a moment, muttered something about not harvesting enough love to sustain her hive, and then followed Trixie into the gateway. Luna chuckled and picked up her battleaxe, staring at it for the moment before making it disappear, though she moved through the portal with ease. Celestia smiled at Sombra and held out her hand, though he immediately took it and got onto his feet once more, a smile, despite being weaker than Celestia's, appearing on his face.
Together the two of them stepped into the gateway and left the world of Nirn behind, leaving whoever came looking for them confused as to where they went.
----------------------------------
"Are you positive this is where they'll appear?" Cadence asked, trotting behind Twilight as studied the empty area of the castle, "Are you absolutely sure about this?"
"I one hundred percent sure Cadence," Twilight replied, her eyes peeled for the gateway she knew was coming, "It has to be somewhere around here, of that I'm...certain of..."
Before she had a chance to continue what she was saying she felt the magic in the air warm up moments before the object she had been searching for appeared before them. A crystal gateway, similar to the door that Princess Celestia had shown her in the Crystal Empire some time ago, erupted out of the floor and didn't stop until it was the height of what Celestia was. A moment later a spiral of magic ignited in the center of the gateway, creating the portal that the two of them had seen when the sisters traveled between Equestria and Nirn.
For a moment neither of them spoke a word, waiting for the other Princesses to return, though Cadence could hear Shining Armor huffing as he drew closer to the room they were in. Then, just as Cadence was about to step into the portal and ask the Princesses what was taking them so long to return, a pony the size of a normal mare, wearing a cape and carrying a mask and a staff, appeared before them. Cadence recognized Trixie almost immediately, and she was sure Twilight did as well, mostly due to the fact that she had traveled with the mare for some time before returning home.
"It feels so strange to be in my natural form again," Trixie commented, tipping in one direction before correcting herself and trotted over to where they were standing, "not after how long I spent in Skyrim."
"Its good that your back Trixie," Twilight said, smiling at the mare before turning back to the portal, "Are the others coming through as well, or are they still adventuring?"
"They're on their way," came a second voice, as none other than Chrysalis, in her true changeling form, walked out of the portal, "oh great, pretty Cadence is here as well. I guess I'll end up in jail this time around."
"Nay, I think a pardon is in order," Princess Luna exclaimed, emerging from the portal with her armor still on, "after all, she did aid us in our quest to help the Dragonborn. I think we can afford to look the other way, this time."
"Nice to see you too Chrysalis," Cadence smiled, silently welcoming the changeling monarch back to their world, "I actually have some news that you will find interesting, though it can wait till everypony is here."
"What...is she...doing here?" Shining Armor, tired from having to run throughout all of Canterlot as he followed his wife, asked the moment he spotted Chrysalis.
"She's, well, a friend of Canterlot now," Cadence replied, not really knowing what else to say that would make her husband not attack the Changeling Queen.
Chrysalis huffed in annoyance as she and Luna moved away from the portal, stopping near the wall so they could make room for the remaining members of their group. Not that she really cared about Celestia and Sombra, she still had a hive to find and help rebuild, which she hoped would be easier than it sounded in her mind. The portal shimmered for a moment before Celestia, in all of her glory, walked out of the gateway, though a moment later it shimmered again and Sombra, dressed in his steel armor, appeared.
"Im...impossible," Shining gasped, his eyes widening as he realized who was standing behind Princess Celestia, "we defeated you. I saw the power of the Crystal Heart destroy you with my own eyes! How can you still be alive?!"
"First off, I'd like to personally thank you and your friends for doing that," Sombra said, stepping away from the gateway as it and the magic crumpled behind him, "without somepony to claim the Crystal Heart my evil side would have corroded the empire until it was no more. You, your wife, your sister, and her friends went out of your way to stop my shadow from taking over once more, and in that process you shattered its hold on me. I was flung out of our world and arrived in a whole new plane, but thanks to the efforts of both my wife and her sister, I managed to regain who I once was."
"Wait a second....your married?!" Shining Armor exclaimed, not realizing that the pony that had ruled the Crystal Empire with an iron hoof actually had a heart.
"Yes, he is," Celestia said, smiling as she draped one of her wings over Sombra, "Shining Armor, its about time I told you the truth as to why I never married while you were serving under me in the Royal Guard, I was already married to Sombra and was awaiting his return. I did send you to the Crystal Empire to defend it, but I had hoped the magic of the Crystal Heart would purge him of the darkness that had taken root in his heart. Yet the magic threw him to another world, which is why I continued to disappear once the empire had returned, I was healing his body and his mind.
Shining Armor, I would like to formally introduce you to Sombra, the Former King of the Crystal Empire, known as the King of Shadows in Nirn, and my husband."
"S...Sombra and...Celestia..." Shining Armor muttered, his eyes widening further as his mind overworked itself to process the information, "heehee, married..."
Shining Armor took a look at the rest of the group for a moment before his eyes rested on Sombra, who offered him a smile, but Shining laughed and collapsed on the ground, passed out from shock. Cadence and Twilight laughed at Shining's reaction, he had, after all, taken the news much worse than the both of them, though Twilight had to admit that she had been sick to her stomach when she heard the news. Now that the two of them knew the real Sombra they were more than happy to have him back, though they knew that the citizens of the Crystal Empire would be hesitant to welcome him back.
"So, can I have my news or can I leave?" Chrysalis asked, not really caring about Shining Armor at this point, "My hive needs me and I really need to get back to them before they fall apart."
"Actually, that's what I was going to tell you about," Cadence said, turning to the Queen, "half of your hive, desperate for love and leadership, came to the empire and asked for a place to stay. Shining and I talked about it, but in the end I couldn't turn them away and I offered them a place to stay until the others, who were determined to find you, managed to recover their broken way of life. In the end half of the remaining changelings settled down here, in Canterlot, while the second half made for Ponyville, though last I heard they had been turned into a section of guards for Twilight."
"How...how long ago was all of this?" Chrysalis asked, worried how long she had been gone to force her subjects to do something so drastic.
"Chrysalis...you've been gone for almost two years," Cadence replied, draping a wing over the monarch to comfort her, "but now that your back I'm sure there are some Changelings that will be overjoyed that your back. Come on, lets go see some of them."
Chrysalis nodded and followed Cadence out of the room, though it was clear that she was still shocked by the fact that she had been gone much longer than she had expected. Sombra chuckled and let his magic, what he could spare, wash over him, taking away the crown, the cape, and the armor and leaving him bare for the first time in ages. He felt good to leave that part of his life behind, where he could now start a new life and, pending any run-ins with Discord, live it out to the fullest he possibly could.
"Hey Sombra," Twilight said, causing him to turn her way, "think you can teach me and Trixie a thing or two about Crystal Magic?"
"I won't make any promises," Sombra replied, though by the smile on his face he had already considered passing on some teachings, "though I'll see what I can do."
"Ready to start your new life?" Celestia asked, standing beside the door that would lead them out into Canterlot with a smile on her face, a folder, containing what he assumed was the papers she and Luna had created for him, floating in her magic.
"I'm ready," Sombra said, walking towards the doorway with Twilight close behind him.
He had no idea what he was going to do with his new freedom, but he knew that, with the help of Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, and his beloved Celestia, he'd find a calling that he'd fit into quite well. He had time to decide his new fate, now that his life had been given back to him.