Morndas, 13 Frostfall, 203 4E 9:00pm
He knew the Shout.
It had taken him a year and four days to remember the dreadful Shout he had heard Miraak call three times to instantly kill and absorb his dragon's souls. He knew the words, he had the power, yet... He was reluctant to use it.
He had felt the pain, the anguish, the betrayal from each Sahrotaar, Relonikiv, and Kruziikrel as The First Dragonborn said the four words that ended their lives.
Zii Los Dii Du.
There was only one dragon he would ever dream to use this on. The only one who had resisted Paarthurnax's teachings on the Way of the Voice. Krosulhah, the only dragon who had served Miraak, and still lived. He had fought him briefly outside of Nchardak, after getting the Black Book he had used to enter the realm of Apocrypha with Neloth Telvanni. The only reason the dragon still lived was because he was a coward. Just as he was about to shoot the last Thunderbolt that would end his immortal life, the dragon fled in fear. It disgusted him at the cowardice of the creature.
His mouth twitched up when he thought of the old mage. Arrogant, powerful, and his uncle, even if he was half Imperial. His mother had been a Telvanni and his father, a powerful merchant in the city of Mournhold. Being half Dunmer and half Imperial had a strange effect on his looks, abilities, and mannerisms. He had the accent of the Dunmer, the skin of an Imperial, the red eyes of his mother, and the red hair of his father. He also aged as the Dunmer did, coupled with his Dragonborn Blood, he would most likely live for centuries. Maybe even a millennia.
Shortly after his mother and father married, Mournhold was taken by the Argonian Invasion. His father was killed by an Argonian warrior who wanted to have his way with his mother. After the nameless Argonian struck the final blow, so did his mother, with his father's spare sword into the back of his skull. In the aftermath of the war, she took him to live with Neloth on Solstheim, who taught him the ways of magic and a mercenary who lived there for a few odd years taught him the way of the blade.
He was a master in both and was an effective spell-sword because of it. He wielded the blade he took off Miraak and preferred Lightning spells to all others, a courtesy of his uncle. He usually wore his Telvanni Robes with Miraak's gloves and boots. Whenever he went into battle, he would pull on Miraak, the mask that had hidden the face of the First Dragonborn until he'd knocked it off him slightly before Hermaeus Mora stabbed him in the chest with a tentacle.
He rose from sitting on the top of his Telvanni Tower, located near Ivarstead in the Rift. He'd learned the secret of growing one from Neloth and had been given mushroom cuttings from his uncle after he had brought him all the Black Books of Hermaeus Mora. His steward, Faendal, and his housecarl, Iona were waiting for him the bottom of the tower, with Miraak's Sword and mask. They knew nothing of his mission and did not want to know, seeing that if it made their master so upset, it was important and he was tell them when he was ready.
The main reason he had chosen to grow his home next to Ivarstead was because it was the closest place he could get to High Hrothgar without killing the giant mushrooms he called his home. He summoned his magic steed, Arvak, who was a gift of a friend within the Dawnguard, a group of vampire hunters and mounted him, before double checking his supplies. While he found the Greybeard's company quite enjoyable, he hated their cooking; one could survive on only salted fish for so long, so he took as much food as he could up there and kept it in an enchanted bag that kept food fresh.
After checking everything was all fine and well, he started up The Seven Thousand Steps.
Morndas, 13 Frostfall, 4E 11:20pm
He reached the citadel atop the Throat of the World earlier than he had expected, usually it took him longer. Arvak had helped tremendously, as he was an undead steed, he never tired, making the trip go faster.
He dismissed Arvak and went inside, not needing to knock since the Greybeards seemed to rejoice every time he visited. He wondered briefly if it was because they knew he was still alive or because when he visited, he always brought new Words Of Power for them to meditate on. He couldn't believe the level of their pacifism, even when death itself nearly took the world, they barely moved an inch except to teach him Words. He greeted Arngier in the main chamber, giving him a the Word of a Shout he had found in White Ridge Sanctum on Solstheim, before walking outside toward the tower that stood there.
He stopped before the small fire that seemed to burn forevermore, even in the cold winds that shrouded the peak of the mountain from the rest of the world. He warmed his hands and kept walking, using the Clear Skies Shout to clear the path now and then. He had ordered the Greybeards to start sending new Initiates up to the peak to train with Paarthurnax when they got a new one and on the way to the peak, realized how much strength those must need without the natural-born power he had to reach it.
Once he got up to the peak he walked up to his greatest friend and mentor, Paarthurnax.
"Drem Yol Lok, Paarthurnax," He greeted the dragon, who was on his favorite perch, atop an old Word Wall.
"Drem Yol Lok, Castras," Paarthurnax said, swiveling his head to stare at him with one eye. "Hi meyz wah dreh vukein, you come to do combat, with Krosulhah?"
Castras blinked, he had not even mentioned it to his mentor and yet he already knew. "Yes, I have come to make him finish what he started at Nchardak."
The old dragon shook his head up and down, as close to a nod as he could get, and leaned in closer. "Dreh hi hind wah luft mok naalein?" Do you wish to face him alone?
Castras nodded, and Paarthurnax nodded once more before giving him the separate parts of Krosulhah's name to Call him before he flew up to the very peak of the mountain.
KROS UL HAH!
Far in the distance, maybe leagues, maybe in another Province, he didn't know, he heard an answering roar.
Castras smirked, the dragon may be a coward when it comes to a fight, but no dov could resist the power of his Voice when he shouted their name. All dovah had one weakness: Pride. None could resist a challenge, especially one from the Destroyer of the World-Eater Alduin. Sometimes at night, when he was alone, he flashed back to that day when he struck the final blow against Alduin's mighty hide, and as Alduin exploded, he knew that, however strong he might be, he had not fully killed Alduin. One day, far into the future, when the world is coming to an end, he will rise once more and devour the world, as he had planned to before Castras had stopped him.
Tirdas, 14 Frostfall, 4E 12:45am
An hour later, Krosulhah arrived to the Throat of the World.
"Why do you bel zey, summon me?" The dragon asked, not having landed for fear of what would happen if he did.
JOOR ZAH FRUL!
Krosulhah roared in pain and crashed to the ground, nearly smashing into Castras, who leapt out of the dragon's flailing limbs. ""No dovah would stoop to such vile tahrovin, treachery!" The dragon roared once he'd regained his feet on the top of the mountain.
"You are a coward! A disgrace to your kind! You run away from a fight? That is both an insult and a statement; an insult to my honor, and a statement of your cowardice! I demand that you finish what you started when Miraak sent you to destroy me!" Castras ranted at Krosulhah, the dragon, while not being able to make human facial expressions, was doing his best to look ashamed.
"I know, Dovahkiin, my pride has been skah, tainted. I will fight you," Krosulhah replied, the effects of Dragonrend wearing off on him, yet he stayed on the ground. Castras approached the dragon and said the words.
Krosulhah, Zii Los Dii Du!
Castras saw the surprise, anguish, and then acceptance flash in the dragon's eyes before his soul was absorbed into Castras' body, melding with his own. Castras added him to the number of dragons he had roaming in his head, occasionally communicating with him when they had enough power, even Miraak was in there. Castras believed that when he died, the souls of the dragons would be released back into their skeletons, which he had taken back to the appointed places on the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow and buried them.
Paarthurnax landed in front of him, obviously furious at what he had done. "That was vopaaz, unfair of you to do to Krosulhah. You may think it was viilt, right, but it was not. You said to fight him in combat, not steal his soul with those bein rot do suleyk, foul Words Of Power."
"Paarthurnax, he's accepted it; he knew what was coming, one way or another," He said, almost crumbling under Paarthurnax's glare.
"Bah, you may have the soul of a dov, but you have the mind of a jul, human. Cunning, yet manipulative and underhanded," Paarthurnax said in a lighter, yet slightly more bitter tone.
"I'm sorry, but I had to do what needed to be done," Castras said, pratically praying that his mentor would understand.
"I know, but I do not med, like it," Paarthurnax said accepting what had happened, leaping onto his perch and looking at Castras. "I will be gone for a few years, I need to teach the Way to a group of newly born dovah, and the dov, as you know, are strong-headed and slow to learn." He leapt and flew off south, toward Cyrodiil.
In the past year after Miraak's death, the dragon population had doubled, but the dragons and the mortals of Nirn had made a peace agreement that they would live in harmony as long as they could, as to not have the Dragon War repeated. One of the terms was that Paarthurnax was to teach all young dov the Way of the Voice and to overcome their evil nature. Not all passed but most did. One of the other terms was that the Blades were to abandon their goals of being Dragon Hunters and return to only guarding the Emperor. Delphine had lost her head to Miraak's Sword because of her refusal.
Castras sighed and started down the path to High Hrothgar. A weight that had burdened him for a year had been lifted off his shoulders. He would collect Krosulhah's bones the next morning but for now.. Sleep.
A/N: Hello all! Sorry for taking so long to do... Well.. Anything, really. School's kept me busy and other personal problems. Anyways, hope you enjoy this one-shot that popped into my brain RIGHT as I was about to fall asleep. Hope you all enjoyed it and leave a review!
~Skyrimthief235