Shor's Hall glittered like a jewel. Eriah looked at the mead hall before turning to head out into the wilds of Sovngarde. It had been quite some time since she had arrived there after her mortal life on Nirn ended. Quite some time since Akatosh pulled her into his realm, was reunited with Alduin, and freed of the many dovah sil she had carried. Quite some time...since he was allowed there with her. Miraak was a banished soul, as decreed by Akatosh and Shor. He was barred from the Hall of Valor but was permitted to wander the wilds. It was only though Eriah following through her destiny that earned her this very rare favor from both her patron god and Shor himself. The Last Dragonborn now sought the First out because she remembered something and decided that she had to get answers.

Long ago, when she was alive and young, she had come across a certain tome in the Temple of Miraak. It was a journal that the First himself had kept. There were certain things in that journal she had to learn the truth about. She knew where to find him. Even now, their connection as children of Akatosh was still strong. Coming to the mountains, Eriah found a cave and paused outside. "Ah...the Last Dragonborn deigns to leave her sanctuary to seek me out." came his accented voice from within. "I have to talk to you." she said. A dark chuckle issued from the shadows and a fire soon sprang up, revealing her once-enemy, maskless. "You? Talk to me? What could you possibly want to talk about? You, who begged at the god of time's feet to spare me servitude to Hermaeus Mora and offered herself in my place, feel we have to talk." Miraak gloated. Nonetheless, he motioned to the log next to where he was sitting.

Eriah slowly approached and took a seat. She watched as Miraak coaxed the fire into brighter hues. "So what has brought you here, Dragonborn? I thought that our reunion in Akatosh's realm was the last we'd speak to each other." he said. While he seemed cordial, Eriah could tell he was nursing some hurt pride. Even though he had admitted defeat in Akatosh's realm, old habits died hard and the two still didn't like each other. Just part of their rivalry, at this point. Malice on Miraak's part was still genuine but most of his bite was gone. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact his mortal enemy had interceded on his behalf, using her hatred for Hermaeus Mora as justification for saving his soul. "Do you recognize this? Obviously, this is just a copy of the real thing..." Eriah said, pulling out the journal (or Sovngarde's equivalent of it). The physical copy had been destroyed when her body had been put to the flames.

Miraak's curious eyes flitted to the book and he reached out. Eriah handed it to him and watched as he flipped through the pages. "Ah, so you have discovered certain truths about my past. I never imagined this book survived the millennia since the Dragon War." he mused. Eriah felt her face burn but she squared her shoulders. "Did you dream of me?" she asked bluntly before she could lose her nerve. Miraak's black eyes slid over to settle on her face. "My memory of this book was taken from me when Mora 'saved' me from the dragons. Coming here restored those memories. Are you sure you want to go down this rabbit hole? You may not like what you learn." he said. "It was always on the fringes of my own memories. Now that we're here, safe from Mora's prying ears, now is the time. So I ask again...the woman you wrote about? Was it me?" Eriah asked again.

Miraak didn't answer right away as he read through the journal. "Yes. At the time, I didn't know who you were or why you kept coming to me in my dreams." he replied. He derived twisted pleasure from watching her squirm uncomfortably, meaning she had read the entire thing and knew what was coming. "Then you..." she began. "Believe me, Dragonborn. In all of our previous encounters, I've never once lied to you. Be assured that every word in this book is the truth and is exactly as you surmised." he said. The Last turned her eyes to the fire, trying to douse it with the intensity of her gaze. "You're deranged." she then spat. The First merely gave her a dry look. "You're the one continuing to cling to the idea that I'm little more than a monster. It helps distract you from the reality that I am merely a man. A man who dreamed of the perfect woman. It's ironic that the perfect woman turned out to be my enemy." he said.

Eriah got her feet and glared at him. "You didn't know me." she hissed, before turning her back to him to keep herself from setting him on fire. It proved to be a mistake because she soon found herself against the wall, her back to Miraak's chest as he pinned her there with his body. One of her arms was twisted behind her. "I already told you why, Dragonborn. When I was mere moments from death, Hermaeus Mora pulled me into Apocrypha. Do you really, truly believe that he didn't take something in exchange? Look at it from his perspective. He took those memories, those desires, from me because it would've been problematic for him. He had been plotting our battle at the Summit long before either of us knew just what we were. If I were to remember what I had dreamed and if I had recognized you from them, I wouldn't have fought you. I would've done everything in my power to claim you. You know this." he hissed in her ear.

Eriah shut her eyes tight and tried to push him off but he held fast. She felt Miraak's breath ghosting on her neck and her breath involuntarily hitched. "Consider yourself lucky, Dragonborn, that I never realized that you and I were separated by realms and eons of time. My unfortunate obsession with you made me cocky in the face of Alduin. I have no one to blame but myself." he said. Eriah took a deep breath to steady herself and she tried again to push him off. He still didn't budge and it was obvious he was enjoying making her squirm at his proximity, especially now that he remembered his original perception. "Even if we had lived at the same time, your original use for me would've gained you nothing. I was unable to have children of my own in life." she snarled. "I will allow you that, Dragonborn. I didn't learn that truth about you until I was dead and devoured by you. A pity really. Perfect in every way except that." he said, wistfully.

Without warning, Eriah found herself flat on her back. Miraak pinned her down and straddled her waist. The Last thrashed but it seemed his inhuman strength remained even in death. Taking her wrists in one of his large hands, the First pinned them above her head. His face had a twisted smile on it as he watched her writhe. "Ful rahgron, Dovahkiin." he said smugly. "Bo wah Oblivion." she spat at him. "You've only yourself to blame for this. You were the one who sought me out, wanting answers to questions best left unanswered. Your curiosity drove you right to me, knowing full well that it would come to this. You restored my memories because Hermaeus Mora's claim was null and void the moment you convinced Akatosh to invoke his right to my soul." he sneered. His free hand traced her face before bringing her eyes back to meet his. "What do you want from me?" she choked out.

Miraak made a show of looking her over, which served to rile her up more but she still couldn't fend him off. "What I'm owed." was all he said. Without another word, he pushed his lips to hers. Eriah shut her eyes tight against his highly possessive kiss. She found her back to the wall again as the First practically pulled her into his lap, using his weight to keep her pinned to the stone. It resulted in one of her hands being freed and she wasted no time in clawing at him. Miraak kept up his assault on her mouth, pushing his tongue in as he stood on his knees and his hips pressed to hers. He pinned her trapped hand to the wall, making it all the more difficult for Eriah to get any distance. He broke the kiss but quickly bit down hard on her neck. The bite caused her back to involuntarily arch, her chest pressing against his, and she let out a strangled cry. Her free hand fisted in his hair but she couldn't move. His teeth had closed over a muscle that locked up, almost like how a saber cat cub went limp when carried by its mother.

Keeping his teeth firmly on her neck, Miraak slowly maneuvered them both so Eriah was under him again, his hips between her knees. Resting his full weight on her frame, the First finally let go and inhaled her scent. The Last turned her face away, shame and anger fighting for supremacy as she realized just how easily he had dominated her. Her body was stiff as she tried not to think about the intimate position they were in. "Ahst laat, mindin enook daar eruvos." she heard him growl in her ear. She flinched as she felt the tip of his tongue lazily run from her jawline to her ear, the sensuality not lost on her. "Wo los faal vahzah qahnaarin nu?" he asked, quiet and husky as if to a lover. "Hi drey ni kron Zu'u." she spat back. A guttural chuckle met her words as Miraak laid light kisses all over her neck. "Zu'u mindol Zu'u drey." was all he said before reclaiming her lips. It was a short kiss before he let his face drop to her shoulder.

Eriah started getting over the paralysis that had bound her the moment Miraak let loose his newly-remembered desire. Her free hand came up to his side trying to push him off. "Still fighting? I would be careful, Dragonborn. One gyration of my hips and you'd be mine for the taking." he said. The utter audacity and crudeness of his statemate made her balk. They were fully clothed but he was insinuating that they wouldn't be for much longer if she kept up her resistance. "You sick bastard!" she snarled. "Relax, Dragonborn. I will not cross that line. There is no point to it now when we are, both of us, no longer bound to the mortal coil. Right now, I'm savoring the poetic justice of finally claiming what I had once longed for. Volum du kun. It was worth the wait." he said.

Eriah renewed her attempts to get him off but he was content being dead weight and he still had one of her hands trapped. So she settled for looking out of the mouth of the cave, weighing the pros and cons of wanting someone to walk by. On the one hand, it would get Miraak off her much faster but on the other...well, she'd be caught in a compromising position. Aetherius knew Akatosh was well aware of what had transpired but like the flow of time, he would be passive. With her in Sovngarde and safely out of the reach of the few Princes who dared try to claim her soul, he no longer had any reason to intercede on her behalf and would simply watch as he had always done since the Aedra created existence. Of course, not many Nords in Shor's Hall went wandering around outside either. Tsun wouldn't leave his post unless ordered. No one would be looking for her, even though they probably knew by now that she was away from the Hall.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the barest brush of lips to the pulse in her neck. The intention was obvious. He was winding up for round two of his little show of domination. "How did it come to this?" she wondered out loud. "A stupid question, Dragonborn. You know how." came the answer. "No. I don't understand. How did it come to this?" she bit back. The First gave what sounded like a tired sigh before lifting his torso up and promptly pinning her free hand down, his fingers curling between hers. He rested on his elbows as his black eyes locked with her brown ones and privately got a kick seeing her face was still flush. "What more is there to explain? My journal gave you plenty of insight about my past." he said. The Last swallowed hard, trying to regain the composure he had ruthlessly stolen from her in his show of dominance. "I just...want to know why you were obsessed back then. I don't know if it was me or the idea of me that drove your motivations." she said.

A cocked eyebrow followed by dawning understanding was her answer. "You still refuse to see me as a man, to contemplate the idea that I was innocent once. You want desperately to keep painting me as the monster." he said with a mirthful chuckle. "The dreams started when I was merely 17. I wasn't the power-hungry tyrant you know me as yet. Never forget that even before I knew what I was, I always felt different than other joore. Put yourself in my place. When you start dreaming of someone who feels like yourself, would you not hunger for companionship from the person? You know the feeling yourself, Dragonborn. It took crossing paths with me to awaken it but it was there for you as well. To answer your question, it was both. Initially, I grew obsessed with the idea of you. But after that...that's when my desires shifted to you yourself. You haunted my sleep, tortured me during my waking hours. I knew you were like me and, just like a dragon, I sought to claim you as my own. It was for companionship then. As the entry dated for the 25th of Sun's Dusk indicated, that soon changed. Orin nu, Zu'u paar hi. But unlike that Dunmer friend of yours, I'm fully aware and accept where I stand with you because my desire is different." Miraak explained.

Eriah swallowed hard, keeping her eyes locked with his, his desire shining like a beacon but tempered with acceptance that it was far too late for him to rectify what he saw as his own failure at locating her long ago before he was pulled into Apocrypha. Time had stopped for him back then and those memories had been taken as payment by Hermaeus Mora. "You never did love me, even before you became what you are." she stated. "No. I didn't. I merely sought to possess, dominate, and use you. Growing up in the Dragon Cult doesn't lend itself well to the development of emotions such as love. All you've ever felt for me was hatred and pity. Don't mistake that pity for love." came the curt reply. The Last closed her eyes for a moment, digesting things. As he said, he never once lied to her so she could trust he was telling the truth.

Miraak was caught off-guard when her eyes snapped open and she finally managed to push him off. He found his head in her hands and her lips to his. Frozen in rare surprise as Eriah gave him as rough a kiss as he had given, the First found himself flat on his back with her straddling his waist. It wasn't often the First was caught off-guard. Despite the role reversal, he growled low in his throat as her hands moved to rest on his chest and their tongues started warring with each other. His hands came up to hold her head, keeping them joined. One soon dropped to hook her leg. Just as he started to up the ante, the Last broke from him and pushed him back down when he attempted to sit up after her. "Boot's on the other foot now. I hate you, vith." she said, breathlessly. Miraak blinked only once before another twisted grin found its way onto his face.

"We really do deserve each other, Dragonborn. Well played." he said. Eriah responded by taking fistfuls of his robes and, with a strength that didn't really surprise him, pulled him up. Miraak just rested on his lower arms since their current position didn't let him sit all the way up without her ending up in his lap and he was willing to let her have the upper hand this time. "Zu'u nek piraak arhk neh fen kos hin." she hissed. "And yet, you are mine and I am yours, Dragonborn. Our shared birthright, ol kiir do Bormahu, is one bond you can never erase." he countered. Eriah kept her gaze level with his. "Remind me again why I begged for you to be spared. You're worse than Brynjolf ever was." she sighed, roughly. "As Paarthurnax said long ago before you dove into the soul-plane, it's because you couldn't let go of me any more than I could let go of you. Face it, Dragonborn, we're a match made in Oblivion. Regardless of the meaning behind the phrase, you know this to be true and don't forget that you were the one who said she would take my place in Apocrypha if it meant saving me." Miraak said.

"I will never be yours." Eriah snapped again. Miraak reached up to take her chin in his hand. "You're a stubborn woman. Our sil-gron was sealed the moment you were born. Regardless of your wishes, it is as I said before. Ours is a match made in Oblivion and you know deep down who bound you to me. You were created to shoulder the destiny I chose to reject. In a very real sense, Akatosh destined you to find me. I am you...if you had chosen the same path I did and in a roundabout way, he promised you to me." his hand moving down her neck to rest lightly over her heart. Eriah's world suddenly rolled as she found herself pinned under Miraak again. "Nol nu wah Ul, hi los dii." he sneered. The Last just looked up at him, her brown eyes searching his black ones. "Neh." was all she said before shoving him off and getting to her feet.

Miraak watched her walk away and made no move to stop her. He absently licked his lips and offhandedly noted she tasted better than he imagined. She'd be back. The unique bond they had as the First and the Last of their kind was what kept her coming back to him one way or another. Whenever Alduin was unleashed to tear Nirn down and the new Kulpa began, perhaps the two would be reincarnated to find each other all over again. "No matter how much you deny it, Dragonborn...Eriah...you know our bond is real." Miraak uttered, getting to his feet and waving a hand over the fire, extinguishing it and plunging him into the darkness of the cave once more.

dovah sil: dragon soul
Ful rahgron, Dovahkiin.: So angry, Dragonborn.
Bo wah Oblivion.: Go to Oblivion.
Ahst laat, mindin enook daar eruvos.: At last, after all these years.
Wo los faal vahzah qahnaarin nu?: Who is the true vanquisher now?
Hi drey ni kron Zu'u.: You did not conquer me.
Zu'u mindol Zu'u drey.: I think I did.
Vulom du kun.: Darkness devours light.
joore: mortals
Orin nu, Zu'u paar hi.: Even now, I desire you.
vith: snake
Zu'u nek piraak arhk nek fen kos hin.: I never was and never will be yours.
ol kiir do Bormahu: as children of Akatosh
sil-gron: soul-bond
Nol nu wah Ul, hi los dii.: From now to eternity, you are mine.
Neh.: Never.