Eriah Quintence was sitting cross-legged in the snow at the top of the Throat of the World. Clavicus Vile's helmet was next to her and her warhammer was on the ground behind her, a show of nonaggression, as unnecessary as it was given where she was. Her brown eyes were closed in meditation. Sitting on the Word Wall was a white dragon who watched her meditate. His name was Paarthurnax and he was Master of the Greybeards. The old Dovah had broken horns and spikes, hinting at his vast age. He could sense the Dragonborn's uneasy soul and thus decided to break the silence. "Fos ahkon hi, Dovahkiin? (1) It is not like you to worry." he said. Eriah sighed a bit before opening her eyes and looking up at him with a small smile. "I was presented with a tough call by the Blades. They said if I want their continued help, I have to kill you." she said, before hissing and running her hands through her brown hair. To say he was surprised to hear that would be to call him a liar. Paarthurnax knew that the remnants of that ancient group were calling for his blood. They couldn't reach him where he was. He had several protections in place. The Greybeards would never allow the Blades to get near him and in the event they failed, there was the blizzard he had put in place to keep the unworthy from reaching the summit. The Dragonborn was the only one, aside from the Greybeards, that had access to the Clear Skies Shout. Still he sensed that someday, the Blades would find a way up and he was prepared for it.
"Faas ni. (2) I've known for a long time that they've bayed for my blood. Waan nust wahl nii vok het, nust los valokein wah unt. (3) I have done much wrong in Alduin's name. What I want to know is what do you think should be done, Dovahkiin." he said. Eriah punched a fist into the snow. "The fact they want me to do it goes against their ancient oath! Delphine told me that the Blades were meant to serve the Dragonborn and yet they ask a sadistic choice of me. Hi los dii fahdon ahrk mindovin. (4) How can they expect me to actually kill you?" she asked. Paarthurnax lifted off the Word Wall and landed near her. "Dreh ni ath, Dovahkiin. (5) From what you've said, they gave this task to you. You can either obey or walk away. Even if you choose to obey, I will not stop you. That doesn't mean I won't fight back. If it is my time to leave this world, I will go out fighting. Nau dii zin ol dovah. (6)" he said. "How can you say that? Why can't all the good you've done be your atonement?" Eriah asked, looking over at him as he settled onto his belly, looking much like an over-sized, scaly bird. "You, I, and the Greybeards know I can be trusted. The Blades are wise not to. I would not trust another Dovah. This decision is for you alone, Dovahkiin. You believe that my betrayal of Alduin and all that I've done to undo my evil nature is atonement enough. However, I want you to meditate carefully on what I'm about to ask. Fend Zu'u lahney uv dir?(7) When you come to that answer in your heart, you will know what you must do." he said.
Eriah pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. She had been learning Dovahzul here and there from any source she could find. She now knew enough to carry on an entire conversation if she wished. Paarthurnax had asked should he live or die. Silence fell between woman and dragon, with only the distance roars of other dragons to be heard. On the one hand, Eriah thought, Paarthurnax agreed with the Blades and who was she to argue? On the other, she had sworn to never be anyone's puppet and if she did as the Blades asked, she'd be playing right into that. It was different with the Stormcloaks. No one told her to join. Ralof simply suggested it and she decided to take him up on it. So when she found herself in Eastmarch, she went to Windhelm and swore her service to Ulfric Stormcloak. He understood that her role as Dragonborn meant she couldn't always be at the camps and thus said she could come and go as she pleased, with the single stipulation that if he summoned her for battle, she'd come. Eriah hadn't failed him yet. She knew him to be a former practitioner of the Way of the Voice. She wondered if he knew that the Master of the Way was a dragon. "I wonder if Ulfric could give me counsel on this." she mused, bringing her eyes up to look out over Skyrim. She heard Paarthurnax shift and rise to his feet. "Zu'u hind hi lost rund hin fahraal, Dovahkiin. Nust lost bo. (8)" he said, landing back on his perch on the Word Wall.
Eriah's eyes hardened but she shifted back to her original cross-legged position, hands on her knees and her elbows jutting out to the side. "Mind telling me how you made it up here to the summit, Delphine?" she asked, her voice cold. "I came to get your answer. I was...invited by Paarthurnax." came the voice of the Breton. Eriah took hold of her warhammer and got to her feet, kicking Clavicus's helmet aside and standing with the white dragon at her back. "Los fun vahzen, Paarthurnax?"(9) she asked him. "Geh. Zu'u baar iizstrun us hi bo. Drey hi ni ahmin?" (10) he asked back, with a slight chuckle. Eriah, in spite of herself and the situation, just shook her head with a wry smile. "Fax prakem. Niidro pruzah truk Zu'u lokaal hi."(11) she said under her breath, though she knew he could hear her. She had noticed the lack of a blizzard on the way up but her mind had been so full with what was asked of her, it just didn't register completely. Delphine just stood patiently, waiting out their conversation. "Los unt wah fus dii haal, dii fahdon?"(12) Eriah asked the old dragon. "Zu'u lost zent ek wah bo ful das. Frolaaz zey. Zu'u seik fah hi lorot do hin fahraal fod lingrahiik." (13) Paarthurnax replied. "It's okay. Zu'u mindok dii fahraal." (14) she said with a smile back at him.
Eriah faced Delphine, her warhammer at her side. "You want my answer? Here it is. I won't be anyone's puppet. Paarthurnax may have done much evil in the past but that was then. This is now, and now he is continuing to master his inherent nature. For me, it's his atonement. You honestly cannot expect me to believe that his betraying Alduin means so little. That's a load of hogwash if I ever heard it." she said. Delphine sighed, running a hand through her hair. "That may be so but justice demands he dies so those he's killed can rest." she said. Eriah glared, her grip tightening on her warhammer. "And here I thought the Blades were meant to serve the Dragonborn. Or was that only the Dragonborns who shared the same view as you? I'm not like them. I'm Eriah Quintence and I say Paarthurnax lives. I will end his life only if he and he alone tells me to do so. Don't claim to speak for the dead. Their only interest is seeing Alduin perish. Paarthurnax was given his task of teaching the Thu'um to Man by Kyne herself. Tell me, Delphine, would you go against a goddess?" she asked. Delphine drew her sword and Eriah followed up by bringing her warhammer up. "I can see there is no reasoning with you. You claim not to be anyone's puppet but I've heard of your exploits in the service of Ulfric Stormcloak. You're fooling yourself into thinking he doesn't have you under his thumb." the Blades' acting Grandmaster said.
"Don't drag Ulfric or my affiliation with the Stormcloaks into this. They have nothing to do with the problem at hand. You have a choice, Delphine. You can either turn around and never return to this holy mountain of your own will or continue to threaten my friend and mentor. If you choose the former, I will exile myself from Sky Haven Temple. I will kill any and all other dragons who come at me without your help but I will not kill the Dovah at my back. If you choose the latter, may the gods help you because I will have no qualms about Shouting you off the mountain as an example to those who would threaten my loved ones. Try to kill him behind my back and I will make you regret it. I will tear the Temple down with my bare hands and put an end to the Blades' legacy myself. You gave me a choice: Paarthurnax either lives or dies. As Dragonborn...no, as a Dovah myself, I say he lives." Eriah snapped. Things were tense between the two women. "He means that much, huh?" Delphine asked. "He's my friend and mentor. That's all that matters now. You know me well enough to know I will carry out my threats if you try to go behind my back. So it's all on you now." Eriah replied. Another tense moment later and Delphine sighed. She straightened up and sheathed her sword. "Don't say I didn't warn you, Dragonborn. When he turns on you, you will regret not taking action sooner." she said. "That's a risk I will take. Thank you for all your help." Eriah replied.
She lowered her warhammer as one of her first allies in Skyrim turned her back and descended from the summit. When she was gone, Eriah lowered her gaze to the snow at her feet. "Did I do the right thing, Paarthurnax?" she asked. The white dragon took flight again and came to land in front of her. "That is only for you to decide, Dovahkiin. As along as you can live with your decision to spare me, that's all that needs said." he replied. Eriah looked at him before hooking her warhammer to her back, reaching out, and setting her hands on his nose. She leaned her forehead against it and sighed. "Zu'u los voth hi erei oblaan." (15) she whispered. Paarthurnax pulled the corners of his lips back. It was the closest to a smile he could manage. "Ahrk Zu'u hi." (16) he said. The sun set on the Throat of the World as dragon and Dragonborn reaffirmed their friendship. Eriah then bade Paathurnax farewell until next time and descended the the mountain. She intended to sleep in High Hrothgar and depart for the Stormcloak camp in The Reach the next day. Ulfric had sent a courier asking for her to meet Galmar there as soon as she was able and she didn't want to keep her shield-brothers and sisters waiting for too long.