I held up my hand, signaling my party to stop, as we crossed into the largest room of the ruin yet.
It was an enormous room. The ceiling was a gentle dome, about thirty feet high at its peak. The room itself had eleven walls, each of the same size. There were about ten feet across, each, and all but two had artwork in what looked like enamel. Those two were the wall that contained the door we'd just entered through, and the one opposing that door which contained a single mirror.
The door and mirror had similar shapes to them. They were both about seven feet wide at the base, rising up to about nine feet before tapering off to a point. They were the same, otherwise. Right down to the stonework of their borders.
I cast my gaze around the room, looking for traps, or for hidden doorways that might have a number of Undead behind them waiting to jump out. We'd run into that last one more than once in the ruin, already.
"Looks clear," I said cautiously… and then added, "but I think I'll look a bit deeper before we go in."
I breathed in deeply, allowing the words to form in my mind almost by instinct. They were three words in a language that was dead for thousands of years, three words who echo with power even in the mouths of the untrained. Together, they comprised a useful Shout.
"Laas Yah Niir," I whispered, putting more of myself into the Words than I would if carrying out a conversation. By doing so, I gave them substance beyond the wind they were made of.
There was a cracking noise, like thunder, within the words as I spoke them in spite of my whispering. As the sounds passed out of my mouth, my vision shifted and the Aura Whisper took effect. Colors grew dull, except around the living. I could see Life around those who live, and those who were in the grip of False Life… and even in those things that Mimic Life.
I scanned the room, searching for anything that might be threatening. I didn't see anything with the Aura Whisper, which meant that there weren't any Undead, Living, or Constructs waiting to attack us. That didn't rule out traps… but I couldn't pick out any obvious mechanisms from a distance.
"Okay," I said, "the room's clear of enemies. Watch out for traps."
"I'll try," the woman to my right said.
"Got it," the woman on my left said.
Then we moved into the room. I kept one eye on the floor, looking for pressure plates. I didn't find any… although it would have been hard to do so. The floor was a mosaic, or maybe more enameling. The pattern was incredibly complicated… but I got the feeling that there was some order to the design that I couldn't quite see. As for my other eye-
The woman on my right asked, "Who do you think they are?"
My other eye was looking at the murals on the walls. They were… incredible. Titanic in their size, and each was made of a different… being. They reminded me a bit of the stained glass windows in the Cathedrals of Cyrodiil. They all looked like Bosmer, in their general shape, but each had something… strange added on.
"There are nine of them," I said, "so I'm guessing Gods. Maybe this was a Temple… but I don't recognize the Pantheon. I think the woman with the dragon coiled around her is probably a different version of Akatosh, though. As for the rest… I'd need more information to link them to anything we know today."
"This place makes me nervous," the other woman said, "it's like… something's watching us. But I can't see it."
I turned my head to the side to talk to her, catching a glimpse of her armor out of the corner of my eye. It was heavy armor, Skyforge-Steel Plate at least twice as thick as it normally was, and with Dragon icons carved into its surface. I had spent the better part of a week making that armor, even with Eorlund to help.
"I feel it too, Nerevra…" I paused for a moment, thinking, and then turning to the other woman and saying, "Hey, Serana. How do the Barriers look here?"
Serana paused for a moment, and closed her eyes for a moment. I saw a slightly purple twisting of the light around her, as she prodded the Limenal Barriers with a basic Conjuration Spell, and then she opened them and said, "The Barriers are weak here. Like Mother's lab."
"You think there's a Portal here?" I asked.
"Probably," she said, "can't think of anything else that would do this to the barriers and not have Lesser Daedra slipping through the cracks."
I nodded, and then continued moving forward. Things were quiet until we reached the center-point of the room. Then… things got exciting as the Mirror, or rather the Portal, turned on.
The Mirror gave off a wave of light that hit me with an almost physical force. My eyes were forced closed by the brilliance, but I could still feel the light. Raw Magicka washed over me like a tidal wave, and I felt like the flood was trying to sweep me away. There wasn't any mass to it… but it had a lot of force to it.
"You okay Serana?" I asked, "That felt like sunlight."
Serana replied, "Yeah… I'm blind, but otherwise okay. Doesn't feel like sunlight."
"Your Mage is right," a Voice said, "Thief."
The voice surprised me, and my right hand flew to the Dragonbone Greatsword on my back. I drew it free of its sheath as the light receded enough for me to open my eyes.
I saw three men standing in front of the mirror, like they had just stepped out of it. Considering that it was probably a portal, they had probably done exactly that.
"Who are you," I asked, holding the great-sword against my armor.
The man in the center answered. He looked to be a Breton, like me. But he was old, with long graying hair and a grayer beard. He was wearing loose clothing, most noticeable a long coat with a high collar that covered most of his throat.
He said, "Fahdon wo lost kriinaan hi grinstiid." I knew it as the Dragon Language the moment the words were shaped, and the translation echoed in my Souls. A Friend who has written you often.
I blinked, once. Knowing any of the Dragon Language was remarkable… knowing enough to form a sentence was more so. I replied, "Ruz wo los vorey?" Who are the others?
The man on the left stepped forward. He was a… well he was a Nord's Nord. He had a massive battleaxe slung over his shoulder, and he looked strong enough to wield it with one hand. His helmet obscured his face… but a long and braided beard emerged. His armor looked to be some sort of fusion between Ancient Nordic designs… and the armor of the Blades.
"En krigare." the massive Nord said. I didn't recognize the language.
The man on the right stepped forward next. He was the one who had spoken, neither of the others sounded like him or spoke the Emperor's Tongue. He looked to be an Imperial man, with his hood up where I couldn't get a look at his hair. I could see his eyes, or rather the blindfold he wore over them both. Beyond that, he was dressed like a Battlemage. A robe flowed out from under his breastplate, and he wore it open in the front to expose the plates of armor he wore beneath.
"The one who Watches," the third man said.
The man who spoke the Dragon Language turned to the Watcher and asked, "Fos los nust, Lahzey?" What are they, Mage?
"I cannot speak as to the Warrior and Thief," he said, "they have not been set in their roles. But I know the woman is the Mage."
"Kan de överleva vad som kommer?" the Nordy Nord... asked?
"They will have to be," the Watcher said as he extended an arm to his side. A weapon dropped into it, a two-handed sword that appeared to be made from Mithril. He was definately from Cyrodill, then. Mithiril Armor and Weapons only exist in the Imperial Province.
Nerevra drew her weapon at that, and Dawnbreaker let out an almost physical wave of light as it was unsheathed. Serana drew her weapon, a Dragonbone Sword I'd forged for her, and gathered a Destruction spell in her off hand. I, of course, already had the massive Dragonbone Greatsword in my hands, ready for a fight.
"Vi känner dem redan." Nordy-Nord Said, in what sounded like a calm tone, "De kommer inte frivilligt."
The one who spoke the Dragon Tongue replied, "Nust fen bo fod dah." They will come when pushed.
"Very well," the Watcher said, holding the greatsword in a ready stance, "let us push them."
I moved first, the words coming to mind by instinct. I brought them forth into the world, shouting them as a battle-cry: "WULD NAH KEST!"
The Whirlwind Sprint should have sent me flying forward to meet the man in the center, the one that spoke the Dragon Tongue. I should have been able to push him forward, into the mirror, and maybe drive my sword through him before the battle could begin. But I couldn't... because he responded with a Shout of his own.
"NID NAHLOT VUTH!" he Shouted... and my Shout was drowned out by his. I didn't Understand the words, but I knew what they meant. No Silence Stop. I didn't know the Shout's name, but I could undestand what it did... it Silenced my Voice.
I felt anger rise up in me at that... my Voice was a part of me. It was a power that was worked into my very Soul, and the Dragon Souls that I had devoured over the years to empower it. I opened my mouth in a wordless cry of rage, and charged forward. Nerevra followed alongside me, and Serana let loose the first two Ice Spears, aiming for the Watcher and Nordy-Nord.
Neither Spear hit. The Watcher waved a hand, and both Spears were deflected off in an entirely different direction. That... shouldn't have been possible. No Ward can be used immediately, all known Ward Spells take time to charge up... which meant that The Watcher knew spells that weren't known to the College.
Nerevra got to Nordy-Nord before I could engage my foe. Probably because of those absurdly long legs Nords have. Nordy-Nord responded by bringing his battleaxe around in an almost lazy swing, which Nerevra caught on her shield. The Shield of Auriel glowed slightly as it absorbed the majority of the blow's force, but the amount that got through was still enough to knock her off balance.
The Tongue, the practitioner of The Voice, drew an Akaviri Longsword and went to stab at Nerevra. I didn't allow it, parrying the blade upward with my Greatsword, and then turning its momentum towards the Tongue's head. I would have cleaved his skull in two... if he hadn't responded by Shouting, "FEIM," and immediately becoming incorporial. My blade passed through the specter-like skull without doing any damage, and the blade pulled me off balance as the strike carried through without being slowed by a skull.
The Watcher brought his blade up, and slammed its blunt edge down on my shoulder. That knocked me to the ground... just in time to catch Nerevra catch another blow from that battleaxe on her shield. She was luring Nordy-Nord off from me... and Serana.
She had just reached us, and brought her sword forward at the Watcher's unarmored skull. He reacted to the blade instantly, ducking under her strike from behind him and spinning on the spot... using the blunt edge of his longsword to whack Serana in the back of her knees. Her feet practically flew out from under her, and she hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Sluta gömma sig bakom din sköld!" Nordy-Nord shouted from outside my vision.
Then I turned to the Tongue. He didn't have his sword pointed at me, but I could feel a more deadly weapon in the form of his Voice. I could sense the Thu'um building up within him, about to be unleashed in whatever form he chose... but he didn't get to speak.
While the Watcher and Tongue were busy with me and Serana, Nerevra had blocked another strike from Nordy-Nord. She had then taken advantage of the most dangerous part of the Enchantment upon Auriel's Shield. She unleashed the force it had captured while blocking Nordy-Nord's strikes by bashing him squarely in the chest... and sent him flying as if he'd been hit by Unrelenting Force. Flying stright into the Tongue, knocking him to the ground.
I rolled and scrambled onto my feet, letting off a Fast Healing spell as I recovered. I felt a bolt of heat hit my back, probably a Firebolt Spell, but it didn't prevent me from regaining my feet. Especially since my Amulet was enchanted to resist fire and ice magic.
I turned upon the Watcher, and saw him with his blade at Serana's throat. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Drop your weapon."
I ran the odds in my head. I couldn't Shout to bull-rush him with Whirlwind Sprint, or Slow Time , or Disarm him. The Tongue would just deny me my Voice again. Nerevra was too far away to sneak up on him. I... only had one real choice.
I dropped my weapon... throwing it so that it would be louder as it clattered against the enamel floor. Trusting that Nerevra would understand why I had done that.
"Good," he said, "now... walk into the Portal."
I took my steps as heavily as I could. Nerevra was a quiet woman, even in heavy armor. As long as I provided sound cover, she'd be able to slip up on the enemy as long as he had his eyes on me.
"Don't bother with the noise." The Watcher said, "I can see her creeping up on me. Just walk into the portal, nice and calmly. You'll understand why once you're there."
The Watcher turned his head away from me, and towards Nerevra, and said, "You enter the Portal as well. You'll be needed to set things right as well."
Nerevra looked like she was going to rush him... but she didn't. Instead she sheathed Dawnbreaker and said, "I cannot leave while she is endangered."
The Watcher smiled, and then he said, "Of course. The Champion of Meridia can't leave a Vampire to die, now can she? What would your lady possibly think about that?"
He scoffed, and then he grabbed the back of Serana's clothing, and slung her into the Portal.
"Just so you know," he said, "It's a one-way trip. I'd gather your weapons."
Then he made a gesture with his left hand that I couldn't quite catch, and all three of them vanished with flares of purple light.
"Well," I said, looking at Nerevra, "We'd best go help Serana... wherever she is."
Nerevra nodded, and then took a running jump into the Portal without a further word.
I followed her, grabbing my weapon before setting out... and was halfway through the Portal before I heard the word.
"NO."
Author's Notes
There are potential Spoilers for the Elder Scrolls Deep Lore within the Author's Notes, as well as the Dragon Age Lore. I'm also going to be doing a lot of telling, instead of showing, here.
I'm going to cover some things that I can already hear the comments on.
First up: Nerevra.
She's an OC. She isn't Dragonborn, but she is considered to be the actual Hero of the Dawnguard DLC. I split her from the Dragonborn so that I could justify having both of my favorite PCs in one story. Those of you who've played Morrowind already know who her father is. He's probably not going to show up in person.
For those of you who want to know: She was the leader throughout the Dawnguard Campaign. She doesn't have any Supernatural edges that she relies upon when she's fighting, outside of the Enchantments upon her weapons (which are all but impossible to shut down). That's why she does better when the rug's pulled out from under the other two. She knows how to hold her own in a close-quarters fight, and could probably a shoot a Dragon out of the sky with her bow.
Second up: The Three Weirdoes.
A lot of you are probably wondering how three random guys managed to beat Team Dragonborn like that. I've got two major reasons. The first is that the one who can Shout is able to use a Shout that I call Silencing Echo. It shuts down other Voice-Users. The Dragonborn is really dependant on his ability to Shout when he fights. Taking them away reduced him a lot. The Watcher being able to neutralize Serana's Destruction Magic turned her into dead weight. Nerevra was the only one who they couldn't shut down, which is why she managed to nearly draw the Nordy-Nord's blood.
Team Dragonborn got really lucky fighting those three, though. They weren't even remotely going for kills, which you probably caught with how they were usually attacking with the blunt side of their weapons. The Nordy-Nord looked like he was going for a kill, but he knew what Auriel's Shield could do. He's fought against someone who wielded it before, and would have pulled his strikes if Nerevra hadn't gotten her shield up. If they had actually been trying to kill them, the battle would have been over before the Light had thinned out.
If the Dragonborn had gone in and tried to save Serana, instead of standing down, the Watcher would have just thrown her into the Portal before engaging him.
Those of you who've started diving into the Elder Scrolls Lore will probably recognize those three. They're pretty important, and they're clued into the Deep Lore. The languages they use will tell you a lot about who they are, as will their displayed abilities. By the way, Nordy-Nord is speaking Atmoran. I use bastard Swedish to represent it, since we don't have any canon sources.
Third up: The Mirror and Murals
The Mirror is an Eluvian, which has recently been hijacked by some powerful beings and aimed at specific locations, instead of linking to the weird Ehlven Crossroads. The Murals in the wall are based off of Solas's Murals in Skyhold, in Dragon Age: Inquisition. They depict the Elven Gods. The woman with the Dragon coiled around her is Mythal. Leon (the Dragonborn) is wrong about her being another version of Akatosh.
So why is there an Ehlven Outpost in Tamriel?
The answer to that would spoil things.
Fourth up: Serana and Nerevra
The Watcher was calling attention to the fact that the Champion of Meridia was protecting a Vampire with his comment before throwing Serana through the Eluvian.
Meridia normally has a problem with Vampires, since they're undead, but she has an exception for Serana. The reason for this would be a spoiler for later plot developments, but there is a reason. I've even hinted at it during this episode.
Fifth up: NO!
I have to tell those of you who've read Michael Kirkbride's C0DA something: That wasn't Numidium talking. Landfall hasn't happened in this timeline, and I still haven't decided if this is one of the Timelines where Landfall happens.
The thing that was talking was much worse than the Numidium, in the grand scheme of things. I couldn't affect anyone until they went through the Eluvian, though.
