Greetings everyone! First time writer here and I am excited to share it with my fellow geeks. I have played Skyrim since its release back in 2011 and still play it very often. I love the lore, the adventures, the characters and the art style. However, doing the same thing over and over again do get boring after a while. I think I've read every Dragonborn/ Serana fanfic there is out there (like 99,7% sure). So, I decided to stop daydreaming about it and started writing down the words. This fanfic also contains spoliers from the game. I must warn you, some locations, factions, lore, quests, characters etc. Have been changed/ removed to make the story more fun for me to write and hopefully for you to read. Some new character may enter the story as well.

In the start, there won't be much romance between the main characters as I think I will try to make their relationship grow a bit slower, don't quote me on that though, nothing is written in stone. The fic is rated M for Adult content, gore, language and (maybe) sexual content. We will have to wait and see if I can manage to write some ''romantic activities'' till later chapters, as I have never done it before. I also wanted to say that English is not my first language so there will be mistakes, but I will try my very best to make it as smooth and understandable as possible. I will also not give you like a weekday for when I release new chapters, they will be released when they are done.

Well that's all I have to say for now, hopefully some of you will enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Skyrim or its characters, all rights belong to our Lord and Savior, Bethesda Softworks.

A Tale of Dragons: Tanz do Iiz ahrk Yol

Chapter: 1

A Lady in a crypt

"My kin will avenge me, dog!" The vampire spat as he choked on his own blood. The blade in his chest twisted slightly before being pushed further into him, effectively ending his life.

"Not if you all keep fighting the same way, so predictable." Khara mumbled as she pulled out her ebony blade from the vampire's corpse, using his cloak to get rid of the blood on her weapon. She had now slain half a dozen vampires since entering the cave, which turned out to be a crypt.

She made her way to a room with a lever in the middle, she pulled it and a gate in front of her opened. As she made her way through she could hear a voice.
"I'll never tell you anything, leech. My oath to Stendarr is stronger than any suffering you can inflict on me!" Such words can only come from a Vigilant. Khara thought to herself as she made her way over to the ledge, giving a clear view of the scene taking place on the stone floor below. The man who had spoken laid bleeding on the floor before two vampires, a male and a female.

"I believe you, Vigilant. And I don't think you even realize what you've found here, so let me explain to you." The male spoke in a smooth voice as he lowered himself and knelt down to be at the same level as the Vigilant. "In here lies ancient knowledge, an Elder Scroll. Now I believe you are sharp enough to understand that with an Scroll, me and my kind could make a lot of chaos, don't you think?" The vampire smirked as he quickly grabbed the man by the throat and stood up. "I won't keep your beloved Stendarr waiting any longer." The vampire said as he harshly pulled the man closer to him and sank his teeth into his neck, draining what little blood was left. The body fell a moment later onto the cold stone floor.

"Are you sure that was wise, Lokil?" The female finally spoke as she walked up to stand beside her fellow vampire, looking down at the corpse in front of her. "He still might have told us something, we haven't gotten anywhere ourselves with…. Whatever this is." She said as she waved her hand towards the middle of the room.

"He knew nothing. He served his purpose by leading us to this place, whatever this is. We will figure it out. Lord Harkon sent us here to claim his price and don't even think about giving up, leaving without it will be a death sentence." He said as he looked at the other vampire.

"Are we truly looking for an Elder Scroll? Did Lord Harkon share so much information with you?" She spoke as she made her way over a little stone bridge that would take her to the center of the room.

"Of course not, I only said that to scare the filth before ending his pathetic little life, I don't even think we'll find anything of much power here, but clearly there is something within this place that holds value to our Lord. Probably just some old jewelry enchanted with blood-magic I reckon." Lokil responded as he too made his way over to the bridge.

Khara had heard enough. She grabbed the crossbow hanging from her belt and aimed it at the female below.

"Let the thrall look some more before we conti…." Swoosh. Lokil quickly turned his head, only to see that his companion had a bolt firmly planted in the back of her head. He hissed as he leapt a few feet back away from his now dead friend. He looked around for where the shooter might have been, only to be meet with two slightly glowing blue eyes looking back at. He raised his axe as he waited for the stranger to emerge from the shadows.

After Khara had hit the vampire in the back of the head, she had jumped down and drawn her blade. It was amusing looking at Lokil's facial expressions as he searched for her. And when their eyes finally met, she started walking towards him.

Lokil smirked at the person now approaching him, he could now see that it was a woman. Wearing some sort of ebony armor, no wonder why she blended so well with the dark. He thought to himself. "Thank you for getting rid of her for me, I will have little time for competition when I return to Lord Harkon." He spoke with arrogance.

"The only lord you'll ever return to is Molag Bal." Khara spoke as she walked faster towards the vampire who only hissed at her response. She was now sprinting towards him as she held onto her blade. The vampire cast a frost bolt at her which she easily dodged, the vampire raised his axe to meet the strike of her blade, but in never came. In the last second before striking the vampire, Khara let go of her blade with one hand and used it to grab her dagger which she has hidden on the back of her belt, stabbing the vampire on the side of his chest.

He swung his axe hoping to remove her head, Khara moved fast yet she still managed to get a little cut below her right eye. Too close, that was too close. She grunted as she rolled to the side and quickly got up on her feet only to meet the axe once more, but with her blade this time. She took a step back as she positioned her left leg on the side on the vampires right one, and managed to make him loose balance as she placed it behind his and used her strength to push him back.

"I will have your head!" The vampire yelled as he fell on the ground. In his panic, he failed to meet her blade, as it was now firmly planted in his chest. He grabbed the blade with one hand and used the other to sit up. His eyes meeting glowing blue ones once more. "To be bested by a morsel." He choked as he continued. "You fight well, but you only delay your own death. I have allies in high places, I will. Be. Avenged." He was now beginning to sway due to the loss of blood.

"We'll all die someday, leech. But I doubt that your allies will be the ones who'll send me to the afterlife." She spoke calmly as she removed the blade from his chest and pulled her mask to cover her face, the cut will have to be treated later.

"You have no idea who you just got yourself involved with, girl." He paused for a moment, getting some air into his lungs. His speech now slurred. "My clan will destroy your world and everyone within it, vampires will role all of Nirn." The final words left his mouth as his lifeless body fell onto the ground.

Khara searched the two vampire bodies, gold, a blood potion by the looks of it and an ebony dagger was the only things she took as she made her way over to the middle of the room. She grabbed hold of her crossbow once more and reloaded it before aiming it at the apparently deaf thrall who was looking around the room for whatever the vampires were looking for. Due to an odd angle Khara had to shoot the poor bastard in his thigh.

"Aghhh!" Was the only thing managed to escape his mouth before a second bolt ended his misery. Right between the eyes.

She smirked at her shot before looking around the room she was now in, that should be all of them. She made her way over to the center and stood in front of a pedestal with a button on top of it. This is a puzzle if I ever saw one, she chuckled at her own thought. She grabbed her dagger once more and gently pressed the button with the tip of it, nothing happened as she continued with more force.
She sighed. "This better not hurt…." She mumbled as she unstrapped her left gauntlet and strapped it to her belt. She gave the room one last look before she placed her hand on the button. Click. She could hear something moving up inside the pedestal fast. For the love of Talos… "Mother fucker!" She yelled in a hushed voice as a spike cold as ice had made a hole in her left hand, making blood pour from it. She knelt quickly as she grabbed a healing potion and some cloth from her enchanted pouch and pored the liquid over the cloth before wrapping it around her hand. I will need to see a healer soon.

"What the?" The ground was shaking and a dark purple light could be seen from the cracks on the stone floor. Khara got on her feet and made sure there was no enemies around once more, before figuring out what she had just done. Around the pedestal there was a circle of the strange light that also went in a straight line pointing over to where she had entered the room. She walked over to it and looked at the brazier that was in some sort of track, she pushed it to where the line went.

Her eyes widen as the brazier suddenly caught flame, she then saw that there we're three of these tracks in circles of different sizes and there were more braziers as well. She walked around the room and moved the brazier to their correct positions, when she got to the last one she paused for a moment. Letting her thoughts of worry crawl to the back of her mind, she pushed the last one into place.

Once more the ground shook, but there was something else happening, something was moving. Khara's eyes looked down to see the floor sinking and that the pedestal, that looked like it was hallow, was rising a little. Not knowing what could be inside, she grabbed her blade with her good hand and prepared herself for whatever would come next.

It's safe to say that after years of adventures and dangerous quest, Khara would've never have guessed what she was now looking at. A woman? Inside the pedestal there was a young woman, sleeping. Her skin was pale, but she did not look sick, her hair as dark as the night and her clothing looked like it was from a different age. There was no denying that the woman in front of Khara was beautiful. Carved by Dibella herself. Khara thought. The woman slowly fell forward, but a shackle around her right wrist prevented her from meeting the ground, she regained her balance shortly after.

The woman opened her eyes and looked around quickly before orange glowing eyes met glowing blue ones. She's a vampire. Khara held her blade a little tighter. The vampire looked at her sword arm before closing her eyes and bringing her left hand to her head, then looked at Khara once more before she spoke. "Ugh…. Where is…" A pause. The woman had a smooth voice, I bet she sings like an Aedra. Her wolf said in her mind. "Who sent you here?" The woman looked confused, disorientated and a little worried as her eyes looked around again. Why does this mortal have glowing eyes? The vampire asked herself in the back of her mind.

"Idgrod Ravencrone, The Jarl of Morthal." Khara responded with her smooth voice as she kept her blade ready in her hand.

The vampire looked at her shackled hand as she spoke. "A Jarl? I don't know who that is, is she…Like me?" The vampire turned her head and looked into blue ones yet again, searching for answers.

"No, she sent me here to deal with the other vampires. I don't think anyone knew you were in here." Khara was unsure of what to do in this situation, this was the first time a vampire had ever taken the liberty of speaking with her, if you don't count all the insult they yell at her. She had always been told that vampires are evil creatures of the night who are to be attacked on sight. Yet she could not bring herself to simply strike the vampire down, there was something about those eyes.

A little worried that the vampire was trying to play some mind games with her, Khara broke eye contact and took a step back, something that the vampire noticed.

"You're a vampire hunter?" The vampire's voice grew a little defensive.

"No, I am not." Khara simply answered.

The vampire narrowed her eyes on the one who had awoken her from her slumber, trying to regain eye contact with the mortal woman. "Then who are you, why are you here?" She asked.

"I am a Thane of the Hold, my duty demanded me finding out what the vampires were doing here." Khara said in an even tone.

The vampire was about to speak, but were interrupted by a sound in the distant. Both the vampire and Khara looked over towards the sound. Footsteps, walking in this direction. Khara noticed a vampire and most likely another thrall, slowly drawing closer, they hadn't noticed her yet. She turned her head to the vampire while kneeling down, placing her blade on the ground and grabbing her dagger.

"Friends of yours?" She asked the vampire. Which now had her full attention back at Khara.

"No, I don't know them." The vampire said. Khara nodded.

"Right then, it would seem for now, we have a common enemy." Khara spoke as she slowly made her way away from the vampire. "Just, stay where you are." She then remembered that the woman was still shackled. The Archmage of Winterhold, ladies and gentlemen, the smartest person in the hold. She thought to herself.

The vampire simply replied with a tilt of her head, her free arm finding its place on her hip.
"Will do." Is all she said.

Khara shook her head. Idiot. "Sorry. Just get their attention, I promise I won't let them draw their swords." Before the vampire could respond, Khara was long gone. What in oblivion? Where did she go? The vampire was a little surprised by the skill of the mortal, not many could so easily fade into the shadows like that.

Before she could think any more of it, two pair of boots stood where the mortal was only moments ago. She raised her head and met eyes of that of a lesser vampire.

"What the? Who are you? Where is Lokil?" The lesser vampire spoke with anger as his thrall simply stood next to him looking as brain dead as always.

She was about to respond, but then she spotted a shadow on top of a pillar close to the thrall. It was her mortal. She then looked over to a corpse of a vampire, that must be Lokil. She concluded before looking at the vampire in front of her. She raised her hand and pointed to the corpse of his fallen ally. "I would guess that is Lokil." She stated.

The vampire's eyes went wide before he stepped closer to her. "Who did this? Where are they?!" He yelled, panic plastered all over his face.

She looked up at the pillar and smiled and she regained eye contact with the vampire.
"They are right here." She said as she nodded to the pillar.

The lesser vampire spun around, his thrall turning with him.

Khara jumped down and rolled between the two, rose to her feet and plunged her dagger into the thrall's skull before quickly letting go of the dagger and grabbing her blade that was now on the ground right next to her. She dodged the vampire's swings as she cut his leg, forcing him to fall on a knee. He parried with her blade before she kicked him where she had cut him, his grip on his sword weakened and Khara drove her blade down into his shoulder, ending his life in a swift move.

She grabbed the dagger and sheathed it before looking at the vampire woman. She then shook her head. "Who are you? It's clear that you are important, why else would these vampires be putting so much effort into finding you." Khara asked as she searched her pouch for something. "Why were you locked away like this?" She said as she found what she was looking for, keeping it hidden from view.

"That's…Well, it's complicated. And I don't know if I can trust you." The vampire woman said as she looked away.

Khara could see that she was holding something back. She narrowed her eyes. "This isn't just about trust, there's more."

The vampire turned her attention back at Khara. "You're right, but letting you know too much would be dangerous. However-" Their eyes met. "-If you want to know the whole story." The vampire raised her shackled hand before continuing.
"How about releasing me and helping me get back home." She knew this was a shot in the dark, but something about this mortal made her want to trust her.

Khara, thought about it for a little while before walking closer to the vampire. "If you try something, or bite me or whatever…. Just don't do that please." The last sentence almost came out as a plea. Khara removed her other gauntlet and used the lock pick, that she had taken out of her pouch, on the shackle. She was now standing very close to the vampire, she caught her scent. Like mountain flower and lavender.

"I don't think that will do it, these shackles are very old and extremely…" Click. "Hard to unlock." The vampire finished as the shackle dropped from her hand. She pulled her hand to her chest and held it, she looked at the mortal once more and smiled for the first time, and Khara noticed. "Thank you." She said.

"Yeah, don't mention it." Khara responded as she gave the vampire some space, which the vampire appreciated. "So about your home, where is it?"

"It's off the coast on an island, to the west of Solitude." Khara nodded. The vampire slightly tilted her head. Then stepped closer to the mortal who straightened at her approach. Guarded, always on alert. The vampire thought. "Since we're going to be traveling together for a little while…" The vampire brought her hand up to introduce herself. Khara looked at it for a second before accepting it. "I'm Serana, good to meet you." She said with a small smile. Both pair of eyes went down to their hand as a small spark went off as they touched. It felt like, like ice and fire colliding. They thought at the same time.

Khara tilted her head a little now as she spoke. "Likewise, I'm Khara."

Interesting name. Serana thought, however her thinking was quickly interrupted when a certain smell hit her. It was her turn to stand with wide eyes, she's a werewolf!
Serana quickly placed her hand on her short sword and took a step back. "You're a werewolf. Why didn't you say?" She said

"It would make for an awkward introduction, don't you think?" Khara responded calmly as she raised her hands to show Serana that she had no weapons in them. "Don't worry, I won't wolf out on you. Just as vampires, werewolfs can learn to control themselves." Serana simply nodded.

"Sorry, I was just caught off guard is all." Serana said after a moment and let her arm fall from her sword.

Khara looked around before turning her head at the vampire, at Serana. "Don't be, people have reacted worse than you did when they found out." Khara spoked as she looked around. "Do you know the way out of here? The entrance I used seems to be blocked." She said as she could see where she had entered was now completely covered with rocks of all sizes. Must have fallen down when the floor started moving.

"No, this place looks so much different from when I was locked away. What about over there?" Serana said as she looked and nodded over to another stone bridge. Khara followed her gaze.

"Might as well check it out, be on the look though. I doubt we're the only ones left in this crypt." Khara said as she took lead and walked over to the bridge, Serana right beside her.

As they made their way over the bridge two statues could be seen. Khara had spotted some of them on her way in earlier.

"Watch out for those statues, they are gargoyles." Serana spoke, when the only response she got was Khara looking at her with her head tilted, she continued. "They are magical creatures, they might look like statues now, but get closer and they will turn alive and attack." She explained.

Khara let out a low hum. "I saw some of them earlier, though they didn't do anything. I'm guessing after messing with your puzzle, they've been activated somehow?" She said as she held her blade, eyes on the statues.

Serana smiled at the response. "Most likely. They are very common for being guardians to vampires. I'm sure you can see why." Serana herself didn't know much about them, only that they we're created with blood-magic. Her mother was always the one who knew about things like these. Where are you mother? And where is father? Did we truly leave things as bad as I remember? Serana shook her thoughts away.

The duo walked over the bridge and just as Serana had said, the two statues, the gargoyles broke out of their stone prisons as they roared and locked eyes with them. They charged only a moment later.

Khara drew her blade whilst Serana charged up her magic, with blade and spell ready in hand, they made their attack. Khara charged towards the closest gargoyle while Serana focused on the one in the back, who we're having difficulties joining its fellow beast in combat as Serana showered it with destruction spells.

Khara was countering every swipe of claw that came towards her and she managed to hit the beast in the chest, effectively slowing it down for a moment. And a moment was all she needed. Once again, she grabbed her dagger and planted it in the skull of her foe, killing the beast. She pulled her dagger out and ran over to her next target.

Serana saw that Khara were closing in on her gargoyle and slowed down with the spells, taking more time to aim, making sure she didn't hit the werewolf. Khara was now running at full speed and wasn't planning on slowing down, as she came up to the gargoyle she quickly swept to the right and then back to the left to dodge an attack. She jumped and quickly drove her blade in its neck with a swift move before her feet met the ground. She took a few steps forward before turning around, only to see that the gargoyle was falling to the ground and that Serana was making her way over to her.

It was only now that Khara spotted something on the vampires back, however she could not see what is was as it was wrapped in some leather. She was going to ask what it was, but quickly decided against it.

"You have a unique fighting style, very unpredictable." Serana said as they were now next to each other. They started walking over to some stairs.

"Thanks, I was always told that in the second your enemies understand you fighting pattern, you've already lost." Khara responded before looking at the vampire. "You're not too bad yourself, I saw your spells, they weren't apprentice level ones. It must have taken you years to be able to cast them so easily." Serana smiled.

"It took a while, yes. After a few centuries, I got the hang of it. Time was, as I'm sure you can understand, never really a problem." Serana said as she began to climb the stairs with Khara.

"Right, because you don't age." Khara said amused, successfully making the two of them chuckle. It also gave her another thing which she was wondering about. "Just how long have you been in here? Your accent doesn't sound like any I've ever heard." One could hear the curiosity in her voice.

Serana narrowed her eyes playfully at the wolf. "Haven't you ever heard that you aren't supposed to ask a Lady that question?" She responded, earning a snort and a little laugh from Khara. "To be honest though, I'm not sure. But it feels like I've been in this place for a long time, who is Skyrim's High King?" She asked as she looked at the young wolf. They were now in front of a gate leading to another room.

"That's actually a matter for debate." Khara said as she now turned to face Serana.

"Oh, wonderful. A war of succession. Good to know that the world didn't get boring while I was asleep. Who are the contenders?" She asked. Khara walked over to a lever and pulled it.

"Well, the Empire supports Elisif's rule, but many of the natives supports the rebellion led by Ulfric, the Jarl of Windhelm." She said as they made their way into the new room.

Serana stopped for a moment. "Empire? What are you talking about, what empire?" Serana asked confused as she caught up with Khara.

It was Khara's time to stop now, she turned to face her again. "The Empire, from Cyrodiil." Serana's eyes went wide.

"Cyrodiil is the seat of an empire? I've must have been gone for longer than I thought." Serana said as she pinched her nose and closed her eyes. "Please, let's hurry. I need to get home so that I can figure out what's happening, this is all so confusing." Khara nodded and they walked down some stairs, the room they were in looked like an old Nordic version of an arena. There were seats around the place that had a few skeletons and a draugr sitting on them, currently in a deep slumber.

Khara crouched down and told Serana to do the same. She grabbed her crossbow and aimed it at a skeleton, after a minute and a few bolts, all the skeletons were now dead, for real. She reloaded it before speaking. "See that draugr over there, the one on the throne?" She asked as she nodded towards it. Serana looked at the undead creature and turned her eyes back to Khara, she gave a small nod.

"It's a Deathlord, one of the more powerful undead. Don't get too close, they are not to be underestimated." She said as she raised her crossbow. "Ready?" She asked Serana.

"Yes, let's get this done with." Was her response.

Khara let the bolt fly and hit its target, hitting the Deathlord in the shoulder, making its sword arm useless. The draugr raised from its seat and drew its sword with the other arm.

"Dir Volaan, Qiilan Us Dilon! Zu'u fen oblaan hi!" The Deathlord yelled in its old hoarse voice as it made its way towards them.

Khara drew her blade and yelled back. "Bo ruz, hin braan diil saraan fah hi!" Her words made the draugr roar as is sprinted towards her. Khara charged while Serana had already started her own assault. Serana had used her skills to rise two of the lifeless skeletons to fight for her, she commanded them to attack the Deathlord and so they did.

Khara met the draugr's ebony sword with her own blade as they both fought to see the other's demise. The Deathlord used his unnatural strength to stagger Khara as he kept pushing her back towards a wall. The draugr summoned a little more of its strength as it tried a power attack, one that Khara rolled away from. The two skeletons were now alongside Khara, ready to fight with her as Serana kept the Deathlord slowed down with her ice spells.

The Deathlord turned and faced the werewolf and her newly risen allies, as the skeletons charged their target, Khara plunged her blade into the dirt floor below her as she summoned a fire spell in both hands. The skeletons were keeping the Deathlord busy as she and Serana were sending never ending waves of frost and fire magic at the three undead. The draugr pushed the skeletons back before taking an intake of air. Khara knew what it was doing. At the same time, she too took a breath of air. "FUS RO DAH!" The draugr shouted. A blue force field was making its way towards them, however Khara was quick to respond with a shout of her own.

"WULD NAH KEST!" She yelled right after, followed by a thundering sound.

Serana's eyes almost couldn't believe what they were seeing, the draugr had shouted. Something she thought was a long-lost art. It's safe to say that she got even more surprised when another shout could be heard, but this one however didn't come from the draugr. This day just keeps getting more and more interesting. She mused to herself as she saw Khara moving towards the Deathlord at an incredible speed. Khara easily ignored the draugr's shout as she moved through the forcefield, aiming her sword for the draugr's head. Serana could not see what happened as the force of the shouts had made dust cover the scene in front of her. She walked closer with her two skeletons protectively standing between her and where all the dust was, as it stared to fade she could see two forms, neither were moving.

Khara had placed her sword neatly through the Deathlord's mouth, making it come out on the back of its head. She pulled her blade out and sheathed it to her belt. She turned around to see that the two skeletons had collapsed to the ground and she raised her eyes to meet Serana's. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"You have secrets, things you aren't comfortable sharing with others. We all have secrets, I won't pry on yours if you don't pry on mine, Serana." Khara said. She didn't mean to sound rude or disrespectful. Luckily for her, Serana understood as she nodded her head in acknowledgement.

Khara gave a small nod before walking over to a word wall, searching it for new words of power. In the back of her mind she could hear a voice repeating a word, Gaan. She heard the word within herself before fully understanding its meaning, Stamina. Khara turned from the wall and looked at what she guessed to be the exit.

Serana made sure to remember to ask Khara how she came to learn the language of dragons and how she could shout as they did. But for now, she decided to respect the wolfs request, thus keeping her questions to herself for now.

They made way over to the supposed exit, and was met by another gate with a lever, on the other side they could both see beams of light. "Finally, it'll be good to get out of this cave, the air down here is filled with dust." Serana spoke as she walked over to the lever. Khara right on her heels.

"Yes, there was a storm building up just before I entered this cave. Hopefully its over or at least calmed down a little." Khara said as she pulled the lever, making their path clear.

Excited to breathe fresh air for the first time in gods knows how long, Serana made her way out of the cave opening quite fast. Something Khara found amusing. She followed her newly found companion and stood next to her, looking around for anyone or anything. Her view however wasn't the greatest as the storm were still going strong, snow flying past them at a fast pace, making it near impossible to see more than a few feet in front of them. This is what I get for opening my damned mouth. Khara scolded herself. She looked over to the vampire and saw that she was slightly shivering.

Khara removed her fur cloak and pulled it over the unaware vampire's shoulders. Making Serana give her a small smile. "Come, Morthal isn't far. If we can make it down this mountain in one piece, it's only an hour to walk at most." Khara said as she walked, following the small mountain road downwards. Serana hugged herself as she too started walking, coming up alongside Khara.

After making their way down the mountain they found the road leading into town only a few moments later. As they we're getting closer to town Khara spoke once more. "Morthal had a little vampire problem not long ago, many of the inhabitants here have bad experiences with vampires. Best to keep that hood up and try to avoid making eye contact with anyone." Khara said as she eyed the vampire while they walked.

"What happened here?" Serana asked.

"Long story short, a group of vampires were trying to take control of the town. They failed of course, but the townsfolk had casualties, including a young girl." Khara answered her. They could now see lanterns and torches in front of them.

"I see, I'll follow your lead." Serana said as they were now making their way over to the local tavern, Moorside Inn it was called. Khara nodded as she opened the door for Serana.

"Take a seat in the corner, I'll get us some rooms." Serana walked over to the corner as she was told. She noticed that there weren't too many in here, a bard, the barkeeper and half a dozen patrons. She could see Khara speaking with the barkeeper and shaking her hand after being handed some keys.

As Khara sat down next to Serana with her back leaning against the wall, she could see that no one were paying them any attention. "Here, your room is the one on the far right." She said as she handed Serana a key.
Khara had chosen to sit in the corner of the tavern mainly due to the darkness which resided there. Khara placed her sword next to her on the bench and took off her gauntlet. She then slid down a bit on the bench to get more comfortable. She pulled her hood further up to make sure no one could see her face, better safe than sorry. She thought.

Serana had looked at her before taking the key. After placing it in her pocket she could see that the barkeeper was walking towards them with a plate in hand as well as two bottles. "Here you go, it's on the house. It's the least I can do." The woman said as she gave a little nod to the two women who sat before him.

"Thank you, Jonna." Khara said as Jonna, the barkeeper, placed the plate and the two bottles on the table in front of them. Then walked back to the bar to talk with some customers. On the plate, there were two bowls of beef stew as well as two bottles of Honningbrew mead.

"Did you order this?" Serana asked.

Khara chuckled. "No, Jonna likes to give me free food whenever I visit, I helped her once with a little thief problem and since then, free food and drinks. I tried to pay once, but she wouldn't have it, woman is as stubborn as a Nord. I'll just have to accidently drop some gold on the counter when we leave." Khara said as she grabbed two cups and looked at Serana. "Do you drink, Serana?" She asked as she poured one cup.

Serana looked at the bottles and grabbed one of them. "I've never tried this." Serana said as she examined the bottle. Khara smiled as she filled the other cup and offered it to Serana.

She took the cup from Khara and smiled she then tasted the beverage. "It's sweet." She said as she drank some more. Khara took one bowl and turned to face the front of them. She pulled down her mask as she started to eat, after all that had happened today, she was extremely hungry. Due to her clever positioning Serana could still not see her face. However, she could see some straws of hair, the wolf had hair as white as the purest snow. But if it did anything it only made the vampire more curious to what the wolf looked like.

"You're not going to take of your hood?" The vampire asked.

"Nah, that would sort of ruin the whole mysterious-stranger-thing I got going on." She responded as she enjoyed her soup. Serana only shook her head at the woman's humor. "Are you hungry?" Khara asked.

"You mean thirsty? Yes, a little." Serana answered and watched as Khara took her now empty cup and brought it over to herself, she took something out of her pouch. Khara raised her head only for a moment to make sure no one were watching her before filling the cup with a red liquid. She then gave it back to Serana. The vampire took it and then looked at her again. "One of the vampires back in the cave had it on him. I thought it might come in handy, so I took it."

Serana said nothing as she drank from the cup, even though it was bottled blood, it was still better than nothing. She could feel the liquid make its way down her throat and slowly warmed her cold body. Her senses heighten as the blood awoke something within her, and she was first now noticing that her rescuer had a bloodied rag around her left hand. The smell of dried blood hit her like a giant's mace, never had she ever smelled anything quite like it. The scent was unique to say the least, this woman, whoever she might be, were more than just some werewolf. The was something in her blood that held power, raw power. She kept wondering, unaware that Khara had finished her stew and was now looking at her, mask yet again covering everything except her eyes.

Serana did notice the pair of eyes on her after a little while.
"What happened to your hand?" She asked as she looked at the bloodied hand.

Khara looked down to her wounded hand and held it with her other one. "I had to press a button in order to open your tomb, turns out it was more than just a button." She answered as she slowly removed the cloth.

"So, you just travel around the hold exploring caves and dungeons, pressing random buttons whenever you see one?" Serana asked amused. Khara's shoulders shook as she chuckled at the vampire's humor. Khara then replaced the used bandage around her hand with a new one.

"Well, when you say it like that it sounds foolish. It's just, I can't help myself when it comes to buttons, levers and switches. My curiosity simply takes over." She answered the vampire, amused by the conversation they were now having. A little yawn escaped from her.

"You should rest, there is still a long distance to walk." Serana said as she looked at the wolf. Khara nodded and rose from the bench, grabbing her gear and standing in front of Serana.

"You're right." She said. "I have a horse in the stables here that you can use while I…." She looked around before lowering her voice, making sure that the only person who could hear her was the vampire.
"Take on my wolf form. We'll leave once it gets dark, alright?" She asked Serana.

"Sounds good, rest well." Serana said with a smile as Khara gave a small nod and walked over then into a room. Serana sat around a little longer before she too retired into her own room.

Hours passed as the two women sat in their own rooms, unaware what the both were thinking about the other. People laughing and talking could be heard through the thin wooden walls of the inn. Serana could hear the heartbeats to everyone inside the building if she concentrated enough, there were more people in here now than before. However, over all the heartbeat going in different speeds, one could clearly be heard over the others, as is held a strong and even rhythm. That's the wolf. She thought. Serana could tell by her heartbeat that she wasn't sleeping, but resting none the less. As the sounds around them slowly faded away, Serana knew without having to look outside, that night was upon them. She made her way out for the room and into the main hall of the inn. She spotted Khara and saw that she was talking to the barkeeper and placing a little bag of coins on the desk before quickly turning around and sprinting towards the door leading out.

As Khara ran past Serana, she grabbed her companion by her upper arm and pulled her with her as they ran out of the inn. Serana couldn't help but let a little yelp escape her lips as she didn't expect to be dragged out of the inn. When outside, Khara lead her over to the stables. Back at the inn you could see Jonna, the innkeeper, looking around with an annoyed expression on her face and a bag of gold in her hand. Serana knew what was up.

"I see that you accidently lost that bag of gold, hmmm?" She said as she looked at the woman in front of her. Khara laughed as she nodded.

"Woman had it coming, she can't just keep giving away Honningbrew mead for free." Was Khara's answer. They walked over to the town stables and Khara talked to the stablemaster, who later walked off to get her horse.

"We'll have to stay off the main roads, I can't imagine people reacting well to seeing a werewolf." As she spoke, Khara brought out a map that was incredibly detailed and probably had the most notes on it Serana had ever seen on a map before. Serana watched as Khara wrote Dimhollow Crypt on the side of a mountain, that must have been that cave she found me in. Khara's writing style was flawless, art almost.

"You certainly do a lot of traveling, don't you? This map in incredible, it must have taken you a while to have travel to all these places." Serana spoke in awe as her eyes roamed the map that was now laid out before her. She had always enjoyed traveling and couldn't help herself to envy Khara on all the adventures she had surely been on.

"Yes, my umm…My duties require me to move around a lot." Khara said carefully, not fully ready to share all her titles and responsibilities with the vampire just yet. As much as Serana wanted to know more about Khara, she knew not to push the matter. The wolf had not asked more about Serana and her past, so the least she could do was to treat her with the same kindness. As Khara took the map and placed it back in her pouch, the stablemaster had brought Khara's horse over to them.

Khara took the steed, she and Serana then started walking out of town after paying the stable master. After walking for a little while they ditched the road and went into the wilderness. Khara scanned the area they were now in before strapping her blade and dagger onto the horse, she then looked at Serana. "Okay, are you ready? Or is there anything you wanted to ask? After I transform I won't be able to talk, our communication will be very basic." She said as she held Serana's eyes.

"I'm ready, but won't transforming now destroy your armor?" Serana asked. She didn't know much about werewolves, but she knew a little.

"For a normal werewolf, it would." Khara answered before removing her gauntlet and raising her hand for Serana to see. There was a ring on her ring finger that had a unique design, a wolf's head.
"This is the ring of Lord Hircine, it allows werewolves to take on the form of the wolf whenever they want. It has powerful enchantments on it that makes it so that my armor won't be damaged under the transformation." Khara said before removing the ring and handed it to Serana. The vampire's eyes widened a little as she opened her palm, Khara then placed it in her hand before turning back to her steed, making sure the straps would hold.

Serana looked at the ring and inspected it carefully, taking in every detail.
"I've never seen anything like it, I can feel it's enchantments." Serana said as the ring started shaking a little, making the vampire a little worried. "Um, Khara? Is this supposed to happen?" She asked.

Khara turned back to Serana and laughed at the scene before her. Serana stood as still as a statue as her eyes were wide looking at the dancing ring in her hand. It was an amusing sight to say the least.
"It knows you're not a werewolf or a champion of Hircine, it's trying to find its owner." Khara said with an amused voice as she raised her hand, aiming her ring finger at Serana's hand. The ring then quieted down with its movements before flying towards Khara's pointed out finger, successfully placing itself where it belongs.

"The Huntsman of the Princes certainly knows how to make them." Serana said impressed by what had just happened in front of her.

"Aye, that he does." Khara answered before putting her gauntlet back on her hand and taking a few steps back, preparing herself for the transformation. Knowing what she was doing, Serana grabbed the horse in case it would be frightened by the wolf.

Khara inhaled air as she bowed her head down, closing her eyes. It's time to show yourself, my wolf. Khara said in her mind and was answered by an extended howl, her wolf aspect had answered, making Khara smirk. A dark mist appaired at her feet, quickly climbing her form. It was now covering her whole body, successfully making it impossible to see the woman covered by it. Khara opened her eyes and Serana could see that her blue soft-glowing eyes grew a little in size as well as in height.

Serana could hear the wolf's heartbeat growing stronger, the breathing louder and the blood in its veins flowing faster. The dark mist fell to the ground and simply faded a moment later, revealing the wolf's form. Serana had seen drawings of werewolves before and read stories, they had red or black eyes, dark fur and were vicious, hideous beasts. But, the creature that was standing before her
was not like the ones in the books, it's fur was as white as snow and looked like it was as soft as the finest silk. Its eyes had not changed, as the soft glowing blue yet remained on the wolf's calm facial expression. This wasn't a mindless savage beast, it was Khara.

The wolf looked at the woman standing in front of her, Khara saw that Serana was taking in her form. Khara lowered herself a little, still standing higher than the vampire, and walked a little closer. She stopped before her and tilted its head, making Serana's lips form a small smile.

"I'm sorry if I'm starting." She said as her eyes roamed the white wolfs face before continuing. "You look different from what I expected is all." The wolf huffed, earning a short laugh from Serana. "A good kind different, I promise." The wolf's ears pointed towards her and Serana swears on her blood that its tail moved a little. Serana raised her hand and reached out to the wolf's head before stopping. "Can I?" She asked politely. The wolf lowered itself down on all four and lifted its head so that it touched the vampire's cool hand. On contact it was like ice and fire dancing together once again, yet it did not hurt either. Serana was surprised to find out the was right, the fur did feel like silk, it made her smile as she claimed the wolf's eyes. "You ready?" She asked, still smiling. The wolf gave a small growl and a nod. Serana mounted the steed and together with Khara, they started the final part their journey.


Dovahzul Translations

Draugr Deathlord: Dir Volaan, Qiilan Us Dilon! Zu'u fen oblaan hi! - Die Intruder, Kneel Before Dead! I will end you!

Khara: Bo ruz, hin braan diil saraan fah hi! - Come then, your fellow undead awaits for you!

This translation might not be 100% accurate, but at least you get the idea.