"A…murder?" Darlayah couldn't believe it herself. Perhaps the nightmare had not ended? She began to feel dizzy – her ears were ringing and her vision was slightly blurred.

The guard nodded, a grim frown upon his face. "Yes ma'am. Butchered in their own beds last night." He folded his arms, before grinning ever so slightly. "Now I think you ought to turn around and leave – I don't think the Temple are taking visitors right now." His dry gallows humour made Darlayah scowl, and she held back the urge to punch him with tremendous effort.

She then had an idea – she was an assassin, yes? She knew about the ways of death and murder – she knew how to send messages using a kill and could easily tell which weapon was used in a murder. She looked up at the guard, her icy glare upon him.

"Tell you what – if you let me in, I'll help you find the killer. I helped solve the Butcher case in Windhelm – I have experience." She offered, lying ever so slightly. It was in fact Nazir who solved the Windhelm case – the murderer had stolen a Dark Brotherhood kill, so Nazir went to 'sort it out'.

The guard sighed, before shrugging. He opened the doors of the temple, allowing Darlayah inside before quickly announcing to the other guards in the temple that her access was authorised.

As she entered, she realised the scene was worse than she imagined.

Tables were upturned and the benches were burnt and splintered. The statue of Lady Mara was covered with blood – her eyes almost seemed to be crying blood. The sight of her Lady tainted like this made Darlayah wince. The golden painted walls were stained crimson – such blood spatters littered the entire room.

The Breton frowned – this was unusual. Surely a murderer would commit his crime and leave as soon as it was done? If the priests were murdered in their beds, then all this mess would be downstairs where their personal rooms were. There was no evidence of an actual struggle – it was almost as if the criminal had gone on a rampage and trashed the temple for the sake of it. It was as if this was all for show. Already Darlayah felt nervous.

One of the guards sniggered, observing Darlayah as she examined each blood stain. "She may as well do our jobs for us." He muttered to the other guard, grinning.

Darlayah spun around upon her heel, folding her arms and frowning. "You two have a job to do, and I suggest you get on with it." She snarled. The guards simply glared and got on with their observations – muttering obscenities about Darlayah that the Breton didn't really want to hear.

She went back to looking around, before noticing something odd about the statue of Mara. There seemed to be blood spatters behind it. Curious and confused, the Breton made her way past fractured furniture and bloodied wood to the statue. Behind it, a massive "D D-B" was painted in blood. Darlayah turned pale instantly, her mind freezing up and her heart threatening to stop. Surely this was a coincidence?

Stuck using the stickiness of the congealed blood was a small, folded piece of parchment. Darlayah shakily reached to grab it, the globules of blood splitting and dripping everywhere as she tore the parchment from the wall. Her shivering fingers unfolded it, and sure enough, she herself was addressed.

Darlayah Dawn-Bringer.

It has come to my attention that you were once a Blade. With the return of the dragons, I cannot allow you to live. We will be meeting soon, I can assure you.

Darlayah dropped the note, her mind racing with questions and concerns. Somebody knew she would come here. They knew she would investigate. They knew all about her. This was planned and Darlayah knew this well.

She was both furious and absolutely terrified. Her entire body was rippling with tremors, yet the Breton couldn't tell if her shivering was due to fear or fury. The two guards within the temple eyed her with concern and suspicion, yet neither tried to stop her when she left with a snarl.

She stormed down the Riften city lanes trying not to panic – she was an assassin, she didn't feel fear! Besides, if she lingered in the Brotherhood sanctuary, whoever was hunting her down would be unable to get her.

So down to the Sanctuary she rode, swift as the insecurity coursing through her mind.


"Wait, murdered?" Nazir had a look of confusion upon his face as Darlayah explained what had happened. Everyone else at the table stopped eating their meals as Nazir's loud voice caught their attention.

Darlayah shrunk in her seat slightly, her insecurity causing her confidence to fall lower than usual. She simply nodded at Nazir, and gave the other assassins a "mind your own business" glare. Nazir frowned for a moment, before shooting a glance at Astrid and gesturing for her to stand. The two then disappeared out of the dining area, much to Darlayah's confusion. The breton's cheeks turned a scorching red, for all eyes were upon her, until Astrid walked back in alone.

"Darlayah, we need to talk." Astrid commanded in her trademark drawl, before gesturing with her hand for Darlayah to follow. The assassin obeyed, now feeling more afraid than ever.

So much for maintaining her confident and terrifying image.

As the two approached the hallway, Astrid sighed.

"Darlayah, I'm afraid you are now a danger to this sanctuary." She muttered, causing Darlayah to freeze up. "Someone who is clearly dangerous is hunting you down – they seem to know you well, and so they'd most likely co-"

"Come here, I know. But we have the Black Door – whoever is trying to get me won't be able to come in if they don't know the password!" Darlayah pleaded. Astrid frowned.

"They knew something about you that not even I knew, and I believe there is a chance they could know our password. I want you to leave the Sanctuary until all this has blown over."

"But-"

"That's an order, Darlayah."

The Breton sighed, knowing there wasn't much she could do after Astrid made a decision. She was the leader of the Sanctuary, after all. "My word is law" and all that.

She turned back to go find and collect her things from her half of the living quarters, yet as she headed up the stairs, she felt a hand grab onto her shoulder. She froze, her hand reaching for her dagger.

"Woah, woah! Easy, it's me." Nazir let go of Darlayah, throwing his arms up and grinning.

"What do you want?" Darlayah snarled, her hand still resting upon the sheath of her dagger.

"I just had something for you, calm down." Darlayah folded her arms, allowing Nazir to relax. "I did a contract for the owner of the Four Shields Tavern in Dragon Bridge – I got a private reservation as part of my reward. You can stay as long as you like – just tell Faida I sent you."

"Oh, uh, thank you." Darlayah suddenly felt a little bad for snapping, yet her stony facial expression remained cold to hide this.

"Oh, and there's a catch." Nazir grinned again, and his words made Darlayah roll her eyes. "Take that jester with you. We all want him gone for a while. Besides, you might need company in your situation."

He made a fair point, and so Darlayah didn't really have any other choice than to accept. "Fine. But if he so much as makes a noise, I will send him straight back." She growled, yet she couldn't help but grin after. "But thanks." She tacked on quickly, her voice slightly more fragile than usual. She couldn't help but feel vulnerable and sensitive in a time like this, and sudden acts of kindness didn't help this at all.

"Don't mention it. Now grab your stuff and get out." He mused, grinning all the while.

She was quick to grab her things – there was only her journal, an amulet or two and a few writing utensils. Stuffing it into a leather satchel, Darlayah threw the strap across her shoulders, trying her best to tell herself that this was only a temporary thing. Of course, there was also the issue with Cicero. Short tempered and quite vulnerable already, Darlayah began to wonder how long it would be before she stabbed the jester clean through the lung.

"Darlayah!" The jester's shrill voice called out from behind her. "We are going on an adventure, yes? Ooh, how exciting!" Darlayah could almost hear her dagger begging her to use it.


Dragon Bridge seemed further away than Darlayah remembered. Their two hours of riding had seemed like two weeks.

Darlayah was growing paranoid and weary, and she half considered heading back to Sky Haven temple to continue her Blades research. At least she'd be safe there – and she may even find something to help defeat Alduin.

That got her thinking. The person hunting her down seemed to be searching for Blades specifically. She was one of the last remaining Blades, apart from Esbern and Delphine. They were holed up in Sky Haven temple – searching for anything that could help them destroy Alduin. Of course, they were missing a Dragonborn.

With the ability to absorb a dragon's soul – the only true way to kill a dragon – only the Dragonborn would be able to defeat Alduin. With the only other Blades working on the actual method of slaughter for Alduin, they couldn't help search for the Dragonborn. Perhaps that could be Darlayah's task? It would be far more enjoyable than cowering in fear in some tavern.

She felt more confident with a plan – knowing she had at least some purpose now lifted some of her fear. At least by searching around all of Skyrim, she'd be harder to find. Lingering at a single location would be dangerous for sure.

"Darlayah, watch out!" Cicero suddenly shrieked, causing Dagur to rear and Darlayah to gasp.

A rather short Nord clad in fine clothes was on the road – he must have fallen in front of Dagur's hooves. Darlayah quickly leapt off her steed to aid the stranger, but he seemed to just get up like nothing had happened.

"Don't worry! I'm good!" he chirped with what could be interpreted as a feminine voice, quickly fixing his long, shaggy, blond hair and smiling widely. A tall, brown haired Imperial then leapt out of the trees surrounding the road, looking slightly irritated. His green eyes seemed like those of a venomous snake as he shot a glance at both Darlayah and Cicero.

"Dammit, Kodai – what have you done now?" The Imperial snarled, yet the Nord simply laughed.

"Relax, Lucan." Kodai grinned at the Imperial, before looking back to Darlayah who was evidently uncertain. "Oh, sorry – we're in your way!" He then shoved Lucan into the trees again, before waving at Darlayah and Cicero (who obviously waved back). "Bye! Have a nice journey!"

The two then vanished, leaving Darlayah standing on the road with a confused expression and Cicero still waving at the trees.

"…Right. Better get going again, I guess." The Breton muttered to herself, shaking her head before mounting her horse again.

The ride to Dragon Bridge seemed much swifter at that point. They reached the mighty bridge of stone rather quickly, and Cicero was left mumbling in awe at the "pretty, pretty dragon stones" that were carved into the bridge. They dismounted their horses just next to the bridge before tying them down and heading to the Tavern. Faida, the innkeeper, greeted them as they came through the door.

"Hey," Darlayah approached the counter, leaning over to make sure only Faida could hear what she was saying. She didn't know who was in this Tavern listening, after all. "Nazir said he had a special reservation. I think you know who he is." Darlayah said, her voice low. Faida nodded.
"Pick a room each and stay as long as you like." Faida said, her smile faltering.

"Oh, one more thing – if anybody asks, you have never seen me before." This time, the Breton's voice was a command – harsh and cold. Faida nodded, now looking somewhat afraid. Cicero chuckled, clearly amused by the way Darlayah was scaring the innocent woman.

The two then chose a room each – on opposite sides of the tavern, of course – and Darlayah found herself feeling so tired and unsettled that all she could do was lie upon the bed and stare at the ceiling. Despite her fatigue, she chose not to sleep. Not that she could sleep if she tried – she could never sleep.

Not since Helgen.

Darlayah winced at the thought of the town, crumbling and decaying – much like the burnt, ashen corpses of those that used to live there.

She was never meant to be in Helgen in the first place – she accidentally crossed the border into Skyrim, and was found by the Imperial legion. She was due to be executed, merely because they believed she was with the Stormcloak convoy that they found nearby. Oh, the Civil War was a horrid thing. She would have accepted her death – she was prepared to die, yet it seemed fate had other plans.

Alduin, dark as the abyss and with eyes that seemed to glow with a scorching gaze, fell upon the town and slaughtered any who dared move. Children were torn to pieces, flesh was burnt and singed, blood stained the stony ground and stones fell from the sky. It was as though the end times had come, yet somehow, Darlayah survived. She was the only one, and for that reason, she couldn't forgive herself. She let so many people die.

Even now she held a massive fear of Alduin – even the sight of a normal dragon was painful enough. It was Alduin's return that ended her time as a Blade. She was too afraid to do her own duty. And so, she joined the Brotherhood. It was a release for her fear and anger – a way for her to forget her own troubles and become a whole new person.

She sighed as she lay upon the bed, memories playing in a loop within her mind. She would definitely ignore sleep tonight. The nightmares were too awful.

"Hey!" Cicero poked his head through the door, his amber eyes bright and merry and a smile upon his lips. Darlayah looked over at him, offering a mere grunt in response. "Hmm."

He then marched up to Darlayah and sat upon the bedside table, smiling widley. "Cicero can see you are sad. I shall tell about my long, tiring journey – but poor Darlayah does not need to speak a single word!" He chirped, before giving Darlayah a full rundown of his journey.

He did not ask her a single question, and instead sat and spoke to her as if it were a normal conversation. Not having to respond helped the Breton greatly, for she did not need to worry about emotion getting in the way. Having somebody speak to her – however irritating they may be – was somewhat…relaxing.

{boom}

A deep, loud thud alerted Darlayah. Her heart froze yet she felt curious. She left the room rather suddenly, and noticed that a lot of people were in the tavern…all were shivering in terror. Cicero followed after, and he quickly approached the Breton.

"Ooh, can you hear? I know those noises! Oh yes! A dragon has come! A big scary dragon." Cicero said darkly, a devilish grin upon his lips. Darlayah froze, the blood draining from her face.

The ground suddenly trembled – the entire air seemed to shift with a sudden surge in power.

"Thu'um…!" Darlayah quickly recognised the sound and feel of a Shout, and suddenly felt as though returning to her duty as a Blade would be easier than expected. She ran to the door, yet paused. She'd still have to deal with the dragon.

But if the Dragonborn was out there, she would be able to help stop the dragons for good. No more nightmares. No more death. No more guilt. That though alone was just enough to quell her surging fear for a few moments.

She quickly smashed open the door with a forceful kick, with Cicero giggling excitedly behind her. He simply watched in the doorway, his head peeking through the door. Darlayah looked around, before she saw the great beast in all its glory.

Deep, green scaled adorned its muscular body, and great horns protruded from its immense skull. Teeth of all sizes stuck out of its open jaws like daggers, and tiny golden eyes seemed as piercing as the gaze of the sun. Its huge size shadowed the small down, and its great feet left soil disturbed and upturned with every step it took towards…

…the Dragonborn.

He was clad in glittering blue Glass armour – seemingly forged with only the finest malachite – and in one hand was a great glass shield, and in the other, a turquoise blue glass sword. Darlayah was briefly amused by his matching gear, but was soon cowering as the dragon took sight of her.

All her fear locked up her reflexes, and she could barely swing the dagger in her shaking hand. She could not move…but she could Shout!

"YOL!" She cried, sending a gust of flame directly into the dragon's throat as it snarled, ready to attack. It hissed wildly, swinging its colossal head back and snarling to cool its tongue down. Darlayah quickly felt a burst of confidence – she just used a dragon's power against it! Her arm swung towards the beast's tongue as it roared at her, her dagger slicing through the charred flesh like crisp meat. The lump of burnt muscle fell to the ground as the dragon screeched in pain, it's jaws flying straight for Darlayah before suddenly, a glass sword went straight into the temple of the beast's skull. Somehow, the Dragonborn had used Darlayah's attacks as a distraction so he could run up and onto its head. The Breton would have thought this was insanely clever had she not been swallowing back the urge to scream.

The great reptile sunk to the ground with a heavy thud as its skin seemed to slowly burn and rot away. Flesh seemed to disappear before Darlayah's very eyes, before the very soul of the creature rushed from within its bones to the Dragonborn, who was still stood upon the head of the fallen monster.

He truly was the Dragonborn.

Darlayah simply stood in awe, her mouth agape. Cicero clapped wildly, whistling along with his applause.

"Pretty impressive, hmm?" A deep male voice suddenly spoke out next to Darlayah, causing her to gasp and jump. It was Lucan – the Imperial from the woods! He grinned at Darlayah's surprised yet confused expression, before chuckling.

The Dragonborn then leapt off the head of the dead dragon, whisking off his helmet to reveal his messy blond locks. Darlayah furrowed her brows. Kodai?

"I thought it was you two I saw over here!" He chirped, before heaving his sword out from the skull of the dragon with a great huff. "Thanks for the help, lady!" He removed his right gauntlet and extended his hand, which Darlayah took and shook slowly and shakily. "So, you can Shout too?" He asked, ice eyes wide in curiosity.

"Well, yeah, but I'm no Dragonborn or anything." Darlayah muttered in response, throwing Cicero a quick "help" glance.

"Dude, that's awesome. You should come help me fight these things." Kodai offered, grinning. Darlayah perked up.

"Actually, I was looking for you." Cicero gave Darlayah a confused glance. "Well, a Dragonborn specifically." She added, shaking her hands by her side to help her stop shivering. "You see, I'm a Blade. I seek to help the Dragonborn defeat Alduin." She held back a shudder. Even his name was somewhat terrifying.

Kodai's eyes widened in awe, yet Lucan stepped forward, shoving the Dragonborn aside to face Darlayah. His height made him overshadow Darlayah, and she felt somewhat nervous in his presence.

"How do we know you aren't out to kill him?" He snarled, green eyes narrowing.

"Good question. Perhaps you should just trust me." She hissed in response, before quickly returning to her original timid demeanour.

"We already have someone out to kill him, we don't want another." His words made Darlayah narrow her eyes, and she quickly recalled a certain event.

"Did you receive a note?" She asked, and Lucan shot Kodai a confused look.

"Yeah…how did you know?" He asked, growing suspicious.

"I received one too." Lucan quickly stepped back, considering her words. He then sighed, allowing Kodai to step up.

"Same guy, huh? Seems like Alduin has a pet." Kodai mused, shrugging. "But we need all the help we can get Miss…uh…?"

"Dawn-Bringer. My name is Darlayah Dawn-Bringer." She replied, her voice low so no-one else could hear. "This is Cicero." Cicero waved at Kodai excitedly, who quickly waved back with just as much merriness.

"Sweet! We got ourselves a lil' party!" Kodai said excitedly, before giving Cicero an eager high-five. Both Lucan and Darlayah looked rather irritated. "Buuut I think you may want to change your clothes, ma'am."

Darlayah glanced at her civilian clothes, stained with dark dragon blood. She sighed, and wandered back into the tavern where all the people gave her shocked and curious stares.

Darlayah came back out a few minutes later with a leather satchel filled with her things and a new change of clothes on. However, it would not be enough to hold against dragons, so a visit back home was necessary to grab her armour.

As she left, she quickly gasped.

Lucan had Cicero in a headlock, and Kodai was rolling on the floor laughing.

"By the Gods, let him go!" Darlayah hissed, and Lucan quickly looked up and released the giggling jester, a sheepish look upon his face.

"He's so fucking annoying." Lucan offered as an excuse, but Darlayah simply rolled her eyes.

"Nobody touches the jester." She growled, and Lucan sighed.

"Fiiiine." He mumbled, before giving Cicero a rather furious glare.

It was going to be one of those journeys, huh?

Darlayah gave a stern look to the Dragonborn, who quickly became silent and pulled himself up off the ground, nearly hitting his head on the wing of the massive dragon skeleton nearby. Cicero quickly silenced himself too, knowing he would be next for Darlayah's stern-mother-glare.

"Look, we need to head to Whiterun – I have to grab my armour. Can't fight dragons in this." She told the three, who seemed to show no signs of resisting this decision. Except Kodai.

"Uh, I need to head up to High Hrothgar then – gotta tell those Greybeards what I'm doing." Darlayah frowned.

"Bad idea."

"Huh?"

Darlayah shrugged. "The Greybeards aren't fond of the Blades. They won't like this much."

"Eh, they don't need to know." The Nord grinned. "Just gonna tell them that we are gonna search for clues on how to find Aldy."

"Aldy?"

"Alduin!" Kodai mused, before giggling. Cicero snorted behind him, obviously holding back a chuckle.

"Ugh, whatever. I'll meet you in the Bannered Mare in Whiterun at sundown. I have a place you may want to see." Darlayah whispered, quickly noticing a crowd forming around them. Dragons seem to be brilliant people-attractors. Ugh.

Lucan and Kodai exchanged glances before nodding at Darlayah and setting off. Cicero waved goodbye as they went, a rather disappointed expression on his face.

"We'll see dragon-man again, yes? Cicero likes him, oh yes! Cicero likes him indeed!" He said merrily, and Darlayah couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, we just need to grab me some proper gear. I have some armour you can borrow if you want – I used to steal a load of armour before realising half of it was for men." She grinned, and Cicero suddenly seemed excited. "Come on, let's go."

After searching half of the entire Haafingar hold, Darlayah and Cicero found their frightened horses and rode down to Whiterun. The journey home was somewhat short and uneventful, yet Darlayah was silent the entire time. She was filled with worry and regret, and couldn't stop wondering if returning to her duty as a Blade was even the right thing to do. Of course, she now had two extra bodyguards – something that Darlayah kind of needed at a time like this. Besides, she didn't exactly have to fight dragons – after that experience with the dragon in Dragon Bridge, Darlayah wanted to stay as far away from dragons as possible – she could just play the part of the intellect and offer the research she used to work on. She had lists of dragons slain, maps of burials, locations of recent dragon attacks and even a Dovahzul dictionary she created herself with the help of the Greybeards. She knew quite a few of the words off by heart now, yet her learning was cut short when the Greybeards found out who she was.

Darlayah winced. That wasn't a nice memory at all.

As they approached Whiterun, Darlayah noticed the Western Watchtower outside the city was totally destroyed. Several guards were investigating the scene, and Darlayah couldn't help but approach out of curiosity.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice gentle and smooth. A guard looked up at her and sighed.

"Dragon attack. Big green thing – it just came out of the sky. Rogvir over there says a man was riding it, but that's nonsense." Darlayah narrowed her eyes, completely confused.

"Where's this Rogvir?" The guard pointed to another man, who lacked his helmet. "Thanks."

She rode over, her mind alight with questions and demands. A man, riding a dragon? Impossible, surely!

"Hey, you're Rogvir, yeah?" Darlayah asked, and the guard nodded. "Did you really see someone riding the dragon?"

"Yes! I swear, I am not a liar. There was an armoured man on that beast!" He pleaded, but Darlayah only felt more confused than before.

"What did this dragon look like?"

"Big, dark green with eyes like fire." Darlayah froze. That was the dragon she just saw being slain.

"Hmm. That dragon was slain earlier." She told him, and Rogvir sighed in relief.

"Thank Talos for that." He muttered, before wandering to inform the others of the news.

Darlayah, however, simply sat upon her steed in complete confusion. Even Cicero, who was some distance away, had a bit of a confused look upon his face. Heading back to the stables, Darlayah kept this information in her mind for the Dragonborn. He'd like to know about this.

Yet as she turned to go back, she was suddenly stopped by a man draped in black clothing. Naturally, Darlayah froze and Dagur snorted. Cicero quickly rode up, his hand placed upon his dagger. The man then spoke up.

"I've been searching for you, Darlayah."