Serana groaned. Her head was aching, and she felt weak. Slowly, she opened one of her eyes, immediately clenching both of them shut with a sharp gasp.
Sunlight.
Serana immediately braced herself for that painful burning, but then she realized she was still wearing her Lustmord Armour...
She was safe.
"How are you feeling?"
Serana gasped in shock. She hadn't realized that she wasn't alone, so she turned towards the young, soft spoken female voice. It was a black haired girl with a large hair bow on top of her head, wearing a strange white and black outfit with her stomach slightly bared.
"Where...?" Serana croaked, her throat dry.
"Beacon Academy." The girl replied, not moving from her place beside Serana. "You're in the Kingdom of Vale."
"Vale?" Serana was confused. Had the Oblivion Gate taken her to an entirely different dimension?
"You're not from around here, are you?" The girl asked, clearly quite intelligent.
"I'm from Skyrim." Serana admitted. "Specifically, I was in Falkreath Hold when I was thrown through an Oblivion Gate."
"I've never heard of such a place." The girl admitted, shaking her head. "What's your name?"
"Serana Volkihar." Serana replied, then glanced at the girl. "Yours?"
"Blake Belladonna."
"That's the name of a poisonous flower where I come from." Serana smiled very slightly, making sure not to expose her fangs. "So, you mentioned that this is an Academy? Can I speak to your Head Wizard, I need to return to Skyrim as soon as possible."
"Head Wizard?" Blake couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "I think you mean Headmaster. His name's Ozpin."
Serana took a moment to reconsider her mistake. That's right, different dimension, different names and rules. "Can you take me to him?"
"I think a better question is 'can you walk?'" Blake stood up and extended her hand for Serana to take. "Because I found you about half an hour ago in the exact spot a bolt of lightning struck the ground. You've been unconscious the whole time."
"I think so." Serana admitted, pushing herself into a standing position. After a moment, she realized that her quiver of Daedric arrows and Auriel's Bow weren't on her back. "Wait, my Bow!"
"I took them off your back, they're on your other side." Blake pointed, and Serana hurriedly grabbed the Daedric Artifact and the Daedric arrows.
With a sigh of relief, Serana decided to not openly carry her weapons, so with a quick motion, she slid the bow and quiver back into her Garter, which seemed to amaze Blake.
"How did you do that?!" Blake stared in amazement at Serana's leg.
"I come from a world where magic is rather common." Serana explained. "My entire set of armour is enchanted with powerful spells to bolster my power and offset a... personal condition. That pouch on my leg is part of this armour, a legendary set called Lustmord Armour. That pouch is called the Garter, it has an infinite capacity, unaffected by weight or size."
"So your outfit is... armour?" Blake glanced up and down Serana's black clad frame, impressed. The outfit had enough metallic parts to be called armour, but if the whole thing was the armour, then it must be some strange, arcane material and magic spells that made it protective.
"Yes, it is." Serana nodded, then managed to stand at her full height without support. "Shall we visit Headmaster Ozpin now?"
"Follow me." Blake slowly began to walk ahead of Serana, who kept a careful eye on her surroundings, just in case she did a social faux pas without intending to.
Compared to Skyrim, the Kingdom of Vale seemed to be technologically advanced like the long extinct Dwemer. This whole experience was so foreign to her, her mind was boggled by the things she was seeing.
Blake lead her to a strange flat metal door, pressing a small square beside it. A moment later, the flat metal doors slid sideways, revealing a small room.
Serana hesitated, she didn't know what to do. Blake noticed her stop in her tracks, turning to face her.
"It's alright, I guess Skyrim doesn't have elevators? It's just going to transport us to the top of the central tower." Blake explained the concept of the elevator as simply as she could.
"We do, but not like that. Ours are constructed from stone and operate by gears and steam. All made by the long extinct Dwemer." Serana explained, following Blake into the elevator and watching as Blake pressed a triangle pointed upwards.
A very foreign sound reached her ears, and the doors closed. The elevator hummed, so unlike the hefty clanking of the Dwemer mechanisms.
"So, by the sound of that... Skyrim isn't as technologically advanced as us here in Remnant..." Blake thought outloud, which Serana raised an eyebrow.
"Remnant is the... continent, right?"
"Yeah." Blake nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, do you fight with bows and blades in Skyrim... oh, and magic?"
"We do, yes." Serana admitted. "Magic is our driving force, so to say..."
"By the sound of it, Skyrim is at least a couple hundred years behind Remnant, in terms of technology." Blake concluded. "At least."
"If it helps, we still use Kings and Queens to rule the lands." Serana admitted as the elevator's doors suddenly opened, revealing a strangely familiar design motif for Serana... Clockwork.
Across the large circular room were two adults. One, a blonde large chested woman with a distinct ringlet in her hair with a purple cape, the other... a silver haired man with glasses and a cane.
"Professor Goodwitch, Professor Ozpin, there's been an... incident."
"Miss Belladonna, please, come in and sit. Our guest looks like she's ready to fall over." The well endowed woman noticed the pale brunette woman standing at Blake's shoulder. "May I ask for your name, ma'am?"
"My name is Serana Volkihar. Are you Ozpin or Goodwitch?" Serana asked the woman, who smiled slightly.
"I am Glynda Goodwitch, this is Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy." She gestured to the man seated behind the desk, yet to speak himself.
"Sir." Serana stood perfectly straight, addressing the Headmaster directly.
"Please, come in and have a seat, ladies. It appears to be quite important." Ozpin spoke up, gesturing to the two chairs that were always placed before his desk.
Both Serana and Blake took a seat, with Serana of course glancing at Blake for a social cue. In Skyrim, it was bad manners to sit first around a person in authority, such as the two professors... or her own father, Harkon - before Shiikrah shot a poisoned arrow through his forehead... nine times.
"Miss Volkihar, how may I be of assistance?" Ozpin leaned forward in his chair, addressing her directly.
"Well, sir... I'm not from Remnant." Serana admitted immediately. "I come from a land known as Skyrim."
"Skyrim? Intriguing. Please, continue." Ozpin raised an eyebrow over his spectacles.
"In Skyrim, barely an hour ago for me... I was out hunting when I came across a construct known as an Oblivion Gate, which in our world, acts as a portal between worlds... but not dimensions." Serana continued. "The particular one I came across was distinctly different than other ones, and I was forced through the Gate by bandits that found it around the same time I did."
"So you fear that you've changed dimensions?" Ozpin concluded.
"Yes, sir. Miss Belladonna here has assisted me in a mild recovery and brought me here to speak to you as soon as I became aware of my surroundings." Serana nodded.
"Have you any knowledge of these Gates that could potentially help you return to Skyrim?" Glynda asked, roughly following the conversation.
"Without access to the Archmage's library in the College of Winterhold... um, err..." Serana stopped herself for a moment before realizing she actually had a perfect method to assist her explanation. She reached down to her Garter and extracted a large parchment map of Skyrim, spreading it out on the desk. "I live here with my... partner." Serana indicated the exact spot where Lakeview Manor stood along the banks of the river in Falkreath Hold. "I was in this general area when I encountered the Gate." She pointed slightly away, since she recalled passing the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary along the way. "Winterhold has the Mage's College, the highest place of learning in Skyrim." She glanced up at Ozpin, who was examining where her indications were, including Winterhold. "As Blake worded it, Skyrim is a couple hundred years behind Remnant in terms of technology."
"Sorry to sound so direct, but Skyrim is medieval?" Ozpin asked, clearly coming to some sort of conclusion or theory. "Blades and bows dominating combat?"
"Magic is also very common. I myself am an experienced magic user. I come from a long family line of magic users and warriors." Serana explained. "My partner is a powerful fire-using assassin."
"So, forgive my saying this... but I'm afraid you're behind the times." Ozpin smiled. "First, we need to make sure you're unharmed from jumping dimensions. Miss Belladonna, did you administer first aid when you found her?"
"I'm not trained in that... I can barely check for a pulse and breathing." Blake admitted, ashamed at her inexperience.
"Um..." Serana couldn't help make a small sound. All three of them turned towards her, and she realized she couldn't back out of her mistake now. "Well... I'm... actually already dead."
"My eyes say otherwise." Ozpin smirked.
"Have you ever heard or read about a creature known as a vampire?" Serana asked, and only the two adults made any signs of recognition. "My family is the oldest vampire bloodline in all of Skyrim. I myself am several centuries old."
"Vampire?" Blake was ignorantly confused, lacking the uncertainty that the two adults felt at the moment.
"I... am dead." Serana explained. "A walking corpse, but I keep myself 'alive' by drinking blood from humans and animals every few days. I gain powerful magical traits and abilities by feeding on blood, such as being able to turn completely invisible and totally silent at the same time."
"Skyrim sounds like it'd be a fun place." Blake smirked, unable to fully comprehend the concept of a vampire at the moment.
"It's in the middle of a long civil war, sadly. Plus the feud between my family and a group known as the Dawnguard - vampire hunters, basically - is raging in the shadows at the same time." Serana shook her head.
"So until we manage to find a way to send you back home, I think it's safe to say it's a vacation from all of the conflicts in Skyrim, yes?" Ozpin smiled. "Like I said, right now, we need to get you back into peak condition. But, since you require blood, I do believe it's within reason that you need an escort, purely for safety reasons."
"I'm not exactly feral." Serana couldn't help but feel touchy about the negative notion to her being wild and violent. "My partner, her name is Shiikrah, came up with a simple recipe that mimics blood for the two of us... She's a vampire as well, but she's only been one for about six months or so."
"What does this recipe entail exactly?" Ozpin narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Do you have a creature known as Deer?" Serana asked, and Ozpin nodded. "I just need some salt - which I have a supply of, if it's an issue - and fresh deer meat, and I can synthesize some blood alternative for myself."
"Do you need to kill when you feed?" Glynda asked.
"No. One mouthful is usually enough to keep me healthy for about two or three days." Serana shook her head, but then held up her left hand, glowing with soft white light. "As a mage, I have magic spells for many, many things... including healing physical wounds. Whoever you assign as my escort can provide me with a mouthful of blood every few days, and I heal the bite wound immediately afterwards."
"I'll do it." Blake suddenly spoke up before she could stop herself. "I'll do it, Professor." She spoke more clearly the second time.
"Are you sure about this, Miss Belladonna?" Ozpin glanced between Serana and Blake a few times. "If this doesn't work out, Miss Volkihar, you will be required to use that deer meat recipe you mentioned, without argument. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." Serana nodded, surprised that everything was going to smoothly. The Nords of Skyrim didn't exactly like her kind very much, hence the existence of the Dawnguard.
"Now, Miss Volkihar, you will henceforth be in a place of education. To better adapt to your surroundings, you will be required to dress and act as a student of this Academy. Professor Goodwitch and Miss Belladonna can assist you on the matter." Ozpin smirked as Serana nervously shifted in her seat, briefly revealing the hilt of her hidden dagger. "I presume that dagger isn't just for cutting deer meat?"
Serana blushed, then tapped the top of her Garter. "This pouch has an endless capacity. Inside, I carry all of the necessary items I require. Weapons, arrows, ingredients... clothing and armour... potions, my spellbooks, and of course, supplies and money. It's called a Garter."
"In that case, I shall make the arrangements for your cover story while the three of you handle the uniform and academic portion. Miss Volkihar, before you are dismissed, how old were you when you became a vampire?"
"Barely an adult... around twenty three years old, I guess." Serana had to think about that one. She'd been around for several hundred years, she didn't remember every second since she gained her immortality.
"Very well. I wish to arrange another meeting tomorrow with you, if that is alright." Ozpin stood up, and Serana instinctively shot upright - another sigh of respect she'd been taught, never stay seated around an elder or obvious leader.
"Yes, Headmaster."