Chapter 2: The Summoning

The sky above me was a deep purple. There was an intense ball of light in the center. The mist I was walking in stung my skin. It chilled me to the bone. A horrifying roar echoed throughout the entire spirit world. Alduin, the Bane of Kings landed in front of me. Before I knew it, I was in a bloody heap on the ground. With a final Shout, Alduin was sent back to wherever he came from. My head landed on the ground with a loud thud, but Alduin picked me back up. He was still alive, and all his minions were still alive. He inhaled. And I heard him Shout: "Yol…" And then… fire.

"Dyln! Wake up!" My eyes shot open. I sat up quickly and held my side. I looked down at my scar. It was a dark shade of red. It trailed from the far right side of my back, up to my lower ribs, and then across the right side of my stomach. I breathed deeply. After calming down a bit, I looked up to see Lydia standing before me.

"I… I'm fine… Just… nightmares. What time is it…?" I asked, holding my head.

"It's just past sunrise, my Thane. Tershia and the girls headed to the market a while ago," she said in a stern tone. She sounded as if she were giving me confidential information. Normally I would tell her to relax, but I wasn't in the mood and I knew there was no getting through to her. She was smart, just thick headed. The same could almost be said for Jordis. She was smart and resourceful, but couldn't be easily swayed. The good thing is- she knows when to relax and kick back and she'd been doing it well. She was always happy to lend a hand with the kids and was much more… well… human. Lydia was basically a drone; trained her whole life for the military. She knew nothing more, thus explains her hesitancy to watch the girls every now and then. At least she had a bit of a sense of humor.

I stood up and tied the strap for my robe. "Feeling better I assume?"

"You of all people should know I can't stay down for that long," she said with a smirk. I smiled back to her. I heard her let out a sigh. "Jordis on the other hand can hardly breathe without coughing."

I cracked my neck and let out a lethargic "Hm." I sat down in a chair in the living room and pulled out a book from the bookcase. Lydia sat down in a chair across from me and nibbled on a piece of bread. I could see her peeking at the book.

"'Theories on the World Eater', hm? Suddenly interested in dragons again, eh?" she said after swallowing. I closed the book.

"Lydia… It's been three years since Sovngarde… Why do I still have nightmares? I defeated Alduin; I killed the rest of the dragons… My destiny has been fulfilled and then some… Why do I still feel empty?" Lydia sat up straight and sighed.

"Well… as a former dragon fighter myself… I think it's because you miss the adventures. The excitement. The battles. I think it's because you want to fill that void. You set the bar when you fought dragons on a weekly basis, and that's what you've been trying to reach since then. Why do you think you waited until now to join up with the Imperials?"

"I joined with the Imperials to end the blasted war. Not for my own fulfillment," I stated. I made it clear that I don't do these things for fun. Lydia didn't say anything for a bit. The silence was suddenly ended when there was a knock at the door. I got up and walked over and opened the door. An older man in a grayish blue robe stood there with a letter. He was leaning on a staff in his other hand.

"Master Rennikk…" he said in a raspy voice. He presented the letter to me. "…The Greybeards have requested your company at High Hrothgar."

"The Greybeards? What does Arngeir want with me?" I asked, taking the letter.

"Didn't say. That there is for your eyes only. Good day, Master Rennikk." And with that he walked away and down the steps.

"Poor old guy," I said to myself. I jogged out the door. "Hey. You wanna stay here until I get ready? I can teleport us both to High Hrothgar." The old man smiled and held up his hand.

"Oh no. I live in a cabin not two miles from here. Too cold to live up there on the mountain. They simply send me the messages through the Voice. I write them myself," he said in a cheery voice. I nodded and smiled.

"Until next time," I said. He nodded and proceeded to walk away. I closed the door and sat back down in the chair.

"What was that?" Lydia asked.

"I'm heading up to High Hrothgar. Arngeir wants me."

"What does the letter say?" I opened the letter and read aloud:

"Dragonborn,

I summon you to the ancient monastery of High Hrothgar. I hope that this isn't an inconvenience, but this is, of course, an important request. Our master Paarthurnax wishes to speak with you once more. He wished us to inform you to bring your Elder Scroll, as this matter somehow pertains to it. We are careful in having this message be delivered in print, so we wish to talk to you in person.

Your Mentor,

Arngeir."

I put the letter down and looked at the floor. Lydia stood up. "Looks like your wish has been granted. Are you heading up?"

I hesitated. "Yeah. I'm waiting for the girls to get home, though. I won't leave without saying goodbye again. Especially if Paarthurnax wants to talk to me again."

"Let's hope this isn't bad," she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"It's obviously important. Paarthurnax doesn't like visitors," I said, standing up. I headed towards the stairs. Lydia followed me into the basement.

"Suiting up, eh?"

"I don't want frostbite from climbing up that mountain again," I said. I shivered at the thought of almost freezing to death halfway up the Throat of the World. The warmest coat I had was the Arch-Mages robes. I grabbed it, but didn't put it on, yet. I grabbed a golden necklace and walked over to my Arcane Enchanter. I set it on the center and put my hands around it. I focused on it. There was a small flash of blue light and the necklace suddenly glowed blue a tiny bit. The necklace now granted the wearer increased resistance to cold.

"Nice enchantment," Lydia said from the stairs.

"Thanks. I'm getting pretty good at this aren't I?" I teased. Lydia was trying to get better at enchanting her weapons and armor. I grabbed a couple potions from the shelves and stored them away. I grabbed the robes and went up to my room. I threw off my night robes and slipped on the shaggy fur leggings. I put on a thin green shirt and vest and headed downstairs. I saw Jordis sitting in a chair with her head in her hands. I sat in the chair across from her.

"How you feeling?" I asked. She sat up quickly.

"Um… I- I'm fine," she said. Her voice was muffled by her clogged nose. Her cheeks and nose were red.

"No you're not. Take a few days to stay in bed and rest. I gotta leave for a couple days, so Lydia and Tershia will take care of things," I said comfortingly. She put her head in her hands again.

"Thanks…" She started to cough. I subtly moved away as she violently hacked and coughed more. After a few seconds, she threw her head down and moaned. "I'm heading back to bed…"

"See you in a few days," I said. She waved to me as she trudged up the stairs. I looked over and saw Lydia over the cooking pot.

"What are you making?"

"I'm making her some soup. If she doesn't get better soon, we'll all catch that stupid cold." I nodded. I heard the door open, following by some laughter.

"Hi, Lydia!"

"Hey, Sophie!" I heard Lydia say. As much a drone as she was, she still knew how to handle children.

"Dad!" I turned around and knelt down. Tamara jumped into my arms. It was as she connected that I regretted having to go away.

"Hey, Tamara!"

"Hey, dad, look what I got," she said, pulling a jar out of her knapsack. A caterpillar was crawling around inside. "Mom told me that someday, this caterpillar will turn into a butterfly. Can you believe that?"

"Does it really? I didn't know that," I said, staring at the little orange bug. Tamara ran up the stairs, probably into her room. Sophie ran up to me.

"Hey, dad! Guess what we saw in town," she said, hugging me.

"I give up," I said, after a moment of 'pondering.'

"We saw an actual Nirnroot! It made a funny noise when we walked by it. I've only seen Nirnroots in books and pictures," she said with extreme enthusiasm. I widened my eyes.

"No way." I looked up at Tershia. She was leaning against the wall with a wide smile. Sophie headed up the stairs. My smile disappeared. I walked over to her.

"You slay dragons, you save the world, you end the civil war, and you still have the energy to make your daughters happy," she said with a chuckle. I scoffed and sighed. "What's the matter?"

"I wish I could stay here," I started. Tershia sighed. "I have to leave. The Greybeards…"

"You know I was joking, right? How many days in a row is this? Can't you spend one day with your daughters?" I lowered my head. "First it was the bandits, then the dragons, then the Imperials… I mean… You leave almost every day."

"I know," I said quietly. "But I hardly have a choice. Paarthurnax needs me to…"

"I don't care about Paarthurnax, Dyln," she said in a stern tone, "I care about you. I thought the dragons were defeated. I thought the war was over."

"Both are true. Look, I'll be back as soon as possible. I love you. I'm sorry." Tershia shook her head a bit. She walked away. I walked up the stairs, clenching my fists. I braced myself for the volley of questions. Tamara and Sophie were sitting at the table.

"Hey, girls?"

"Bye, dad," Tamara said, not looking up. I lowered my head. I walked over and knelt down.

"Look… I'm gonna be home as soon as possible. I promise you. On my honor, I'll be back by tonight."

"That's what you said last time. And you were gone for a week," Sophie moaned. I put my hand on her head and brushed some hair from her face.

"Hey… I love you both, and I know what I'm dealing with this time. So don't worry. I'll even find you both some new dresses. You'll like that, won't you?" They both closed their eyes and hugged me. I lightly squeezed them. "I promise."

"I love you dad," Tamara said.

"I love you too. So much."