Fort Dawnguard, the Rift Hold
Skyrim, Nirn
The 1st of Heartfire, 4E202
Belinda was not a morning person. So when the arguing near the barracks would not cease, there would be Hell to pay! She got out of bed, dressed in breezy trousers, an overly large shirt she was certain she had stolen from either Vilkas or Sieghard, and soft, fuzzy, purple socks. Her hair was a waist-length mess of tangles and her eyes were wild and angry. She grabbed her two pillows and stomped down to the entry hall. She didn't care who was arguing and why, but they were being too loud. And regardless of who started the fight, she was going to end it. NOW!
She entered the hall, her socks muffling her footfalls, and she hit both men over the heads with her pillows. One was Isran. The other was some man she didn't know. She glared at them angrily, and Isran glowered back. The stranger looked dumbstruck.
"Do you assholes mind keeping it down? I'm trying to sleep!" she snapped. She then turned and returned to her bed in the barracks. She grumbled as climbed onto her bunk and tried to resume sleeping.
Dione and Grete blinked at her, both having been woken by the same bickering. They shrugged it off and brushed their hair and got dressed. Astral entered after standing guard that night. They took one look in Belinda's direction and decided to leave her alone. Lucien roused from his spot at the fireplace and gave a brief shake to wake up. Only Spyro remained asleep, except he woke up real quick, hungry for food. Belinda groaned and got back up to feed him. He gobbled up the lightly cooked meat and settled on a pillow while everyone got ready for the day.
"Did anyone catch what the assbags were fighting about?" Belinda asked.
"Something about the Vigilant of Stendarr," Grete answered.
"His name is Vigilant Tolan," Astral explained. "He arrived an hour ago where his poor horse collapsed. I took care of the poor steed and stabled him. He'll be alright."
"Good," Belinda sighed. "How many days did you lose?" she asked.
"Just one," Astral answered. "Animals are quite different from humanoids."
"The souls are different," Lucien told them. He stretched and put on his cloak. "Now, let us eat breakfast. I'm quite hungry." He left the barracks and went to the dining hall.
They ate in silence until Isran walked in with Vigilant Tolan, a tall, bald Nord with thick, blond sideburns. He dressed in robe with steel plate gauntlets, boots, and pauldrons and wore an amulet of Stendarr around his neck. He was armed with a silver-blade battle axe that was enchanted to repel and slay the undead. Grete and Celann looked up at him.
"Been a while, Tolan," Grete commented.
"Indeed," Tolan responded.
"So what happened?" Grete asked. "Astral said you nearly killed your horse to get here."
"The vampires…They came in the night and killed everyone and destroyed the hall," Tolan answered. "I barely escaped them and came here. I think they went up to Dimhollow Cave."
Grete raised a brow. "Dimhollow? Why there?" She, Celann, and Isran had once gone there when they were initiates. There had been a gargoyle guarding the place and it attacked them. They dispatched the thing, though it had left gashes on Celann's back.
"A powerful vampire artifact," Lucien answered.
"Is that cat talking?" Tolan asked.
"I'm a lynx, idiot," Lucien snapped, "and don't interrupt me again!" He cleared his throat. "A few thousand years ago when Amanisa and I came to this place, we were met by an ancient vampire. She wanted to hide something precious to her in Dimhollow. That precious something was to remain there, hidden away from her evil husband. Amanisa helped her construct a vault to hide the artifact and make it so no vampire would be able to access it. Only those of her blood could open the vault."
"Then we should get the vampires out of there!" Grete suggested, standing. "Do you know what the artifact is?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Lucien answered. "All I know is that it was precious to this vampire, and you know it's painfully serious business when a vampire hides something. I'd wager these vampires are from the Volkihar clan, but how would they have known where to look all these years later…?"
"There was a meteor," Tolan told him. "It was cover in violet flame. It crashed into the mountain by Dimhollow Cave."
"Violet flame you say?" Lucien asked. "Oh dear, this is getting quite serious then. We should hurry up to Dimhollow Cave."
"That's what I was saying!" Tolan snapped.
"Stop," Lucien ordered. "If you go in, weapon drawn, you'll just drop dead. I know you are eager to avenge your comrades and brothers, but try not to kill your horse or yourself in the process. We need to ready ourselves for combat."
"And if the vampires get whatever artifact is in Dimhollow?" Tolan asked.
"These vampires are as dumb as bandits," Lucien answered. "They cannot access the vault without the blood of Amanisa, and not only is she dead, but they likely never heard of her, let alone know her involvement in building the vault or the fact Belinda is her descendant."
"So we go in, clear the vampires, open the vault, and move the artifact over here where it'll be safe," Belinda suggested.
"Why not destroy it?" Isran asked.
"Amanisa mentioned that the artifact was indestructible," Lucien answered.
"Nothing is indestructible," Isran growled.
"Well, I suppose we'll see in a few days then," Belinda pointed out. She finished her food and went to get her pack. The others did the same. Spyro perched on Belinda's shoulders, chirping excitedly. She smiled and gave him a little sausage to gobble up.
Dimhollow Cave, the Pale Hold
Skyrim, Nirn
The 4th of Heartfire, 4E202
They had travelled north up the Rift, west through the Eastmarch, and up into the Pale where. Snow still covered most of the Pale and Eastmarch, but with summer over the harvests beginning, the air was becoming cooler and snow was starting to spread across the northern reaches of Skyrim again. The journey had taken them past the Hall of the Vigilant, which was charred ruins at this point with charred bodies strewn in front of it. It still stank of charred flesh. Tolan led them up the path to Dimhollow, and they saw violet light emanating from the hole the meteor had punched into the side of the mountain. Belinda and Lucien looked at the light and then each other.
"It's him," she told him.
Lucien nodded in agreement.
Dione and Lucien entered the cave first, moving silently through a narrow tunnel to the first cavern. There were a few dead animals, drained of blood, and vampires. Lucien branched out, trying to count the vampires in the main cavern. Four minds, all vampires. He sensed another presence, one so basic Lucien barely registered it. This presence only knew to feed and to kill. Lucien slinked out to see what could possibly be so monstrous. Patrolling between the vampires was a dog, one larger than Lucien. It was hairless with dark purple skin that seemed to be decaying, with a horrifying jaw with at least three rows of spiky teeth and glowing ruby eyes. When it breathed, it let out icy puffs. Lucien backed behind the rock he and Lucien hid behind.
"Four vampires and a death hound," he whispered to her.
"What is a death hound?" Dione asked, voice barely audible.
"A dead, mutated dog," Lucien answered. "They're almost as bad at the Fell Steeds and Hell Hawks."
"Do I even want to know?" Dione asked.
"I'll tell you that story later," Lucien answered, "but at least the Death Hounds are easy to kill. Take it-."
He fell silent at the sounds of running from behind. They turned and saw Tolan race out. When he saw the vampires and hound, he gave a battle cry and drew his axe before charging into battle. Dione and Lucien groaned, having lost the element of surprise. They jumped up, Dione pulling an arrow and loosing it upon the Death Hound. That didn't stop the monstrous dog. Tolan managed to behead a vampire, the body collapsing. A second vampire came, nails like claws. Dione drew another arrow to stop her, but she was on Tolan with bloodlust in her eyes. Tolan gave her a deep gash before she latched onto his neck and dug her claws into his back. He pulled out a silver knife and stabbed her repeatedly. Pain suddenly shot up his leg and it went number. The Death Hound's teeth were sunk in deep and it was trying to rip Tolan's leg off as he screamed and stabbed the vampire. Dione grabbed one of her silver-headed arrows and shot the vampires on Tolan in the head, killing her. Lucien managed to levitate a boulder and dropped it on the Death Hound, crushing it. The remaining vampires turned to Lucien and Dione, the latter of whom conjured a flaming Daedric arrow to her bow and launched it at one of the remaining vampires. It exploded, sending gore in all directions. Belinda and the others ran in, weapons drawn. Lucien had pulled the remaining vampires sword out with telekinesis and ran him through. The vampire tried to pull it out, but Belinda ran over and sliced his head off.
Ralof moved to Tolan's side. With Grete's aid, he removed the vampire from Tolan, but he was pale and weak from blood loss. The hound had managed to rip part of his leg off and blood pooled around him. Tolan's eyes were wide and wild, and he was still on adrenaline. He was feeling pain, but not enough to properly register it. At this point, it was too late to save him. Grete pulled out her hunting knife and muttered a few words before ending his life. At least she made it fast and painless. She cleaned up the knife and put it back in her boot.
"I'd wager the other vampires here heard all of that," she said. "We've lost the element of surprise."
"We should proceed carefully then," Dione responded.
"Fucking idiot," Belinda grumbled. "He was so consumed with getting revenge and now he's dead. Great."
Grete went to the gate, which was down and prevented travel deeper into the cave. "Spread out and looked around for a lever or trigger for this gate!" Everyone did so, and it was Dione who found the chain to pull inside of the tower that was in the cavern. Grete always wondered how her ancestors knew how to build these places.
When they entered the next area, they were all tense and gripping their weapons. Sarcophagi stood, lids closed. They had seen too many Draugr break from their tombs. When nothing jumped out at them, they relaxed a little, only for Dione to catch a vampire. She shot him in the head with a silver-headed arrow. Then, Belinda pulled a lever for them to enter the next chamber, which was smaller but had open sarcophagi. The bodies had been dragged out for some reason. They heard the sounds of fighting from the next chamber. They stayed quiet and still until the fight ended and then Dione and Lucien went ahead to see who won. A vampire stood over two slain Draugr and a Death Hound. Dione dispatched the vampire quietly and Lucien signaled the others to follow. In the next cavern was a graveyard covered in knee-deep water, water that loosened the ground, allowing the skeletons to dig themselves out and attack. They were dealt with quickly. Of course, the sounds of fighting drew the attention of another vampire that Grete attacked and killed.
The next area was a bit maze-like, and had a few vampires. And spiders. And giant spider eggs. And cobwebs. To which Ralof and Belinda responded with a big fat "HELL NO!" Ralof refused to go further in, so the others had to proceed without him for the time being. Lucien stayed behind so Ralof wouldn't be alone. The spiders in the area were already dead, and there was a powerful vampire fight a large spider. Dione raised her bow and arrow, aiming for the vampire. Astral took out a silver dagger. When the vampire finally slew the spider, he was weak. Astral flung the dagger, getting the vampire in the head. The vampire collapsed and everyone turned to Astral with wide eyes.
"I wanted to see if I could do it," Astral pointed out.
The ancient Nord architecture then gave way to late first era architecture with stone tiles laid in a pattern and gargoyles perched on ledges. They made the group uncomfortable. Astral ran back to get Ralof and Lucien before they proceeded through and old, oak door. The next room was small with barred windows, a closed gate opened by a lever, a pedestal with a scroll on it, some pottery and a tattered blue rug, and a couple braziers. Gargoyles flanked the gate, and Belinda watched them intently as Astral pulled this lever to open the gate. Nothing.
They're not just inanimate objects, Belinda told herself.
The chamber outside the room was massive, with sun shining through holes in the ceiling and a violet glow coming from the right side of the chamber. They saw the meteor that had punched a hole in the ceiling and the damage it had done to the structure in the center of the chamber; it had destroyed a few of the archways. They heard voices and looked ahead to a pair of vampires interrogating someone, granted the interrogation wasn't going well.
"I'll never tell you anything, Vampire!" the man snapped, body cut and bruised. He wore trousers and his hands were bound behind his back. "My oath to Stendarr is stronger than any suffering you can inflict upon me."
The lead vampire scoffed with a roll of his eyes and drew his sword. "I believe you, Vigilant," he sneered, "and I don't think you even know what you've found here." He turned to the man and swung his sword at the man, beheading him in a single swipe. "Go and meet your beloved Stendarr." He turned to examine the structure, and the other vampire, this one female, spoke up.
"Are you sure that was wise, Lokil?" she asked. "He still might have told us something."
"He knew nothing," the male vampires, Lokil, pointed out.
"We haven't gotten anywhere ourselves," the vampire stated.
"We will figure it out some-." He was looking past her, right at the group. "Raise the dead. Now." The vampires looked to the group and used necromancy to bring forth Draugr and skeletons.
"Well, fuck; so much for doing this quietly," Belinda sighed, drawing her sword. She charged in, the others following.
They battled the vampires and their undead minions, Lucien moving to a vantage point. He needed a good look at debris scattered across the room and to be able to count the enemy so he could guide his allies and cover for Belinda. She was making her way over to the meteor. Astral kept close to her, using hand to hand and acrobatics to defend them and her. The female vampire was hurrying over to them, planning to stop them from using it in anyway. Astral managed to catch her in the chin and she cracked her jaws before drawing her daggers. Belinda was already at the meteor, running her hands over the stone. An arrow zipped in front of her, making her jump back. She looked to see a Draugr shooting at her.
"Lucien!" she called, ducking another arrow.
"I see," he responded. He reached out to Dione, who had the other good vantage point. She spotted the Draugr easily and sniped him. Belinda resumed her task, trying to find a weak point, a crack, or a hole. Lucien spotted two Draugr coming up on the other side of the meteor and directed Ralof to them. He came at them from behind and cut them down with his axes.
Grete was now one-on-one with the vampire Lokil. They circled each other, occasionally jumping out to stab or slash. Lokil tripped up and Grete came in, swinging her sword upward. Lokil barely managed to block her and then she stabbed downward, running the vampire through. He yelled in pain and she yanked her sword free before swinging to behead him. She then helped finish off the rest of the Draugr. After the fight, they moved over to Belinda and the meteor.
Belinda just looked at it. "You can come out now!" she shouted at it.
"Um, why are you shouting at it?" Grete asked.
"I'll show you in a moment," Belinda answered. She looked thoughtful. "Hey, can anyone see if they can find a scythe nearby?"
Everyone, save Lucien, shrugged and went looking for a scythe. Grete and Dione found it by two gargoyles, stabbed into the ground. Dione and Grete yanked it free, but it was heavy. Astral came and helped them carry it over to the meteor. She looked at them.
"Heavy, huh?" she asked.
"Did you see this earlier?" Dione responded.
"No. Just had a feeling it wasn't in the meteor," Belinda pointed out. She went and helped them, getting it rolled in their hands so that the point of the scythe was facing left. "Now, we're going to use this scythe to break the meteor open."
"What?" Grete asked.
"Just roll with it," Belinda answered. They swung it, moving to give it some force, and the blade cut into the meteor. Everyone, save Belinda and Lucien, was in awe of this. Belinda went over and reached into the cut that made. "Wakey, wakey," she said. She pulled her hand away as the meteor began to crack like an egg.
"We might want to move back," Lucien pointed out, and bolted away. Everyone else did so, dropping the scythe in the process. The meteor shattered around a human-like being, feathery wings unfolding behind them.
The light faded, revealing a beautiful man standing a little over six feet, his body slim and lean. He was almost as pale as Belinda. His hair was feathery soft, long and messy, and white as snow, and when he opened his eyes, dark violet irises were revealed. He wore a white, button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black vest, trousers, and boots. His wings folded again and vanished and he fell to his knees. Belinda and Lucien hurried over to him.
"Karr?" Belinda called softly.
He didn't look up, but moved his shaky hands up to touch her face. He felt her face, trying to memorize it by feel. "You've grown up," he said, voice soft.
"Eight years and that's all you can say?" Belinda asked. "Of course I grew up."
Karr, though blind, could see magic, and Belinda stood out against every other magical being, just as Amanisa had. Her form shimmered with so many colors, like a rainbow formed by fireworks. It was so beautiful and he loved it. Then he looked to the side, eyes falling on silk-like ripples of teal, sapphire, and emerald in the shape of a lynx. He recognized it as Lucien. He smirked and pet the cat's head. His fur was well kept. Karr expected no less. Then he saw others. The faint light of a non-mage, a bright glow of white-gold, light blue, and silver that formed in a tall man; midnight blue fluttered against a backdrop of crimson that faded into deep purple, and there was a brilliant mist of turquoise with strands of pale silver and white light. Karr saw them all, how each individual's magic or light formed. It was a beautiful thing he was left with after his vision was destroyed. Then he saw something rise on Belinda's shoulders, something he had missed. A baby dragon. Karr knew why. Because Belinda and the little one had bonded. Karr opened his mouth to say something, only for his stomach to growl.
"I kinda figured you'd be hungry," Belinda giggled. "First, let's get whatever the vampires were after and get out of here."
Karr nodded and let Belinda and the one with the fluttering midnight help him up. Belinda introduced her as Dione. The dragonet was Spyro (figures), the one with white-gold light was Ralof, the non-mage was Grete, and the turquoise one was an Aetherborn named Astral. Belinda went to the pedestal in the center of the cavern while Karr picked up his scythe. She touched the orb on top, grabbing it with her right hand. It was a mistake, especially when a knife went through her hand. She screamed in pain.
"GODS FUCKING DAMN IT ALL!" she screamed. "FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" The knife withdrew, pleased with her blood and a puzzle activated. Everyone rushed over to her, Karr holding her still and Ralof healing the wound. "How many times is my hand going to get fucked up?" Belinda asked with a groan, wincing.
"At least the scar tissue from the last times is keeping the blood from pouring out," Ralof pointed out.
"Scar tissue?" Karr asked.
"Thanks, Ralof," Belinda grumbled. She looked to Karr. "Yeah, met Nathiel. He decided to put a knife through my hand."
Karr looked down at her hand. He noticed the missing finger. Magic filled her body, so when he saw the lack of magic where her right ring finger should have been, he knew. She had become more like Amanisa than he thought she would be. He had yet to feel her lower arm though, but he could see the shapes beneath her bracer, all three tattoos full of magic. He knew they were there, but not what they hid. Once her hand was healed, the scars on the front and back just looked worse.
They then focus on the puzzle, one that was easy enough. Dione moved around, picking which braziers to move. Soon, a monolith rose where the pedestal was and it slid open, revealing a young, lovely woman in fine, blood red velvet and worn, black leather. Her hair was shoulder length and black as night. She was paler than Belinda. Behind them, Grete drew a sword. Nothing should have been alive in the monolith, let alone be that well-preserved.
"Vampire," she hissed.
"Calm down; perhaps she can be reasoned with," Belinda pointed out, and then saw the vampire fall forward. She, Karr, and Dione moved to catch her and get her into a sitting position. They patiently waited for the vampire to come to her senses.
"Mm, where am I?" she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Oh, just the back end of a cave in a far-flung corner of Skyrim," Belinda answered.
The vampire looked up at her, eyes a hungry red. She giggled. "That's funny." She looked around. "So…I'm guessing you're vampire hunters?" she asked.
"Basically, but we're trying to be civil," Belinda answered.
"Thank you; I'll return the favor," the vampire responded.
"Besides, some of us have these things called morals," Belinda pointed out. "You just woke up after how many years and are probably famished and I don't see a weapon, and-. Is that an Elder Scroll?" That made everyone pause and looked.
The vampire sighed. "Yes," she answered with a groan.
"Oh, now I remember what Valerica was hiding!" Lucien exclaimed. "Well, more like preventing. She trying to prevent some half-baked piece of shit prophecy her husband dug up!"
"Wait, what?" Grete asked.
"Valerica? My mother? Have you seen here?" the vampire asked.
"Not since she appealed to Amanisa for help," Lucien answered. "I just remembered her saying something about a prophecy her husband found and was trying to prevent it."
"What is this prophecy?" Grete demanded.
"Something to do with the 'ending of the tyranny of the sun' bullshit," Lucien answered.
"Oh yeah, that won't end badly for the entire world," Belinda pointed out sarcastically.
"Tell that to my father," the vampire said. She sighed and got up. "I'm Serena, by the way."
Everyone introduced themselves, except for Grete. So Belinda introduced her. After, they left the cave, but first fought through two gargoyles and then a Draugr Deathlord and two dozen lesser Draugr. Karr used his scythe, loosening up his muscles. Serena used necromancy, wielding it with calm and skill. That didn't make Grete feel any better about helping a vampire. At all. Belinda decided to escort Serena home, explaining what's happened in the last 2,000 years. Serena had missed a lot, a lot she wanted to make up for…