"Aus, kaal se Sithis, wo los daniik. Diinok, Kira. Dir."
Light shivered as he remembered the Draugr Deathlord actually talking to him. It could have snapped his neck, but it chose to convey a message in an ancient language he didn't understand. All Light understood was that it had called him Kira. It was an alias he hadn't even chosen, and yet, zombies from another world addressed him as Kira.
"One last thing, Irileth. This isn't a death or glory mission, I need to know what we're dealing with."
Light realized what was going on as Irileth replied, "Don't worry, my lord. I'm the very soul of caution."
"Ryuzaki, wait up!" he called, seeing that Ryuzaki was wandering toward the door. "If that dragon is still there, we don't stand a chance."
"You're assuming that the dragon is hostile. I, however, need to see what the dragon will do if approached peacefully. If it can be reasoned with, lives can be saved."
"So we're going ahead of the guards?"
"Significantly ahead of them. We're going to start running as soon as we clear the gates."
"I might not be able to kill it if it decides to attack. The Death Note doesn't work on skeevers or wolves…"
"Dragons have a language, and therefore, they likely have names. If you can write a name, and see a face, you can kill."
Light gave up arguing and followed Ryuzaki, along with Ralof. Rem trailed behind the three, invisible to everyone but them, with a look of concern and frustration in her eye.
X
When they arrived at the Western Watchtower a few minutes later, the grass was burning and the tower was half destroyed. "Well, Ryuzaki, you don't have to be the greatest detective in the world to know that this dragon is hostile."
"It's also not here," Ryuzaki replied calmly. "We can't talk to it or kill it if it's not here."
"ZU'U MIRMULNIR! ZU NIR, FUL ZU'U!" a great dragon with green-gray scales soared over a hill nearby, and landed with a thundering crash. It breathed deep to begin a Shout.
"Wait!" Ryuzaki's plea caught the dragon off guard, and it refrained from barbecuing him. "My name is Ryuzaki. Can you understand me?"
"Yes, I understand you, insolent pest. My name is Mirmulnir, lieutenant of Alduin the World-Eater, and I do not have time for tinvaak with a mortal."
"I wish to reveal very important information to you. My friend here is known as Kira, and he has the power to kill you."
"Kira… kaal se Sithis! My lord will praise me for ending your legend, Kira." Light opened the Death Note, and frantically scribbled Mirmulnir's name. "YOL TOOR…" the dragon's head snapped upward in agony, and the sky was lit with fire. It collapsed to the ground, and sighed.
"That actually worked. Well done, Light…" Ryuzaki was flicked into the air by Mirmulnir's wing as the monster stood, and heaved itself into the air, panting. It had been affected by the Death Note, yet it hadn't died. Light repeated, "Mirmulnir, Instant Death" but the dragon stood up after crashing into the side of the tower and flying straight through.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!" the beast roared, and flame erupted from its maw, like a gust of wind from Hell, that struck not Ryuzaki, Light, or Ralof, but Rem. Worse, Rem appeared to actually be burning, holding an arm protectively over her face and stumbling backward. The fire ceased, and Rem opened the Death Note which had been protected by her other arm. She tried to write Mirmulnir's name, but he headbutted her into the air. Ryuzaki shot an arrow through Mirmulnir's eye, drawing the beast's attention. It turned to him and Shouted forth fire again, but Ryuzaki curled up and rolled aside, dropping his bow. He raised his empty hands, both alight with sparks, and aimed all his magicka at the dragon's other eye, frying it and blinding Mirmulnir completely. Ryuzaki drew his sword, and approached silently, with bare feet on grass. The dragon was caught completely off guard when Ryuzaki stabbed into his skull, killing him almost instantly, but not before Mirmulnir screamed, "Dovahkiin! No!"
As Mirmulnir collapsed, his body began to burn, and the flesh was consumed, revealing bones which glowed white, before the dragon's energy left it, flowing directly into Ryuzaki. Purely out of curiosity, Ryuzaki Shouted, "FUS!" and unlike before, this time a weak wall of energy burst forth, flying a few yards ahead of him before dissipating into the wind. "incredible."
Light shakily closed and stowed the Death Note. The entire battle had made no sense. "Rem's hurt, pretty badly."
"I'll be fine." Rem's normally bone-white skin was burnt black over most of her body, but the bones functioned as armour to an extent, and it seemed she was telling the truth.
"How did the dragon see you, and burn you?"
"I don't know." Rem held up her notebook, which was singed slightly around the edges. "I... I just don't know."
Ralof, who had never had the chance to help, threw in, "If I heard what I think I heard, then Mirmulnir called you the same thing the Draugr did in Bleak Falls Barrow. Kaal se Sithis."
"And maybe just as importantly, he recognized the name Kira." Light held up his own Death Note, mirroring Rem's pose. "Something big is going on here."
"DOV AH KIIN!" the air shook and eardrums were split with the thundering call.
"And that, I believe, is what Mirmulnir called me," Ryuzaki said with nonchalance.
"It means Dragonborn. I saw it with my own eyes, Ryuzaki." Ralof said in awe. "It took Ulfric Stormcloak five years to learn that Shout. It took you five seconds."
"And do you know what that was?" Ryuzaki asked, gesturing vaguely toward the sky.
"The Shout? That was the Greybeards, masters of the Voice, summoning you to High Hrothgar, their monastery. They taught Ulfric how to Shout, but the last time they actually summoned someone was Talos, in the Second Era."
"Where is this monastery?"
"High up on the Throat of the World, tallest mountain in Tamriel. Problem is, we're on the western side of that mountain range, and the Seven Thousand Steps to High Hrothgar are on the eastern side."
"As is Windhelm…" Ryuzaki sheathed his sword. "We'll take a carriage to Windhelm, and perhaps stay a while, then Light, Rem, and I will continue to High Hrothgar."
"Don't you think we should at least tell the Jarl about this?" Light kicked a rib bone on the dragon. "he wanted to know what these dragons were capable of."
"Yes, I suppose there's no harm in taking a moment to explain what happened." Ryuzaki bit his thumbnail, and added, "Even if I can't make any sense of it."
X
Windhelm, Two Months Later
A hammer struck red-hot ebony, both pounding and sculpting a sword into shape. The edge would then be honed by the blacksmith's assistant at a grindstone, and sold to the war effort, to be wielded in bloody battle by a Stormcloak soldier who hoped that, dead or alive, he would return to Windhelm a war hero.
What made this scene unusual was the fact that it was Ryuzaki forging the sword. His assistant was Light. They had been given the materials by the owner of the forge, allowed to fill whatever order had been placed, and the finished equipment was sold back. Given that the original materials had been free, the wage was solely for labour, not actually for the weapons and armour.
Ryuzaki's logic had been that rushing the trip to High Hrothgar was too risky. With only iron swords and fur armour, he and Light wouldn't have stood a chance against dragons, giants, bandits, and wolves. They were better off waiting to make the trip until such time as they were actually ready. That time was now. Ryuzaki had finished his own suit of glass armour, as well as a bow, while Light had opted for heavier ebony and a sword. Neither of them had helmets or shields.
There was a splashing and hissing sound as Ryuzaki dropped the sword into the pool of water next to the anvil, to cool yet another finished project. This was the final order he would fill. With the profits from their smithing, Ryuzaki had been buying spell tomes from Windhelm's resident mage, Wuunferth. Most had been Destruction, but two in particular had been for Illusion, and fairly obscure spells. The first allowed him to change his voice, and speak from a distance. The second had taught him to create patterns and projections of light. Together, he used these to replicate the L logo and artificial voice he had used on Earth. Old habits die hard, and L had already solved a few difficult cases, spreading a reputation around Skyrim.
He had located and arrested a werewolf named Sinding rather recently, without ever leaving Windhelm. However, given the genuine remorse Sinding had shown at his kills, even in wolf form, he had been exiled to Bloated Man's Grotto rather than executed in Falkreath. Kira had also refrained from sending him a heart attack. Earlier on, L had tackled a case in Windhelm itself, bringing a serial killer called the Butcher to justice. Calixto Corrium had been demented and unrepentant, so he had died of a heart attack in his cell. L's reach had shown to be limitless, and he had seen to the release of Thorald Gray-Mane, a Stormcloak soldier who had been captured and tortured by the Thalmor, without ever leaving Windhelm, much less raising a weapon. Criminals across Skyrim were beginning to fear L and Kira, and the feeling was satisfying. Meanwhile, Ryuzaki and Light continued cranking out weapons and armour for the Stormcloaks. Now, however, that job was done, and it was time for L's next appearance.
Ulfric Stormcloak was seated comfortably in his throne in the Palace of the Kings, sipping his mead and talking to Galmor Stone-Fist about the dragon menace, when a white L logo appeared, floating over the table. "Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak," came a distorted, mechanical voice, "I hope by now you have heard of me."
All eyes were on the floating L, and Ulfric's look of surprise.
"Yes, I have heard of you, L." Ulfric took a sip of mead.
"Then you know why I have contacted you."
"The Aretino boy." Ulfric drank again. "you really think he's trying to contact the Dark Brotherhood?"
"As a matter of fact, I know he is. He is likely continuing to repeat the Black Sacrament even as we speak, however the Dark Brotherhood has not arrived. They never turn down a contract, so we must assume that whatever magic allows them to detect the Sacrament is temporarily inactive. We should take advantage of our sole opportunity to avoid this assassination. According to my investigation, he is attempting to bring about the murder of one Grelod the Kind, the caretaker of Honorhall Orphanage, where he and various other children have been beaten and tortured by this Grelod. It's clear to me that the only way to avert this murder is to end Grelod's employment there. Your guards will interrupt the Sacrament immediately, but you must make it clear that no further actions will be taken. Simply confiscate the ritual materials, tell the boy help is on the way, and leave it at that. I've already contacted the Jarl of Riften, and Grelod is either being arrested now or has already been taken into custody. The final step is to reunite Aventus Aretino with his friends, and this will happen so long as you allow it. A guarded carriage with the children on board will pass into Eastmarch from the Rift, on the condition that Windhelm's guards are ordered not to attack it. That's the only reason I've contacted you."
Ulfric finished his mug of mead, and said, "You may tell the Jarl of Riften that the carriage will not be harmed."
"Excellent. I'll pass that message on immediately, and later, we'll talk about renovating the Gray Quarter."
L's insignia vanished without another word.
Ryuzaki finished his coffee, and contacted the Jarl of Riften before packing up and heading back to Candlehearth Hall, with Light and Rem trailing behind him. The next morning, they were set to leave Windhelm for Ivarstead, and beyond it, High Hrothgar.
Note: Ulfric has made the simple connection that Ryuzaki is L, since that's the name he originally gave.