Chapter 9 - Serana's Decision

Before she and Nevan left the following morning, Serana spoke to Yssha. "The same rumor that suggested Falion knows how to cure vamirism also said he charges a steep price for it. Would you happen to have a filled black soul gem I could buy?"

"Buy?" Yssha was a bit surprised. "You are Family, so you need not buy one. Come up to the enchantry, and I will gladly give you one."

Serana followed her up the stairs and into the enchantry, where Yssha went to one of her strongboxes and removed two of the valuable gems. "Just in case."

"Thanks," Serana said. "I'd like to talk to Nevan on the way, so can we borrow the carriage?"

"You are more than welcome, and of course." Yssha smiled. "May I say, without offense, what I think of your decision?"

Serana nodded. "I ... hope it doesn't upset you. I know my vampiric strength is useful, but the prospect of Couldharbour, especially when none of the rest of you will be going there, is ... no longer acceptable. But it may upset Mother."

Yssha hugged her Clan-sister. "No, it does not upset me, Serana. I am delighted that you have made what must have been a difficult decision to rejoin us ... well, most of us ... in mortality. That way, from my selfish viewpoint, I will be able to see you from time to time in the afterlife."


Serana rode quietly for a bit, before turning to Nevan and asking, "Will my lack of strength after this bother you? Because if it will, I won't do it."

He smiled at her. "I like your strength, of course," he said. "When you give it up, it'll probably modify our lovemaking, yes. But the choice must be yours, and we'll adapt. I've made love to Standard women before, and satisfied both of us without hurting them."

She grinned. "Good, because I'm not going to give you up, which is another reason to become human again. And I may surprise you. I won't be as strong as I am now, but I wasn't exactly a weakling before I was turned."


When they got to Morthal, they stopped at the Moorside Inn to ask where Falion could be found, and were directed to his house. As soon as they entered, he greeted them. "If you are here to purchase, I have many spells available. There are many things here that cannot be found elsewhere."

Serana smiled. "At the moment, we're more interested in your services than your merchandise. I've heard you're an expert on vampires and vampirism."

Falion gave her a piercing glance. "I know many things. I have studied things beyond the reach of most humans, traveled the Oblivion planes, seen things one should not see. I have met Daedra and Dwemer and everything in between and I know enough to see a vampire where others would see a man."

"You're right," Serana said. "But how can you be so sure?"

"I met several of your kind during my studies of life-extending magics," he explained. "I even considered becoming a vampire myself. In the end, though, I decided that vampirism would endanger my ward Agni, which would defeat my intentions."

"I've also heard that you can cure vampirism. That's why I'm here."

"It is possible, yes," Falion said. "I know a ritual, but I've only performed it a few times. It requires a filled black soul gem. You will need to kill someone. When you have a gem and have filled it, return to me and I will perform the ritual. I will return life to your dead body, vampire."

"I'd heard that as well, so I came prepared." Serana reached into her pack and handed him one of the gems Yssha had given her.

"Very well. Meet me at the summoning circle in the marsh at dawn. We shall banish the creature you have become."

"Summoning circle?" Serana asked. "Neither of us has been in Morthal before, so I have no idea where it is."

"Then come along, and I'll show you." He led them out of town and into the marsh, to something that looked more like an undersized dragon mound than anything else she could think of. "Here it is. Come back at dawn, and I'll take care of your problem."

"We'll see you then," Serana agreed, and she and Nevan left. They spent the day wandering around the rather depressing and not particularly hospitable town, agreeing that even Riften was a more welcoming place. "This has to be the poorest hold in Skyrim," she said when they went to the inn for supper and a room.

Nevan nodded. "One lumber mill seems to be the only source of outside income, unless the inn has more customers than it seems to. Which I find doubtful."

"It's not a prosperous or scenic enough town to attract anyone who doesn't have to be here," Serana agreed.

The conversation tapered off, both of them preoccupied with what was going to happen at dawn. That, boredom, and the threat of Lurbuk, the Orc bard singing, sent them to their room early. They woke before dawn, making their way to the summoning circle.

Falion was already there, and greeted them with, "Good, you're here."

Serana nodded. "I'm eager to get this over with, now I've made the decision."

"As you desire. Stand in the center of the circle." As she did so, he turned to Nevan. "Stay still, and do not speak."

Nevan nodded, obeying.

Then Falion began chanting. "I call upon Oblivion realms. The home of those who are not our ancestors. Answer my plea!

"As in death there is new life, in Oblivion there is a beginning for that which has ended.

"I call forth that power! Accept the soul that we offer!

"As the sun ends the night, end the darkness of this soul, return life to the creature you see before you!"

Serana stiffened as she was bathed in green light, then relaxed when it faded. "Am I ... human again?" she asked Falion.

"Quite," Falion said with certainty. "Your eyes are normal again - and quite a pretty green, at that."

"Thank you," she said. "I like this - I even feel alive. I'd ... forgotten what it could be like." She went to Nevan and kissed him. "How's that?"

Nevan glanced to Falion for permission and got a nod, so he hugged her and returned the kiss. "Nice - you're warm! I think I'm going to enjoy tonight even more than usual." Then he took a necklace from his pack and put it around her neck. "You'll need this, now that you've lost your vampiric immunity to disease."

"Oh," she said. "I hadn't thought about that. Thanks! Let's get home and let the rest know."

Both of them thanked Falion again, and left the marsh, looking for a solid spot big enough for a dragon to land. When they did, Nevan dug into his pack again for a dragon signal and spread it out, then they waited for a patrol to spot them.

It didn't take long, and it wasn't a patrol; it was Odahviing. He studied Serana while Nevan picked up and repacked the signal cloth. "You are no longer sosnaak," he said approvingly. "This is a good thing for our family, brod-briinah."

Serana chuckled. "Clan-sister. I like that, though I never thought I'd be calling a dragon my brother. Last time I was human, you folks were gods to most of us."

Odahviing rumbled the dovah version of a chuckle, himself. "Nor, back then, would I have thought to be part of a joor family. If I had considered it, I would most likely have thought it abhorrent. But under thur Yssha, it is ... pleasant."

This time it was Nevan who chuckled. "Things are changing, aren't they? I never realized how much a change of sovereigns could do ... back in my first home, sovereigns were chosen who were already determined to retain the rights of their subjects, so from one to another, not much changed in that sense. Though technology changed other things pretty quickly. When I was grabbed, there was a project going to get to another galaxy ... I sometimes wonder how it went. But hells ... I'm getting used to living in a single province of a single continent, instead of flying all through an Empire of six thousand worlds."

He paused, then grinned. "To be honest, with Serana and dragons, I think I've gotten to actually prefer it. And that surprises me. When I first came here, I'd never have believed that would be possible." He paused. "Come to think of it, there're a lot of things that've happened that I wouldn't have believed possible. Like becoming a magic-using warrior using only low-tech weapons."

"A spell-sword, in our terms," Serana said. "And a damned good one, at that."

The two mounted, and Odahviing flew them home. Lakeview Manor was decorated for a party, and everyone was waiting outside for them. When they slid off Odahviing's neck, Yssha ran up to hug Serana and lick her cheek. "Welcome back to humanity, my friend!"

"Thanks - it's good to be back. But I hadn't expected you to make a big fuss about it."

"Auntie 'Rana!" Freyr was the next to run up, and she went to a knee to embrace and kiss him. "Hey, you're warm! Nice!"

To her surprise, he kissed her and handed her an amulet, before demanding, "You gonna marry Unca Nevan now?"

Serana choked in surprise at that question, and Yssha groaned. "Freyr! Don't be rude."

She turned to Serana. "I am sorry, fahdoni. And I do not know where he got the amulet."

Serana laughed. "It's okay. At his age, he'll say anything that comes to mind. In another couple of years, I may worry about that sort of thing. Anyway, I don't know how much Nevan knows about Nord marriage customs, so the amulet may mean nothing to him if I were to wear it."

Rayya overheard that, so she approached Nevan and gestured him toward the grove that hid the smelter from view, and followed him under the trees. "I believe there is something important you need to learn, warrior."

"Then enlighten me, please."

"First, how much do you know about Nord marriage customs, or the significance of an amulet of Mara?

Nevan was puzzled. "Nothing, and nothing."

Rayya sighed, telling him the significance of those particular amulets.

That didn't help Nevan's puzzlement. "But why get married? We're happy as it is, and marriage isn't something Sandeman warriors do. Our Other caste does, of course, but exclusivity's not something a warrior can afford, so the warrior caste simply doesn't marry."

Rayya planted fists on her hips, and glared at him. "Maybe not in your Empire, warrior, but this is Tamriel. She would be disgraced if she should get pregnant or give birth out of wedlock. And that could easily happen, if you continue having relations now that she's human again. Inside this household, it wouldn't matter, but the rest of Tamriel would take a different view." Rayya paused, taking a deep breath. "Which is why to get married ... if you care for her at all, you don't want her accused of being a whore or birthing a bastard, do you?"

And they certainly wouldn't be giving up that pleasure. Nevan bowed to the housecarl, acknowledging her greater knowledge of this culture. "I won't let her be hurt in any way I can prevent. So yes, if she actually wears the amulet, I'll propose to her."

"Good. Now let's get back to the party."

When they did, Rayya approached Serana. "He knows now," she said quietly.

"You didn't need to do that," Serana said, but she smiled.

"My duties to my Thane include protecting her and, by extension, her family," Rayya said. "That includes protecting your reputations. Which in turn meant he had to know what having a child out of wedlock would do to yours."

Serana chuckled. "That's really not a problem. I may specialize in Destruction magic, but I know enough Restoration and Alteration to prevent conception unless I want it, and I agree with Yssha about not having babies until the current war is over. But thank you anyway." She paused, and grinned. "Did he give you any clues how he'd react?"

Rayya returned the grin. "Don't wear the amulet until you're ready to get married."

"Oh, really? Then let's turn this into a betrothal party as well." Serana glanced around, seeing Nevan talking to Yssha, and put the amulet on before joining them.

Yssha and Nevan saw it at the same time, and both smiled. "Will you marry me, Lady Serana Volkihar?" Nevan asked softly, while Yssha purred.

"Very gladly, Nevan darLeras, warrior of Sandeman." As they kissed, Freyr ran up, cheering.

"But this one will not be as rushed as mine and Marcurio's," Yssha said firmly. "Brother Maramal was in such a hurry that my parents had to miss mine; there is no reason for your mother to miss yours. And we will take the time to make it memorable."


Author's Note: In the game, Falion says he's never performed the ritual, but with as many unwilling vampires as are implied, I find that a bit implausible. So I changed it.

And it seems Nevan is still learning about his adopted culture. Things I never planned on are starting to happen yet again ... sigh. Characters who decide to go off-plot can be a pain.