Chapter 9: Overwhelming Power

Riordan's arrow flew through a cloud of smoke instead of a vampire's body, but the properties of Auriel's Bow caused a small flame to spiral out from the arrow as it passed through the mist. Wuldarin rematerialized and dropped to his knees, clutching at his chest and hissing.

"Damn you…" Black smoke began to form around the vampire. "It seems I will have to end this quickly."

The Dragonborn's eyes widened as the smoke wrapped around Wuldarin. "No…"

In seconds, a Vampire Lord stood before them, wings stretched out. "Now, let us see how much damage those arrows of yours can do!"

Riordan frowned and nocked another arrow, but as he brought the bow up, his arms refused to do what he wanted them to.

"What the—"

Even his voice was shackled as Wuldarin raised his hand, his telepathy crushing his throat and lifting his body into the air.

"Time to die, Dragonborn."

Brelyna moved to leap forward, but found herself immobile, as well. "Riordan!"

The Vampire Lord smiled, showing his large fangs as he did so. "You know, I think I've just gotten an idea." He turned his gaze toward Brelyna, and his eyes began to glow brighter. "Wouldn't it be terrible for the wife of the Dragonborn to be his murderer?"

Riordan's eyes widened, but all he could do was glance over at Brelyna. The Dunmer grimaced and dropped to the floor, clutching at her skull.

"What…no…" She gritted her teeth.

Wuldarin chuckled. "The school of illusion magic is one of the less studied, sadly. The ability to control what your enemies think is…excellent."

Brelyna slowly glanced up at the vampire. "Get…out…of…my…head…" She hissed.

The vampire lord smirked. "It's impressive that you've managed to—" He stopped as his hands, of the own accord, started to drop to his sides. "Wait—"

As they did so, Brelyna stood up slowly. "Stay…out…of…my…head! And get away from my husband!"


Babette had to move quickly. As Damian lunged forward, she kicked off and met him mid-lunge, wrapping her arms around his waist and taking him to the ground.

As soon as they hit the floor, Babette rolled away and slid a few feet before righting herself. Damian, on the other hand, was pulled to his feet by two of the guards. Before they could get a good grasp on him, he kicked the dagger up into his right hand and sliced the arm of one of the guards. The man clutched at his wound, sputtering and gargling. The other received a quick stab to the abdomen as he watched his partner drop, and he soon felt the same effects.

Knife's poisoned, Babette thought as she put herself between Elisif and the assassin. Good to know.

"Months of work, gone to waste," he said. "I hope your daddy's happy, little one."

Babette frowned and raised both of her hands, the right slightly lower than the left. "I'm not doing this for him."

Damian lunged forward. "Then who are you dying for?!"

He thrust forward, an initial strike that she parried by twisting slightly and pushing at his forearm with an open hand. In an instant, the knife flew from his right hand to his left, and he attempted a surprise thrust from an unexpected angle. Babette jumped backward, allowing the blade to pass by, but as soon as her feet hit the stone floor, she leapt forward and hit Damian's unprotected jaw with an open palm strike.

In response, the assassin swung wildly from the left again as he backpedaled, and the young Breton girl weaved under the attack and hit him with a close-fisted punch to his stomach. Deceptively powerful, the counter left him gasping, and his hold on the poisoned weapon slipped.

This slip provided Babette with an opportunity. She thrust upward with an open palm and sent the dagger skittering along the floor, following that with a left-handed forward chop to Damian's throat. The assassin dropped to his knees, gasping for air, and several guards took him the rest of the way to the ground.

Babette's heart rate steadily decreased as the excitement of the fight wore off. "Been awhile since I've had to fight like that…"

As the guards stood Damian up and prepared to carry him to the dungeon, he glanced at Babette. "What are you?"

She smirked. "You're in no position to ask questions. Who sent you? Was it Wuldarin?"

Damian snorted. "Who? You must be out of your damned mind if you think I'm gonna tell you anything. Assassin rule number one."

"How well I know," the girl whispered. "Fine. Rot in Oblivion."

"It's off to jail with you, and the executioner's block once we've gotten all of the useful information out of you," Festus said. As they led him out, he turned to Babette. "I suppose I should thank you; turns out Storm-Blade was right…"

"I told you; he wouldn't have sent me to waste the Jarl's time."

"And you have my thanks…I'm sorry, I don't believe I've met you," Elisif said, causing the Breton to turn.

"My name's Babette," she replied as she bowed her head slightly.

"Thank you for saving my life, Babette." Elisif smiled. "Riordan raised you well."

"He didn't raise me," Babette replied bitterly, "and I thought you hated him."

Elisif sighed. "It's true that Riordan and I were on opposite sides of the civil war, but he always treated the people of Solitude with kindness. He has always endeavored to protect me from Ulfric's ambitions, and he tries to curb them in turn." She chuckled. "It's funny; you seem to be a bit like him, stubborn. He gets the results he wants, even if he has to resort to violence."

Babette scowled. "He and I are nothing alike, but you do have a point. He gets what he wants."

The Jarl inclined her head. "At any rate, where is he?"

"Fighting a vampire from the Volkihar clan," Babette replied. "We thought that he would send assassins after you, and it seems to be the case."

Sybille Stentor took a step forward. "Is that this…Wuldarin…you mentioned?"

She nodded. "They found him in the Winking Skeever; I'm surprised that the guards haven't told you yet."

"With all due respect, Lady Elisif," one of the guards began, "we were coming to warn you before we saw the assassin. The vampire is engaged with the Dragonborn, a Dunmer, and a young mage."


"W-what is this?!" Wuldarin could feel his power leaving as his transformation receded and an inexplicable calm fell over him. The Dragonborn dropped to the floor, gasping for air, and the vampire couldn't control himself any longer. He dropped to his knees, unable to focus.

The mage ran over to the Dragonborn. "Riordan!"

"Brelyna…" he gasped. "Watch…your back…"

She smiled warmly and wrapped her arms around him. "He's down, love. I hit him with a harmony spell so powerful that he can't even want to attack."

Riordan's eyes widened. "I…you haven't studied illusion, have you?"

A bright light brought their attention back to the vampire as he was engulfed in the flames of Sun Fire. Hroar winced as the light grew, and he backed away as his victim failed to even muster a scream.

"…impossible…" Wuldarin gurgled as the holy fire wrapped around him. In seconds, he was nothing but ashes.

Brelyna sighed and rested against the wall. "That was too close…"

Hroar pressed his hand against one of the wooden pillars. "I think I'm gonna be sick…"


The Dragonborn and his wife stood before Elisif, along with their adopted daughter and Hroar. The Jarl scanned their faces.

"Thank you, Riordan Storm-Blade, for saving me and my city. If you hadn't shown up, I would be dead, and a vampire would walk free in Skyrim."

Hroar had his gaze set on Sybille, but Babette nudged him with her elbow. Meanwhile, Brelyna smiled.

"Really, Elisif, the thanks should go to Hroar and the Dawnguard. If they hadn't alerted us to the threat, we wouldn't have known about it at all."

"Regardless," she said, "you've trained your daughter well, Riordan. She fights almost as well as you; you should've seen her take down the assassin."

The Dragonborn chuckled. "I'm afraid I can't take credit for Babette's skill, or my wife's, for that matter. I was at Wuldarin's mercy; a vampire lord does not go down easily."

Elisif nodded. "Would you and your family do me the honor of staying and eating with me and my court? I know that we haven't always seen eye to eye, but it would be improper of me to send you off without some measure of my gratitude."

Riordan nodded before bowing slightly. "We'd be honored, Jarl Elisif."


Both Hroar and Babette fidgeted as they sat close to the Jarl, but each for their own reasons. Brelyna and Riordan smiled and laughed with Elisif, despite the near death experience both of them had.

"So, tell me Hroar, is what Riordan said about Lady Maryon true?" Babette asked. "Did she really save his life?"

The young mage nodded. "Yeah, Wuldarin had Riordan at his mercy, and I felt helpless watching it all."

"So, you didn't try to intervene at all?"

"N-no…I was too…too afraid at first."

Babette raised an eyebrow. "At first?"

He pursed his lips. "Yeah…the vampire held the Dragonborn and prevented him from using either his bow or his voice, and then he," his voice lowered to a whisper, "he tried to use illusion magic to get Brelyna to kill him."

"Are you serious?" The Breton girl's brow furrowed. "And it didn't work."

Hroar shook his head. "No. Even I could feel his mind's power, and I wasn't his target. Instead, she turned his magic against him and used the most powerful illusion spell I've ever seen!"

Babette absentmindedly poked at her plate with her fork, and Hroar took a bite from his own.

"So," she began. "How did Wuldarin die? Did Riordan shoot him?"

"No," he replied. "At the same time that Lady Maryon was calming him, I felt…a surge of courage. I can't explain it. As his powers diminished, I summoned a ball of Sun Fire and hit him in the back."

She blinked several times. "You killed him?!"

Hroar cocked his head. "Hey, don't act so incredulous!"

As the two teenagers continued to talk, Riordan and Brelyna conversed with Elisif.

"They seem to be getting along well," Brelyna said as a grin grew on her face.

"Yeah, I didn't think Babette was one to be so open with another," Riordan replied.

"Well, Riordan, despite what happened in the past, I'm happy that you seem to have found a family and a life aside from adventuring." Elisif's smile abated. "I only wish Torryg could be here…I think you'd all get along."

"I'm sorry, Jarl Elisif," Riordan said. "I wish that the war had never happened, to be honest with you."

"You doubt Ulfric Stormcloak?"

The Dragonborn shook his head. "It's not that. He knows what he wants and how to get it, but I fear that war has weakened Skyrim."

"Yes," Brelyna interjected, "free as Skyrim may be, we fear that it couldn't stand against the Aldmeri Dominion should they decide to intervene."

The Jarl of Solitude nodded. "As happy as I am with not having to deal with the Thalmor, I'm afraid that our country cannot stand against them."

"I think you're mistaken, Elisif," Riordan replied. "The Thalmor would not be enough, in and of themselves, to take Skyrim." His gaze darkened. "Not while I live."


As they returned to the rooms prepared for them in the Blue Palace, Brelyna laid her staffs against the wall and sighed.

"That was way too close, Riordan…"

The Dragonborn closed the door slowly and turned toward her, a grin displayed on his face. "We won, Brelyna. You and Hroar killed Wuldarin, and Babette stopped the assassin from killing Elisif." He wrapped his arms around her, and she responded in kind. "It all worked itself out."

"What if…what if it doesn't next time?" She asked as tears began to form in her red eyes. "He…I could feel him in my head, and it took everything I had to keep him out. Only the fact that he wanted me to kill you stopped me. I don't think I could've done it if he'd wanted anyone else dead…"

He lifted her chin with his forefinger. "But you turned it on him. You had the power to not only resist, but force him to his knees. I love you, Brelyna, and I trust you with my life. You would never fall to someone else's control."

The Dunmer dried her tears with her sleeve and laughed nervously. "I just…it scared me to think that illusion magic can hold that much power. But…you do have a point. We all made it out alright."

He nodded slowly. "We did, and together, we'll make it through anything."

In response, Brelyna kissed him lightly on the lips. "Should we get ready? The night's not quite over yet?"

"Brelyna!" Riordan feigned outrage. "We're guest here! Why would we put that kind of strain on the cleaning staff?"

The Dunmer simply laughed as she began to remove her robes.

Author's Notes:

Well, I managed to get another chapter out! We'll see if I can get through the next one promptly. As for illusion magic, I've always viewed it as a kind of telepathy, at least for really skilled users. Most try to brute force it via spells, but a few are far more powerful. And it seems that Babette is slightly coming out of her shell.