Fredas 20th Sun's Dusk 205 4E 3:00 PM
It was cold enough to freeze the breath still in one's lungs. But Lydia Stormblade was a true daughter of Skyrim and she wasn't going to let something as insignificant as a blizzard in the high mountains of the Reach keep her from her goal.
It had taken her a whole week to get things in order in Windhelm before she could hit the roads. Yrsarald had been very displeased when she had refused any escort for her journey. Lydia couldn't risk Delphine revealing that she was not the real Dragonborn and losing any support of her personal advisors. It was one thing to have your enemies declare you were a fake, but it was quite another when a supposed potential ally declared the same thing. She had simply explained that she didn't want to make the Blades feel defensive with a warrior contingent on their doorstep and it was only appropriate that she present herself personally to their leader.
She hated to admit it, but part of her had missed traveling across the holds of Skyrim. She missed the clear open blue skies when it wasn't snowing or even the dour gray when it was. She missed the endless tundra and the looming mountains. She missed the rushing rivers and the brisk cool air as she rode her gelding down the road. Nights spent huddling over a hot fire as her dinner of fresh rabbit stew cooked. Part of her had even missed being ambushed by bandits and fighting them off, especially now that she controlled the power of the thu'um.
For too long she had been sequestered in the Palace of the Kings, planning day in and day out their strategic maneuvers for the war. Now that she was the leader of the Stormcloaks, she rarely had time or resources to go out even to review troops. She was too new and inexperienced for this responsibility. Ulfric had been born and raised for the throne. She was just a pretender really. So it felt amazing to be her true self alone under the autumn sky when she thought she would never have that luxury ever again.
The only downsides were the bitter memories of traveling with Diana. She kept expecting to look over the fire and see her thane laughing as she awkwardly tried to peel a potato, or to look behind while riding and see the Imperial vaulting off her mount to go run and pick some flowers. Lydia had never imagined that she would miss her thane so much after all this time.
She had thought she had found closure by joining Ulfric's side, and she finally had the goal of hunting down the Dark Brotherhood in revenge for her thane's death. She had always known it was a false hope. Despite their weakened status as little more than stories to scare children, the Brotherhood had been around for a long time and little more shadows in the night. They were like skeevers: you could never truly wipe them out no matter how hard you try. You could destroy their cells and they would hide for a time, but sooner or later they always returned. Still, it had been something other than the terrible sense of loss and lack of direction in the depression she had suffered when Diana disappeared.
So when the Imperial had returned as Hecate the Listener instead of Diana the Dragonborn, it was as if Lydia's world had flipped upside down. Three years –three years!–Lydia had thought her dead when in truth she had been the leader of the very death cult Lydia thought had cut her down. What was so fundamentally wrong with the world that this could even remotely be true? Diana should have been the one by Ulfric's side winning the war instead of making it worse by killing the Emperor and later cutting down Ulfric Stormcloak in his home at the Palace of the Kings.
However, the thing that truly made traveling on the road the hardest was Elric. Lydia missed her child. Often she would only get to see him at the end of the day, already tucked into bed, asleep and limbs all akimbo. She would give him a quick kiss to the forehead as she rearranged his blankets before she crawled into bed herself. But he had been nearby where she had the option to look in on him playing, napping, or discovering the world for the first time.
There had been a period when she had been away on the battlefield leading the Stormcloaks to victory. But Ulfric had been alive, staying at the palace as a public figurehead, being jarl. Elric had a father to watch over him and keep him safe from the world. Ulfric had adored the child and spent most of his days with him. He even held court with the babe in his lap, uncaring about any opinions of the matter.
Elric had just said his first word mere days before Ulfric's death. He had been so proud of his son that he had sent a courier to Lydia with a letter telling her, tacked on at the end of a report of Windhelm's status. "The boy has learned his first word and unsurprisingly it is his father's name. He stumbled a bit, but it was clear enough! All that time in court has taught him well." It had been his last letter to her. Hers to him had been "Diana lives." She wished she had done something more personal, but she hadn't known they would be her last words to her jarl. She hadn't known Diana was a traitor and by the time she did, she was tied up and given to a dragon to deliver to High Hrothgar.
The next day, she had been holding Elric when he looked up at her and asked, "Yol-riik?" He wanted to know where his daddy was and she had no words for him. Especially since the two syllables sounded very much like the draconic words for "fire" and "gale." Ulfric must have been bursting with pride for his son to name him so.
Even thinking about it now, eight months later, forced Lydia to pull over on the side of the road and cry for a good ten minutes before she could continue her trek westward. It wasn't fair for a little boy to grow up without a father, a truth too many children were learning in Skyrim.
Normally the trip from Windhelm to Markarth took about a week, assuming good weather and if the rider was pushing herself, but Lydia was willing to take her time. She had no desire to get to Delphine looking like death warmed over and on the point of exhaustion. It was better to travel safely, contemplate her story, and do her best to win back the Blade's trust after Diana had thoroughly stomped on it during their last meeting.
Now she was finally at the base of Karthspire near a Forsworn camp. It looked long deserted, but Lydia avoided it to be safe. The Forsworn were friendly to no one outside of their cause and would attack anyone on sight. Lydia wasn't afraid. Why should she be? She was the Stormblade and a Voice Master. The Forsworn had no power over her. But Shouting would draw the Blades' attention before she could properly present herself.
Thankfully there were no enemies waiting in ambush and Lydia was able to make it to the entrance of Sky Haven Temple unmolested. The first two obstacles were easily passed now that she knew the trick. The first puzzle involved rotating three pedestals to have the old Akaviri symbol for Dragonborn showing so a drop bridge would fall to give access. The second involved stepping on pressure plates with the same symbol. It was painfully simple if you knew what to look for.
Lydia felt her heart clench at the thought. Diana and she had had a similar complaint about the puzzles in the many ruins they had explored in their months together. They were aggravatingly hard when you had no clue what you were doing, but once you figured the answer out it was something a child could do—or downright impossible if you didn't have the right claw key for the door. She had asked Wuunferth about it once and he told her it was because most traps weren't intended to keep living people out so much as the restless undead in. It really gave the whole puzzle idea a different spin when you realized the reason for it.
Lydia passed through a large open room with a huge stone face dominating the far wall. It was closed, staring at her passively, almost in challenge. This puzzle involved the Dragonborn releasing a few drops of blood on a pressure plate that would active the mechanism that would raise the stone face, revealing a stone staircase. She was stuck. No matter how much others believed it, no matter how much she tried to forget that it was all a farce, no matter how much she tried, Lydia was not a true Dragonborn.
However, she was a true Nord and she wasn't going to let something like this stop her. But how to proceed? Call out and hope someone responded? It felt too much like begging and she was still proud. Wait and hope someone emerged soon? Too chancy. This far up in the mountains during the winter, Lydia could too easily freeze to death. Nords might be resistant to the cold, but they were not immune. There was no guarantee that anyone would come out for supplies either. Last she had heard, Delphine had managed to gather some recruits, but had they stayed on after Diana's refusal? Would they keep their vows when the Dragonborn couldn't be bothered to?
Thankfully the decision was taken out of her hands when a familiar voice called out from above. "I see that you're stuck." Lydia looked up to see Delphine standing above the stone face. The older woman looked resplendent in her Blades armor. Lydia grimaced at the smirk on the Breton's face. Delphine was a proud woman despite being forced to hide as a simple innkeeper in Riverwood for almost thirty years after the disbanding of the Blades. Her ego had been badly bruised during her last conversation with Diana. Lydia hoped that she wouldn't be seeking too much payback.
To Lydia's surprise, the stone face lifted, sliding into the mountain wall to reveal the stairs that would lead to Alduin's Wall. "Come on in," Delphine said, gesturing as she retreated back inside. "It's much too cold out here for me to have any sort of decent conversation."
For a moment, the former housecarl stood in shock, her mouth hanging open. She had been prepared for no one to greet her, for Delphine to try to mock and taunt her, for there to be some prerequisite of humility before being given entrance to the Blades' safe house, but the thought of simply being invited in had never occurred to her. She quickly composed herself before ascending the stairs, not sure if she should be grateful or suspicious of the change of attitude.
Alduin's Wall, a bas-relief that dominated the far wall, still looked the same. Even years later, Lydia's memory of it had not faded in the slightest. It was an ancient relic that depicted Alduin's defeat from the Merethic Era and had given them the clue on how to find Dragonrend.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Esbern asked as he emerged from a side room, perpetual book tucked under one arm. His smile immediately made Lydia feel comfortable as if she belonged. "I never get tired of looking at it, looking for some secret we may have missed before."
"It's true," Delphine piped up as she came in, brushing melting snow from her shoulders. "Sometimes I have to come out here and drape a blanket over his sleeping form." She extended a hand of greeting in the Cyrodilic style to Lydia, who took it awkwardly.
Nords didn't shake hands, but embraced as if close family. Lydia felt it was one of those crucial cultural differences that helped mark part of the basic problem of the Civil War. Imperials wanted to keep everything at arm's length and painfully formal while Nords understood the necessity of closeness and camaraderie.
"So, I take it that you know that I'm the Dragonborn?" Lydia asked. "It's the only thing I can think of for the warm reception. If you don't mind me saying."
Delphine laughed sheepishly. "Yes, but I only recently found out thanks to Esbern. Believe me; your messenger would have had a much different reception if we had known." She motioned for the three of them to retire to the long table that the Blades used for meals. As they sat, she eyed Lydia's steel armor. "I must admit that I'm surprised that you're wearing your old armor and not the legendary Dragon scale set that Diana made. It was her signature in many ways."
"I lost it," Lydia admitted. It still stung her pride that she no longer had that unique mail. "Which is actually the reason why I'm here. The Brotherhood stole it from me so they could impersonate me to get close to Ulfric."
Delphine and Esbern shared a look. "We had heard the rumors," the old man admitted, "but we weren't certain about the truth of it. The thought that anyone in the Legion invested enough to want Ulfric dead enough to use the Brotherhood after they killed the Emperor seemed ridiculous."
"Whoever it is has been smart enough to not brag about it," Lydia said with gritted teeth. "This last summer, they summoned the Dark Brotherhood to wipe out an entire fort as a lesson. To summon an assassin against our leader was bad enough, but to have them sneak into our camps in the dead of night and slaughter every man makes me ill. Every action from the Imperial army just proves time and time again what dishonorable dogs they really are. Nothing is too low for them if it will allow them victory."
"Harsh words from a woman who is using a title and reputation that is not hers," Esbern said mildly. He flinched when Delphine stepped on his foot. "Not that we're judging you."
"Diana was dead and we needed a symbol. Everything I did before Ulfric's death was in her memory," Lydia said stiffly. It was true enough. She had honored Diana until she had returned from the dead as something else. "I have earned the title of Dragonborn as a hero of Skyrim just as I have earned the other titles Ulfric bestowed upon me."
"I don't understand why you've approached us," Delphine said, trying to pull the topic away from Diana before bitter memories could surface. "The Blades are a Cyrodilic faction. We were the protectors of the Emperor before being disbanded. Even with Titus Mede dead, our loyalty would lie with his successor. Why should we throw our lot in with the Stormcloaks?"
"Because the Empire abandoned you!" Lydia said. "They threw you aside for their Thalmor allies. You wouldn't be fighting your old masters so much as the new tyrants who have climbed into their bed. Additionally, you'll be able to go back to your true roots as dragon slayers. Skyrim is still plagued by the beasts. They are fewer now that Alduin has died, but I still receive reports periodically of small villages being razed to the ground. There is enough loss of life without these creatures creating more."
"We can't hope to fight dragons without a Dragonborn leading us," Delphine sighed, looking regretful. "We are trained to back up one who can truly kill a dragon by absorbing its soul. You would need to lead any squads sent to kill dragons. Even as a fake, you still are a Voice Master. It would be enough to turn the tide."
"I… I can't leave the Stormcloaks leaderless," Lydia said desperately. She had never considered that Delphine wouldn't jump at the chance to bring the Blades back to glory. "I must stay in Windhelm organizing my troops until the time I can lead us to victory."
"You would send us out to die for your cause," Delphine said flatly.
"No, no! That's not it. I want to use you as you were meant to be used. We all have roles we must play. You're meant to be dragonslayers instead of rudderless wasting away in this temple," Lydia said.
"Without some sort of edge, I would be sending men and women into their deaths," Delphine replied. "I can't do that in good conscience."
Lydia sat back, her lips thin in frustration. "So that's your asking price. You want Dragonrend."
"I've always liked you, Lydia," Delphine grinned slyly. Lydia didn't like that expression. "You're a sharp girl and willing to play politics when needed unlike your predecessor."
"I am nothing like Diana!" Lydia said too sharply.
"There's no doubt of that," Delphine said smoothly. She patted Lydia's hand sympathetically. "How did your mistress die?"
"The Dark Brotherhood," Lydia growled. "They took her from me – from Skyrim."
"We could help you with that particular problem," Delphine said. "In exchange for making us the dragon killers we need to be to defend Tamriel, I'll personally train my initiates to help protect you and yours from these daggers in the night."
"Good," Lydia nodded, "that's what I had hoped you'd say. I have a few conditions though. First, I'll only train Nords how to use the thu'um."
"Why?" Delphine asked. She had hoped to learn that amazing power for herself. Not only was it appropriate as her role of Grandmaster, it would allow her to be able to train her people without Lydia's assistance if the day came they needed to part ways.
"Because only Nords and Dragonborn have the inherent ability to learn Shouts," Lydia explained. "It's not personal, just pragmatic. I can't teach a non-Nord how to Shout any more than I can teach a fish how to ride a horse."
Delphine huffed, but nodded in agreement.
"Second, anyone I train in the thu'um will come from the Stormcloak army."
"Trying to keep them loyal to you first?" Delphine asked. She wasn't particularly happy with that arrangement, but it would mean she wouldn't have to spend time finding people willing to join her ranks.
"Finally, if you find their leader, a woman who wears a Tragedy mask, I want her brought to me alive. She and I have unfinished business," Lydia said.
"Wanting revenge for your lover's death?" Delphine asked. Lydia was surprised to hear the sympathy in the Breton's voice. "I can only promise that those will be standing orders, but my people are trained to kill not take prisoner. I won't risk my people for your personal vengeance."
"Fair enough."
"I do have some conditions of my own," Delphine said casually, too casually. "First, we want to be publically recognized as your allies. We might fight the daggers in the dark, but that doesn't make us one."
"Agreed."
"Second, any assassins save the one you mentioned will be dealt with as we deem fit. I don't expect to have to garner your approval every time we catch one of your rats."
"Fine."
"Finally, there's the matter of Paarthurnax. He still must be destroyed. I promised Diana the Blades wouldn't help the Dragonborn until he was dealt with and I meant it. Nothing's changed."
Lydia sat back in her seat. So there it was, the other shoe dropping. "You realize I can't do that. Not only do I not have the troops to spare, but I can't afford to declare war on the Greybeards. They are the most respected and fear group in all of Skyrim. Ulfric trained with them! It would be political suicide. Losing half my allies is not worth anything I could get from you."
Delphine shrugged. "That's my offer. Take it or leave it."
"You don't have to mount an attack against High Hrothgar," Esbern offered. "You could always summon Paarthurnax by Shouting his name much like Diana did with Odahviing."
"It's not something I can just do," Lydia responded. "I have to study and meditate. There's also no guarantee he'll come. It's not like a normal Shout where something happens. It will only draw his attention. And Paarthurnax knows about the trap. He's the one who suggested it in the first place."
"I will not have that monster running free without paying for his crimes!" Delphine snapped.
"A compromise then!" Lydia suggested, holding up her hands. "How about I give you something precious to hold onto as a show of good faith?"
"I'm listening," Delphine said, resting against the table.
Loredas 21st Sun's Dusk 205 4E 8:00 AM
Lydia sighed as she mounted her horse. The negotiations had gone long into the night, but Delphine had agreed to her proposal. The Paarthurnax stipulation was a stickier proposition than she could have hoped for, but most of her planning had depended on some ridiculous task that she could stall on.
Delphine had been leery of the exchange, but in the end Esbern, always the peacekeeper, had talked her into it.
In truth, this was the real reason Lydia came to Sky Haven Temple. She just wondered if she could go through with it.
Fredas 1 Morning Star 206 4E 5:00 PM
Elric was having the best New Life's Day ever! He had woken up to find a huge pile of gifts waiting for him at the foot of his bed. He tore into them like a starving man at a banquet. There had been some yucky new clothes – thick, warm, and practical made with the Stormcloak blue as a common theme. But there had also been a wooden sword - his first sword! – as well as a small shield with the bear emblem of Windhelm. Toys upon toys – balls, boat, carts, little horses, farmers, and building blocks. No more soldiers sadly. Tons of sweets and other treats that he would have gorged on if Tilma had let him.
Best of all, Mommy had eaten breakfast with him. She listened quietly as he told her all about his gifts while he ate huge mouthful after mouthful of bacon, eggs, cheese, gravy, and biscuits. Afterwards they had bundled up in the new clothes and gone outside where they made snowmen and snow angels.
"Do you think Yol-riik sees us from Sovngarde?" he asked as he vigorously made wings for his snow angel.
"Of course, sweetie," Mommy had said, but her smile had seemed strained. She ran her fingers through his fine blonde hair, brushing the snowflakes that had fallen there. "Daddy loves you and will watch over you always."
After that, they had gone back to the Palace of the Kings and had a simple lunch of sandwiches and soup before drinking cups of hot cocoa. Once they were nice and warm again, they went down to the docks where Elric got to sail his new boat. There had been a terrible moment when the boat had gone too far out and Elric had thought it lost. Mommy had hugged him and promised him an even better new boat when one of the lizard men had dived off the pier and swam to the toy. He had brought it back to Elric while balancing it on his tail as he swam.
Elric had squealed with delight and hugged the lizard man's leg, unmindful of how soaked his cloak became. The lizard man had smiled and ruffled his hair, or at least Elric thought it was a smile. It was hard to tell with their tooth mouths.
"Thank you," Mommy had said softly as she detached her son from the lizard man's leg. "Can I give you a few coins for your help?"
"No thank you, ma'am," he answered. "It was no problem and anyone else would have done the same."
"Do you know who my mommy is?" Elric asked. He realized his mommy wasn't wearing her wolf skin cloak. "She's…"
"Very grateful," Mommy said, interrupting. Elric frowned. He was always told to not interrupt. Momma should be yelled at later.
Then they had returned to the Palace where Elric and Mommy had taken a hot bath together. They had splashed each other, made fake beards with bubbles (Mommy had looked especially silly), and then created waves for his boat. After being fluffed dry, they had another meal together alone. Elric was surprised because usually for dinner he ate with Tilma while Mommy talked to important people.
They had eaten all of his favorite things. Mommy had even given him a sip of her wine. Elric thought it tasted bad and bitter and almost spit it out, but he had managed to swallow it just for her. That didn't stop him from drinking big gulps of milk after.
There had been one moment when Mommy went away. Two people had shown up, a blonde haired Breton woman who was older than Mommy and a really, really old Imperial man. He was gray haired and wrinkled like Elric after a long bath. He must have been really old – like thirty! Mommy had introduced them to Elric specifically. "This is Delphine and Esbern," she said. "They're the leaders of the Blades, a very important and honorable group. They're going to help us win the war, baby."
When dinner was over and all of his toys put away, Mommy had climbed into the bed with him and read his favorite books out loud. She didn't seem to mind if he asked her to reread the one about the Nord and the Dragon unlike Tilma who would often tell him, "Once is more than enough, my lordling."
They had snuggled down into the furs, warm and safe. Mommy had kissed his head several times as she hugged him with one arm before turning the page of his book. Elric's eyes were getting heavy and sleepy when Mommy told him the bad news.
"Baby, when Delphine and Esbern leave tomorrow, you're going with them. You're going to go away to Sky Haven Temple to live with them."
"What?" Elric sat straight up, all signs of sleep gone. "No! I don't want to." He grabbed Mommy's arm. "You're coming, right? You'll be coming to join us?"
"No, dear," she shook her head sadly. "I'll be staying here?"
"Why? Did I do something wrong? Do you hate me?" Elric wailed, huge tears running down his chubby cheeks. He should have known today was too perfect. Mommy was always so busy and she had spent the whole day with him and no one else. Not even Yrsarald had been around and Mommy spent a lot of time with him planning the war.
"No, baby, no! I'm doing this because I love you," Mommy promised as she cleaned Elric's face. She patiently had him blow his nose before continuing. "Nordic tradition is that we don't acknowledge children before they are five years old. Most children aren't even given names before they turn one." She brushed his hair back from his hot forehead. "Because of this, people outside of the Palace of the Kings don't know you exist. They don't know why I am fighting for the throne other than to honor Ulfric's memory. Once you turn five though, people will start to talk. There are bad people who will want to hurt you. They'll want to kill you if they know about you. For now you're safe, but I can't risk letting you stay here with me. I can't protect you."
"I still don't understand why I have to leave," Elric sobbed. "I'll stay in my room with all my things. I'll make a fort and hide in it. I don't want to leave you! I love you and I want to stay with you."
"I love you too, and that's why you have to go," Mommy was crying too to Elric's surprise. She crushed him to her. "You're going to be jarl someday, baby. You have to grow up to big, strong, and honorable. Tilma will teach you everything you need to know, Esbern is a wise scholar who knows everything there is to know about dragons, and Delphine will teach you how to fight. You'll have the best of everything and someday when you're sixteen, you'll take the throne of Windhelm and you'll be High King of Skyrim just like your daddy wanted."
"I don't wanna go!" Elric insisted. "I'll be good. I'll be so good and I'll do it here. I can learn about Talos in the temple. I won't sneak down to the marketplace again. I'll eat all of my vegetables so Tilma won't be cranky. I promise!"
"Listen to me," Mommy said. She tilted Elric's chin so he was looking at her instead of burying against her chest. "Did you know your daddy had to go to High Hrothgar to become a Greybeard when he was six? That's not that much older than you are now." It felt like a lifetime to Elric, but he didn't disagree. "He learned how to Shout and someday I'll teach you too. I promise that I'll visit every chance I get, okay? Now be a good boy for me. Be strong and go with Delphine and Esbern tomorrow without any tears. We don't want anyone to say the son of Ulfric Stormcloak is a weakling."
"Okay, Mommy," Elric promised, sniffing. He curled up against her, hugging her until he fell asleep. When he woke, she was still with him, but it was a small comfort.
It had been the worst New Life Day ever.
A/N: Sorry this took so long since the last installment. Despite knowing what I wanted to do with this chapter, I was slow on writing it because to be frank I miss Hecate and Cicero. They've always been my primary characters and they're the ones who generally write themselves. I fear sometimes people don't care about Lydia's story despite in many ways it being the primary push for this story arc. I was particularly stuck with her meeting Delphine again. I almost had the Blade Grandmaster be contrary, but realized that was foolish. Delphine is going to want to be as sweet as pie until she brought up the Paarthurnax condition. Once I backed up and changed it, it went a lot smoother.
I was going to include a segment about Elisif and Frothar talking about their engagement as well as the actual announcement on New Life Day. However, I felt the chapter was running long and ending here was a good spot. I feel that this subplot will eventually be dealt with in Blackwingedheaven's Age of Assassins.
Thanks for reading!