Scattered Ashes
Fin dovah kriist krent ahrk gruth. Yes this is a thing now.
Lucien did something that wasn't very polite and took a lot of time to clean up so you know we'll be getting to that, but we'll also dive into Spider's past and see
how she gained the part of her soul known only as 'Vengeance'.
Quintan Apprentince of Alduin: Who can she romance then, I'm curios because I have no idea what to do with this girl.
Akshka: I won't stop I swear!
WARNING! THIS NEEDS TO BE READ BEFORE YOU CONTINUE!
Spider's son and husband were Argonian. She was able to birth Sykra because she just wanted to, so she was able to make herself able to give birth to a child of another race.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Spider was sat down just watching the huge golden dragon and he watched her in return. The conversation around her was dulled as she stared into the dragon's eyes. "You know I've killed dragon's for less." She suddenly spoke, alerting the other two at the table.
Oromis was the first to recover from the statement and asked, "My lady, why would you threaten my dragon and by extension me in my own home?" He spoke as if being wise but, Spider being Spider had an answer for everything.
"Did you know that it's considered rude in the cultured world to stare, especially at a guest? Because that's exactly what your dragon's been doing for the past ten minutes." She replied adding a sliver of venom to the statement. She hated being called rude by anyone if it was they who were at fault originally.
"Worry not Oromis, I doubt that the two legs would get very far in killing me, even with my handicap." Said Glaedr who was not being at all welcoming to the guest.
"Let me tell you a story dovah. There was once a dragon god of destruction who was heralded as the world eater. Oh he was big, bad and angry, but he had one flaw, his overconfidence was the undoing of him. He stood at least twenty times taller than you and I'm willing to bet had a lot more bite than you. It was my blade that took Alduin's life in combat." Spider paused and glared at the golden dragon for effect, "What makes you think that you stand a chance of beating the woman who devoured the world eaters soul?"
Silence dominated the group as they all took in what Spider had told them. "Surely you exaggerate." Eragon tried which only earned a predatory smile from Spider.
"I could also tell you how it tasted." Everyone looked at her in grim curiosity. "Every soul tastes different, it all depends on the life they've lead you see. There was my first who had enjoyed carnage and rained fire down on the helpless, I remember he tasted of spiced wine. But you wish to know of Alduin, well he had feasted upon the souls of the dead and because of this he tasted of the sweetest sugar you could dream of. Tis a fond memory to say the least."
Looks of disgust passed over both Eragon and Oromis as Spider recounted her tale of souls. So it was of no real surprise that the dragons were having a similar thought process, the oldest there taking the matter harshly and as a threat.
"If you wished a fight human, then why not just say?" He roared.
"Because I don't wish for a fight Glaedr," She had discovered both their names when Eragon greeted them. "For there is nothing to fight over. Now please allow me to deal with your leg, it's a ghastly sight." Her comment threw everyone at the table off. Taking the silence as her queue to continue Spider further explained, "I can heal your leg because I never wish to see a dovah that can't be whole. It is most cruel to any who suffer it among our kind."
"And just how does a two leg equate herself to a dragon?" Came the booming voice within Spider's head.
Well since he's already in here... Spider thought as she unleashed a flurry of dragons at Glaedr's quickly retreating consciousness. "Does that answer your question?" But Glaedr only stared at her, better now than never... or is it better late than never? I never remember. Spider thought as she tried to remember the shout to regenerate Glaedr's lost limb.
Gathering her strength, Spider used the ancient words not meant for any, other than a fellow dragon in body and soul to use. "SLEN TIID VO!" The effects were slow to begin with but over the next few minutes, the stump started to grow out and take the shape of a leg and feet until eventually Glaedr had his limb back.
"How are you feeling Glaedr?" She asked out of genuine concern for the dragon. You can't say she held a grudge for one off arguments.
"I feel as if I have gained back more than I lost... How can this be?" He asked, puzzled about his newfound strength in the once lost leg.
"That must be side affect but it doesn't matter. Perhaps you should take the time to get used to it." Spider suggested and received a small nod from the golden dragon. New respect for the Dovahkiin blossoming within him and Oromis having witnessed the miracle.
I hope this makes up for the obvious offence you took earlier." She said at no one in particular, so they all just nodded, still stunned that Spider could heal such a wound. A question soon formed in Eragon's mind and as always, he voiced it.
"Would you be able to heal Oromis?" The question seemed to confuse Spider so he continued, clearly not noticing his master's look that told him to silence himself. "He suffers from spasms time to time and when doing anything strenuous, could you fix it?"
Spider looked from Eragon to Oromis and back again. It seemed that there was a real reason the Varden didn't have their aid so on that they could be forgiven, on the other hand, these elves had forced Eragon to believe he owes them something (which she put right on the flight to the elven city as he clearly owed them nothing). Sometimes Spider was just a sucker for second chances.
"Fine." Rising from her seat and facing Oromis, Spider readied a powerful grand heal spell and spoke a very complex spell in the Ancient Language into it. Finally the ball of golden light started to change into a more redish gold hue. Instead of throwing the spell at Oromis, she elected to lean over the table and slowly press it into his chest.
The effects were immediate and it was clear that Oromis felt better as he shot up and jumped onto a mildly surprised Glaedr and simply beamed at the sudden happiness he felt from being free of pain and risk of a spasm before dismounting to stand in front of Spider having suddenly remembered his elven grace. "I do not know how, or why, but I am forever grateful to you for this."
"Your hospitality has been enough and I should thank you for teaching Eragon. Seems I've come to care for boy." Spider added the last part as a joke and even gained a chuckle from those present.
"You and Eragon will need time to catch up, I'll be... well somewhere other than here." Said Spider, realizing that she didn't know where she was in the city. This is going to be fun.
This tree. Spider had spent the past hour just looking at it. To her the tree seemed alive in more than just a natural sense but as if it had something living as part of itself.
Now she hadn't intruded upon it's consciousness but that didn't stop her from just... looking.
It was a surprise then that she heard the beats of Saphira's wings as they approached both her and the tree. What on Mundas could they.. oh wait, I'm not there any more. By the time Spider had finished her thoughts, Eragon had dismounted and was heading for the tree.
"Spider? You've met the Menoa tree." he said as if it counted as hello. Instead of chastising him Spider only nodded and silently asked the question 'what do want?'
"I'm here looking for a weapon that the werecat Solembum said I would find."
"Is the sword I've provided you not good enough?" Spider asked, slightly insulted. But the look of horror on Eragon's face soon put an end to that. Sometimes, all they see is a monster. "Eragon, I'm not going to hurt you just because you want another weapon."
Relief passed over him and he decided to convey his idea, "No, no the sword is excellent, I just thought I could, I don't know, combine it with the weapon I'm supposed to find." He braced himself for anger that never came, instead it was a smile on Spider's face.
"You know, sometimes you actually have a good idea from time to time." The smile was infectious and soon Eragon had an identical one plastered on his face. "Now lets go find this weapon."
Soon Spider was close to her limits having been searching around the divines forsaken tree for the last half hour. "Eragon, just take a branch and go."
Eragon was visibly shocked at Spider's words and she wasn't left to wonder why when Saphira showed Spider what she understood of the Menoa tree through her own memories. It wasn't as surprising as Spider thought it would be.
"I still think we should just take one and go but if your so fearful of it then fine, we'll look around some more." Spider said out loud instead of just in her mind.
I wonder if Lucien is ever this bored. She wondered.
Lucien was as usual, bored. His listener never really called upon him and so he was stuck in the void where he had always been even before Spider found the spell to summon him, only his most recent killings to keep him company. His sinister smile grew at the memory.
Flashback
Eragon and his guards were travelling through the great halls of Tronjhiem when through a dark opening along the hallway, dark cloaked figures stepped through. These figures had their blades drawn and sprung to attack, Eragon as their main target. Lucien struck first.
His ethereal blade easily cut through the would be assassins as they were left to scream in shear agony when their entrails hit the ground. Not all were so lucky however as Lucien left the hallway a bloodbath, there was not one place anyone could step without treading on a limb or vital organ. One dwarf was nailed upside down to a wall where a horizontal slice across his gut let his intestines fall into his awaiting mouth. The words 'HAIL SITHIS' carved into his body.
Soon, all the dwarfs who were against Eragon's cause found a message left just outside there door, written in one of the assassins limbs. The only thing they saw was the spectral figure, looming over them for a brief second before disappearing.
End flashback
Oh yes, now Lucien had a reason to smile for a long time to come.
An entire day had passed and they didn't find anything. Nothing that could be considered for use as a weapon anyway as Spider was lucky enough to discover some small trinkets. This did nothing to abate her temper however and she spent the next three hours ranting at the tree who took no notice whatsoever. Until she assaulted its consciousness and won. Never ignore an angry woman, even a tree should know that.
Keeping in mind that the Menoa tree's consciousness consists of most of the forest, it was an impressive feat even for Spider. Whilst this didn't help at all, Spider felt better being able to vent her anger at something.
Spider had stayed by the tree and did some hunting (just to piss it off really) which relaxed her. Then she saw Eragon and Saphira approach the tree from a distance but decided not to interfere as they attempted to get the tree's attention. This lasted until Saphira rather openly got annoyed at the tree and started to rip off pieces of the root she had been standing on and bathed the trunk in blue fire.
There was a sudden temperature decrease and Spider could see the tree's surrounding Eragon and Saphira, angle towards them, their features morphing to look like talons. She could swear that there was a rumbling beneath her and felt agitated after Saphira had stopped. Rushing to their side, Spider prepared herself for a fight.
Suddenly a root about as thick as Eragon's arm shot out of the ground and wrapped around Eragon's ankle, immobilizing him. Even thicker roots wrapped themselves around Saphira's legs and tail, she roared and was about to let loose another fiery blast but her flames flickered and died in her mouth as a voice echoed in her mind.
"Who dares disturb my peace? Who dares bite me and burn me? Name Yourselves, so I know who it is I have killed." The slow, whispering voice said to the two she had captured. But before either of them could reply, a soul that was filled with rage and pain entered the frey.
"MY NAME IS SPIDER POISONBLOOD! AND IT WILL BE THE LAST NAME YOU HEAR BEFORE I THROW YOU INTO A BLAZING REALM OF OBLIVION IF YOU DON'T RELEASE THEM!" The shear levels of anger in the voice could destroy mountains. The Menoa recoiled in shock of the new consciousness, unintentionally letting go of both Eragon and Saphira.
The silence was deafening, no one dared speak lest it further upset the Dovahkiin. "Listen very closely you glorified plant. I do not care how much you value your peace, I do not care about you at all. Now unless you do something helpful within the next five minutes, I swear to all nine divines that I will fulfill my promise, and you will never see the light of day again only the burning fires of oblivion."
The situation ended with Eragon and Saphira going back to Rhunon with a great hunk of something called brightsteel. And after Spider's falling out with the tree, she thought it best to tag along.
It was very boring. Rhunon knew nothing of smithing she hadn't already heard and only asked questions on her armour and weapons. As said, she was bored.
Then out of the blue, something caught her eye as Eragon and Rhunon were working on combining the daedric sword with the brightsteel. A female werecat and two small children, no more than twelve years old with tear drop faces that seemed wise and innocent in equal measure and their skin displayed a slight silvery sheen as if they were so full of energy, it was seeping out of them. One boy and one girl.
"They're adorable and mine now." Spider announced as she strode towards the small group to say hello.
"Who are you?" the young boy asked her as she walked up to them like a demonic monster from a fairy tale.
Removing her helm, Spider held it at her hip and properly examined the children and replied to the boy's question. "Technically I'm a dragon but I look human. It's complicated and often bores other's with the philosophy behind it."
"You're a dragon?" The girl asked doubtfully.
"Yes and no. like I said, complicated. But I would rather learn about you two, ever heard of tag?"
You can imagine how that ended.
It wasn't until midday that Spider awoke after playing with the elf children. And was pleasantly surprised by Eragon's appearance at his tree house that she had used to sleep in. not that he minded but it was odd to find her there.
"Spider! We did it! We combined the sword and brightsteel, a little like yours." he said referring to her sword that she made herself.
Smiling at Eragon and his obvious pride at the sword, she praised him on the quality of it and wondered if he had named it. After she asked, Eragon gave Spider a demonstration of the sword's name and this got a genuinely surprised reaction from her.
"Well, looks like your luck is at it's peak." she said.
Eragon was proud of himself but he had this nagging question that had been eating away at him since Spider's show of force at the drwarves clan meet. It was about what had caused Spider to become so angry and filled with hate enough to destroy a mountain, and why she had attacked the city's guardian with such ferocity when he reached for her sword.
"Spider... I wanted to ask a question but it's personal." Eragon started tentatively and upon receiving a hesitant nod from the Dovahkiin he continued, "Why was it that you destroyed a mountain and attacked the city's guardian?"
She froze. It was exactly what she was expecting and she still froze. Even after all these years, the pain she bore then hasn't lessened. Sitting down on the bed Spider removed her helm and looked at Eragon with tears in her eyes.
"I suppose it's about time you asked." She said, "My swords cross-guard, you see how it looks like a tail?" She questioned and received a nod from Eragon, "The daedra were cruel yet kind to me for this, as it has protected me for years yet it represents my greatest failure. I failed to protect them. My son and husband never even had a chance."
Flashback
"NO! What part of that don't you understand Delphine?" Spider shouted across to the stubborn woman. "I will not kill Parthunax because he is the only one who has actually helped me in killing Alduin. All you two did was tell me to go somewhere and let me do all the work, and guess what? Non of that was actually useful."
"That maybe so, but it doesn't excuse him of his crimes." it was at this point that Esbern cut in. "He is a dragon and it's in his nature to dominate, who's to say when this 'way of the voice' becomes meaningless to him and he tries to force us to do his bidding like in the ancient days? It's in his nature Spider, you must see that!"
"Esbern... Let me tell you about human nature. Throughout the centuries humans have waged war and caused any violence they can. They have destroyed what once was and most only care for themselves. If you believe a dragon should be killed even if he's found a way to become something beyond what his nature tells him to be, needs to die. Then I'll have to kill you too, because at least with the dragon's dominance there was no discrimination like we have now."
"Is this what you really think Dragonborn?" The female warrior asked "Because if you do, then we see no reason you should be leader of the Blades."
"You have five seconds to get out of my temple." Spider spoke in utter seriousness and watched as the last of the blades who were supposedly loyal to the Dragonborn, get up and walk out on her.
It wasn't long before they found another dragon temple that whilst being less grand, still served as a base of the Blades and they began recruiting, plotting revenge.
Months after the incident, Spider was travelling the roads of Skyrim towards her home in Riften before a courier intercepted her. "Sorry but this was an urgent message, to be delivered immediately." he said
Spider opened the letter and after reading the contents dropped it in shock, it read: Spider come quickly to Windhelm, it's your family. They're in danger and I've been forced out of the city for trying to stop it. HURRY!
And she ran.
Windhelm is a notoriously racist city under the rule of Ulfric Stormcloak and he cared not a wit if some Argonians were being held in the city's main square. The Blades had planned this in detail and were driven to ensure that they succeeded.
Spider arrived at the city gates and was stopped by the guards. "Halt, I'm under orders to stop you from entering the city." His objections were cut short as Spider's blade removed his head and stabbed his partner in the heart. Spider was going to save them if it meant her end.
The sight that awaited her was horrifying, as she forced the gate open, she saw her husband and son tied up and kneeling. Her husband managed to look up and catch a glimpse of her coming through the gate. He wasn't even sure if she was real but he gave her a reptilian smile just before the executioners axe swung down to claim it's prize.
She was screaming but no sound could be heard. Stood there, frozen and helpless. It was only when they grabbed Sykra that she came to her senses and ran up to the masses of people who had gathered to watch the 'spectacle'.
She couldn't get through and all sense had abandoned her, all she could do was struggle and watch as the newly recruited blades going from the uniform sliced off her son's tail and used his open, screaming mouth as an opportunity to jam it down his throat, ending his blood chilling screams.
Spider had finally gotten through the crowd and ran up to her child, blood flowing from his mouth as he looked to his mother with terror and pain in his eyes. She couldn't think, only hold him close as she knew nothing she did could heal him. This lasted until the light in his eyes turned dull and the life had left them.
"Lucien." She whispered and the spectral assassin appeared behind her, awaiting orders. "Kill." The order was given, and he ensured that the city ran red with blood. Spider, still holding her child in her arms. Vengeance had taken over and she disappeared, gone like the wind to the mountain base of the Blades.
It was her sorrow, anger and hatred that fuelled her, and she created a shout worse than Dragonrend, Spider had obliterated the very mountain with the raw power she put behind the shout, and doomed all the living souls who resided within to eternal pain, cursed to remain there, wailing in the agony she has forced them to endure for the rest of time.
FAAZ UNSLAAD DINOK.
Spider was a broken woman, and once all the energy had left her, she felt nothing but the pain of loss. The Daedric Princes were not pleased by these events and enchanted Spider's sword to block her pain and added her deceased son's tail as a grim reminder and source of the spells power, so long as her sword was close, her son would protect her, even in death.
End Flashback
Eragon was stunned at Spider's tale of woe and could do nothing but stare at her with great sadness and pity settling in his gut.
"This was his idea you know," She gestured to her armour that glowed red at the chest-plate. "He wanted it to glow a different colour for each emotion I felt. Pink was happy, blue was sad, green was peaceful..."
Eragon only managed to ask, "And what's red?" When he found he couldn't speak any more, whether from shock or just lack of anything to say he wasn't sure.
"Pain" was her reply. They both sat there in the tree house for well over an hour, even Saphira just waited outside after hearing Spider's tale.
This was probably the best place to end it so that next chapter can start without this so fresh in your minds.
Thank you for reading.