Castle Volkihar
Lord Harkon sat on his throne staring down at his subordinate with a look absolute anger etched into his face. Harkon had slicked back black hair and a goatee that was a black as his hair. He had orange eyes that signified that he was a vampire lord, a Vampire Lord to be precise. He wore red royal vampire robes and armor. He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair as he thought about the information his subordinate had given him.
'So Dante's damn nephew was able to slay Movarth with ease. Dante had told me that the boy would never be able to unlock his inner beast and that the knowledge of the Darkstrides had been destroyed with their library.' Harkon thought bitterly. 'On top of that… Dante killed Durzum and betrayed us. I knew I should have dealt with him sooner.' Harkon looked at his subordinate and cut his head clean off with his sword. "Useless minion. Instead of going after my daughter and the scroll, he comes here to report it while they get stronger." Harkon muttered as he cleaned his blade of the vampire's blackish blood.
Harkon turned around to see Vingalmo standing to the side watching with an impassive face. "Vingalmo. Next time send someone more competent to do the job. I have waited too long for this to be delayed any longer. Send your best men to finish off that traitor and the Darkstride boy. Get my daughter and the Elder Scroll. If they can, get the woman that is known as the Dragonborn. She would make a nice bride." Harkon said before walking off to his chambers.
Vingalmo watched as Harkon left before turning to walk to his own section of the castle. 'Damnit Dante. What happened that made you act earlier than we planned? You were supposed to make Durzum's death look like it was done by Movarth." Vingalmo walked down the corridor deep in thought. He passed by the armory where he saw a few of his loyal subordinates who were just as much against the prophecy as was he and Dante. "Cylend, Suleerva, Maenee." Vingalmo called out. A male dark elf, female redguard, and female imperial looked up from their weapon and armor maintenance to see Vingalmo standing there looking at them. "Come with me." The three vampires quickly got up and followed Vingalmo out the door to his workspace and office.
"You asked for us sir?" The dark elf, Cylend, asked as he and the other two with him bowed. Cylend had dark grey hair that was styled so that his hair covered his missing right eye. He wore a master of destruction robe with a pair of steel gauntlets on each hand and steel boots. A daedric dagger hung at his belt in case of emergencies. He was a few centuries older than the vampires next to him but they each of them made up for the other's weaknesses.
Vingalmo nodded. "Yes. The plan Dante and I had set up has gone astray. Dante killed Durzum instead of Movarth killing Durzum."
"How the hell did that happen?" The imperial, Maenee, growled out. Maenee was a short woman with red hair tied in a braid over her left shoulder. There were scars across her neck indicating an injury from long ago. She wore elven armor with an elven sword and dagger at her sides. "Why did the plan change?"
"Dante's nephew got to Lady Serana and Movarth before they could." Vingalmo explained. "Blake is much stronger than we originally thought and he was easily able to overpower Movarth's Vampire Lord form."
The redguard tilted her head to the side and looked at Maenee while making some motions with her hand that looked like sign language. Despite being a vampire, she looked to be in her early twenties and was five foot eight inches tall. Dark skin matched her dark hair that was tied in a bun at the back of her head. She was dressed from her torso to her feet in steel armor while a two handed daedric battleaxe was strapped to her back. The redguard finished signing with a nod as Maenee turned to Vingalmo. "Suleerva wants to know if Blake is stronger than Dante. She's curious if he could give his uncle a run for his money and also wants to start a betting pool on whose stronger."
Vingalmo chuckled at Suleerva. "I'm unsure which one is stronger. Dante said that he would need help Blake's abilities mature just a bit more. However, from how he phrased it, it seems like Blake could possibly bring even Dante down." Vingalmo's answer seemed to make Suleerva's eyes sparkle with excitement.
A shadow appeared between the four of them with a rolled up parchment laying on top of the shadow like an offering to Vingalmo. "That must be Dante. Oh how I find the Darkstride clan's shadow abilities quite intriguing." Cylend said as he examined the shadow the parchment arrived with.
Meanwhile Vingalmo took the parchment, unrolled it, and began reading its contents. "Hmm… Seems like Dante is going to the old Dawnguard fort before he begins his search on the Moth priest while his nephew, the female dragonborn, and Lady Serana are going to the College of Winterhold to search for information on the dwemer and the location of another Elder Scroll." Vingalmo said as he placed the parchment back on top of the shadow. The parchment withered away into dust as the shadows disappeared. "You three may need to split up."
Suleerva, Maenee, and Cylend looked at each other before looking at Vingalmo. Maenee was the first to speak. "Suleerva and I will meet up with Dante and help him find the Moth Priest. Cylend can help those three with finding that Elder Scroll."
Cylend nodded at this. "Yes, that would be best. I can help them find any research pertaining to what they seek. This will also give me a chance to study the abilities of a Darkstride other than Dante." Cylend said rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Good luck to all of you then. I don't need to remind any of you how important it is that we stop Harkon but be quiet as not to raise suspicion." Vingalmo said as they nodded and left him in his office. 'Lady Valerica, I hope you are safe. Soon enough you can return so we can better the clan.' Vingalmo thought to himself as he went to his desk and started filling out various documents.
Gates of Whiterun
A few days after the incident at Breezehome, Layla, Dante, Blake, Elissa, and Serana stood in front of the gates of Whiterun with Lucia and Lydia standing at the gates with them saying their goodbyes. Lydia's arm was still in a sling but was healing quickly thanks to the healing potions she had gotten. Lucia was hugging Layla's waist.
"Be safe mama! I want to hear all about your adventure when you get home!" Lucia said giving Layla one last squeeze before letting go. She turned to Blake and put her fists on her hips to make herself looking as intimidating as possible. "Don't let her get I'll kick your but if she gets hurt!" Lucia said in a threatening tone which only made Blake chuckle.
"I promise she won't get hurt." Blake patted the top of Lucia's head only for her to try and swat it away making the group laugh.
Lydia walked over to Layla and hugged her with her one good arm. "Take care of yourselves out there."
Layla hugged Lydia back with a smile. "We will. I'll have Blake and Serana with me so everything should go well."
Lydia scoffed. "Something going as planned with Blake around? I find that extremely hard to believe."
"Hey I heard that!" Blake yelled with annoyance as he held Lucia at bay while she tried to hit him.
Serana, Dante, and Elissa watched them converse with smiles of amusement on their faces. The flapping of wings sounded and Vurvoanai came flying over Whiterun. She landed near the gates causing the guards to jump and eye her warily. Dante looked over at Vurvoanai who nodded at him. "Alright everybody time to go. We have a lot of ground to cover and the sooner we find the Elder Scroll and find the Dawnguard the better." Dante said as he climbed onto Vurvoanai's back.
Blake took his hand off of Lucia's head giving the small girl a chance to kick him in the knee before running back to Lydia who was laughing at Blake as he rubbed his knee. "Serves you right!" Lydia called to him.
Blake looked up and gave Lydia a rude gesture involving one of his fingers. Layla smacked Blake upside the head and chided him for using such a gesture in front of Lucia who was giggling all the while.
Layla and Blake were then pulled towards Vurvoanai by an impatient Serana who would have liked to see them continuing bickering but knew they didn't have time to waste. As Vurvoanai took off, Lucia and Lydia were waving to everybody on board the dragon.
Vurvoanai flew around the base of Skyrim's Throat of the World and flew towards Shor's Stone out in the rift. After an hour of flight, Vurvoanai landed outside the small village which startled a few of the patrolling guards who relaxed after seeing Layla, Serana and Blake disembark the female dragon.
"Alright you kids make your way to the college of Winterhold and for fuck's sakes don't cause any trouble." Dante said as he centered his gaze on Blake. "That means you Blake. Don't start shit with the Thalmor, Stormcloaks, or Imperials. We don't need to be involved in the blasted civil war."
"Serana, Layla you two are in charge of keeping him out of trouble." Elissa chimed in causing Blake to groan and throw stones at both Elissa and Dante.
Vurvoanai shook her head. "Ok if you bunch are done antagonizing Blake, we should get going. Dante where is this Dawnguard faction?"
Dante pulled out a map and studied it. "They're located in an abandoned fort stationed behind Riften." Dante closed the map.
"Good luck you three and be careful." Elissa said to the three of them. "If any of you die I will drag you out of hell and kick your asses myself." Elissa's mouth formed a small smirk as Vurvoanai took off into the air while letting out a massive roar.
"She's not serious is she?" Serana asked as she looked at Blake and Layla.
"Honestly… I don't doubt it. I saw her rip a man's skull out and beat him to death with it." Blake said with a shrug causing Layla and Serana to look at him with skepticism.
"Beating him with his own skull? That doesn't seem physically possible." Layla said as she pondered on how that would actually work.
"That's what he kept screaming while she beat him." Blake said as they started walking North through the Pale.
A few hours later they arrived in the town of Winterhold and things just seemed extremely bleak. There were very few buildings and the constant snowfall wasn't doing anything for the mood. There was probably one person outside other than the trio that just arrived. That person was a solitary guard who seemed more interested in keeping the small fire going.
Serana had her hood up to hide her eyes from other people. She was hugging herself tightly as another blast of cold wind blew into them. "I hate this weather… I thought the weather at my home was cold but this is just freezing." Serana muttered.
Layla was faring no better as she sneezed, her cheeks extremely red from the cold. "C-C-Can we just go into the inn for a second and warm up." Layla asked as she breathed into her hands to heat them up.
Blake, who no surprise wasn't affected by the cold due to growing up in a valley that had similar weather, nodded at the two. "You two go in. I'll be right behind you in a second." He said as both women quickly moved towards the inn and went inside.
Blake stood out in the snow for a few seconds before moving behind one of the burned down and ruined buildings out of sight of the guard. He placed a hand on his sword as the sound of someone walking through the snow came from behind him. He quickly spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick to the person tailing him.
The sound of a crunching snow and a thud against the wooden wall of the house meant that he had struck his target. He looked at the wall where he saw someone standing there holding their gut. "Who are you and what do you want?" Blake said keeping a hand on his sword.
The person held up a finger as they were trying to regain their breath. The person pulled off their hood to reveal a male Dunmer. "One… Second…" He said as he rested his hands on his knees.
After a few seconds the Dunmer stood up and Blake was instantly on guard as he noticed the Dunmer had the eyes of a vampire. "Wait wait… I'm an ally. I know you're Uncle Dante. His associate Vingalmo sent me to assist you."
Blake let his hand rest on the hilt of his sword. "Ok I'm listening."
The Dunmer let out a sigh of relief. "As I was saying, I work with Vingalmo who works with your Uncle Dante. He sent me here to assist you in finding the Elder Scroll that the Dunmer stole. My name is Cylend Valaara it is a pleasure to meet you Blake Darkstride." Cylden said as he pulled his hood up. "Let us see the rest of your party. I wish to see how Lady Serana is fairing." Cylend said as Blake simply nodded while lowering his guard slightly.
Outside Fort Dawnguard
Vurvoanai landed next to a small semi frozen pool of water, laying down low enough for Dante and Elissa to climb off of her back. As Dante climbed off he could see a bunch of armored men and women approaching them with crossbows in their hands. At the head of the group was a man with a warhammer strapped to his back. He had dark skin that indicated that he was possibly a redguard. His head was shaved but he had a full beard of dark hair. His body was covered in an unusual armor that Dante had never seen before but it looked to be quite heavy.
"Stay right where you are you Vampire Leech." The man said in a gruff voice as he glared at Dante. "I want to know one good reason why I shouldn't let my men fill you with crossbow bolts and leave your rotting carcass in the sun."
Dante stood there for a second before he burst out laughing making the soldiers tense up while Vurvoanai and Elissa looked at him with confusion. After a full minute of laughter, Dante composed himself and let a bunch of shadows rise from his own shadow. "I'm here because just like you I want to end the vampire attacks across skyrim. I have information that could be vital towards stopping these attacks and if you kill me… Well first you'd actually have to hit me." Dante said as he unhooked his sheath from his belt and held it in his left hand.
"Wait… Shadows… A katana… Jet black hair… You're a Darkstride." The man put the pieces together as he analyzed Dante. "Stand down. As much as I hate to admit it… This is a fight we could never win." He grumbled reluctantly. "Very well… Follow me but if you attack any of my men I'm going to let a few spells turn you into ash." He said as he led Dante and Elissa towards Fort Dawnguard. Vurvoanai stayed behind so she could go hunting.
They entered what was known as Fort Dawnguard. The fort looked like it could have been a castle with how easily it dwarfed other forts throughout skyrim. "Wow this place is huge." Elissa muttered as she looked around at the inside of the fort.
"Yes it is. Took awhile getting this place fixed up." The leader of the Dawnguard said as he led them into an adjacent room that was filled with maps and schematics. "My name is Isran. I know who the woman is. Elissa of the Silver Flash, a woman who could clear out entire forts of bandits without a single scratch. Now who is the leech with you."
Elissa seemed rather pleased that others could still recognize her while Dante seemed a bit miffed at being called a leech. "My name is Dante Darkstride and this so called leech could wipe the floor with you in a matter of seconds." Dante growled as Isran simply smirked.
"Boys enough." Elissa said in a sweet tone that sent shivers down both men's spines. "We came here to inform the Dawnguard about what the vampire's plans not to fight." Elissa's gaze went to Dante who looked somewhat sheepish. Her gaze then went to Isran who seemed to stiffen at her gaze. "We could simply leave you in dark about their plans and share the information with either the Stormcloaks or the Imperials. Maybe they would settle their differences until we took down the vampires."
Isran simply stood there with his jaw hanging open. He had spent a lot of time, gold, and materials into reforming the Dawnguard and all of that would just go to waste if he couldn't join the fight. Isran reluctantly sighed. "Fine but this information better be worth it and there better be no more vampires coming here."
As if the gods were mocking him, two vampire women were led into the room that they were all standing in by a pale faced nord. "Uhm… These two were brought by the dragon who told me to bring them to you." The nord stammered as he felt Isran's glare on him.
Isran dragged a gloved hand across his face. "Oh for the love of… Fine get out of here. Go practice your aim." He growled as the two women parted for the scared nord.
Dante looked at them, "Suleerva, Maenee." Both vampires smiled at him and waved. "How did you get Vurvoanai to bring you here?"
Maenee laughed, "We found her eating a deer and simply asked if she knew you." Maenee looked at Suleerva who was signing something to her. "Oh right I almost forgot." Manee punched Dante in the gut. "That was for fucking up the plan."
Isran looked at the weezing Dante with a small smirk. Maybe those two vampires were as bad as he thought. "Now what do you two want?" Isran's face got serious as he looked at the two vampires.
Suleerva signed something to Maenee who nodded. "We're here to assist Dante and Elissa. A friend of ours has gone to assist the rest of your group in obtaining the Elder Scroll that is needed for that stupid prophecy."
"What's this about an Elder Scroll and a prophecy?" Isran asked as he began to feel fear creep into his soul.
Elissa looked at Isran and began explaining about the prophecy to block out the sun, the need for someone to be able to read the prophecy, and what would happen should this prophecy be fulfilled.
Winterhold
Layla and Serana stared at Cylend as he sat on the bench next to them. "So… You're going to help us find the Elder Scroll?" Serana said tapping her finger against the table. "Ok but where do we even begin?"
Cylend stroked his chin as Blake leaned against the support beam listening to their conversation. After a few minutes of thought Cylend looked at Serana and Layla, "I heard that there was a man studying the dwemer before he disappeared from the College of Winterhold. Apparently he had an apprentice who knew almost as much as he did. So we talk to him or her first and see if they know anything." Cylend explained as he discreetly pulled out to vials of blood and handed one to Serana before downing his own.
Serana looked at the blood and downed it in one go. Layla looked at Serana and then at Blake who seemed deep in thought. "Blake is something wrong?"
That seemed to snap Blake out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine. I'm just thinking about what the dwemer wanted with the Elder Scroll in the first place. They killed a man considered a hero for this scroll so obviously they had something planned."
"We may never know. The Dwemer are gone and no one has seen them in a long time." Serana said as she set the vial down and stared at Blake.
"Then let's go find it! We find this apprentice then we find the man who studied the Dwemer! We find him then he can lead us to the Elder Scroll!" Layla said jumping up from her spot. The group exchanged glances.
"So this energetic girl is the Dragonborn?" Cylend said jokingly causing Layla to puff out her cheeks.
Blake cracked a grin at Layla's childish face, while patting the top of her head. "Indeed she is. Though she used be a bit shy."
Layla tried to pull Blake's hand off her head but had no such luck. Blake laughed at her attempts to get him off of her before he picked her, throwing her over his shoulder as he did. Layla let out some laughter as Blake decided to spin her around.
Meanwhile Serana and Cylend watched on. "They are quite the interesting pair." Cylend commented as he took a sip of his ale.
Serana didn't respond which caused Cylend to look out the corner of his eyes to see her with a look of longing on her face. She looked deep in thought as she watched Blake and Layla. Cylend was able to put the pieces together of Serana's lack of response. 'She's never had a normal life even before becoming a child of the night. She never got to experience the wonders of finding a person to truly love and care for since she was constantly dealing with suitors brought by her parents.' Cylend let out a deep sigh as he realized how Serana truly felt.
"I believe we should get moving. The quicker find the Elder Scroll, the faster we deal with this blasted prophecy." Cylend said as he finished his ale and stood up. Blake let Layla down and grabbed their stuff. Serana looked at Cylend with a serious expression.
They paid for their drinks and food before making their way outside and in the direction of the College of Winterhold. They walked up the steps that led to the bridge only to be stopped by a high elf who looked at them with narrowed eyes. "I hope you aren't planning any trouble. We already get enough hassle from the nords in the village as it is." She said with a bit of annoyance in her voice.
Cylend stepped forward, bowing to the woman as he did. "We are not here to cause any trouble. We are actually here to see the apprentice of the mage who studied the dwemer."
The high elf's eyes saddened at the mention of the dwemer researcher. "Ah… Forgive me for my rudeness. I guess I jumped to conclusions too quickly. My name is Faralda, a teacher here for destruction magic. If you're looking for Septimus's apprentice, you'll find her in the Arcanaeum. Go across the bridge, through the main doors across the courtyard, and then up to the second floor." Faralda said as she gestured to the college. "That girl hasn't been the same since Septimus left. She just keeps going over his notes to see if she can figure out where he went."
Cylend nodded and motioned for the group to follow him. They crossed the bridge to find a snow covered courtyard with a large statue of a mage near the pool of mana. The group stopped when they saw a female brenton with dirty blonde hair arguing with a male high elf who wore Thalmor clothing. The Thalmor looked about ready to lash out at the female brenton when a snowball smacked into the side of his face, slightly shocking him and redirecting his anger at the person who threw the snowball. His eyes fell on Blake who was dusting the snow off of his hands. Serana and Layla were both trying, and failing, to suppress their laughter while Cylend simply ran a hand over his face with a sigh.
"You just assaulted a Thalmor agent! How dare you!?" The Thalmor growled with anger. "Who do you think you are?!"
Blake simply looked at the Thalmor. "You looked like you needed to chill out." He said as he shrugged his shoulders.
At this point Serana and Layla burst out laughing with tears rolling down their faces. Even Cylend had a small smile on his face. The female brenton was even chuckling. The Thalmor looked even more pissed off then. "I am Ancano, a high ranking member of the Thalmor. You will show me respect or you will die!" He raged at Blake.
"Oh didn't Elenwen tell you? I'm under Jarl Elisif's protection. You can't do anything against me." Blake said crossing his arms. "Name's Blake Darkstride and I suggest you go for a walk and cool down."
Ancano stood there with clenched fists ready to throw a spell at the man who mocked and humiliated him. Attacking him would solve the Thalmor of a thorn in their side but it would most likely bring more problems than it was worth. Ancano then made the smart decision to walk away. "Fine but if you cause any trouble I'll be the one locking you up." He said as he walked away to do some sort of business.
The group watched him walk away. The brenton let out a sigh as she looked down at her book. "As much as I liked seeing that man get what he deserved, I feel it's going to cause more problems. I am Mirabelle Ervine, assistant to the Archmage." Mirabelle game a soft smile to the four in front of her. "I assume you have business to attend to here at the College?"
"Yeah we're here to find Septimus's assistant and then find Septimus himself." Layla explained.
Mirabelle nodded. "His assistant is in the Arcaneum. Through the door to the right of the main door." She said as she pointed to large double doors.
Layla nodded and thanked Mirabelle for her help as she began leading the group into the college and up into the Arcaneum. When they got to the Arcaneum they were all surprised to see the immense amount of books that were in the circular room. There were bookcases filled to the brim with books. In the left hand corner there was a stable covered in scrolls, books, dwemer schematics, and what looked like handwritten notebooks sitting on the table. Some of the books were covering the head of a person who was obviously asleep based on the snoring.
Knowing that this was the person they were looking for, they walked up to the table and waited to see if the person would hear them approaching. They did not even stir from their slumber as he or she slept.
Cylend cleared his throat to try and get the attention of the person. They still didn't wake up even after Cylend cleared his throat a second time but louder. Blake was becoming impatient and so decided to shake them awake.
"Hey wake up!" He growled impatiently causing the person to shoot up in their seat revealing a mop of curly red hair, a freckled face, and square rim glasses. The person was obviously female based on the facial structure and the rather large chest area that could put most women to shame. The woman looked to be around thirty years of age Blake recoiled in surprise but not at the suddenness of the woman sitting up, it was for a different reason. "No way…"
Behind the square rimmed glasses were a pair of deep red eyes the exact same as Blake's eyes. "Blake?" The woman said obviously not believing who was in front of her.
"Cousin Gwendolyn?"
I know I'm leaving it on a cliffhanger and forgive me for my lack of updates! Life has been busy and curve balls have been thrown left and right at me. I barely had time to write my Fallout story what with classes being really demanding and the fact that I have to take a summer course that gives me a huge workload every week! Expect more constant updates now! I promise I swear! See you guys in the next chapter!