When we returned with the second Elder Scroll to Fort Dawnguard, I searched for the Moth Priest. It wasn't long before I found him walking down one of the fortress's long stone halls.

"Dexion!" I called after him. He stopped.

"I trust your journey was successful?"

"Yes. I've brought the Elder Scroll," I told him as I unstrapped it from my back.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, my friend. I can no longer be of use in this matter."

I hesitated. "Why? What happened?"

"It's my fault." He said ruefully. "In my haste to read the first Scroll, I neglected the careful preparation required. I thought I'd be able to allay the after effects, but I was wrong. Now I am paying for it."

When he turned, I noticed the band of cloth covering his eyes. I froze, shocked.

"Are you–?"

"Blind?" He sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"What went wrong?"

"Deciphering one of the Elder Scrolls is nothing like reading a simple book," he explained. "There's quite a bit of ritual and concentration required. It can take months or even years to complete a single Scroll, and even then months to recover."

"Can anything be done to help you?"

"No. It will have to run its course, and there's always the chance I may never recover."

"Then we're finished," I groaned.

"No, there is another way. The question is: how much are you willing to risk to find Auriel's Bow?"

"What would I need to do?"

He hesitated. "I can't guarantee you'd be free from harm. Becoming blind could be the least of your worries."

"Don't worry about that. Just tell me."

"Scattered across Tamriel are secluded locations known only as Ancestor Glades. There's one in Skyrim, in the Pine Forest. Performing the Ritual of the Ancestor Moth within the glade should provide the answers you seek."

"All right. Tell me about this ritual."

"It involves carefully removing the bark from a Canticle Tree," he said, "which will in turn attract Ancestor Moths to you. Once enough of the moths are following, they'll provide you with the second sight needed to decipher the Scroll."

"There's a special way to remove the bark, I take it?"

Dexion nodded. "In keeping with tradition, you must use a specific tool in the Ancestor Glade, an implement known as a Draw Knife. Every Moth Priest is taught this ritual, but few ever get to perform it. You should consider yourself fortunate if it works for you."

"How is a moth even related to the Elder Scrolls?" I asked, feeling confused.

"Well, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, it's no mere coincidence that we're named "Moth Priests." The voice of the Ancestor Moth has always been an integral part of reading the Elder Scrolls."

"Moths barely make a sound, let alone speak," I pointed out.

Dexion laughed. "Oh, the moths don't literally read the Scrolls, but they maintain a connection to ancient magic that allows the Moth Priests to decipher them. If you listen closely when you find the glade, you should be able to hear their song; a soft, harmonious trilling. It's through this ancestral chorus that the moths tap into a form of primal augur and become a conduit for deciphering the Scrolls."

"And how does that help the Moth Priests, exactly?"

"By having the Ancestor Moths close to the Moth Priest, they can utilize the conduit and share the moth's augury. Only the most resilient of priests can do it this way… It takes years of practice to interpret the harmony."

"Then how do I stand a chance?"

"You've come this far," he told me with an encouraging smile, "and you've found several Elder Scrolls. Whether you believe it or not, the Scrolls have a mind of their own. If they did not want you to find them, they would not allow it. Because of this, I strongly believe you were meant to hear the ancestral chorus. Only one way to find out."

Dexion's directions led Serana and I to a cave in the woods just east of Falkreath. Stepping through the entrance, I found myself in a relatively small grotto filled with ferns and other small plants. I frowned in confusion. That was the "Ancestor Glade" I was looking for? I thought I saw a light at the back. Perhaps another chamber? I climbed up a nearby ledge and made my way across a fallen tree. Serana followed close behind.

"Hmph. Not very impressive, is it?" She grumbled. "If this ends up being a wasted trip, your friend Dexion and I are going to have some words when we get back."

I laughed. "This'll probably be fine. Let's just look around first."

The light at the back turned out to come from a short tunnel. When it opened up again, I froze, and so did Serana.

Before us was a massive cavern. Light filtered in through holes in the ceiling high above, illuminating a grove of pine trees. Waterfalls tumbled into a pool at the chamber's center. Stone stairs wound down toward the bottom. All through the trees, I thought I saw small, fluttering creatures. The Ancestor Moths.

"Look at this place," Serana breathed as she gazed around in wonderment. "No one's been here in centuries. I doubt there's any other place like it in Skyrim. It's beautiful."

We made our way down to the pool at the cavern bottom. In the center was a dais with a standing stone at the top. Floating in a hole carved into it was a kind of ceremonial knife. I took it from its place.

"Well, we got the knife," Serana commented. "Now all we need to do is track down one of those Canticle Trees."

I glanced around. Nearby was a twisted tree covered with small pink blossoms. "I think that might be what we're looking for."

Using the knife, I carefully scraped off some of the tree's rough bark.

"Hope the moths like that bark as much as Dexion said they would."

"I hope so, too," I said.

I slowly approached some nearby moths. The instant I got close, they swarmed toward me and fluttered around my head.

Serana giggled. "Look at them. They've definitely taken a liking to you."

"You think?" I asked with a snort.

"Unless I'm seeing things, you're starting to… glimmer."

With Serana following, I climbed up the trail at the back of the cavern, luring the moths toward me. In addition to the cloud of them around me, the glow Serana had mentioned grew brighter and made it difficult to see.

"Whoa!"

"What is it?" I asked her.

"I think that might have been what we were waiting for," she said, pointing back down to the pool below. I peered through the haze of fluttering brown wings and saw the whole area was filled with a bright light.

"What do you suppose happens now?"

"The effect around you looks an awful lot like that huge column of light shining on the dais. Let's head back down there and see if we can read the Scroll."

We walked back down the trail toward the light. Serana stood a few feet away, watching as I pulled out the Elder Scroll. Holding it up, I unrolled it.

My eyes instantly filled with brilliant light. It felt like the designs written on the Scroll were being burned into them. All around me, I heard a small, soft sound, like distant singing. The moths. A moment later the designs shifted, forming a glowing map. I quickly recognized it as Skyrim. Beyond the map, I saw the open mouth of a cave just as a light appeared on the western edge.

A voice whispered in my ear, saying, "Darkfall Cave."

Then a loud roaring filled my ears and my vision turned white.

I blinked a few times and the effect slowly faded. The moths had all vanished. Instead Serana stood before me, watching me with a worried frown. I lowered the Elder Scroll.

"Are you okay?" She asked me. "Almost thought I lost you there… you went white as the snow."

"I'm fine," I said, shaking my head to clear the aftereffects of the reading.

"I never trusted those damn Scrolls. Who knows what those things could have done to you. Just look at Dexion."

I smiled a little. "I appreciate the concern."

She laughed quietly before quickly sobering again. "What about Auriel's Bow? Do you know where we can find it?"

"It's hidden in a place called Darkfall Cave."

"Then it's almost over," she said with a sigh of obvious relief. "We can finally put an end to this ridiculous prophecy. Where is this "Darkfall Cave"?"

"The Scroll gave me its location," I told her. "I can find it on a map once we get out of here."

"Then let's get going. I want to get there before my father has a chance to track us down."

From the cavern entrance, I heard a voice shout, "There they are!"

Looking up, I saw a vampire and a couple of armored thralls standing between us and the way out. And they were quickly heading for us.

"And you spoke too soon," I said, drawing my bow.

I shot down one of the thralls as he came charging toward me while Serana drained the life out of the second. The vampire dodged my first arrow by ducking behind one of the pines. My next buried itself in his shoulder. When he staggered back, hissing, Serana grabbed him from behind and slashed his throat open with her dagger. He fell to the ground and slid down the cavern's sloped side, turning to ash as he fell. Looking up, I nodded to Serana.

"Let's go."

Darkfall Cave was in the mountains southeast of Dragon Bridge. Inside it was black as midnight. I couldn't see a thing. I summoned some flames to my hands to light our way through the cold tunnels.

The passages wound around into the mountains, past underground waterfalls. I kept on the lookout for Auriel's Bow, but thus far I saw no signs of any living presence at all.

That is, until we reached the bridge.

It was an ancient thing spanning a deep chasm cutting through one of the tunnels. Below, I heard the sound of rushing water. Torches lit either end of the bridge. I looked it over warily, noticing the rickety wooden boards and the missing rope handrail on the left side. There didn't seem to be any other way across, however, and that was the only way deeper into the cave.

"Be careful," I told Serana as I stepped out onto the bridge. It swayed and groaned, but otherwise held.

The ledge on the other side was a dead end. Nothing but rocks and old mining equipment.

"This can't be right," I said, looking around and frowning while feeling very confused. "The Elder Scroll said the bow would be here. So where is it?"

"Maybe we missed something back there?" Serana suggested.

"I don't know," I said, walking back out onto the bridge. "I suppose we could go back and check, but–"

There was a loud snap and I realized too late what was happening. The bridge gave out beneath us and we tumbled down into the raging waters below.