Cearbhail:

Sorry it's been so long. I've had trouble writing this chapter. Wasn't even sure what to do with it. Oh well, I think I did quite well with it. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope that the next chapter for this story is just as good as this one.

Oh...and enjoy =^.^=

[Cecilie, age 7]

Dear diary of shadows,

So, I've been here in Whiterun for a week now. Today is the 25th of Frostfall. It's been interesting to say the least. I got to meet the rest of my family. Grand Uncle Olfrid is pretty mean, but I think he's just trying his best to keep me in line. He used to care for Mommy, and he wants to help care for me too. The first thing he did when he met me was put a sword in my hands and told me I was going to train with him. I shrugged and nodded. I think it would be pretty cool to learn how to fight like Mommy. The rest of the Battle-Borns were pretty normal. Only Jon and Oflina are weird, but it's a cool weird. Their son, Vignar, is really awesome though. He's a little older than me, so I have someone to play with. He's also training with a sword. He's my new sparring partner until further notice.

I spend every morning with Master Neloth. He runs me through my usual drills of meditation and magicka usage. Then, around lunch I meet up with Ruby to practice my bardic training stuff. This is where Uncle Olfrid comes by to steal me away. He will actually fight Ruby so that he can train me. She lets him for the most part. She doesn't feel it's worth it to hurt him over. So, I either do bardic training or sword training. From what I gather, it's like every other day I will be doing one or the other. And after dinner, I get to train with Aunt Ria in the art of Shouting. I can't do it yet, so it's mostly learning how to be Dragonborn like Aunt Ria. Except… she tells me that eating dragon souls will probably suck for me. Every time she eats one, she vomits rainbow souls. I sure hope that doesn't happen to me, but we're going to find out. We're supposed to go out dragon hunting today. I'm going to eat a dragon's soul. It's a dragon the Companions have been tasked to kill, since it has been harassing the nearby town of Lunar Pass. Ruby and Master Neloth are coming with us so that they can watch me fight my first dragon.

I'm actually kind of excited over the thought of fighting my first dragon. I wonder if Mommy was excited when she fought her first dragon. I watched her fight it, and she seemed pretty scared. Daddy protected her though, towards the end at least. I won't have Daddy protecting me, but I will have Ruby and Master Neloth. Ok, I think I can do this. I'm ready.

Cecilie Battle-Born.

…

You know what's really fun? Riding on a werewolf's back as it charges through the grass. You know what's even more fun? Transforming into a werewolf and running beside them. I can do that, you know. Daddy is a werewolf after all. He's the only recorded werewolf Dragonborn so far. I guess I'm the second, even though I'm half-Dragonborn. But then again… what does that make Daddy? He wasn't exactly born a full dragon, he just has the blood of a dragon, the DNA of one, I guess. I have that same genetic code inside me, so that makes me a full Dragonborn. Yay! I'm just like Daddy; only not a soulless husk of a disappointing person.

So, even though I'm riding on top of Aunt Ria transformed into a large werewolf, I could not help but think about transforming too. I could transform, but I never did it before. Well, I think I did once when I was three years old, but that was during a full moon and I was looking right at it. That unlocked my beast blood, and now I could feel my wolf inside me all the time. I tried to ignore it, but it gets harder during full moons. Digging my hands into Aunt Ria's mane while she sprinted through the frozen plains towards Lunar Pass, I could not help but feel like I wasn't really ready for this. I don't have a lot of magicka, and my beast form is pitiful. I'm still much too young to try killing a dragon.

I looked off to my left to see Aunt Ria's husband, Uncle Vilkas, racing beside us. He was also transformed in a werewolf form as well. He was looking over at a deer that was barely even aware of us. I could feel his hunger growing as he felt his wolf stalking the deer. I guess Uncle Vilkas was used to fighting his wolf because he kept racing beside us. Looking off to my right, I could see Ruby sprinting alongside us, moving just as fast as Aunt Ria. As far as I knew, Ruby had the ability to unlock her chakras to let herself move faster. If she could sprint as fast as a werewolf sprinting on all fours, she could move really fast. Master Neloth kept up just behind us, levitating like it was nothing. I guess if you're a master wizard, floating at a fast speed can't be too hard. Wonder if I'll ever get that strong.

I could the village of Lunar Pass just ahead of us. It was a newer village that sprung up between Morthal and Whiterun. It used to be some sort of mystical forge that used moonlight to create enchanted weapons. A group of bandits used to live there, but when they captured some Khajiits from a caravan, the Khajiits were able to use the forge to create the mystical weapons. They quickly overran their captors and they decided to settle there. All the Khajiits from the caravans moved in and now it was the first Khajiit settlement in Skyrim. I had never been there myself, and no one really visited either. They were technically in Whiterun hold, so I'm guessing Great Uncle Balgruuf knows about their existence.

"Almost there." Aunt Ria called up at me. The way she was moving, I would have thought that she was pushing as hard as she could. But when she spoke, she sounded like she was not even trying. It was the same tone of voice you'd hear during a tea party when someone speaks to you while sipping tea and reading a book by an open window. Aunt Ria always sounds like that though. She was the Harbinger of the Companions in Whiterun; and her gentle voice was an oddity among the Companions. But it did have its uses. She could talk entire camps of mercenaries out of fighting her or any Companion. They thought she was too gentle to fight, well… until she transformed into a giant werewolf they thought that.

Aunt Ria suddenly came to a stop, almost throwing me off. She could brace herself and pull with her sudden acceleration, keeping me from breaking my neck. She must be used to having people ride on her back. I climbed off her shoulders, letting her stand up. She let out a roar as she started changing back to her human form. Of course, she was wearing wolf armor over her wolfish body. All the Companions wore wolf armor. It was made from the same stuff their swords were made from: Skyforge steel. The armor actually shifted with the werewolves, growing with their bodies. It acted as the werewolves' armor, which I thought was pretty awesome. Once the armor is made for someone, it never has to be made again. It's just that stretchy. I don't fully understand it though. It's tough as any steel, if not tougher, but shifted with the body. It's weird. Orcs could learn a thing or two from Skyforge steel. I already had my own set. I was wearing it today, in case I needed to transform for whatever reason.

Ruby and Master Neloth came to a stop right next to us, followed shortly by Uncle Vilkas. Ruby sniffed the air, nodding. "Wow… a Khajiit village?" She looked over at Aunt Ria. "You never told me?"

Aunt Ria shrugged. "I thought you hated Khajiits."

Ruby sighed. "That was during my rebellious teenage years." She looked back up at the town, which made me look up at the town too. I could see Khajiits already coming out of their cave to join us. They didn't look like normal Khajiits either. They looked snow white with spots. Huh… that was different. A few were waving to us as they came down to join us. Ruby looked over at us, nodding. "Well, let's go say hi." She returned the wave to the other Khajiits.

I looked over at Aunt Ria. "So, there's a dragon here?"

She looked down at me, smiling. "Can't you just look for it?"

I shrugged. "I guess I could." The past week, I really hadn't needed to use my vision for anything. I was feeling normal. My dreams were pretty normal too. I wasn't really traveling into the past or anything. I didn't get to see Mommy very much, but I was dreaming, it just wasn't involved in layers upon layers of history. Last night, I dreamt that I was sitting in Mommy's lap. I was older, sure, but come on… that has to be a dream. It's not like I'll get to meet Mommy one day. And the night before that, I was standing in a room with some dark thief. He had somehow beaten Mommy and Daddy in a fight, and I was the only one still standing. When he bent down to grab me, I pulled out some ash salts and blew them in his eyes. He screamed bloody murder before falling into a manmade lake filled with slaughterfish. It's a dark dream, but a dream nonetheless. If it wasn't a dream, it would imply that I can travel through time, which I cannot.

I closed my eyes, focusing on my Sight. There was a pulse as the world around me exploded into a full-scale image. I could see myself rising out of my body as my vision whisked up into the clouds. The ground around me expanded, showing me the mountains, Whiterun, Morthal, and even Dawnstar. The world sure looked beautiful. There was another pulse as everyone's aura on the planet lit up. Entire cities of blue and green and yellow popped up everywhere. I could see everyone, and I wasn't even trying too hard. But… seeing like this was difficult. It was like looking for a certain pattern snowflake among hundreds falling to the ground. There was a shift in my vision as I turned my attention from normal people to dragons. The first I noticed was on top of a mountain. Several were, actually. I'm guessing that was Paarthurnax and Odahviing, among other dragons living with them. Daddy's aura popped up next, Aunt Ria, mine… and oddly enough… several others in Tamriel. Were there other Dragonborns? I guess it would make sense. Did they know they were Dragonborns?

I took a deep breath as several hundred dragons formed in my mind. Every single one of them traveling around Tamriel and the seas stretching beyond our shores to continents undiscovered by us. There was one near us and I focused my attention on him or her. The world blurred as it pulled my Sight down to the mountain top. There was a dragon camped out on the mountain, a dragon priest standing near a giant stone with dragon language text scribbled down on it. The mountain was just barely ahead of us. When I opened my eyes, I pointed to the mountain ahead of us. "The dragon's up there, but he's not alone. There's a dragon priest too."

"Dragon priest, huh?" Master Neloth scratched his chin in thought. "I can handle that."

"And I can handle the dragon." Ruby said as she looked over at Aunt Ria.

Aunt Ria crossed her arms. "I can handle a dragon just as well as you can, Ruby."

I sighed as I reached for my training staff. "Should I just fight them all by myself?"

Everyone looked down at me. "Apprentice Cecilie, you can't even beat an egg, how can you possibly beat a dragon and its priest?"

"What does cooking have to do with this?" I could help but cross my arms and look at him.

"Everything." Master Neloth returned at me. He looked at Ruby. "Do you think you're capable of explaining my meaning, or perhaps do I have to explain?"

Ruby growled at him. "I can explain it." She looked down at me. "Magicka, bardic combat, dragon combat… soulic… it all comes from the same place. And cooking is an art just like all the rest. It all comes from within us. If you cannot cook well… chances are… well… you might need to refocus your potential before moving onto the next step." She shrugged, looking back at Master Neloth. "Good enough for you?"

He scoffed and turned away from us. "I guess your simplistic approach to explanation will suffice for such a trivial concept."

"Ass." Ruby muttered under her breath.

Master Neloth sneered. "These ears are not just decoration." He replied back to her before looking at me. "Shall we proceed to the mountain to fight this dragon then?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I want to get this over with." I looked at Aunt Ria. "So…how do we make sure you don't eat the dragon instead of me?"

Her face turned white. "Huh… I guess I'll just have to stay down here." She looked at Uncle Vilkas. "Do you mind accompanying her for me?"

He nodded. "Anything for you, dear."

And the four of us started moving up the mountain. I looked down at the town as we walked past it. "So… are we going to visit the town before leaving?"

Ruby nodded. "Of course we are. I'm curious about the Khajiits living there. They looked different. I've never seen white furs before." She looked over at me, smiling. "I heard that there were Khajiits living up here for generations, and their fur turned white to adapt to their new lives. So… if that's true… they might be natives of Skyrim."

I nodded. "Huh… I think I should have known that."

She looked down at me, her eyes shining with some unknown expression. Unknown? But… I know stuff! That's my thing now! "You have been acting differently, lately." She said as she looked down at me. "You're uncertain of things… sleeping normally… it's almost like you're a normal child again. Perhaps we did need to get you out of the castle for a while."

"Steel your minds." Master Neloth said as he looked back at us. "We're almost to the top of the mountain."

"I cannot transform." Uncle Vilkas stated. "It's too early. I'll have to offer support."

"Just stay back and watch Cecilie." Ruby said. "We'll handle this." She looked back at me. "Cecilie, this will be your lesson. Watch us. You can learn a lot about fighting this way." Her pocket started buzzing and Ruby had to reach into her pocket to pull out a small rectangular slab of quartz. An image of Veselle appeared on the flat slab. "Hey, Veselle. What's up?"

"Veselle?" Master Neloth asked as he walked over to Ruby. He looked down at her image, smiling. "Why, hello, dear daughter. How are things?"

Veselle sighed. "Dad… Ruby… I'm… I'm pregnant."

"What?" They both screamed.

"You're…I'm…" Master Neloth looked stunned. Wow… that was a first. I never saw him out of sorts.

Veselle looked uncomfortable as she waited for them both to recover. "Well…", she asked, shrugging at them both.

"Um… congratulations!" Ruby screamed into the tiny slab of quartz. She looked excited.

"Have you told Draseth yet?" Master Neloth inquired.

She shook her head. "No. I just found out myself. Thought I'd tell Ruby first. I did not expect to Dad to be there too." She looked over at Master Neloth. "Hi, Dad."

"I'm happy for you too." I heard a deep voice call from behind us. I turned around to see the large elder dragon looking down at us with lava dripping from its mouth. I almost screamed at the dragon, just inches away from me and the others. The molten lava was pooling around my feet, almost making contact with me. I was quick to shuffle back. "Well, well… well." His deep growl sounded like gravel shifting under a carriage. Tiny pieces of lava flicked off his lips as he spoke to us. I had to jump out of the way to make sure I didn't get burned by accident. "Look what we have here… a tasty cat… a scrumptious elf… a tender Nord… and a nice… little… dessert." He looked down at me, licking his flaming lips. "And I always start with my dessert."

Ruby sighed as she looked down at Veselle's image. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat… really I would. I'll call you after we're done with this quest."

"And what makes you think you'll be calling her back?" The dragon asked as he turned his head away from me over to Ruby. "What makes you think any of you will be returning alive?" Even as he said it, several other dragons were starting to fly overhead of us.

Ruby looked around at the dragons coming down around us. "Huh… this does not seem like an ordinary thing." She looked back down to the dragon. "Ok… who are you, and what are you planning?"

The dragon huffed. "I am Kruziikonikaanqolaas. In your tongue, it would mean Ancient Wisdom Herald. And as for what I am planning?" He laughed sickly into his throat. "I only want what every dragon wants… freedom. Freedom from the Dragonborns eating us… freedom from Paarthurnax and his way of the Voice. We wish to return to what Akatosh meant for us to be… masters of you lower mortals. And now…" That's when Ruby lost it. She slammed her fist into his face. The dragon barely moved back, but he was stunned. Ruby's never been physically strong, but she has agility and flexibility on her side. She was very acrobatic, and she could become extremely vicious in a second's notice.

As soon as Ruby landed a punch on Kruz… eh… the dragon lord, the other dragons started diving down at us, Shouting every word in the dragon dictionary. Master Neloth's eyes flashed bright as he screamed and shoved his hands to the sky. A giant Shield bubble appeared out of nowhere, surrounding all of us. The Shouts fell down around the Shield, but it never gave in. I looked up at the sky as it lit up with fire and frost everywhere.

"Cecilie, jump back!" Uncle Vilkas screamed as he grabbed me and pulled me back. Lava rained down on top of me, making me scream out in surprise. Uncle Vilkas pushed harder and the two of us made it out of the raining lava unscathed. The dragon glared at me with wide terrified eyes. "The Dragonborn must die!" He growled as he advanced to me. He was starting to spit up again, and I was out of places to move. Vilkas was limping and reaching for his leg. Some of the lava landed on his shin, and it was eating away at his armor. He was trying to get the plate off before it made it to his leg.

The dragon screamed as he started Shouting at me. There was a flash of energy and the dragon's eyes darkened. His head pulled down and it slammed into the ground in front of me. Lava started pouring out like water. I was quick to jump up to my feet and shuffle away from the dragon, dragging Vilkas back with me. Ruby flicked some lava off her crystal blade before she sheathed it back in its scabbard. She had cut right through his neck with one slash. That's what Ruby does best. She's a Blade at heart, whether or not she started her own guild for magicka. I continued to pull Vilkas back until made it clear of the dead dragon and its drooling lava.

As soon as I cleared away from it, the dragon seemed to catch on fire. I remembered seeing Daddy do this too. This was when the dragon's soul ripped off the old bones and joined into my own soul, making me stronger as a Dragonborn. Daddy consumed a lot of dragons in his life, which made him stronger each time. If I at least consumed one, I would stand a better chance of fighting him. This was it… this was the moment I would officially become Dragonborn just like Daddy.

The skin of the dragon started burning away like paper in a bonfire. It caught on some sort of rainbow fire. I felt my arms spreading out like it was instinct. With my arms stretched out wide, the burning rainbow fire blew towards me, turning from a fire into a wave of rainbow energy. It crashed into my chest and it almost bowled me over. I felt everything Kruziikonikaanqolaas was merge with me. I felt my muscles tighten as his soul joined with mine. Flashes of centuries worth of knowledge entered mine, making my head spin. I felt my stomach turn and I fell to my knees. I couldn't stop myself from vomiting. Everything that Kruz…whatever his name was… rushed right back out of me. His essence remained… the power he had remained… but he flew out of me and onto the ground.

I sat there, gasping for air as I heaved what was left of him out of me. He tasted oddly enough like goat and fish coming up. I looked up at Ruby. She looked slightly concerned. "Cecilie, are you ok?"

I shook my head. "I don't understand. I saw Daddy do this. He never vomited."

"I did." Aunt Ria said as she walked up. "First few times, it's hard. I got used to it after a while. I still vomit a bit up when I eat a dragon. I think it has something to do with bardic training. They're used to using their soulic energy, so they can store more of it. Something like that. Asger explained it to me a long time ago."

So… bardic training would improve my ability as a Dragonborn. I looked up at Ruby, nodding to her. "I think I need to step up my training."

Ruby scoffed as she looked up at the sky. "Oh, come on!" She screamed to the various dragons as they all raced off. "Get back here and die by my sword!" She waved her sword around, throwing her energy everywhere as she tried to cut down as many dragons as possible. "You dare threaten us and think you can get away with it?" Her eyes started shifting to red, her hair standing on end. Whoa… that was different. First, she was standing there, looking up at the sky. Next thing I knew, she was gone. I heard a dragon scream in protest. I turned to see the dragon falling from the sky. Ruby had somehow jumped up to him, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him down to the ground in her arms. I watched where I stood as Ruby slid her claws into the dragon's throat, ripping it open. She didn't wait as she vanished again. I watched as dragon after dragon roared in protest. Ruby did some vicious things to them. Every act of violence was more brutal than the last. In a minute… the entire mountain was filled with bones of dragons. All of them drained… all of them inside either me or Aunt Ria. And I vomited so much that I never wanted to eat another dragon, but at the same time, I never felt stronger. I felt like a new person.

I nodded as I looked over to the red eyed Ruby. "Ruby? You ok?"

She heaved as she glared at me. She winced, reaching for her side. Her red eyes started turning blue and she fell to her knees. "I'm… ok…" She said to me as she tried to laugh. "Sorry you had to see that, Cecilie."

Master Neloth looked over at me, shrugging. "Well, shall we return home?"

I nodded. I felt so much stronger. "And I'm ready for some real training now."

Ruby smirked as she looked back at me. "Ok, because I'm not going easy on you just because you're the High King's daughter."

Cearbhail:

Well, Veselle is pregnant. Doesn't she die soon? I think she does. Oh, and Ruby's death is approaching fast too. Mind to guess how she's going to go? I have something horrifying planned, and boy is it sickening. Hope you enjoy it! :D