Hi everyone! Sorry this chapter has taken a long time, I had writers block for ages. People have been asking me to have an Eira romance with one of the main characters, but at this stage in the story it seems unlikely. Here's why:

Personally, I believe that it's very difficult to write about something accurately that you haven't actually experienced. As I have never been in a romantic relationship, it's not something that I can portray well without overblowing it out of proportion - the last thing anyone wants is a character become a, shudder, Mary Sue (I might be too close to that already, I don't know). Neither do I want to take how another writer as written a romance and copy-paste that style into my own work, it would just seem out of proportion with everything else I've written.

With that over with, let's get on with the chapter!

Standard disclaimer: I own nothing except my own character. Kudos to Bioware and Bethseda for amazing games!


A day had passed since the group met Deinvulomah; Varric had hurriedly scribbled down the encounter in one of his many journals that he carried once they had reached a campsite.

Eira sat off to one side of the camp to meditate over this encounter. She knew that Alduin was powerful, but she never thought that he had the power to take immortality away from his kin, and how Deinvulomah had managed to reproduce - was there a female 'dragon' in this world that could interbreed with the dov? If so, what where the dragons that she had previously encountered in this world?

She wished she could talk to Paarthurnax about this, she wished she was back at the monastery... this new world was complicated.


"Holy shit..."

The group stood amazed at the slight before them. Lyrium veins were growing out of the group like trees. The rock structures looked withered with time. To Eira's mind, this place was starting to look similar to the Dwemer ruins at home - except for no metal sculptures or constructs.

"I thought... an abandoned thaig, something old, but... what is this?" breathed Bartrand, uncharacteristically lost for words.

Hawke pondered, "How did you even know it was here?"

"Old scavenger tales," Bartrand elaborated. "After the Third Blight. A week below the surface, they said, but nobody believed them..."

Varric agreed, "Looks like they were right."

"Make camp here! We need to look around," Bartrand stalked off yelling orders to the other hirelings.

Eira sidled up to the closest person, who happened to be Fenris, "How long ago are they talking about? When was the 'Third Blight'"

Fenris stared at her, "Apparently, the Third Blight started in 3:10 Tower Age and lasted for fifteen years."

"That doesn't make any sense," Eira said confused. "How many years between the end of the Blight and now?"

Anders intervened, "It's 9:31 Dragon Age now, so its been around 621 years since then. How did you measure time?"

"We have Eras. An Era starts with the rising of an empire, and ends with the empire's end. A Year has twelve months and each month has around thirty days in it, with seven days in a week."

"We have the same number of months and days in a year, but your way of measuring your Ages is odd," Anders said.

Eira explained, "I guess you could say that our history is measured with conflict. The First Era began with the rise of the Camoran dynasty by the Wood Elves and ended 2920 years later with the death of the Cyrodiilian line of Emperors. The Second Era lasted for 896 years and ended with the creation of the Septim Empire which unified all the countries in Tamriel. The Third Era ended with the death of the Septim bloodline 432 years later. It was the two hundred and second year of the Fourth Era when I left home."

Fenris shook his head and walked off as Anders said, "That's quite a grim way of measuring time."

"How?" Eira said as they walked towards the camp. "War is the only constant in life. It never changes."

"You could say that's true," Anders pondered to himself as Justice quietly thought about this in his head.

Hawke wandered up to Bartrand who was muttering to himself while staring at the rock pillars.

"I don't get it. Nothing in this thaig makes any sense."

"Why's that?" Marian interupted.

Bartrand looked up, "We're well below the Deep Roads. Whatever dwarves lived here, they came long before the First Blight. But where are the statues of the Paragons? I don't recognise these markings on the wall or anything in the rubble."

Eira walked up, "Do you know how old these ruins are? Your people must have changed over that length of time."

"I know enough of our history to know we haven't changed much. Dwarves have been mired in tradition for many ages. These dwarves may have been unique. If so, I hope they kept their valuables close at hand."

"That seems a rather sad existence. Nothing changing, the same traditions performed with mindless tedium..." Eira said aside to Varric.

"It seems that way; most dwarves stay underground, they fear the sky falling on their heads, dreaming of better days," Varric replied. "Me? I was born on the surface. I don't abide by those traditions, Bartrand however does."


Eira had separated from the group, wanting to indulge her inner scholar. The lyrium in particular was fascinating to her; she had never seen a mineral that grew so organically let alone one used so actively in alchemy. If anything, it reminded her of a stone that was always hanging up in the parent's bedroom when she was young. Her mother used to hang it in the window so the light gleamed on to her bed when she had a nightmare.

She paused for thought. What was it her mother called it? Welkend? Welkynd?

Eira touched the mineral. It felt a bit like heavy glass under her hands, but she couldn't sense the power that Anders had described to her earlier.

'What if I chipped a bit off, and cast a spell on it? Would that release it's power?' she thought. Eira looked around at the other hirelings, 'Best not to do it in front of them however. Hawke said that people dislike magic here.'

She surreptitiously looked around to see if anyone was looking. Seeing that no-one was looking her way, Eira crouched down and broke a bit of lyrium off a small root. She looked at her piece, smiling down at it's shine.

'Just like a Magpie', Eira reminisced to herself as she remembered her childhood nickname and her thief alias.

She scampered down towards where Hawke and the others had gone, to find an unnoticed and empty area. Checking around her again, she cast a Healing Hands spell on the rock.

Almost immediately she felt a surge of power run through her hands, recharging all her magicka as the sensation travelled down her spine. She stood stunned and breathless at this feeling, before looking down at her hands. The stone was no longer there, there was just dull grey dust in her palm.

'I guess Anders was right... But I think it works differently for me than it does for mages here...'

Just then, a powerful scent shot through her nose. It was the scent of fear, anger, betrayal, and all the while was some dark penetrating smell coming through the others. It was coming from the room ahead of her where the others had gone. 'Hawke's in trouble!'

She dropped the dust on the ground as she ran ahead.


"The location of this thaig alone is worth a fortune, and I'm not splitting that three ways!" Bartrand shouted through the door at his brother, looking down at the lyrium idol. That alone must have been worth more than 1000 sovereigns. Who cared about family and honour now, when he was rich beyond anything he could have dreamed?

"Sorry, Brother."

As he turned away from the door, he heard footsteps ahead of him as Eira ran past the corner.

"What happened? Where's Varric and the others?"

"They'll meet up with us later. Let's..."

"LIAR!" Eira almost took herself back with the tone of her voice, beginning to hate the dwarf before her and her werewolf senses for the overwhelming black smell around them. "Why is that door shut? Get it open now!"

Bartrand was silent as Eira ran up to the door and started pushing it, but it was stuck.

"I said, get it op..."

Blackness filled Eira's vision as the dwarf hit her over the head with the idol, knocking her unconscious.

"Your more trouble than you're worth, elf... At least I didn't pay for you," Bartrand said as he walked back to the campsite.


Eira slowly opened her eyes and looked around her. 'This isn't the ruins... What is this place?'

There was a haze in the murky green air, almost like a mirage caused by heat. Eira tried to look around her, but a thick mist hung close to the ground. A faint whispering was on the verge of hearing, giving Eira a slight headache. She couldn't sense anything when she sniffed the air, which was disconcerting; even somewhere new had a smell. The only other place which had a similar sense was the Soul Cairn.

She stood up, and looked up at a giant black castle hanging menacingly in the air. Rocks the size of cities were floating in the air with no visible means of support. There was no sun or visible light source, but everything was well lit.

'Is this...Oblivion?' wondered Eira as she looked around at her surroundings. 'How did I get here? I didn't feel any magic that might have caused this...'

Shadows began to approach her through the mist, the whispering getting louder as they got closer. The shapes seemed alike to the lesser daedra that conjurers usually summoned.

"Leave me be! I have no interest to serve your petty whims!" Eira shouted out at the figures.

The shadows ignored her cry, continuing their walk closer.

Eira braced herself to fight them or flee, but just as they were coming out of the mist they vanished as a loud bang fired. She felt the presence of something greater behind her.

"Well met, Hunter"

Turning around, Eira saw a large human shaped creature before her; it's skin was covered in a light fur coat, and the skull of a stag kept his face from view. The rich scent of forests, sweat, fur and flesh that came from the figure was pleasurable and nostalgic to her senses. It was the scent of a hunter.

There was no doubt in her mind of who stood in front of her. It was undeniable.

"Lord Hircine...? Is this real?"

"Indeed."

"How am I here? How are you here?"

"Your questions will be answered in time." The daedric lord stated, turning away. "Walk with me, Hound."

The obedience of a loyal servant compelled Eira to walk with the Daedra.

"We haven't walked this land in Ages. Only the Wild Elves know of Our existence now, albeit in a twisted noble ideal of our true selves. Not enough of them live and believe for us to manifest, even in a weakened form... Until you came here...Hound."

"You are...displeased, Lord?"

"No. With your presence, our place in this world has grown, albeit slightly. But that's only a brief passing reason for me being here."

Hircine stopped walking and looked up at the floating castle in the sky. "Tell me. What do you know of my Sister, Vaermina?"

Eira pondered this, "Only what I know from texts, My Lord. She's the Daedric Lord of Dreams, Nightmares and Omens. Her realm of Oblivion is known as the Quagmire. She is considered to be the more... 'demonic' of the Daedric Princes. I've never had the pleasure of meeting her outside of sleep before."

"Ah Yes, the Quagmire. The ever-shifting realm of dreams and in the very middle is Her throne, reaching out for the memories of mortals.

"When we had a presence in this World, Vaermina was worshipped by the old mages of this land. They tried to break through the Veil to the Quagmire in it's entirety to get more power, but they were foolish. They used too much magic, and part Her Realm splintered apart from the whole."

The Daedra looked down at Eira.

"This place was originally part of Quagmire. Her former servants have forgotten their true purpose, and have been corrupted with power that was rightfully Vaermina's. Once we knew where you were, She was most interested. We talked and we both have a task for you."

Eira knelt before the godlike being. "What is your will, My Lord?"

"I wish for the greatest Hunt this world has seen in eons; one that will shake this world to the core. Vaermina wishes to reclaim her realm and her influence in this world.

"When you sleep in this world, you will enter this place. Kill all the Lesser Daedra in this 'Fade', the ones that call themselves after emotions. The wellspring here has died with Vaermina's influence, so they shouldn't return when you kill them. But it will take time, so you will need help. I recommend the two mages in that group you have found yourself in. But be cautious, their intentions are not as clear as they might seem at first sight.

"Know that me and my other Brethren will be watching your progress eagerly. They may seek you out as well, but your Senses will know what is real and what is not. Now, go. You are needed elsewhere."

Eira drifted back into the darkness with those words echoing in her mind.


When Eira woke up again, she was back in the ruins.

Silence rang in her ears, telling her that the rest of the expedition had already long gone. She had a headache from the hit on the head that knocked her unconscious. Eira cast a brief healing spell on herself which brought sweet relief before examining the door that stood between her and the others.

The door was jammed shut, and she couldn't push it open. There didn't seem to be any weak spots in the door she could exploit with a Shout. She needed to be stronger to even get the weaknesses, let alone get it open.

'I need to use my Beast Form, that should be strong enough to get it open. I need to be careful not to let the others see me when I catch up with them however.'

Eira stood back from the door and started to take off her armour until she was stood alone in her underwear. She placed her armour in her backpack and replaced it on her back. Loosening up her shoulders, Eira began to reach into her beast blood.

After a moment, intense torturous pain burst all over her body as her skeleton began to change shape; fur grew all over her body as she cowered, claws grew out of her hands and feet, and her face changed shape. Eira yelled out her pain in a loud howl as eventually the agony subsided, but her hunger didn't. The werewolf had emerged.

She looked at the world around her with bestial eyes. The colourful scent trails from Hawke, Varric, Anders, and Fenris were leading through the door. Bartrand's scent was heading back towards the campsite, but there was a permeating black haze around that area that was blocking her field of vision. The lack of air currents helped to preserve the scents so it shouldn't be difficult to track the others once she moved past this area.

The werewolf began pounding at the door, snarling at the pain erupting in her fists. Eventually as the door began to crack under the pressure, Eira forcefully shouldered the door open and burst into the next room.

The room was practically filled with the strong black smell that followed Bartrand, making Eira feel slightly nauseous. The stone stairs led up to a plinth which was dusty with age, an open door lay beyond it. Eira growled as she headed towards the distant door, following her friend's distant scent trails.

Slug-like and stone creatures rose from the floor to block her way as she left the room. Eira snarled menacingly at them as they glided towards her. They ignored her warning, so as far as Eira was concerned, they were fair game; as they got closer she pounced on them and cut through their bodies with her claws before they collapsed back into the ground as dust. They were merely an annoying distraction to her as she hurriedly followed the tracks that her friends had unknowingly left behind.


The ancient rock wraith had taken a lot out of the group. Anders, exhausted from repeated healing spells, was chugging down bottles of lyrium potion.

"Hurry up, there may be more," Fenris said to the others while on guard.

Varric looked up from the treasure they found. "We killed everything behind us, why do you think there's more?"

Fenris turned around sharply to look at the dwarf. "I just know that something has been following us. Call it instinct if you like, but it's not a feeling you easily forget."

Eira meanwhile watched and listened to the group at a distance, not wanting to reveal her bestial form.

'Fenris has some good skills if he can sense I'm here.'

She felt a shudder at the back of her skull. She knew she was going to Change back any moment soon.

Eira backed away from her hiding place as she stood and slipped off her backpack. Another jolt and a feeling of pain rode through her body as she reverted to her normal shape.

Kneeling down, she reached into her pack and quickly put on her armour quietly. Once she was fully clothed again, she emerged from her hiding place.

"HEY!"

Alarmed, Fenris swung his sword only to come face to face with Eira, who quickly blocked it with her own blade.

"Nice to see you too, Fenris..."

Fenris merely looked at her in disdain and let her pass.

"What happened to you?" Hawke stood up from searching for the key.

Eira retorted, "I could well ask you the same question. But since you asked first, Bartrand knocked me out when I asked where you were. I regained consciousness to find that everyone else had gone, so I decided to follow you. How about you?"

Varric answered this time, "Bartrand betrayed us for that damned lyrium idol! Shut the door behind us and left us to die!"

"That idol is only going to be bad news..." Anders said aloud.

"You're right there," Hawke replied as she held up the key to the door further ahead. "Now we're all together again, we should get moving. Pack up as much of this treasure as possible, we'll need it back on the surface."

Eira bundled up as much gold as she could, although it wasn't that much. 'This should get me a small place of my own when we get back to Kirkwall,' she thought to herself as she quickly followed the group away back to the surface.


Thanks for reading, sorry it's been so long since I last updated.

Please review - it really does help!