Chapter 14

Proclamation

"Vokun, you have betrayed me," Alduin rumbled, the accusation settling upon all like a strangling mist.

The priest stared, awestruck, before he remembered himself and bowed low. Lyn did the same as the people behind him murmured among themselves, half in awe, half in fear.

"Brother?" Krahsilsaan whispered. "By your leave, his children are wounded. Grant him a moment to tend to them. What is time to us, after all?"

Alduin lifted one side of his lips in a sneer. Krahsilsaan instinctively cringed and tilted his head to present his throat in submission.

The shroud-like black wings folded slowly as the leviathan thought.

"Very well," Alduin conceded at last.

Vokun hesitated before slowly retreating. One did not turn their back on the Dread Dragon lightly. To his surprise, when he turned he found Zedrin waiting for him, looking as if he was entirely unbothered by the dragons.

The man spoke before Vokun could utter a word.

"I'm assuming you two need to have a chat here, boy-o. I'll take your little lambs back inside. What's left of our fighters and I can start to clear the ruins, but hurry along, eh? It's always nice to have someone who can shoot fire. And before you think I'm goin' soft, I'm only feeling charitable because I had a heap of fun today," he grinned wickedly.

Vokun blinked after him as he mustered the people back inside. That man's perceptiveness was otherworldly. He wanted to scratch his head in puzzlement and launch a number of questions, but it would have to wait. Alduin came before everything else. Now more than ever, he was grateful that Naiyu had insisted on drilling him in the dragon language repeatedly. He winced and wished he hadn't thought of that at the moment. Lyn's hand touched his briefly, bringing him back and letting him know that she was still by his side.

The priest took a steadying breath and turned back to the leviathan dragon, choosing his words with extraordinary care.

Alduin beat him to it.

"You have been busy," he announced, wicked eyes boring into Vokun.

"Almighty One, I-"

"Did I not proclaim that the faithful would one day be reborn?" he asked slowly, obsidian claws clacking on the stones as he padded toward them.

"You did, Eminence," Vokun replied, bowing his head.

"Indeed," he agreed. "And thus, I find myself perplexed as to why you rose from the Endless Sleep without my Voice to guide you."

Vokun swallowed past the tightness in his throat. He did not dare meet the dragon's burning eyes, but he felt the corrosive glare upon him nonetheless. The wrong answer now would mean a true and agonizing death.

"Eminence..."

"The fault was mine, brother," Krahsilsaan intervened calmly.

"Did I ask you to speak?" the black dragon hissed, baring his fangs at his sibling.

Krahsilsaan fell wisely silent.

"Now." Alduin turned back to Vokun with a disquieting calm. "What could possibly have prompted this defiance?"

"May I speak freely, my lord?"

The thorny head nodded once.

"You are not yourself. This is not the way you wished to rule."

Alduin's eyes narrowed to mere slits.

"You dare presume to know my mind?" he seethed, each word dripping from his mouth like venom.

"I dare to bring it back," Vokun stated boldly, meeting his stare.

Lips peeled back, revealing ivory fangs sharper than any blade. Silence reigned absolute in the otherworldly stillness. For a moment the man feared he'd gone too far, but Alduin merely turned to Krahsilsaan.

"What absurdities have you been filling their minds with, my brother?" he asked. "Or is this madness their own feeble thoughts in need of purging?"

Krahsilsaan met his scrutiny fearlessly.

"Search yourself, my brother. See what it is you hide so desperately from your mind. The only madness here, dear sibling, is you own."

"Mind your tongue lest I rip it from you!" Alduin bellowed, fangs snapping on the words.

"I will not let you fall to ruin," Krahsilsaan returned defiantly.

"Silence!" Alduin commanded, stomping a claw that sent a crack through the balcony floor. He loosed a breath in a rolling growl before his eyes locked on to Vokun again and spoke through gritted teeth. "The war between ourselves and mortalkind, and our absence from this world were as it was meant to be," he spat. "You have broken my will and usurped my dominion!"

The onyx wings flared open. Vokun and Lyn flinched and took a step back as one. They saw the dragon's chest draw in a great breath and release it slowly. When Alduin spoke again, it was eerily devoid of emotion and held only imperious command.

"For this betrayal, it is within my right to banish you and all of yours from this land, the life beyond, and from rebirth," he paused. "If I do not simply rend your souls asunder instead."

"Brother, please," Krahsilsaan objected. "They did this for you."

The dark dragon turned to him with a sinister snarl, but it faded as he met his sibling's earnest eyes and turned into a heavy sigh.

"Did they, brother?" he asked solemnly. "It seems far more that they did this for your memories of me. They do not seek to aid me, they seek to change me."

Vokun grimaced and felt compelled to speak.

"Eminence, I wish only to restore you to your true self. The crime of your fall was ours! It is only fitting that we are the ones to make it right again."

The grim eyes blinking once, slowly, studying him for what felt like ages before the terrible claws dug into the stone beneath them.

"There is nothing left of what was," Alduin resigned, shaking his head solemnly.

This time, it was Lyn who spoke.

"But there is, Eminence," she said softly. "It just that… if you find it again, you'll remember what once was. Then, everything that has come to pass since you lost yourself will haunt you, claw at you." She dared to meet his eyes. "It would destroy you like a fire from within your very flesh." She held a fist to her own chest, as if the words weren't entirely meant for him. "But it is there. You only need the strength to look."

Alduin stared at her, talons cutting deeper into the stone.

Lyn wavered under his gaze and lowered her eyes once more, bowing for good measure. That had likely been a foolish thing to say.

"I am as my father wishes me to be, little mortal. Nothing more," he said hollowly.

She held a fist to her chest. It was not the understanding that Alduin intended to devour the souls of all the world, nor the prospect of being forever banished from the promised revenant that grieved her. It was the look in the great dragon's eyes. Were he mortal, she would have said the look was one of being trapped with no escape. Pain. Despair. Ah, but she could understand that, couldn't she? Living your life with the destiny another had determined for you, nay, demanded of you, tended to breed such feelings. Her master had forged her into a weapon to destroy. And Alduin had been born into the same role.

She had broken free, to some extent. But Alduin remained ensnared. It wasn't fair. The greatest of the dragons, the firstborn son… He should not have to bear this weight.

It was only with the aid of others that she had seen a different way.

Perhaps…

If he too could break free, then they could have time. And with time, they could craft a better way to reforge the world.

It was foolish to even entertain the idea that a mortal could aid a divine, but…

"My lord," she said hesitantly. "Belay the end. Let us show you that there is another way. You are to reshape the world, but this method… need not be how it is achieved."

"Give us time to show you," Vokun agreed calmly, taking her hand in his own.

Only the cold wind greeted their words.

"I... wish it were so, little mortals," Alduin sighed at last. "But it is as it must be. Sovngarde calls me with a song I cannot deny." He paused and seemed to smile. "Though I must admit, I would be intrigued to see how you would reforge the world."

Lyn and Vokun closed their eyes and sighed as one, but nodded their acceptance nonetheless.

Alduin resettled himself into a regal pose.

"Now, I am still left with one task to complete," the black dragon said, returning his crimson gaze to Vokun. "What shall I do with you?"

Vokun steeled himself.

"I am ready to accept whatever punishment you see fit," he said, bowing. "I only beg mercy for my people, whose sole crime was following me."

"Mercy is not in my nature," Alduin rumbled.

"We shall see," the priest replied with the ghost of a smile.

Alduin's lips parted as he actually laughed.

"You are a bold one, aren't you! I find even I must commend it." He paused and grimaced. "Even if I feel the need to incinerate you for it."

Silence followed the statement as the leviathan seemed to think.

"Be it so then," the black dragon nodded to himself. "Dragon Priest Vokun, by my right as the Firstborn of Akatosh, I strip you of your rank as High Priest. You will surrender your mask and return to the station of a mere priest for the rest of your days."

Vokun blinked in disbelief. That was... it? No fiery retribution?

"You look surprised," Alduin chuckled.

"I believe you proclaimed that mercy was not in your nature," the man replied.

The grim eyes danced with a dark merriment.

"Oh it is not, but I find myself… pleased by your loyalty, misguided as it may have been. In many ways, you have shown greater faith than those I deemed most worthy. I find such a thing perplexing, but feel compelled to reward it nonetheless."

"I-"

"Now," Alduin interrupted, stamping his foot again. "You will surrender your mask. I should think that would be easy for you, as you never cared for the artifact in the first place."

"You knew?" Vokun whispered.

The glowing eyes seemed to soften for a moment.

"A heart like yours? It was an easy guess."

Vokun gaped before he shook himself and bowed, holding out the mask slowly.

Alduin waved a single gleaming claw and the artifact vanished like dust on the wind.

"What happens now?"

"It will be gifted to one who awaited my return properly," the dragon decreed.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know," the terrible fangs grinned, then slowly settled into a solemn grimace as the mirth bled from him. "I do as I must now," he sighed heavily. "It is my fate to be the darkness to Akatosh's light."

Vokun nodded somberly.

"We do not fear the end, Eminence," he said softly. "I only wish it could be otherwise."

"In truth? As do I," Alduin replied.

Lyn stared into the molten eyes, grieving for the task he would have to bear. He met her gaze and seemed to smile wanly before he blinked and dipped his head closer to her, as if seeing her anew.

"Wait..." he breathed slowly, glancing to his brother. "Is she...?"

Krahsilsaan nodded.

"My lord?" Lyn questioned, fidgeting under the scrutiny.

The smoldering eyes blinked again as he continued to study her.

"You do not know, do you?" he asked softly.

"Know what, Eminence?"

The grand head looked to Krahsilsaan.

"You have not told her," he breathed in wonder.

"No, my brother. And I will not."

"Curious," he commented, then once more returned his gaze to Lyn. "Your form is… less unpleasant than I expected. But your eyes are still the same."

"My lord, I don't understand."

He laughed with the sound of grating bones.

"No," he agreed. "Nor will you, it seems. It is a shame, though. I would have liked to speak with you again."

"As would I, Eminence," she replied in confusion, bowing for good measure.

Alduin grimaced sadly.

"Tread carefully, brother," Krahsilsaan bid. "The mortal that hunts you is cunning. It will find a way to follow you."

"I know," Alduin replied gravely. "It is as it must be."

With that, he braced his legs and sprang skyward. His black wings snapped open like a void of night and devoured the light of the setting sun as he flew.

Lyn and Vokun watched silently until he vanished over the peaks, unconsciously wrapping their arms around one another in a comforting embrace.

"The others do not need to know what comes," Krahsilsaan said. "And we do not know when the end will find us. There is no need to speak of it."

"We'll do as we've always done, and continue onward," Vokun agreed calmly.

"If I may make a suggestion?" the dragon asked.

"Of course," the priest nodded.

"Keep the name. Vokun suits you, and makes you more than any one man."

Vokun smiled wryly.

"Of course," he replied.

His broken body ached and burned in equal measure as he drifted through a sea of dreamless darkness.

"Tanner," Lyn called gently. "Tanner, wake up."

He opened his eyes to the familiar surroundings of his tower home at Autumnwatch. Lyn watched him with worry etched on her face as he blinked dully at her. So he looked that bad, huh? But it didn't matter. He had to warn her.

"The men," he rasped, pausing to cough.

"It's alright," she soothed. "We dealt with them."

"I didn't betray you," he promised earnestly.

"I know."

The simple proclamation did more to soothe him than anything. Tanner let his head fall back onto the hard stone beneath him, waiting for the crippling pain to return. Strangely, there was only an unexpected weakness in his flesh that made him grimace in confusion. He ran his hands along his torso, feeling for the gouges and burns the men had inflicted. All that greeted him was smooth skin.

"I healed them," Lyn assured.

"Thanks, Snowflake," he sighed.

"That nickname's never going to catch on," she scoffed.

He offered a wane smile.

"How did you find me?"

"We're scouring the area to make sure there're no stragglers lingering around. But you're pretty isolated, so I felt like I should check on you first."

"I owe you one," he croaked.

"No you don't," she dismissed. "Now why don't you come back to the main compound and get some rest where it's safe?"

"Nah, I'm fine right here."

She merely lifted an eyebrow.

"If I run, they win," he said calmly. "So I'm staying right here and doing my job, just like always. If you could help me to the bed though, I'd appreciate it."

Lyn smiled to herself and had to admire his resolve as she helped him stand and shuffle across the room.

"Might get a dog though," Tanner muttered. "Or twelve. That'd be better."

"Get as many as you'd like," she shrugged with a smile. "But you're in charge of feeding them."

He nodded dully with a satisfied smile as he laid his head down on the pillow. Lyn pulled a fur over him as his uncooperative, leaden limbs dragged him down into slumber.

She walked away, soft steps carrying her toward the door.

"Hey Lyn?" he called hesitantly.

"Hm?"

"Would you… come back tomorrow? Just to..."

"Sure," she nodded.

He'd have thanked her, but sleep had already pulled him too far into its depths.

The rays of a cold dawn could not follow Lyn as she strode silently down into the depths of the monastery. She'd woken up alone with no trace of Vokun beside her. It wasn't hard to figure out where he'd gone. The light around her grew ever more sparse, leaving her in perpetual night.

She came to a wrought iron door and pushed the solid construct aside. A solemn hall stretched into the darkness on the other side. Her soft steps carried her through to a large room lined with stone sarcophagi, the light of a single torch casting flickering shadows among the silent rows.

Lyn paid them no heed, focusing instead on the figure hunched beside the only sealed sarcophagus.

Vokun sat with his back against the cold stone, arms resting on his drawn up knees. He did not move, nor acknowledge her, but simply sat staring into the gloom.

Her eyes watched him sadly, but she said nothing as she crossed the distance slowly and sat beside him, taking his hand in her own.

The silence seemed eternal as they sat there in the torch's sputtering light.

"I should have made more time for him," Vokun said at last. "But I couldn't be bothered. Too busy wrapped up in my own self."

"You had a settlement to establish and people to govern. Naiyu knew that. In fact, as a member of your Hand, he understood that more than most," she soothed.

He shook his head stubbornly.

"I seem to recall quite a few late nights with the two of you chatting eagerly as you planned out living arrangements, future buildings, and the finer points of stone architecture," she smiled.

"And in all of that, when did I stop to ask him how he was? What he wanted?" Vokun lamented.

"My love, you know as well as I that if he were here right now, he would set his hand on your shoulder and tell you you were being foolish," she said gently.

He did not reply, but simply leaned against her as silent sobs shook his shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, trying not to let herself sink into despair. As much as she would have liked to pretend that her self in her youth had been a paragon of strength, even she had found comfort in the old teacher's words, and as an altmer, he was one of the only people she had known from the beginning whom she hadn't outlived. Well, back then anyway. She pushed the thought from her mind quickly before it threatened to pull the tears from her eyes. She did not succeed, and wept softly beside her husband.

They held to each other tightly in the cold room. Even as their sorrow stilled into silence, they remained. He took hold of her hand, his strong fingers wrapping around her lithe ones. Finally, Lyn spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I know it hurts, my love, but you cannot shut yourself away from everyone else for your own regrets."

He closed his eyes and felt himself nod. A part of him understood that his words were born of grief and not truth, but it did not abate the feeling within him. It was some form of irony to him that he, a priest who had helped so many deal with the grief in their lives, could not come to terms with his own.

Great footsteps came down the hall slowly, as if they were trying to be quiet. Lyn looked up to see Rolf on the cusp of entering the room. His newly mended arm bore a sturdy shield that looked ready for battle. Matthias peered around the armor piece silently, as if he were no more than a ghost.

"We're getting ready to head into the woods," the smith said softly.

It took a moment before she remembered they were supposed to go out and search the forest for any more soldiers. Even if the monastery was clear, none of them would sleep well until the foreboding forest was scoured.

Lyn nodded her understanding and felt Vokun shift beside her.

"Go ahead," he bid her softly, then took a deep, steadying breath. "I'll stay here in case any stragglers wander in and try anything. In the mean time, we can work on clearing the debris from the collapsed wall."

Lyn leaned in and kissed him lightly before standing on stiff legs. She made her way to Rolf and Matthias before Vokun's voice halted her.

"Lyn?"

She turned wordlessly.

"Let's have dinner tonight. Just the two of us," he said.

"Sure," she smiled, then followed Rolf out into the corridors. Silence clawed along painfully beside them as they made their way up to the surface and into the bright beginnings of dawn. Rolf broke away from them and joined another team as they plunged into the woods, leaving Lyn to look askance at Matthias.

"You're not coming," she stated.

"I most certainly am," he replied calmly.

"It's too dangerous," she retorted.

"I need more ingredients for potions. I used most of mine after the battle. Magic can't fix everything, you know," he countered. "And as for dangerous, well that's why I'm with you." He smiled charmingly.

Lyn was fairly sure her eye was about to start twitching. She growled in irritation and said nothing more.

Matthias noted it and smirked privately. That meant he was right.

Lyn's robes whispered around her ankles as she walked through the straggly grasses beneath the boughs of the looming trees. Matthias followed beside her, content in companionable silence. As he watched her, she seemed to relax from her initial irritation, into a solemn vigilance as she searched the alternating patchwork of light and shadow. For his part, he gathered the plants he found quickly, even if the variety was sparse. There were only so many uses for blue mountain flowers, after all.

She set her arm across his shoulders, nearly making him jump before she spoke softly.

"I'm very proud of you, Matthias."

"Me?" he blinked. "What did I do?"

"Martha told me how you kept your wits about you and tended to the wounded during the battle. It's no small feat. Most would have been beside themselves panicking," she commended.

"Oh," he blushed. "I just did what anyone would do. And I'm pretty sure I was panicking too."

She slapped him on the back.

"Would you just accept a compliment?" she demanded, rolling her eyes.

"Ouch, alright!" he laughed.

They continued on for a time with the only sounds their rustling footsteps and the songs of birds.

"Is Vokun going to be alright?" Matthias finally asked softly.

Lyn sighed heavily.

"In time," she assured. "Losing Naiyu to him was like losing something of a mentor, an uncle, and a grandfather all in one. And he blames himself for it."

"But there was nothing he could do," Matthias said, puzzled.

"He knows. But it's hard for people to accept when someone they love is gone, even when they're in a better place," she said, running a hand along his hair.

"Oh. I understand," he mumbled softly, thinking of his own mother. He frowned and shook his head with a sigh before looking back at Lyn.

She glanced at him sidelong and couldn't help but smirk.

"You're wearing your worried face," she commented.

He scowled, which only made her laugh.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Me?" she echoed.

"After everything that's been happening..."

"I'm fine," she assured.

He stared at her like he didn't believe her.

"I keep busy," she said simply. "It's not much, but it makes the days easier."

Matthias considered that thoughtfully as they careful descended a jagged hill.

"What about Alduin? He didn't look happy," he murmured.

"You don't need to worry about him," she refuted, closing the conversation with the single sentence.

He frowned, unsatisfied with the answer, but Lyn's arm grabbed him and stopped him completely. He looked to her in bewilderment before her hand covered his mouth. In the next heartbeat, a brutish man leapt out of the undergrowth and charged at them, an ax held poised to strike.

Lyn was faster.

In a single movement, she pushed Matthias back and leapt in front of him. A wall of frost exploded from her hands and threw the warrior back from whence he came. She dashed through the greenery after him, another spell pulsating in her grasp. Matthias followed, dagger drawn as his eyes darted around in fear.

Lyn hesitated, blinking as she looked on, unmoving. She couldn't say what stayed her hand. Really she couldn't.

Terrified eyes stared back at her as a woman in a green cloak shivered under the scrutiny. She made no move to defend herself, merely cradled the head of a young man, barely older than Matthias on her lap. The heavy cloths tied around his chest constricted his breathing to a soft wheeze while an older man lay next to her, his face entirely shrouded in bandages.

Lyn's spell continued to spiral and pulse as she stood motionless. It would have been so easy to kill them. She should kill them. She had to kill them. ...Didn't she? But there was something that stopped her, something that held her back. And curse it all if she knew what it was.

The woman cringed and tried to shield the boy with her arms from the attack she thought was coming.

Lyn looked positively fierce as she seethed to herself with her teeth bared before slowly lowering her hands, letting the spell dissolve into nothing. Foolish. This was foolish! But still… She shook her head with a grimace and looked to Matthias, wondering if he knew what in Alduin's name was wrong with her. To her surprise, he was smiling gently at her.

"They can't fight anymore," he said softly, touching her arm. "There's no need."

Somehow, she found herself nodding.

The man that she'd hit with her spell rolled slowly, and pushed himself up off the ground. His exposed skin was raw, red and peeling as he grimaced in pain. Seeing them standing there, he snatched up his ax.

"Stop," Lyn commanded.

He hesitated at her tone and looked her over quickly. She was glad she'd already lowered her hands.

"All of you are trespassing," she stated imperiously, watching them with steely eyes. "You will leave. Now." She sighed in irritation. "And I will have to escort you out."

The woman opened and shut her mouth several times. At last, she seemed to find her voice.

"The men… can't make it back through the tunnels. It's too cramped," came her weak protest. Her gaze never left Lyn's hands, as if she expected a spell to tear her apart at any moment.

Lyn gritted her teeth. It really would have been so much easier to kill them. Alduin curse her weakness! She wasn't about to take them through the main passage to the outside. They could not be trusted with the knowledge.

"You will have to manage," she insisted coldly.

Matthias tugged at her sleeve. She glanced at him quickly. He withdrew a dull red potion from the bag at his hip and offered it to her. Lyn felt the sneer on her face before she knew she was making it. Not killing the intruders was one thing, but wasting valuable resources on them was quite another.

The woman noticed the exchange and grimaced slightly. With a resigned sigh, she carefully lifted the youth's head off her lap and worked to try and get him on his feet. His face contorted in pain as he tried to sit up with moderate success.

"Lyn," Matthias said.

She waved away his call.

"Lyn," he insisted firmly, catching her wrist in a light grip.

She suppressed a growl and turned to him.

"There's an easy solution," he offered.

"I know, and I don't like it," she replied, glowering.

"You don't have to like it. But if you want them gone, you have to do it," he stated, meeting her eyes directly.

She glared sullenly.

"There's a part of me that liked it better when you were afraid of me," she groused.

"Tead vo amatride," he smiled.

She made a face.

"You mean 'tiid bo amativ'?" she corrected. Time flows ever onward. Where had the boy been learning the dragon tongue? A sour expression plastered itself on her face. Krahsilsaan, of course. She would need to have a talk with that male.

"Fine," she snapped. "But only enough so that they can leave! Run back and tell Vokun."

He made to protest, but she cut it short with a single look. If these whelps tried anything, she'd be fine. They could wound her, but not kill her. These fools were not strong enough for that. But she would not risk Matthias's safety. It was better to have him as far from them as possible.

A black and purple orb pulsed in her hands before she threw it to the ground and a spectral wolf took form.

"He'll look after you and lead you back. Go now," she bid him, not unkindly.

Matthias nodded and walked for a ways behind the loping wolf before he turned and stood waiting. She rolled her eyes, hiding her smirk. Of course he would wait and make sure she didn't kill them.

She looked back to the waiting eyes of the intruders. Dealing with this nonsense was going to take half the day.

"So be it," Lyn sighed. "I'll be watching the lot of you. Set one toe off the path, make one wrong move, and you'll find just how far my mercy extends," she threatened as a sphere of golden light bloomed in her hands.

The woman still flinched, even recognizing the healing light. She couldn't quite fathom not being killed on the spot, but she wasn't about to complain. A singular thought lingered in the back of her mind as she watched the heathen elf kneel to heal the men beside her.

Could they have been wrong about these people?

The late afternoon found Sam in his room as he picked up a carved, wooden knight and moved it across the board.

"I win again!" he triumphed cheerfully.

"No!" Claudia protested, turning to Matthias. "He has to be cheating!"

"Three in a row," Matthias winced.

"It's your turn next," she groused back.

Sam watched them both and smiled sadly before he reached across the board and patted Claudia's hand.

"It's fine," he said.

She stared at him in bewilderment.

"You two don't need to sit with me all the time. I appreciate it, but I'll be alright," he said simply before standing and brushing the dirt from his robes. "Besides, it's too weird that your worried about me while Vokun has been stripped of his rank and..." He couldn't manage to say that Naiyu was dead.

Claudia and Matthias exchanged worried looks.

"I just need some quiet. I'd like to study a bit before the day's completely gone," Sam continued, forcing a smile. He expected a joke to come flying back at his remark, but they only nodded and shuffled away slowly, as if they were hoping he'd change his mind. Once they were gone, he sat down on his bed and opened his books and notes. It wasn't the subject he was particularly interested in, but rather the comments written in precise, flowing script beside his notes. His vision blurred, but he blinked away the watery obstruction and began to read.

"Samularis, please review chapter fourteen of your text and note that the proper greeting for a Breton dignitary is not a lizard thrown at their face."

Sam smiled broadly. Failing that particular assignment had been entirely worth it.

Matthias and Claudia walked down the long hallway, weaving in and out of groups of people. They bypassed their rooms entirely and continued on to a secluded corridor that led to a large, disused chamber. It was circular in design with a series of benches in the center. Matthias theorized that it had once been an indoor garden for people to enjoy, but the grate on the roof to allow in light was sealed almost completely by a massive, sturdy stone.

They sat down in the somber silence and listened to the sweet keening of the wind as it sifted by them. A strange sensation shivered down Matthias's spine, and for a moment, he had to wonder about the people that had lived here before them. That, and just how likely it was that their ghosts could be wandering around. His mind ran with the idea, making him wonder why were there ghosts at all. Did someone have to suffer some horrible fate that left them unable to move on? The thought lead him to wonder what it would feel like to die. He voiced the question aloud in the quiet air.

"Depends on how you die," Claudia shrugged, voice eerily calm.

He blinked and then remembered the life she'd escaped.

"Sorry," he cringed.

"No, it's alright," she assured. "I just… I want you to know that I'm fine with you asking me questions about things like that, and..." she hesitated, "...and what I did before we met. I'd rather you ask me than have it sit simmering in the back of your mind." She gave a short, mirthless laugh. "Besides, most of the time what people imagine is way worse than what actually happened."

He reached out a tentative hand to her own. Words wouldn't help here, but maybe if he showed he wasn't going anywhere, she would feel safer. Or at least he hoped so, because really, he had no other ideas. She closed her fingers around his in a gently grip.

A small smirk pulled at him.

"Alright, so where did you learn to cook?" he wondered.

She blinked at him, as if expecting an entirely different question.

"Well, I was on the trail of an argonian chef, and yes, I realize how odd that sounds. I was skeptical at first too. But I managed to infiltrate their kitchens and become an apprentice to one of the cooks. It was actually fun, if a whirlwind of hectic madness."

"It does sounds interesting," he remarked. "And you learned to cook!"

She made a sour face.

"Well... I may have burnt more than a few things in the beginning," she grimaced.

"Everyone has to start somewhere," he offered sympathetically. "Besides, I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"I lit rice on fire," she deadpanned.

"Hm… that is pretty bad, yes," he agreed.

"Mean!" she protested, punching him lightly in the arm.

"Ow, you madwoman!" he laughed, rubbing his arm. "And they actually let you near the knives?"

"Quiet or I'll chop you like a vegetable!" she threatened, grinning.

They continued on for a time before Matthias finally sighed.

"I should go back and check on Vokun," he said.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't need a nursemaid," she smirked.

"I know," he replied with a sigh. "But Lyn's not here, and I just left him in the temple by himself and-"

"You definitely sound like a nursemaid," she affirmed, snickering.

He sighed loudly and stood, casting his eyes to the ceiling. They ambled out into the hall and followed the dim, unused passage.

At length, Claudia had to bid him farewell and stride toward the kitchens. Rather fitting that today was her day to work in the kitchens after their conversation.

She noted Zedrin and the ranger in the hall, the later having a thin strip of cloth tied around a long gash on his arm. For whatever reason, he refused any magical aid. She nodded to them both as she passed. They returned the gesture, Zedrin with a wink, and resumed their efforts.

"Quit squirming," the bald man complained.

"It's too tight," the ranger complained.

"Oh don't be such a child," Zedrin scoffed as he tied off the bandage.

She managed to hold back her laughter as the man's arm began to turn an odd shade of red.

"Well," Zedrin grimaced. "Maybe it could stand to be a little looser."

Claudia rounded the corner before snickering.

Lyn sighed in relief as Krahsilsaan landed beside her in a rush of wind. Dust billowed around her, and for a moment, she could hardly see the entrance to the mine right in front of her face.

"They are gone, and far down the mountain path," he announced.

"Good riddance," she replied.

"I still say you should have let me burn them to ash," he snarled, ruffling his wings in displeasure.

"I had everything under control well before you came catapulting out of the sky," she smirked.

"Shall I find a nice boulder to barricade the other side?" he offered.

"No," she refuted. "Vokun plans to craft a proper door and keep it for a secondary escape route just in case we need it."

"Wise, but I still don't like it," he grumbled.

"We'll be fine," she assured.

He loosed a bitter growl in response and shifted closer to her.

Lyn ran her palm along the smooth scales of his neck and shushed him soothingly. The valley stretched below them in a portrait of greenery lit in slanting rays as the sun crawled down from its zenith toward the peaks of the western mountains. Birds darted to and fro from the trees, and Krahsilsaan watched them as if wondering just how many would make a proper snack.

Lyn only half paid attention to them all. The memory of the Dread Dragon's eyes boring into hers haunted her thoughts. All the things he'd said… What had he meant by saying her eyes were still the same? Had they met when she was younger? It was unlikely. She would remember meeting him.

The more she thought, the fewer answers she found, until finally she pushed it all away in frustration.

"Will Alduin be alright?" she asked to distract herself, feeling like a heretic for daring to utter the words aloud. "You said the Dragonborn would follow him."

Krahsilsaan chuckled.

"You do not need to fret over my brother. He is Sovereign and Master. If he desired it, he could reshape the world."

"I know, but I can't help but worry," she sighed.

"Hmph, a trait of mortalkind. Cast it from you. If a matter is beyond your control, it does no good to dwell over it. The simple fact is, there is nothing you can do for him."

He shifted his legs and rolled his shoulders, letting her know by his posture that this thread of conversation was over.

Lyn sighed and accepted it, even if it left her nothing but the burning crimson eyes in her mind. Krahsilsaan shifted closer still and she finally pulled out of her own thoughts enough to note the way he hung his head low and the droop of his wings.

"Krahsilsaan? What's wrong?" she asked, stroking the scales beneath his jaw.

He rumbled despairingly and closed his eyes, pressing his head against her before he spoke.

"I failed you," he lamented softly. "I promised I would protect you. But when you needed me most, I was not there."

"Oh dear heart, you cannot remain by my side eternally and you know it," she refuted gently. "And you did protect me. By Alduin, you tore that foolish brute of a man apart! Rather spectacularly, I might add."

Krahsilsaan grumbled and looked away.

"And of course, let's not forget Markarth, where I certainly would have died if you hadn't saved me," she continued with a smirk. "Besides, you never directly promised to protect me."

"Perhaps you were too young to remember," he mumbled.

"I would like to think I'd remember a dragon pledging his protection," Lyn chuckled.

He hesitated, as if the answer wasn't what he expected.

"If your referring to the night we met, I know I was much younger, but I can tell you that such a vow would not be forgotten. Especially not after you incinerated several people who were trying to kill me," she stated pointedly. "We can add that one to the list of you saving my life too, by the way."

He did not respond.

She frowned, withdrawing her hand. It seemed nothing she said would pacify him. She remained in silence for what felt like ages before the burning eyes returned to the fore of her mind with the same haunting words repeating over and over. Is that her.

"Krahsilsaan," she asked softly. "What was it that Alduin expected you to tell me?"

He fidgeted.

"I don't-"

"Krahsilsaan," she pressed. "You've been hiding something from me for years. I have ignored it because it makes you uncomfortable, but I will not do so any longer. What is it that he meant?"

He sighed heavily, as if the weight of the day's events were too much for him. After a long pause, he finally lifted his solemn eyes to hers.

"You have a life here. A family. You are happy, are you not?"

"I am, but-" she began.

"Then please, let this go. All the knowledge would do is breed the sorrow of what was lost within you."

"You need to let me decide that for myself. That is my right."

"I know," he laughed without mirth. The bitter sound threatened to gag him. "And you have every right to condemn me for it. But I find myself unable to say the words. Please, little one." He choked out the last words. Dearest Akatosh, he could not meet her eyes. They were too much of a reminder.

Lyn stared, wide-eyed. Never once did she think she would hear a dragon beg. Hesitation and desperation warred in her in equal measure, but the pain etched on his features constricted her from within, squeezing the desire for knowledge from her with each passing moment.

"What would change if I knew?" she asked at last.

"Only my sorrow," he replied. "And my shame."

She sighed heavily.

"I owe you my life many times over. If you wish me to leave this knowledge be, then I will do so for you," she said bitterly. "But only for you."

Indignant anger colored her words, but he did not seem to hear it as his body drooped with visible relief.

"Thank you, little one."

"Well at least you've stopped calling me Child-Of-Snow," she sighed, rolling her eyes.

Krahsilsaan blinked his eyes once and fought the smirk that rose, unbidden, to his lips. Perhaps it was time to call her something else. The only one that understood the joke was him. But could he be faulted? "Odkiin", Child-Of-Snow. It was an excellent jest.

Her name had been Odsilsaan, after all.

"Come," he bid, dipping his neck. "I will take you back to the monastery."

She seemed caught off guard by the offer, but accepted nonetheless.

He smiled, finding that he didn't mind carrying her. In truth, he owed it to her.

After all, it was his own inability to protect her that had let the mortals cut the wings from her form.

The Dread Dragon's crimson eyes blinked once in the shimmering mist of Sovngarde as he watched the mortals wield their Voices against him. What was it his brother's little children had said? He sighed and shook his horned head. The world had to be reforged. He could not deny the compulsion. The threads of destiny demanded it. But… perhaps…

Perhaps he did not have to be the one to bear the burden. It was a tempting thought. No souls to devour, no lives to cut short… By all that was beautiful and just in the realms, if only he did not have to end it all.

Oh, if he could walk with his brother once more and watched the little mortals scurry about. How wonderful it would be to hear their voices chattering eagerly all around him, to bathe in their awestruck looks… It would be nice to be loved again. He snapped his jaws shut at the thought. Loved? So pitiful. What was he becoming, thinking of such things?

Still, the malicious eyes softened ever so slightly. Perhaps they would sing for him again. A joyful sigh escaped him. He did so enjoy the power of innumerable voices rising and falling in a chant to shake the world. Or mayhaps they would sing the beautiful hymns that soothed his agonized heart. Never were mortal voices stronger than when they joined together in a single harmony.

Perhaps…

He could retreat there, among them. What would the harm truly be if he were to refuse his destiny for another century? Then he could watch the new age they promised to craft.

For once, hope thudded through his ancient veins with each beat of his ageless heart. Voices crashed into him as blades ravaged his body, but his thoughts turned elsewhere. By his great father Akatosh it would be glorious to teach once more. Oh how he missed those impassioned eyes with such wrapped attention that only mortals could give him as he spoke!

Time seemed to slow as he returned to the battle and found himself gazing at the mortal that dared usurp the name of dovah. He could not chance this one following him. No, best to give the child a grand show of his death.

The dark dragon gave a short laugh. Sometimes mortals were simply too easy to please.

Lyn tucked her hair behind her ear and watched Vokun and Matthias from the shadows of the temple's dusky interior. The two seemed to be having a lively discussion about something, but she couldn't make out more than a few words. They paused for but a moment before bursting into laughter.

She waited there, watching silently with a smile for what seemed like ages. It would have been such a shame to spoil their fun by intruding. Almost as if he could feel her eyes upon him, Vokun turned and waved to her.

She waved back and walked through the rows of newly made benches that smelt of pine. He met her halfway and wrapped her in a warm embrace.

"I'm glad you're safe, my love," he breathed into her ear.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," she assured softly.

"I know," he sighed, but his arms held her tighter.

He kissed her cheek before drawing back.

"Vokun," a voice interrupted.

He turned to find the black haired ranger standing in the doorway.

"These people seek sanctuary here," the man said simply. "I thought I'd show them the way."

Vokun nodded to him, wise enough to know he was providing an armed escort out of prudence if not need.

"Thank you," he said softly.

The man nodded in return and vanished out the door.

Vokun turned his attention to the people. They looked to be a husband and wife with a girl that couldn't have been more than seven, holding to her mother's hand. The adults fidgeted uneasily as they glanced back and forth to one another and hesitated in the shadow of the grand doors.

"Welcome," Vokun greeted warmly. "Please, come in."

They looked to one another again and made their way to him cautiously.

"You're the priest then?" the man asked.

"I am," Vokun nodded.

The girl looked up and pointed at him.

"You were crying," she announced loudly.

"Abagail!" her mother reproached quickly.

"It's alright," Vokun laughed.

"She's really a good child, I promise," the woman assured, haggardly.

"I'm sure she is," he placated. Their worn eyes watched him solemnly. "If you'd like to rest, I can show you to a room. Or if you'd prefer, I can show you around the compound."

"Food!" the child demanded cheerfully, lifting her hands into the air.

"Abagail!" her mother repeated.

"Food, huh?" Vokun grinned, unconsciously bending to be on the girl's eye level. "Of course! We can't have the little princess starving! You'll fly away on the wind!"

The mother's shoulders relaxed as she actually smiled softly.

"The dinning hall is down this way, if you'll follow me," he said, ushering them toward the staircase to the lower levels.

"Um, this whole place isn't underground, is it?" the father asked nervously.

"Mostly, but we can find you some accommodations that are above ground, if that's preferable."

The man merely nodded several times, lips drawn into a thin line.

Lyn smiled tenderly after Vokun, happy for the quiet joy that graced his face. He returned the affectionate gaze and made his way down the stairs.

The child followed eagerly with the repeated cheer of "food".

"I think I found a miniature version of you," Lyn smirked, glancing sidelong at Matthias.

"Don't know what you're talking about," he replied with a chuckle.

"Right. I'll just throw a pie between you two and see who gets it first."

"I wouldn't take food from a child," he protested.

"That's because she'd fight you for it and win," Lyn remarked.

"I see how it's gonna be from now on," he muttered.

She merely flashed him a wicked grin.

They stood there in the soft silence of the temple, painted gold in the rays of the setting sun.

"Do you ever stop and think how different it would have been if we had never met?" Matthias asked softly.

She nodded once.

"Really?" he had to ask.

"Of course," she said. "I'd have far more food."

Matthias groaned in exasperation.

"Should have known," he grumbled.

He felt her fingers trail through his hair before she pulled him into a wordless embrace.

"The thought..." she began, "of never meeting you… It frightens me."

He drew back, holding her arms as he stared at her quizzically.

She looked away, for a long moment before she spoke.

"Sometimes the hardest person to see… is yourself. It takes the eyes and courage of another to show you."

He opened his mouth, but shut it again as he found no reply.

She smiled softly and leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Thank you," Lyn said solemnly.

He blushed and nodded slowly.

"If it wasn't for you, I'd still be with… Drax," he whispered, spitting the last word like a swear. "I… owed it to you."

She ran her hand down his cheek before her mask of bravado resettled firmly into place.

"I should bring that man back to life so I can kill him again," she mused.

"I'd rather you didn't," Matthias grimaced.

Lyn shot him a wicked grin.

"No," he said.

"But-"

"This is why we can't take you nice places," he smirked.

"Bah, you're no fun," she retorted, drawing him along beside her as she made her way down to the dining hall.

"Someone has to keep you in line," he chuckled.

"You should be careful," she drawled. "One day you might just wake up in the dark and scary part of the woods."

"Nah, you like me too much," he shot back.

She blinked and turned to him before a scowl curled her lips.

"That means I'm right!" Matthias cheered, throwing both hands above his head in triumph.

Lyn groaned and placed a hand to her forehead. The boy was getting bolder. Strangely, it was not irritation that she found at the revelation, but pride. She ran her fingers through his hair once more and smiled.

Krahsilsaan cracked open a single eyelid as inky wings blocked out his vision of the stars above.

"Good night, brother," he greeted.

"You do not seem surprised," Alduin replied, landing with a powerful jolt.

"I know your heart better than you think," Krahsilsaan smiled.

"Don't be a fool," Alduin scoffed. "I only wanted a quiet place to sleep."

"Of course," the blue dragon agreed.

Alduin found a large boulder and leapt atop it, coiling before he laid down.

"Krahsilsaan?" he called softly.

"Yes brother?"

"Do your children… ever sing?"

"We will have to teach them songs," he said warmly. "We can begin tomorrow morning."

"Yes," Alduin sighed contentedly. "But in their own language please. Their accents in our tongue are travesties against nature."

"Of that, my brother, we can agree."

A/N: Oh my gosh, it's finally done! It's finally done! I'm so... I can't... Words! This story ended up being so much more, and so much longer than I expected. Silly me, thinking I could just have a short little story. XD

I would love to hear what you thought, now that it's all done. What did you like? What did you think could be better? Is there anything you wish had been different?

I really didn't want to reveal the Lyn/Krahsilsaan thing, and leave it as a mystery for the reader to solve, but I don't always give people as many clues as I think I do. ;) So... meh.

It's done! It's done it's done it's done! Thanks for sticking with it and reading! :)