Part Three: Frostfall
Chapter One: Kynesgrove (Turdas, 2nd of Frostfall)
Aerenwen was bored. She did not idle well. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy relaxation, but to her relaxation was an occasional day off enjoying the company of her loved ones. It wasn't an entire week in a small inn sitting on her haunches and waiting for a dead dragon who may or may not even wake up.
Kynesgrove was a tiny settlement. It certainly didn't qualify as a town or even a village and, honestly, calling it a settlement may have even been a stretch. It was built near a grove of trees that were apparently sacred to the goddess Kyne, hence the name Kynesgrove. It consisted of one buiding - the Braidwood Inn - run by a Nord couple, Kjeld and Iddara, and the main source of income for the small settlement, a malachite mine, Steamscorch Mine.
Aerenwen liked Iddara well enough. She was kind, not prone to gossip or idle chit chat, and a hard worker. She was a good wife and mother to the couple's two children, Kjeld the Younger and Froa. Kjeld, however, was a different story. He didn't contribute at all around the inn or in the family's small field of crops, though he did spend some time working in the mine. Although Aerenwen wasn't convinced the man owned the mine, as the family clearly was struggling a bit financially, he did run it, and therefore, he ran the settlement and made no attempt to hide that fact, often bragging of his position of authority. He also made no attempts to hide the fact that he was unfaithful to his wife, taking overnight trips to the nearby city of Windhelm at least once a week. He treated the woman, as well as his daughter, poorly and openly encouraged his teenage son to do the same.
The settlement consisted of four other permanent residents. One, a dunmer mage, made her home at the inn and worked for the mine. Because of its close proximity to the volcanic tundra Aerenwen had admired that afternoon with Aela from a distance, the temperature inside the mine could rise to an unbearable degree, and the miners often dealt with pockets of steam and boiling hot ground water. Dravynea used her magical arts and frost salts to keep the temperature down and deal with the hazardous pockets they came across.
The other three residents of Kynesgrove camped in tents at the campsite outside the inn, which Aerenwen couldn't imagine doing because of the frosty northern wind that always passed through the snow-covered hilltop town. Roggi Knot-Beard didn't seem to mind the cold. He was a Nord, after all, and his strong natural constitution against the frigid temperatures, as well as the obscene amount of mead the man drank on a regular basis, heightened his tolerance to the cold. Despite his drinking habit, Roggi, who considered himself an expert on mead and its making although he had never actually made a living doing such, was a hard worker in the mine, and Aerenwen actually enjoyed the man's company. He was the most jovial Nord she had encountered, aside from, perhaps, Farkas, although her friend's laid back and joyful attitude was only present in the company of those he knew well whereas Roggi acted that way all the time, no matter who was present. He was a font of random knowledge, and although he was the only Knot-Beard currently living in Kynesgrove, apparently his family had lived there for generations. He often told stories of them. One of his ancestors had helped to found the settlement around the mine but had disappeared after chasing off a group of bandits. The family always assumed he had been killed by those bandits but never went in search of his body, although they had always lamented the loss of the family's ancestral shield he had carried.
"We Knot-Beards aren't fighters," Roggi had told Aerenwen. "Hard workers, good story tellers, strong lovers, and great drinkers, but my ancestors, as well as myself, knew if we went off looking for Lenne and the shield, we'd end up just as he was, dead in a cave somewhere."
Ganna and Gemma Uriel, the final two residents who worked the mines in Kynesgrove, were a set of Imperial sisters who had moved to Skyrim just a year before. They'd used all their savings to build a lumber mill nearby only to discover they had angered the local Nords by harvesting Kyne's sacred trees. Now their mill was bankrupt, and they were working off their debt to the Nords in Steamscorch Mine. Both hated it, and neither was at all fond of Kynesgrove. Ganna was constantly trying to find a way to get their mill back up and running, but the closest trees aside from the grove were too close to a competitor's mill. Despite the hardships and bad luck they had faced, she had no desire to return to Cyrodiil where Aerenwen had gotten the impression the sisters had lived under the yoke of a controlling father. Gemma, however, made it well known that she was only there because her sister had convinced her to move to Skyrim, and that she would happily return to Cyrodiil and a more comfortable way of life. Despite their constant bickering, the sisters clearly had a strong affection and devotion to each other, and Gemma wouldn't return to their homeland without Ganna.
Aerenwen wished she could explore the area. Despite the fact that Kynesgrove itself was unremarkable and had been easily explored in under an hour, the area in which it was located was fascinating. It wasn't far from the city of Windhelm, and the Altmer longed to explore the ancient city and pay a visit to Elain. It was also located within the foothills of the Velothi Mountains, and Aerenwen knew there were numerous caves, ruins, and tombs nearby ripe for exploration. Not to mention the volcanic tundra with its odd vegetation and hot springs. Aerenwen often stood on the hill above the settlement and looked out over the unique landscape. Yet despite the closeness of all these attractions that could fill her idleness and make the time pass by more quickly, Delphine had made it clear she was not to leave Kynesgrove and risk missing the return of the dragon.
Delphine, herself, was poor company. Aerenwen had quickly learned not to attempt to converse with the middle-aged woman. She refused to delve further into any business talk until she had proof of the high elf's Dragonborn status and wasn't one for small talk. On the rare occasion Delphine had reason to speak with Aerenwen, she would begin the chat, and otherwise, the Altmer gave the other woman a wide berth.
She was missing Aela and Hamish desperately. The trip she had hoped would only take a few days had now stretched into a week with no sign of it ending. She and Delphine visited the dragon's burial mound above the inn twice daily and so far saw no signs to hint of the dragon resurrecting anytime soon.
The locals despised the dragon mound. Kjeld informed them that most Nords were superstitious of the ancient tombs, even before the dragons had returned. Most dragon mounds were in the wilderness, away from people, and Kynesgrove's mound was unique in its proximity to a settlement which had kept most folks from wanting to settle there. Kjeld called these people "milk-drinkers" and refused to believe the mound was anything more than a ring of stone. After so long of sitting idle, Aerenwen was beginning to believe the man was right.
Turdas, a week after arriving in Kynesgrove, had been the same as every other day in the small community for Aerenwen. She'd split some wood and even mined some malachite to try and pass the time. She'd shared a quiet dinner with Delphine and visited the inactive dragon mound at sunset. Then she'd sat by the fire in the inn and chatted with Roggi over pints of mead.
It was nearing midnight, and the warrior was getting ready to retire to her small room for the night when Ganna came running through the front door. "Dragon!" she screamed in a panic. "There's a dragon attacking!"
Aerenwen immediately rose, followed by Delphine, and rushed out the door. She was already armed and in full armor despite her previous idleness - Delphine wanted her prepared any moment after all - and the cool air was actually a relief compared to the warm inn with her full leather armor on.
Sure enough, a gigantic black dragon flew over the small village, spraying plumes of fire as he went, headed straight for the dragon mound. Aerenwen recognized it as the same dragon who attacked Helgen, its size and coloring distinguishing it.
The two warrior women ran up the hill, following the path the dragon had flown, and watched as he hovered over the ancient tomb, speaking words in an ancient and foreign language they didn't understand. As he did so, an eery light shone from the stone circle half buried in the snow, and the bones of the long-dead dragon rose. The light surrounded the bones which began to take the form of a dragon again and was soon covered with flesh.
Afterward, the two dragons hovered above the women, staring at Aerenwen. The black dragon spoke in the strange dragon tongue, and after garnering no response from the Dragonborn, he chuckled deeply. "You do not even know our tongue, do you?" he asked so that she would understand. "Such arrogance to take on the name Dovah." He turned toward the other dragon, speaking in his tongue again, then flew away.
Aerenwen fired a few arrows after him to no avail.
The newly risen, smaller dragon was a gray color and bore fleshy spikes down his back. "I am Sahloknir!" he cried out, circling around over the warrior's head. "Hear my voice and despair!"
Unlike the other dragons Aerenwen had faced, this one's breath was frosty, turning anything it touched into ice. She felt the burn of the frost as he aimed it at her, but it didn't stop her as she fired arrow after arrow at the dragon.
"Bring him down!" Delphine cried.
Aerenwen shouted, "FUS RO!" sending the dragon off balance on his wings.
"Your voice is strong for a mortal," the dragon commented, "but it will be no match for mine." Again, he shouted and fired off a stream of his frost breath. He landed, snapping his giant jaws in Aerenwen's direction. "My Lord Alduin commands your death, and I am happy to oblige."
"It is not I who shall die today, dragon!" Aerenwen replied and, with a running leap, she was straddling his neck. With a few hacks she had decapitated him. As he fell forward, she dove to the ground, landing in a roll and returning to her feet.
"I'll be damned," Delphine stated as she approached with a smile. "You actually did it. That was well done."
Suddenly, Aerenwen felt the familiar sensation as the dragon's soul left its body and traveled into hers. Delphine stared wide-eyed as she watched the event.
Afterward, the blonde seemed speechless. "So you really are . . . I . . . it's true isn't it?" she stuttered out. "You really are Dragonborn." She chuckled to herself and seemed to look at Aerenwen with a new-found respect. "I guess I owe you some answers, don't I? Go ahead. Whatever you want to know. Nothing held back now."
Aerenwen nodded. "Who are you?" she asked. "What is it that you want from me?"
"I'm one of the last members of the Blades," Delphine replied, leaning against a large stone. "A very long time ago, the Blades were dragonslayers, and we served the Dragonborn, the greatest dragonslayer. Even after the dragons were gone, our service was to the Dragonborn. For the last two hundred years, since the last Dragonborn emperor, the Blades have been searching for a purpose. Now that dragons are coming back, along with a Dragonborn, our purpose is clear again. We need to stop the dragons, and it is our purpose to help the Dragonborn do so."
"Who exactly are the Blades?" Aerenwen questioned.
Delphine chuckled dryly. "Exactly. No one knows our name anymore. We used to be known all across Tamriel as protectors of the Septim emperors. Those days are long gone."
Aerenwen had so many questions for this woman and paused a moment to decide which direction to go in first. "What do you know about the dragons coming back?" she finally asked.
"Not a damn thing," Delphine replied with a shake of her head. "I was just as surprised as you to see that big, black dragon here. It looked almost like he was waking the other dragon up."
"I've seen that dragon before," Aerenwen told her. "The big one."
Delphine's eyes widened. "Really? Where?"
"It was the one who attacked Helgen," the elf answered. "I'm sure of it."
The older woman shook her head. "That's an interesting turn of events. I feel like we're grasping around in the dark here. We need to figure out who is behind this."
"Speaking of that," Aerenwen commented. "What makes you think the Thalmor are the ones behind it?"
"Nothing solid yet," Delphine replied. "But my gut tells me it couldn't be anyone else. The Empire had captured Ulfirc. The war was basically over. Then a dragon attacks out of nowhere, Ulfric escapes, and the war is back on. Now dragons are attacking everywhere, indiscriminately. Skyrim is weakened, the Empire is weakened. Who else gains from that but the Thalmor?"
"I find it difficult to believe that they are behind it," Aerenwen answered with a frown. "I admit, they do benefit from it, but my gut tells me that's a coincidence. This all seems too big. Even for them. Why are they after you, anyway?"
"Before the Great War, the Blades helped the Empire against the Thalmor," Delphine replied. "Our Grand Master saw them as the greatest threat to Tamriel. At the time, that was true. Maybe it still is. So we fought them in the shadows, all across Tamriel. We thought we were more than a match for them. We were wrong. Before the Great War, the Thalmor murdered every Blades agent in the Summerset Isles and took care of a great many of us during the war. Part of the treaty that ended the war called for our disbandment, and the Emperor agreed. Many of us were imprisoned or executed. I've managed to evade capture all these years. As far as I know, there's only one other of us left. He's in hiding as well, though he could be dead by now, for all I know. Why are they after you?"
"My siblings and I fled Alinor as fugitives," Aerenwen replied. "My family were never strong Thalmor supporters, and we were constantly under watch. My brother became involved in a revolutionary group and was arrested. When my parents spoke out against his arrest, they were arrested as well. My sisters and I managed to free our brother but were unsuccessful in doing so with our parents. We're now all wanted for treason." Aerenwen sighed and crossed her arms. "Look, I don't believe for a moment the Thalmor are behind this, but I know to convince you of that we will need evidence to rule them out. Plus, there's an excellent chance, even if they aren't behind it, they know more about it than we do. Any ideas on how to find out what they know?"
"The Thalmor have an embassy in the mountains east of Solitude," Delphine replied. "It's the center of their operations in Skyrim. If we could get into it, we'd probably find loads of information on the dragons and who knows what else. The problem is, that place is locked up tighter than a miser's purse. They could teach me a few things about paranoia."
"So we need to figure out a way to get in," Aerenwen surmised.
Delphine nodded. "I have a few ideas, but I'll need some time to pull things together. Meet me back in Riverwood in two weeks' time. Right now, I'm headed back to the inn," she nodded in the direction of Kynesgrove, "to get some sleep before the journey back. You?"
Aerenwen shook her head. Her adrenaline was still pumping from the battle with the dragon, and despite the fact that it was now well after midnight, she was eager to get home to her family. "I'm going to leave for Whiterun now."
"Keep an eye on the sky, Dragonborn," Delphine stated as she walked away. "This is only going to get worse."
Author's Note: The third part of Aerenwen's story should be updated weekly. I'm shooting for Sunday as my update day. Bare with me if it sometimes take a little bit longer.