Part 3: Sunlight
Chapter 25: Where Time Passes
A/N: yep, you guessed it! This is the chapter that is filled with nothing but time passing. Seriously. It's kind of lame, actually. But entertaining, nonetheless. Not really. Maybe it is, but probably not. It's short, though. So we've got that going for us. The next chapter is my favorite, though! I also have to write it and I'm a terrible person for making you wait for it! I'm so sorry!
During that next year, Veri and Vilkas were kept rather busy. Their search for the Elder Scroll brought them all over Skyrim, yet Veri believed that they stayed much too long in the north. She was rather sick of it by the time they were done.
Stories of the Dragonborn began to spread again like wildfire. They began as rumors, simply stating that the Dragonborn had returned and was looking for an Elder Scroll, whatever that was. People mentioned it in taverns or in the market, but it was more of so-and-so's brother was in the east and heard from the guards that...type of thing. But then the gossip picked up. People would tell wonderful tales of the dark-haired Imperial (for that had to be proof that she was descended from the Emperors of old) who slew a dragon and saved their village. These stories spread from Winterhold to Falkreath and from Markarth to Riften. They traveled to Solitude where the young Jarl expressed her excitement to Tullius, who immediately told his troops to be on alert for any information about this girl, mostly, he wanted to know her name. In Windhelm, Ulfric heard the stories from Stormcloak troops who claimed to have met her in Winterhold. He asked His steward to keep an ear open for more tales of the Dragonborn. No one knew the identity of this girl, you see, besides those who met her. Veri kept that to herself.
News did get out, however, that they believed her to be part of the Companions. Letters flowed into the Companions from citizens asking for information and some came to the Jarl of Whiterun as well, but these were mostly from other Jarls and politicians. Both parties remained silent about what they knew. Veri would have her moment to bask in glory, but she needed to save the world before that, and the best way to do that was anonymously.
Only one person received a letter from Balgruuf. And it was one of the few who didn't contact him. It read:
Jarl Ulfric of Windhelm,
Although we have different opinions of what is best for the future of this country and different views on this war, there is information that I cannot continue to keep from you concerning that person which connects all of us, but you and me more than others. For the past few years, I have known the identity of the Dragonborn, a young, raven haired Imperial and a close friend. What you have likely assumed is true. Veri Nocturne is, indeed, the Dragonborn. I know she has not contacted you, and I will not pretend to know why, but yes, she is back, and you had to know this.
Signed
Jarl Balgruuf the Greater of Whiterun
Ulfric read the letter in private. It dismayed him more than it excited him. Veri had not turned up. He had been certain she would. There was much he needed to say to her, and he needed to say it in person. The girl was making it difficult, and this letter only confirmed what he thought: she was avoiding him.
The stories of the Dragonborn spread and soon became a bit of daily gossip. No one knew for certain if they were true, several insisted that they weren't, but the majority wanted to believe that they were.
The most surprising and most exciting story came on a rainy day in Riften. People had heard the roars and seen a black dragon, but they didn't know what it all meant. The story said that the Dragonborn had defeated Alduin atop the throat of the world. But everyone was quite certain that everything wasn't over. It took a week for the story to accurately come out. The Dragonborn had, indeed, conquered Alduin on the highest peak of Skyrim, but such a beast could not be ended so simply. To finish it, the Dragonborn would be tasked with traveling to the afterlife with a living soul and defeating the great Dovah there.
As for Veri, she had been spending her time in High Hrothgar recovering from her battle. Although the Graybeards were disappointed that Veri had chosen to fight the dragons, it was their duty to guide her and protect her. She had been injured in her fight with Alduin and just barely survived. She was told that it would be much harder when she actually had to fight the dragon in death. A week later, her wounds had healed almost completely. There was no sign that she had been bashed against a wall, at least on her face. Her torso was bruised a little and there was still a scrape along her leg, but other than that, she looked and felt fine.
"So what's our next step?" Vilkas asked her when she finally was ready to leave and get things moving again.
"Esbern says that we're going to need, well, something I don't think will be so easy to get..."
"Meaning?" Vilkas asked, but he was only met with a look from Veri that he had come to know as meaning he wasn't going to like what was next.