Azriel looked down on the world below her. The expansive detail she could see amazed her and so did the loftiness. It was breathtaking to take in the landscape and the water from such great heights, higher than even Odahviing could take her. She could see the continents of Nirn and the oceans that separated them as they spun leisurely below.

Warmth rippled around her, so comforting it had a sound. At first it was a floral hum in her mind. When she focused on it, it was stunning. Like voices of a choir… they created a single voice that made her soul burn hotly with grand aspiration, enrapturing her. The music filled her with emotion and she tried to focus on their words. The melody and harmony blended perfectly and she felt as if she would weep from joy.

The voices were soft and strong, with an almost joyful sadness. Azriel had never heard such splendor in music before in her life. Its crescendo from a silken sound to an opulent and melodious ballad, struck her as a song sung of great battles. About both sides of a magnificent war at the same time. The chant blazed in the revelry of victories and the heartbreak of defeat.

She listened quietly as the voices sang, filling her with a delightful jubilance she had only felt once in her life. As her thoughts moved from the sweetness of the song to Serana, the voices rescinded. Her heart swelled thinking of the vampire's words to her. Love, Ahziial. You feel my love for you… I am in love with you. It made her soul ache to hear those words spoken by such a beautiful creature.

Azriel looked down at the vision below her once more as the music swelled in her mind. It had changed to an operetta, delicate and dreamy.

"What do you see, Dragonborn?" The voices sang.

Azriel smiled. "It's magnificent! It's so very beautiful…"

"Beholden on to you, is the creation of the Gods… A piece of Divinity which surrounds you! Behold! The vastness of Creation and the sum of its supereminence!"

Azriel watched the waves kiss the shores of the land and clouds float by. The detail of it was stunning. Mountains ranges and forest scored the land. Cities and barren deserts stretched for miles. Rivers swum lazily and hills rolled motionlessly. She watched dragons soar through the skies and deer run over the land. It was a glorious marvel to watch so much exquisiteness at once.

"Creation was gift, to be accepted not squandered. Holy was the land before being putrefied with moral taint. War and greed stifle Nirn, deception and plots breed. The land is scored by steel and blood. Water polluted with the undead."

"No longer do the Dragonfires burn, the sacrifice of one for many. But, the Dawn rises again! Glory to one! The gift of Glory for all! The divine blessing bestowed. Daughter of Akatosh, Lord of Time... the winds of change blown. The mighty Wheel turned, the false God slain. Because of you the halls of Sovngarde sing again!"

Azriel swallowed as her heart grew heavy. "What do you want?"

"The tales of woe and seeds sown. Time changes everything. We sing for the glory of battles won and of battles lost. We sing for hope and for all that is meant to be. Listen! Listen! As you rise to drive back the enemy of the Sun, or thus the epic will fold."

"That doesn't tell me what you want…"

"Star of the North, you shine for all of Nirn. Your story sung from the beginning of time. Child so bold, you are the last foretold. Feel the weight of your soul and the force of your whisper. Your story never-ending! Grand is the plot, your story thickens. On the wings of a Dragon you will drink from the soil and eat from the water, for the taint cannot be undone. A sacrifice must be made."

"What do you want from me!"

"Daughter of Akatosh, Lord of Time… the sea changes color, but the sea does not change. Strength is hollow and corruption runs deep. The Chasm of the Void, you will not seek. Of bone and blood, your sacrifice on the alter must be made. From love must come the greatest act of nobility! For free will is challenged and life will fail. You will lose what you value the most."

"Release me!"

"Mortality fails and love mistaken, rise and what do you see? For the enemy created and the enemy fallen both you will drive from thee. Under the White-Gold Tower they will sing your praises and fall to their knees. The Overlord must yield for the Empress to rise… but, Behold! They are one in the same."

"Dragon Child, the Divines bless you, seek their fortune and their prize inside of thy self. Your greatest strength is your greatest weakness. But, blind to it are thee."

Azriel watched the land shift under her.

"Daughter of Akatosh, look and learn. For all of Creation is Our gift granted through trial and favor. Seek what must be sought and find what must be found… Daughter of Time, the Lord of All, save what must be saved. The boldest of bold… Child of the Dragon you must not fail!"

Azriel fell so rapidly towards the ground she thought she was going to die. The land and water blurred to one. She accelerated toward the white mass, barreling out of control. Azriel prayed to Akatosh for the fall to end. Just as suddenly as she started to fall, she stopped gently.

She was still high above the snowy ground. She looked at it, trying to figure out why it was so barren. There were only beasts no people. Occasionally, she observed a dragon or two flying.

Slowly she started to move forward through the sky. Azriel tried to figure out where she was and what she was looking at.

Atmora…

She could feel herself moving faster, but the details below her were impossibly clear. Mountains, animals, frozen lakes… it was beautiful, yet confounding.

"Why am I being shown this?"

"Bathe in the greatness of the world around you. Feel the world as never before. Learn and Grow!" The voices sang.

She was over the sea. Somehow, she knew it was the Sea of Ghosts by the icebergs and the vast coldness that never touched her. She flew faster as the sea changed colors from the white of ice to the deepest blue. She could see the shore in the distance and suddenly was over land. She was in Skyrim, high above the mountains in the north, looking down on the ever changing terrain. She could see Stormcloaks skirmishing against Legion soldiers. A caravan of Khajiit were traveling north. A dragon flew under her. She was over Whiterun and the sprawl of the farms. Riverwood blinked by then Helgen.

She was over the Jeralls Mountains, then Burma. She felt herself move to the West and looked over Kvatch. Azriel pondered how she knew these places so readily in her mind as she crossed the inlet to Valenwood.

Soon she was over a small sea, soaring towards the warmth of the Summerset Isles. The first small island past so quickly she had only a second to know where she was. She could feel herself being drawn to the Western shore of the larger island.

Alinor…

Azriel could feel herself descending towards it. The city loomed in front of her and Azriel rocketed toward the center of the great city. Azriel dove straight toward the ground. She started to worry the closer she got, she had the mental image of being splattered like a bug.

The large building emerged in front of her and she began to slow. She transfused through the walls of the place and into a dark room.

"Listen and Learn!" The voices were a whisper.

The blackness became a tunnel of light and darkness.

She found herself in another large room underground. There were people talking. They were lit from behind in a strange glow, but she couldn't see anything other than their form.

"The time is at hand. Word from our collages in the Cyrodiil has come. All the political maneuvering has proven fruitful. I have already today, dispatched a courier to the Imperial City. Motierre and others have been in their positions long enough to guarantee our success. The time is at hand."

"My Lord, do you wish press the Northern allies into position as well?"

"No. Not yet. Patience is key in such an important time. We have been patient for so long. Soon, you will see our seeds grow into trees with branches laden with the sweetest fruit. Skyrim wages war within itself. The Empire buckles under the weight and cost of that rebellion."

"But my Lord, should we not seek to escalate this war? Expedite it?"

The Altmer laughed, his voice an evil drawl. It carried a dark weight to it and he was doubtlessly a powerful mage. "Oh, but that is a delicious thought, isn't it? How would you propose to do this, Ohtimbar? Regardless of the victorious side, the Empire will be crippled. Skyrim will be ravaged by this war, thousands will die. When the Emperor is slain, the Empire will be thrown into chaos. Infighting shall prevail as the mighty Empire falls."

Another voice drew Azriel's attention. 'And of the Dragonborn? Under their laws, she is the true inheritor of the Throne."

"She is of no consequence. The Blades are being rooted throughout the Empire. Who will vouch for her under the White-Gold Tower? She will never see that Throne…"

"But, my Lord. First Emissary Elenwen has stated the Dragonborn could be a threat to our plans… What if we were to use her to achieve our goals? It is not a secret the Legion wishes her to join them… and the Stormcloaks wish her dead."

There was a pregnant pause and Azriel sensed everyone in the darkened room was holding their breath, including her. "Interesting… yes. What a fabulous idea, Ohtimbar." The shrouded silhouette chuckled darkly at his own musings. "Very well, send the First Emissary her orders to dispatch this threat. If she is wanted by the Stormcloaks, have Elenwen deliver her into their hands. Of course, let Lady Elenwen use her imagination as to how this should be done in secret. The Empire will lose both its rightful Empress and greatest asset… They shall finally crumble to dust and we shall be there to smash the Towers to pieces. The destruction of Men will follow."

"Ahziial, WAKE!" The voices cried out with a boom.

Azriel opened her eyes. It was Dawn.


They were following a game trail through the mountains of the Pale West of Winterhold and East of Dawnstar. The Stormcloaks had set up barricades and road watches all the way along the roadway. It would take a couple of extra days rather than following the main road to Winterhold. It was getting dark out, but Azriel showed no signs of slowing down. Nor had she uttered a single word since she woken that morning.

Aela furrowed her brow looking over at her from under her hood. The snow storm had progressively increased throughout the day as they climbed farther up the ridge. Aela was worried about her. After they had argued last night, Azriel had fallen asleep quickly, a little too fast. The troubling part was how deeply she had slept. Werewolves always had difficultly sleeping and Azriel wasn't an exception. She wished she could see Azriel under her hood, but the thing cast a dark shadow over her face.

The vampire that walked on Azriel's left side had barely spoken either. It didn't bother Aela. When she did speak it was usually a complaint about the weather or to ask Azriel if she was alright. She preferred her silence, even if that too was maddening.

Aela thought about the night before.

The vampire had sat against the wall for the better part of an hour. She sat on the floor next to the hearth, with her her elbow on her knee and her hand covering her eyes, like she was either mourning or in deep thought. Aela had watched her from her peripherals the entire time, before Serana clambered to the bedroll to sleep.

Though the vampire had never touched Azriel, she remained unbearably close to her. Aela had refused to let the vampire win their battle of wills and laid down on Azriel's other side. The two had glared at each other over the sleeping Dragonborn most of the night.

Aela had been near vampires plenty of times. Once, she had accompanied Skjor and Kodlak to a cave to meet with some, before she had known Azriel. They had taken to hunting bandits near Whiterun. Kodlak had negotiated a sort of peace treaty with them for the Jarl. It was supposed to be a well-kept secret… so of course half of Whiterun knew about it before they had even left.

Skjor had suggested killing them to keep Whiterun safe and Kodlak had lost his cool. Kodlak didn't think vampires were beasts any more than wolves. His words had echoed in her mind, even if she thought Skjor was right at the time. Later in life she had changed her mind about some of them, but that was another thing altogether.

Aela let herself fall a step behind and looked at the vampire from the corner of her eye. She was as tall as Azriel, which made Serana a couple of inches taller than herself. Aela allowed her eyes to sweep the vampire briefly and took a quick step back into place. I can see why Azriel is attracted to her. She is a beautiful woman… fucking bitch! Do her hips have to sway like that?

She switched her shield to her right hand and rolled her left shoulder. Her thoughts lingered on the vampire in their company. Aela grit her teeth, certain that Azriel was sleeping with the vampire. She could feel her jealousy surfacing thinking about the vampire's mumbled words from the night before when she thought Aela was already asleep. "What have I done to you?"

Azriel could feel herself scowling under her hood. Normally the burn of the frozen wind was invigorating, but this evening it was infuriating. Her thoughts wound around the dream from the night before and the depth of it. Parts of it were so clear, yet others so shrouded.

She felt like her personal struggle, her very resolve was crumbling. The foundations of her free will were slowly collapsing like the battered shore after a storm. The voices that filled her ears moments before sleep would take her and made the battle harder each night.

Letting Serana drink from her had made that cold voice stronger. She tapped into it, she could feel it rise from the darkest depths of herself each time. Stronger and bolder than the time before and less willing to return to its cage.

It was all too much. Too much, too fast… and now she was having her own second thoughts… not about mating with Serana, but her fear of harming Serana made her ache. Her anger was like the crack of a whip, instant and biting. For a very short time in just Serana's presence she had been able to ease it. But, not now. It was more like the slow burn she constantly felt in her back, omnipresent and threatening.

She could feel Serana's resentment with Aela and Aela's loathing of the vampire. Serana was her mate and it was tearing her apart to be against Aela. She didn't know how much longer she could stand this coldness within herself. The desires to release the animal within herself was eating away at her like a rot. Ripping her down and constructing her in a new way. She could hear it roaring inside of her again. It overwhelmed her when she was so angry. She could feel its claws dig into her, fighting her and tearing her down the middle. She needed a distraction. Her finger started to trace the dagger in her sash.

Serana brushed Azriel's fingertips for the third time in a row. She knew Azriel's silence was a cover to the war inside that Serana could feel. Azriel's heart had been beating faster than normal since she had argued with Aela. The beating of it thumped in her ears, her thirst was getting stronger.

She had kept her distance the night before for as long as she could. But, Azriel was her weakness. Her blood was like a siren calling to her. It had been two days since Serana had fed and she could feel her mouth watering. The scratch had become a burn that needed to be wetted. The back of her throat felt as dry as the sands of a desert.

"You're thirsty." Azriel's voice surprised both of them.

Serana cleared her throat. "I'm fine."

Azriel stopped walking and sniffed the air. Serana and Aela walked a couple of steps past her then looked at her.

"You haven't fed in two days." Azriel said softly.

Serana could have cursed, but Aela beat her to speaking. "There's no one around. Deal with it or find an animal."

Serana's stomach lurched at the thought of drinking from a lesser creature. "I said, I'm fine. Let's keep going."

Azriel looked from Serana to Aela. Aela will rip her to shreds if she bites me…

Azriel dug through her ruck sack and produced a goblet. She smiled under her hood, remembering that it was there. She set it in the snow and pulled her dagger.

"What are you doing?" But, Aela already knew what was coming.

Azriel drug the dagger across her wrist over the cup. She screamed as Kahvozein's Fang broke her skin and glowed like it was on fire. Pain seared through her arm and into her chest, her heart felt like it was going to burst.

Serana appeared at her side, shocking Aela with how fast she moved.

Serana grabbed her and held her body. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Aela watched as Serana's eyes changed, she leapt at them before Serana could bite her bleeding wrist. The harshness of the blow knocked the dagger from Azriel's grasp.

Aela slid across the icy snow off-balance, but the vampire gracefully landed on her feet, readying herself to charge.

"NO! Serana, don't!" Azriel screamed at her.

The vampire's head slowly turned to the Dragonborn's bloodied, extended hand. It was all she could smell. "Come. I know you are thirsty."

Aela jumped to her feet just as the vampire knelt next to Azriel. She watched disgusted as Azriel lifted her wrist and the vampire sunk her fangs into her arm, leaving the goblet forgotten. Azriel's fingers wove themselves delicately into the vampire's ebony hair, holding her in place.

The tenderness of act tore Aela to pieces.

Serana gripped Azriel's arm tightly and started to suck. Her desire so great she thought she would shatter for need of the woman and her blood. Azriel's emotions were raw and delicious as she drank them in, easing the agony of her thirst.

The feral growl tore from Aela's lips before she could stop it and Azriel looked her dead in her amber eyes. "She needs my help, Aela…" I'd do the same for you…

Aela gave them one last look before becoming the wolf and sprinting into the storm.


I hope you enjoyed it! :)