Chapter 36 - A New Purpose

Yssha was ... well, the problem at the moment was that she wasn't sure what she was. It felt like she should be doing something major, but the only major thing that needed done right now was winning the war, and her best contribution to that was staying out of the professionals' way. Neither strategy nor diplomacy were her strong points, and there wasn't much call for a four-person team of mages and spell-swords.

She needed to talk to someone besides her team. Who, though? Her feeling of uselessness wasn't worth bothering a Divine about, she was certain. Andreius and Sorcalin had gone on about their own business after their return from Solstheim, or she might have asked Andreius, since he was immortal. On the other hand, he knew even less about her dragon side than she did, so if it came from that, he wouldn't know any more than she did. Paarthurnax, perhaps? He was patient with her, and though she couldn't be certain, she thought he might have enough experience with Dragonborns to be able to help.

Nevan and Serana weren't back yet, so it was Yssha, Marcurio, and Odahviing who made the trip to the Throat of the World. She greeted her mentor with a smile. "Drem yol lok, Paarthurnax."

"Drem yol lok, Dovahkiin," he replied politely. "What tinvaak do you wish today?"

"Advice, if you will, Wuth Gein [old one]."

"So formal, my young friend?" Paarthurnax gape-grinned. "Any time. What is your problem?"

Yssha settled herself against Odahviing's side. "It is hard to say, fahdoni. It is merely a feeling that I should be doing something more significant than ... random adventuring, though since my defeat of Miraak, I have no idea what that might be." She sighed. "I was born to defeat Alduin, and did so. I helped eliminate the Volkihar vampire clan. I ended the Skyrim civil war, though hardly by myself. After that, Miraak's cultists attacked me, so I was forced to defeat him as well, in self-defense. Since then, I have been ... drifting. My team - or teams - and I have accomplished things, useful ones, but ... " She sighed again.

"Ah, I see." Paarthurnax shifted position, so he could look at her directly, and settled back into the snow. "You are dovahkiin, half dov and half vodov. The two have a ... difference in motivation that makes a dovahkiin's position difficult, and since you have been made immortal, it is far worse for you."

Yssha felt a bit of hope. "Please, fahdoni, tell me!"

"Very well." Paarthurnax hesitated."What do you know of immortality?"

That seemed like a non-response, but Yssha knew Paarthurnax well enough by now to be sure he was simply trying to make her think. "About as much as you know of mortality, fahdoni. In other words, almost nothing."

"I thought not." He gape-grinned. "Immortals are purposeless, kiir [child]. We simply ... live. And do our best to enjoy life, of course. We hunt, we hold tinvaak, we philosophise, we mate, we sing - the last not in a way vodov would appreciate, I fear.

"But vodovahhe require purpose, for some reason I cannot undestand. So all I can suggest is that you choose such a purpose, and pursue it."

That was ... staggering. Immortals had no purpose? "But ... Talos wants to restore the Empire, and are not Divines immortal by definition?"

"But like you, he was born mortal, and lived as such for slightly over a century," Paarthurnax pointed out. "It should be no surprise that he is still purpose-driven. That may be less true in a few thousand years."

That took Yssha aback. She was used to thinking in years, maybe decades, not centuries, and even less in millennia.

"You do have a purpose, you know," Odahviing said. "The purpose for which you chose immortality in the first place - preventing another Alduin from arising."

Paarthurnax shook his head. "That is a passive purpose, which she fills simply by existing. She needs an active purpose, something she must strive for."

"Well, I am restoring the Betrayed, as I find them," Yssha said. "But that is more of an incidental thing, since I can never be sure of finding them in a given place. Though Dwemer ruins do usually house some."

"Blackreach has a lot of them," Marcurio said. "We could always clear them out of there."

"What is Blackreach?" Paarthurnax asked.

"Legend says it was the Dwemer cavern that held its capital city. Divines know it's big enough!" Marcurio paused, thinking. "If I remember the name right, you might know it as Fal'Zhardum Din."

Paarthurnax nodded. "Fal'Zhardum Din, yes. It was a great place, once, I have been told. I have never visited it myself, of course. Their lifts were too small for dragons."

"You could always add Blackreach as a restoration project," Marcurio suggested. "It's far too big to do it all ourselves, but once the Betrayed have been restored, I'm sure they'd do most of the work. They're already starting to take the place of the Dwemer, so Blackreach could be their capital, as well."

"They do mostly prefer underground and dim lighting," Yssha said thoughtfully. "I do not like Blackreach myself, but yes, as the Odmer become more numerous, they will need a place to call their own, and form a government. Blackreach is probably suitable for that. Let us go talk to Gelebor at his Inner Sanctum."

"Then you are taking this as your current active purpose," Paarthurnax said, rather than asking. "You will have many changes in purpose as the years pass, you know."

"That has become clear," Yssha said, nodding. "And that there is no point in planning too far ahead, as change is inevitable."

With that decided, and feeling more energized, Yssha got Odahviing to fly them to the Inner Sanctum. Repairs of Vyrthur's destruction weren't complete, but were well under way.

Work stopped, though, when Odahviing landed in front of the Auri-El statue and she and Marcurio dismounted. What appeared to be a supervisor approached and bowed. "Dovahkiin - how may we serve you?"

"We would like to speak with Arch-Curate Gelebor, if he is available."

The Odmer smiled. "For you, any time. I believe he's in Auriel's Chapel. If you'll follow me?"

They did so, glad to see the frozen statues were all gone, replaced by depictions of Auri-El legends, dragons, and a statue of herself and her team. She was getting used to that sort of thing, so she wasn't more than a little embarrassed.

The Chapel itself, where they'd first seen Vyrthur, had had the ceiling rubble cleared, and mages were working on the new ceiling. The throne Vyrthur had been using was still there, but the spikes surrounding it were gone. Gelebor saw them, and smiled. "Dragonborn! It's wonderful to see you again. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Some information and perhaps advice, if you have time."

"As much as you wish. Come up to the balcony, if you would; it'll be easier to talk there." When she nodded, he led the way to the balcony where she'd killed Vyrthur. "Now, what is it?"

"I have been restoring your people as I find them, and they are integrating nicely into Winterhold and my own Skyhold - two of them have become dragonriders, and one is my Court Mage. But there are enough now that they should have their own place, and I know one that may serve. We call it Blackreach, but its Dwemer name was Fal'Zhardum Din. Do you know it?"

"Only by legend - a Dwemer city in a tremendous cavern full of glowing mushrooms and rocks, a ceiling that looks as full of stars as a Skyrim night - though those are probably more rocks or mushrooms."

"That is it. The temperature is moderate, by my standards - possibly warmer that your people prefer, but it should be tolerable. Since the Dwemer disappeared, it has been occupied primarily by Falmer - few above ground even know it exists - so the Odmer, once I restore them, will have the best claim by far. And it is resource-rich - it is even possible to mine soul gems there!"

"It sounds ... wonderful. What information do you need?"

"Whether you think the Odmer would care for it as a homeland, but I think you have already answered that." Yssha smiled. "It could be a large Hold of Skyrim, or a small province of the Empire."

"It's under Skyrim, so a Hold sounds more appropriate," Gelebor said "Though finding a Jarl may be difficult, since the Betrayed kept no relationship records, meaning that knowing who is descended from the Snow Prince is impossible."

Yssha studied him for a moment. "What about you?"

"I am Arch-Curate of the Chantry, my position as Knight-Paladin taken by one of the Restored. I cannot desert my duty."

Yssha studied him again, then felt a nudge, and smiled. "Even to take on a greater responsibility? Gelebor, you are the only Snow Elf who has actually experienced your culture. Who better to lead the Restored, who only know of it? And you will have help; Akatosh preserved a library of Snow Elf writings in Sightless Pit, close to the Alftand Great Lift down to Blackreach."

"Perhaps ... " He sighed. "You are persuasive, Dragonborn. Give me a day or so to pray for guidance about this, then I will answer you."

"Of course." She was pretty sure of the answer he would receive, though. "In the meantime, I shall return to Blackreach and try to find and restore more of the Betrayed."

"I think ... may I go with you? I should see what I might want to lead my fellow worshippers into."

Yssha nodded. "Odahviing can carry three easily, so yes. Shall we go?"

She decided to take him in through the Great Lift at Alftand, with a stop at Sightless Pit to show him the library in the Temple of Xrib on the way. At least this time they could go in through the abandoned cave's lift, rather than having to go through the entire cave system.

Corellon was in the Temple library, and greeted them. "Arch-Curate! You do us great honor. And Dovahkiin as well. What may I do for you?"

"I wished to show the Arch-Curate your library, before taking him to Blackreach," Yssha replied.

"And it's impressive indeed," Gelebor said, looking around. "Are all these unique, or do you have multiple copies?"

"All unique," Corellon replied. "Or so I believe, at least; since my Restoration, I've found no duplicates."

Yssha started to say that copies should be made, but Gelebor beat her to it. "You must begin copying them, then - it's a miracle of Auri-El these were preserved. If you don't have enough people to do it, I'm sure more will be found."

Corellon shook his head. "People aren't a problem, but we haven't the materials. Paper or parchment are rare down here, and quills nonexistent."

"That can be remedied easily enough," Yssha said. "I can provide adequate amounts of whatever you need, and you will be able to sell your copies to libraries throughout the Empire. I would like copies of any technical volumes myself, for a mechanically-inclined member of my Family."

Corellon smiled. "We will begin, then, as soon as we have the materials."

Yssha bowed. "I thank you. You will have them within days."

Taking the Alftand Great Lift down to Blackreach awed Gelebor, and the vista when they emerged awed him even more. Yssha watched him study the view, from the tall glowing mushrooms with tendrils trailing, to the ceiling's imitation of a starlit night.

There was silence for minutes, then he breathed, "It's beautiful. My people, I think, will love it. And you say it has many resources."

"It does indeed. It underlies three of Skyrim's Holds - the Pale, Hjaalmarch, and Winterhold, so for a cavern, it is tremendous. I know of one central city, and I believe the Falmer have constructed a number of villages."

Gelebor looked at her with a mixture of hope and fear. "How many can you restore at once?"

She looked at him sympathetically. "As many as can hear my Voice, it seems. But while four Greybeards can shake all of Skyrim, this one Khajiit is limited to her immediate vicinity. With dovah assistance, that might extend to the whole cavern, but as you have seen, the lifts are too small for a dragon."

"Watch out!" Marcurio shouted. "Chaurus!"

Yssha looked, and saw two heading for them. "Fus - Ro Dah!" That threw them back, and she drew her mace, wading in. She got one, Marcurio the other.

Then Gelebor spoke, in an oddly resonant voice. "Dark overlord fire."

"Huh?" Marcurio said. "What does that mean?"

Yssha frowned. "It sounds like a dragon name, but in Common, not Dovahzul. But what would a dovah be doing down here?"

"And how would it have gotten here?" Marcurio wanted to know.

"I know one way to find out," Yssha replied. "Vul ... Thur Yol!"

Moments later, they heard huge wings, and a voice. "Wo til?" [Who's there?]

"Zu'u Dovahkiin," Yssha replied. "Ahrk hin? [and you?] Drem yol lok!"

"Dovahkiin?" The dragon landed. "Drem yol lok, Dovahkiin. Zu'u Vulthuryol." He looked ... cautious? "Why are you here? Why a Dovahkiin, with all the dov but me slain?"

Yssha put her mace away. "To show Arch-Prelate Gelebor the place I think would make a good homeland for his people, the Odfahlille - which is now Odmer, in common. I have a Shout that restores them from Falmer."

Vulthuryol cocked his head, now looking confused. "A Dovahkiin who does not wish to kill me?"

"Only if I must, to protect myself or others." Yssha sighed. "I have prayed to all the Divines, most definitely including Bormahu, that I need never kill another of my kin, or even use Dragonrend, again."

"I am confused," Vulthuryol said. "How could you kill dragons, when I am the last?"

Yssha smiled. "Ah ... how long have you been down here?"

He shrugged. "How can I know? This place has neither sun nor seasons. Some years, I am reasonably sure, since I am fully healed of injuries that sent me into hibernation. It was during a huge war with the fahlille in black and gold that I was forced to use Become Ethereal and dive into the earth, hoping to avoid death. I was fortunate enough to emerge in this cavern and crash near a place I could conceal myself. More than that, I cannot say."

Some time during the First Great War, then," Marcurio said. "The second one's going on now, so you've missed about twenty-five years." He grinned. "So you've missed a lot. I won't go into great detail right now, but Alduin came back, resurrected Skyrim's dovahhe, Dovahkiin and I followed him into Sovngarde and along with the first Tongues, killed him. Almost as soon as we got back, Odahviing took her as thur, and almost all the rest have followed suit. Even Paarthurnax and his acolytes name her Dovahjud, though not thur."

Vulthuryol drew his head back. "A kaaz? Thur?"

"Geh," Yssha replied. "If you wish to test my Thu'um for yourself, I will do so, but you are the elder, so the choice is yours."

"Geh." Vulthuryol took a breath and seemed to hesitate, then roared, "Yol ... toor shul!"

Yssha bathed in the fire, having used Dragon Aspect herself as he Shouted. Then she replied. "Yol ... toor Shul!"

When her flame dissipated, Vulthuryol shuddered, then gape-grinned. "Dovajud indeed. Now I believe you could defeat Alduin, and definitely defeat me, thuri. Your Thu'um is powerful, though your volume is somewhat lacking. How may I serve you?"

"An experiment, if you would." She bowed politely. "Did you hear the Shout I used when I was here some time ago?"

"I am afraid not - I was hibernating until my name roused me, as nothing else could. What was it?"

"Sot Gein Daal."

He paused for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I ... understand, both Shout and intention. You wish to add my volume to your power. It is well, thuri. Come touch my jaw."

She did so, and they Shouted together, shaking ground and mushrooms. When that subsided, she smiled at her companions. "That should have done it."

"I will check - I can fly much faster than you can walk or run." Vulthuryol took wing, leaving them in a rush of wind. "I would have liked to go with him," Gelebor said wistfully.

Yssha shook her head. "Not so early," she said. "The idea of being ridden is still alien to him, and he has been my vahriin for bare minutes. Give him time to acclimate."

"I understand." The group waited patiently for the dovah's return.

Finally, he backwinged to a landing in front of them. "I have checked the furthest parts of this cavern, thuri, and I am pleased to report your experiment was a success. I saw many Odfahliille - krosis, Odmer - and none of those you call Falmer."

"Thank you!" Gelebor exclaimed. "Thank you very much, from me and my people!"

"A minor service for my thur." Vulthuryol shrugged, his attention going to Yssha. "Is there anything more, thuri?"

"Not for me, but if you return to the surface, do not harm joorre or their property. In turn, they will not harm you. And I would recommend tinvaak with Paarthurnax, Odahviing, or Dovgrahaak as soon as possible thereafter."

"I believe I will do that. I can always return here to see what happens." He took off again, heading for the ceiling, then Shouting.

Yssha turned to Gelebor when Vulthuryol was gone. "Are you ready to return?"

"To the surface, yes, but Whiterun before I return briefly to Forgotten Vale, if you don't mind. Auri-El answered my prayers for guidance almost as soon as the Great Lift got down here. Then we encountered the chaurus, and I was inspired to speak those words."

Yssha smiled. "We will visit High King Balgruuf, then. I am glad to hear it."