Chapter 36.

Robin.

Since dawn, the greybeards had been spouting their dragon shouts.
Even with my face crammed into my pillow and the several feet of stone walls, the noise caused by Niik's training was like sleeping in the clouds during a thunderstorm. Something I used to find soothing.
It wouldn't be so bad if the shouting came from Niik. At least then there'd be progress being made, but even the dragon shouts sounded like elderly voices.

"ugh… I better get up" My joints click a few times as I rolled over and sat on the edge of the bed to stretch all the cramps out of my arms.

I left my armour on the table when I got dressed since the likelihood of us being attacked on a mountain seemed small to say the least, but I did have to wear my boots as the floor was literally like walking on ice.
The hallways were now lit by faint glows from the outside sun coming in from windows just below the ceiling, while empty candle holders mounted sat as mere decoration on the walls in either direction.
Which seemed strange to me as, although I understand refilling the sticks when candles burn out would be a pain in the ass when the nearest local is a mountain's climb down and up again, I was certain the holders were full just last night.
Although I wasn't too familiar with the hallways yet, tracking down Niik and the masters proved to be very easy. Just follow the shouts, and they lead me right to him.

"Fus Ro Dah!" Niik called with all the power of a raised voice and nothing more as I entered the room, where sitting in a half circle behind Niik three of the masters all watching the Dragonborn's attempts. But Niik was clearly getting frustrated standing in front of a long line of lit candles and struggling to douse them with his voice.

"oh that's where they've gone" I mumbled to myself. "How's training coming?" I asked rhetorically as I could already see the two candles closest to Niik were blown out meaning his voice at best only carried that far.

"Master Borri has elected to meditate on Durnehviir's name with the Grand Master. When and IF they decide I should be allowed to summon a long dead dragon, I'll maybe get some closure with my children and can focus on killing another long-dead creature" Niik sounded about as happy as he looked, so I decided to give him space while he practised and just go over some of my notes from the climb.

About ten minutes in, I started to feel a bit lonely not having Serana around to talk to.
"the luxuries" I sighed while my pen tapped on the page. My last mission was solo from start to finish, but Skyrim's events have grown on me.

"Fus Ro Dah!"

"Again"

"Fus, Ro DAH!"

"Again!"

I sat my journal down on my lap and watched for a bit. The shouting was a little distracting, so I can only imagine what it'll be like once it starts working again.

"excuse me, is there a study or something in this fort?" I asked one of the cloaked gents spectating with me.
Without a word, he nodded to me and waved for me to follow him. I was taking to a place in the fort that was like a library, only it had more scrolls than books and a whole lot of artefacts.

"Is that solid gold?" I asked him as I started at one of many dragon claw looking ornaments.

"Hmm" He groaned nodding to me.

"okay" I looked at the others. Some looked to be made of the same metal as Niik's coffin, others looked iron, one even looked like it was made of diamond but all I got from the man who brought me was a grunt for an answer.

"sorry can, are you able to speak? I don't mean to be rude, just asking"

The held his hand to his mouth. As he did I noticed his mouth and jaw was almost trembling.

"no" He said in a breathless voice.

"Sorry, I'll stop asking questions" I ignored the other artefacts and sat at a long table to write in my journal like I planned.

The old man sat with me, and slid me a small parchment that he'd written on.

It read; For decades I have trained and meditated on the dragon's language. Because of this, I and a few other masters have been forced to take a vow of silence.

"Isn't that counterproductive to learning the language?"

He pulled the sheet away and turned it over to write on the other side before sliding it back.

This time he wrote; It's necessary. I lost control over my voice many years ago. Talking normally has become the strain dragon speakers feel in their early years. My only relief comes from being outside, where I can shout to the heavens without hurting anyone. Since you have many questions, I shall fetch Master Arngeir for you.

"Oh no, you don't have-…" He was already gone when I looked up. "ninjas" I whispered to myself looking around the vacant room.

"Hello"

"AH!" I yelped. While I was staring at the beams crossing the ceiling in case someone dropped down on me from above, Arngeir apparently walked into the room and joined me at the table. "Creeping Jesus, Dragon Balls…"

"I apologise if I frightened you, I understand you have questions?"

"Yeah I…" I needed a moment to settle. I didn't know if I should mark the greybeards as ninjas or ghosts. "The last gentleman couldn't speak, I was wondering why"

Master Arngeir sat with me and explained that some of the masters had become so acclimated to the force of the dragon's voice, that small talk could kill anyone not used to it themselves.

"So why not you?"

"Someone needs to greet those that seek to join our ways. But as you can surely tell from our empty beds, being able to have small talk is a hollow thing indeed"

I was going to make a joke about volunteering myself, but decided it would be mean to say it insincerely. The view is a selling point but I honestly couldn't cope with being this far from the city, or handle the cold.
Hoping to steer the subject away from the awkward silence, I decided to ask about the dragons and their shouts.

"So in essences, what is a dragon shout? Because I was hit with one yesterday and it left me feeling… well, horrible"

"Can you remember the shout? Or describe what exactly happened?"

"It was Gan, lala? Gan-something. I just felt fatigued, and my body nipped all over slightly"

"Could it have been…" The man took a few short breaths as he prepared to say the words. "gaan, lah, haas?"

"Maybe? That sounds about right"

"The words when put together form a shout that drains the foe of vigour and endurance" The old man then when on to tell me what the words translate to individually, and did the same for Niik's signature shout, the Fus Ro Dah.

"Force, Balance… and, Push…" I noticed just as I finished scribbling them in, that Arngeir had slid over to me a parchment with stroked lines and dots written on it. "what's this?"

"The words are written in their own text" He explained.

"Dragons have writing too?" I gasped looking at them. "How? How did they even…?"

"Dragons do not lift quills when they leave their mark on the world" He rose from his seat and beckoned for me to follow. He took me to a stone tablet in the far side of the room. It was engraved with similar markings, but they looked like they were scorched in by no tool that any man would wield. "A dragon marks its territory with its own breath"

"A dragon shouted the print in stone?" I couldn't keep the scepticism out of my voice, though I didn't see any reason to doubt him. It's not half as bad as suggesting a bow and arrow can shoot out the sun for instance.

"Dragons are powerful beings. Mythical and, of course, Magical. Your friend Niik is an established mage who can perform things acts of sorcery that a dragon could never do"

"Well yeah, I don't think Alduin's wings have the dexterity to do all the crazy stuff Niik does with his fingers"

"Exactly, so their power is channelled through their voice. Fire breath, or… yol, toor, shul… is, nothing more than an extension of a dragon's use of magic. Only compared to man's comprehension, a far more powerful extension"

"Uh huh" I tried to write down everything he told me, but then began to wonder if I was even allowed to do this or if I was giving away secrets, but he seemed okay with it when I double checked.

"You are assisting the Dragon Born" He told me. "I am happy to lend my help where I can"

"right… I'm actually writing this for someone else. Niik doesn't really look at my notes"

"I see…" Arngeir's face stiffened a little.

"Want me to score anything out? I mean I'm not meant to, but I hate my bosses so fuck'em" My smile dropped. I couldn't believe I said that in front of a mountain-dwelling monk who's been nothing but nice and helpful to me. "sorry, I'm used to swearing around Niik"

"Well, please try to talk more ladylike in front of the others"

"Of course" I nodded. "So uh, what other words translate into dragon?"

"I might be able to teach you a few words, but if you want to learn shouts, you'll have to commit yourself to our order and dedicate years to learning even the simplest shout"

"No no, this is so I can help Niik. I'm thinking of keeping a list of shouts and their uses in case we're in a snag at some point" I found it slightly amusing that Niik is usually very mild tempered, yet he's the only man I've met who probably could solve his problems by shouting at them. The thought of my bosses and lecturers with shouting powers was terrifying.

Arngeir walked over to a shelf and slid out a blank scroll to bring back at the table, he then inked a quill and started marking down dragon scripture along with their translation and function.

"Do we need the dragon language part? It looks hard to write, and harder to read"

"To learn an entirely New shout, you must feel the words within yourself. Absorb them, only then can you project it into a Thu'um"

"A thu'um? oh, a Shout"

He nodded to me.

"Translated that all on my own" I cheered drawing a tick in the air with my finger. "What else you got for me?"

"Well, let us see if you can figure out the word for Dragonborn"

"Um… Zaldrizes, Azma?" I laughed after pulling words from nowhere and admitting I had no idea what I was saying if anything. He chuckled too, and then tried to help me understand the real words. He seemed surprised that I didn't know for some reason, but he explained without question.

"When broken down, 'born' actually has a meaning that is very easy to understand. To put simply, when children are born into the world they are their parent's kin, and the word 'kin' is actually derived from the dragon word for born, which is Kiin"

"huh, that's kinda interesting, and I'd never have guessed that. So Dragon is…?"

"Excuse me my lady but, were you not familiar with the Dragonborn Comes song? I'm certain I heard you humming it this morning"

"oh, Oh yes. It was being played for Niik after we saved a tavern from becoming a dragon's lunch box. Why, is it important?"

"Just curious. The song used to be sung in the dragon's own language. When I was a young man, bards and writers had stared reciting versions for locals to understand. But last I heard the song was still half Dovah"

"Do-vah?"

"Dovah, yes. The word for dragon"

"I like that" I smiled as I attempted copying his words onto my journal. I figured it would be a good addition to put the title 'Dovahkiin' next to Niik's name in both translations. "wait a minute…" I muttered looking at the pair side by side.

"Are you okay miss?" The man asked. "sorry, I didn't catch your name"

"It's Robin and, I'm okay…" I pushed what I was thinking to the back of my mind. Niik is busy with his training and to throw the opportunity I've been given of learning the 'Dovah' language from one of the four masters would make me an idiot.
But at some point, he and I are going to have words regarding his name, and the big fat 'coincidence' surrounding it.

"So I've been meaning to ask. Why is Niik called the Dovah Kin? KIIN sorry… I mean, hehe, surely he's not literally born from a dragon, right?"

"It is believed that the term was to distinguish the man that shares the blood with a beast. There are many that believe those such as Niik are dragons. But man is born into this world by his mother's womb. Dragons however, are not…" He gave me a window to write it all down before continuing. "So at Niik's birth, he was a Dragon Born"

"Interesting…" I gleefully said as my quill danced across the page. But as I thought about it, it was actually hard of me to picture Niik as a kid, let alone a baby. To imagine him weak or vulnerable just seem wrong. Even in his most defenceless state, I've always had a voice in my head warning me of the many ruthless ways he's demonstrated death.

"Does it bother you that he's a vampire?" I ask, silently wondering if I'd regret it after.

"We do not condone senseless violence, but we cannot stop him. It is our task to guide the Dragonborn on whatever path life takes him"

"I imagine that mentality has been exploited no?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well if you're teaching people how to shout like a dragon, and their motivations and intentions are of no concern to you, doesn't that leave you open to people abusing your teachings for their own selfish gains?"

His face stiffened as he looked ahead. I hit a nerve I think.
"Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak studied here for years before finally challenging the high king to a duel. We had no idea his reason for being here would plunge the country into a civil war"

I snickered, admittedly inappropriate giving the topic. If people didn't keep reminding me about the civil war taking place I'd forget in a day. I've not seen a single side raise a sword against the other and I've visited both their main cities and travelled between the two at least four times by land and sea since I first arrived.
"If it were up to me, I'd put the war on hold until the dragon issue got sorted out. No point being king of the ashes right?"

"Perhaps you should propose that to the Jarls yourself. Create a truce"

"Eh, because I'm not a mediator?" I remember trying to hold back drunk roommates from sending a board game across the room because someone was stealing money from the box, so screw trying to convince sword-wielding generals to sit nicely around a table.
Anyway, we were getting off topic.
"Back to dragon speak, how did you actually learn dragon? Did you trap one and make it teach you?"

"It started with the divine Kynareth. She is the one who bestowed man with the power of dragon shouts. As for how we learned the specific worlds well, you'll only learn that once you get in these robes"

I bit my lip.
"Fair enough I guess" I say with a snicker. I knew he meant joining them and going up the ranks, but my mind made it inappropriate, and it was hilarious.

Niik.

Meditation has never been something I've been particularly good at. I learned to kill by killing, I learned to conjour demons by actively studying how it's done.
The worst part was that the greybeards suggestion was starting to feel suspiciously like praying and my mind was getting clouded with images of the last dozen or so years I spent praying to statues, back when I still had blood in my heart.
I've never questioned my mortal devotions to the daedra before, but recently I've had doubt. It's hard to know what's right anymore.
Every person I've killed as a vampire would be alive, every person I've saved would be dead. Does it make me a hero to slay the wicked by using a power granted to me for evil acts? Do the ends justify?
I've never cared as the people I've killed had no faces. Once I decide to end a life their pasts and futures become irrelevant to me. They're just walking flesh at that point. Warm bodies that will fall on their own eventually, I've just moved them along ahead of schedule.
But I've never killed an infant. Another example of death waiting to take form. What makes them different to others that I've killed?
Their innocence? Guilt, or lack thereof, as never stopped me before.
Their vulnerability? They can't fight back, so it's not even a fight. But I've paralysed my foes before, so it's not a challenge I seek from my prey.
Could it be I'd rather they make something of themselves first? An empty book doesn't offend or deserve praise. In contrast to other innocence' who merely lived inconsequential lives, children haven't had a chance to be important yet.
My mind when to Betty. When she put a knife though Valerica's neck, she comprised my mission. Anyone else, I'd have slain in without a thought. Did I spare her life because she's family?
If I'd killed her at the forsworn camp all those years ago, some of her targets may have lived. I'd probably never have paid interest in Helgi either and she wouldn't be residing in a dragon right now. Betty would have died at my hand and Helgi would have either frozen to death or became a thief.
Given their fates, would human deaths have been better for them?
It hurt to think about. I just want Helgi to be at peace. But even if I get her back, she'll be confined to the college, never even allowed to walk the halls from fear of being discovered.
Betty has eternal youth, but she looks alive at least. Making sure she never visits the same location too frequently over two or three years keeps her appearing human. She's certainly not as conspicuous as a ghost.
I guess in the end, that's what makes her the perfect assassin. No one suspects her until it's too late, and I'm sure being telepathically informed about her targets is nice too.
My eyes snap open as I suck breath into me.
I'm stupid.
Really stupid.
I may have just opened the way for Harkon to win.
I pounce from the floor and rush up the stairs. I find Robin studying old scrolls with Arngeir.

"Hi Niik, you Fus Ro Done with training?" She giggles as I enter.

"I'm going to Red Water, you need to stay here until I get back Robin" I tell her as I walk to the window, hoping it's unlocked or else the room was going to get irreversibly colder in a minute.

"What?" Demanded Robin as she stands from her chair. "What's going on?"

"It's my daughter Betty. She wants to kill Valerica, the only thing stopping her before was the fact that Valerica couldn't be killed in the Soul Cairn, but she's not there anymore, I lead her out" Valerica followed me under her own volition too of course. If she was fearing for her life she'd have stayed behind. But she's at least aware the Dark Brotherhood is after her, so she has an edge. That and she's in a narrow dark passage where she'll sense their approach long before they're in stabbing distance.
If Betty tries to kill Valerica, she might lose. She might die.
If Betty dies, and Serana tries to stop me or if I learn she had any part in it, there isn't a force on this world that will stop me biting the throat out of every pureblooded rat in Skyrim.

"So you're gonna go right now?" Robin demanded. "Let me come"

"No! It'll take to long getting you down the mountain. You'll be safer here until I return"

"Niik. Valerica made it clear she's not coming up here with us and you can't leave her side in case Betty shows up. Unless you want me to stay up here until Valerica stubbornness wears off, you need to trust me"

"I, I'll send Serana to escort you"

"The woman carrying the pure vampire blood this bow needs to put out the sun? If Harkon for any reason grows inpatient and calls for the Brotherhood to find Serana as well, they'll get their victory the moment we're caught"

She's right. There's no strategy for me to protect her and the purebloods. We should never have split up.
I'm not used to being in a group like this. Every plan I come up with is made with the underlining idea that I'd be there, so strategising for other people in different places isn't a skill I've ever had to pick up.
Even when I left my children at home, Betty I at least knew had my powers. Now I'm potentially competing against her.

"Okay Robin. Make your way to Red Water, keep that bow safe"

"Roger!" She said with a nod. "or is it, Talos?" She said to herself before I pulled her back.

"Keep yourself safe too" I instructed.

"Duh" She teased waving me off as she backed away. "Off you go Batman"

Ignoring all distractions, I twist the handle on the window before leaping out over the fortress's entryway. I land hard, but before taking off. I summon both Fang my wolf and a flaming atronach.
I can't be here for her, but any trolls that smell her warm flesh will be met by loud barking and fireballs. That goes for anyone else that might try to harm her. I gave the thought command for them both to follow and protect Robin when she comes out before heading off.
Breaking into bats was disorienting with the high winds, but I managed to build some flight momentum and started making my way to red water den.

It took a while. The air was icy cold and the caught snow from the mountaintop wasn't melting off of my thin coat of fur which was distracting.
When I arrived at Red Water, I reverted from and landed through the open door frame. The doors were all closed but not locked, which was maybe promising since I doubt anyone would the time to shut them if an assassination or a retrieval mission on Harkon's behalf took place recently.
I rush down the corridors and tunnels until finally entering the blood room. Bad memories swirled around in the spring just as much as the red froth.

"Niik" Serana greeted looking back down the tunnel for Robin. "Has something happened?"

"Betty hasn't been here?" I ask before explaining my concerns to her. "Where's Valencia?"

"She's sleeping in the back, and I haven't seen your daughter"

I give a sigh of relief. "Good… I was afraid I'd just handed you both back to your father"

"Where's Robin?" Serana interrupted. "Did you leave her up a mountain?"

"I'm heading back for her, but once I leave, we need to barricade you in somehow"

"With what?"

I hold my hand out and use a frost spell to make the ice build up like a stalagmite towards my palm.

"Betty can't use any magicka that isn't vampire related. Ice won't hold her forever but losing her element of surprise might convince her to turn back rather than face you head on" As I explained the plan to Serana, I wondered over to the surgery tables still unmoved from when they used to bleed people. I found a rag that was used for bandaging and something to write with.

I just wrote a message for Betty to leave on my way out. Basically, I just said; You've not counted on me to save you recently, but don't think making me your enemy will be just as easy to evade. You're walking on thin ice by interfering in this mission and if it breaks, it will only end in tragedy. Father.

The ice analogy seemed appropriate. I dot the sentence by biting the tip of my finger and leaving just a small smudge of my blood.
Before making my way up the tunnels again, I and Serana spend a moment blasting the tunnel circumference with ice until it's completely sealed and then continue to strengthen the walls with a few extra layers.
A fire user will break through easy enough, as would anyone with a blunt tool or a pickaxe. But the point is to buy Serana and Valerica a moment to prepare for attack.
Leaving the hut behind, I leave my note on the table.
Most people will walk past it if they wander in hoping to get skooma or for whatever reason. But Betty will smell my blood and will be drawn to investigate the source.
After that I let my bat form take hold once more and headed off back to the mountain.
I was honestly disheartened. The whole point of going up to meet the greybeards was to see if they knew why I couldn't shout. They had no idea. Going up there seemed to be a colossal waste of time.
And after walking all the way up there and facing a walk down, Robin is going to be really upset with me I imagine.

Robin: Okay, just how fast can he fly? He's zipping all over the place. Isn't Skyrim around the size of Americ- um I mean, some other Lore Friendly location that is also quite large?

Author: Meh, don't read into it. But after extensive seconds looking up this topic, I learned that a speed record for bats is around 99 miles per hour. Which factoring in Niik's vampire powers, well. Do the maths.
99MPH + Vampire + game scaling versus lore measurements (times the Y) (Subtract the goldfish) (Carry the two) and you see just how fast he can fly.

Robin: Okay, now pretend I'm not a mathematician who sucks as algebra.

Author: The above sum equals to a Fuck ton of miles per hour.

Robin: So, as fast as the story needs him to be in order to work?

Author: ... well, if you're gonna just say it like that then, yeah pretty much.

Robin: Thought so...Unfavored | Unfollowed.

Author: :(