AN: I'm sorry this took so long. I've had a hard month. College is going... it's difficult right now, but I'm managing. I hope you're all doing well, and I hope you all keep enjoying this story. That you like it often brings me joy when I'm sad, happiness when I'm angry. Calm in my storm. Thanks – you all rock.

Fahiil

Thera

I walked into my throne room wearing the most resplendent armor and cloak in my Empire, a blade crafted from the bones of dragons at my side, the hilt crowned with jewels. The entirety of my Court surged to their feet and watched as I moved slowly and deliberately towards my throne. It was a solid wood chair, carved millennia prior by the greatest of the Bosmer enchanters from the wood of a now dead Bosmer City Tree. It would be uncomfortable, if it weren't for the cushion filled with a layer of down as thick as my arm. I would be both comfortable and regal.

As I sat down, so too did my Court. "Send in these visitors," I commanded, crossing my legs and waiting for them to enter. My guards nodded and marched towards the door, opening it slowly to let in the light. I squinted in disgust as the sunlight hit me for a moment, as did most of the Vampires in the Court, and smiled contentedly as the doors shut behind the two visitors. They were dressed oddly, wearing masks carved from bone in the shape of a tentacled monster. Similarly crafted ridges ran down their right arms, over their robes. "Now, why would Lucius send us two ambassadors? Hm? He knows that I will kill you both."

"We would never serve false Dragonborn," one of the freaks responded with a yell. He scoffed and shook his masked head. "We are servants of the True Dragonborn!"

"So you say again," I said, bored by these two little fools. "Well here I am. You may bow."

The other one snarled and took a step forward, only to be stopped by the weapons of my guards at his throat. "You? You are a - are a damnable pretender!"

I nodded at one of the guards and the visitor suddenly found himself without an arm. He screamed and fell to the ground, his blood spurting from the wound. "You would do well not to cross a room full of Vampires." I grinned and shook my head. Finally, I said, "Sear the wound shut; I don't want everyone here going in for a drink before I can find out what I want." The guards nodded and raised glowing fists. Streams of flames erupted from their outstretched arms, searing the wound shut to the sound of the visitor's screams. I returned my attention to the visitor who was not a screaming mess. "Now, how about you tell me what in the gods damned world you want?"

The mask's eyes locked onto mine, glaring with fevered rage. "You dare strike the servants of the True Dragonborn!?"

"As I said – I am right here," I growled, standing from my throne and marching down towards the little man. "Do not tempt me, fool. Reveal your purpose to me, then die."

"We are here on the orders of our God, the True Dragonborn. He wishes for you to come and revel in his glory on the Isle of Solstheim," the visitor finally snarled, putting his face close to mine. "To bow to him as he takes the world in his hand."

I smiled and drew the blade from my side. "That... is my thing," I said mockingly. Then I buried the weapon in his chest, and it was over. I looked over at the other one, then up at my court. I pulled my weapon from the dead visitor's chest and gestured to them. "You may take what you want." Then I turned towards my throne and waved for my Council to follow, grinning at the fact that I finally had an enemy to kill. "I have new information to consider."

Jul

Lucius

Dorthe and I met these strange travelers alone, in the most private of areas I could think of – my training room. It was cleaned daily, as my training sessions usually ended with blood on the ground. The workers would be surprised, but able to cope if they found bodies on the floor. For now, Dorthe and I had to speak with them.

They were an odd pair, wearing matching brown robes, with masks in the shape of a tentacled beast. Seemed like Hermaeus Mora worshipers, to me. But also... not. They were clearly different from the Mora devotees I had seen before, with an almost warrior like edge to them rather than the usual scholarly mania that I was accustomed to with his supplicants. "And you are?" I asked, my hand resting on the hilt of Dragonbane, ready to defend and attack at the slightest provocation.

"The servants of the True Dragonborn," the one to my left said, raising his hands to the heavens. "Praise be his unutterable name."

"Well that confirms you aren't Mora's worshipers. And you obviously don't work for Thera, what with her being a she," I said, glancing between the two men. Dorthe followed my eyes, her own filled with resolve as she did. She would not let them get close to hurting me, though I was not concerned. "Who is this 'True Dragonborn' that you speak of?"

"The great Miraak has sent us to invite you and test you for the island of Solstheim. He is the True Dragonborn, you pretender to his throne," the one to my right spat, his leather clad fists clenching tight as he did.

I scoffed and smiled at the ground, eyes closed. "I thought his name was unutterable," I taunted. He coughed angrily, his breath stuck in his chest. I shrugged. "Make your attempt on my life, then," I commanded, pulling my hand away from Dragonbane and holding my hands up. "I'll let you have the first attack, even."

"Lucius," Dorthe cautioned, her voice low and angry.

I raised my hand and shook my head. "Let them try. I promise that you'll be entertained," I muttered, my smile turning into a thin, angry line across my face.

Dorthe growled, but did as her Emperor commanded. "Yes, your Grace."

I looked up at the two strangers, who had taken a step away from me. The sheer force of my confidence was scaring them. It should. "Well? I won't counter with my blade at all." I unclipped Dragonbane from my belt and tossed it to Dorthe, whose scowl was deepening every moment I kept speaking. "Just let me make sure before you do die – Solstheim, correct?"

"You defiler!" I grinned as he screamed this, drawing an ax from his hip and slashing down at my head. I channeled a small stream of Magicka through my right hand, then let the blade crash into my skin. It bounced off, a dent in the shape of my face in the blade.

"It's called Dragonskin. It's a spell that I developed with a friend of mine. Stronger than any armor I've been able to make," I said as I pulled my sleeves up to above my elbow. I stuck my hand out, palm up. "Please, try again." I grinned as he slammed the ax into my hand, and it shattered. As soon as it did, I leaped forward, grabbing the two by their masks and altering the flow of Magicka in my hands. "I told you this wouldn't end well." And then I let pure streams of flames fly from my palms, roasting the two and killing them before they could even come up with a reply.

I dropped the bodies after only a few seconds and began pulling my sleeves down to my wrists again. I felt alive. Finally, a threat that I could defeat. It was like the old days, fighting Alduin or Harkon. A conflict with someone who wanted me to come to his seat of power and defeat him. The fate of the world, in my hands and only mine. A nice change of pace from the war, where I had to trust so many with so much. "Dorthe, I want you to collect some of my personally forged light armor from the armory for yourself. I'll be outfitting myself later. Oh, and you'll need a different sword. We don't want people knowing that the Emperor and a Blade have snuck out of the Empire."

"Um... what?" she asked as I took Dragonbane from her.

"Yes. Grab a cloak, a few sacks of gold," I said as I turned to the bodies and almost said the words I had long since cast off. Almost. "Oh, and don't tell Delphine. She'll throw a fit. Let me talk with Florentius... and Tolfdir. They'll not only be fine with this, but they'll help us."

"I don't know if I'm fine with this," Dorthe muttered.

"Oh, hush," I said, waving off her protests. "Besides, Tolfdir's been wanting to test out a spell for disguising someone as my body double for months. I apparently have to be outside of the city limits for it to work, that way no one can try and pretend to be me with it."

"Emperor..." Dorthe growled.

I smiled wildly at her. "Don't you get it? I get go out there, into the world. Do something that feels like I'm actually helping people – nothing you say or threaten will change my mind. So you can either come and protect me, or..."

Her eyes narrowed as I played my hand. I won. "Yes, Grace," she said with a stiff bow. "Though we will have words on our travels."

"We ride at dawn!" I cried as I walked away from her, ignoring her statement so as to not bring my mood down.

Fahiil

Thera

I stood with my war council in the darkest reaches of my palace, waiting for their responses to what I had said was going to happen. Babette seemed the most intrigued, the head of my assassins wanting me to preemptively destroy any threat that came my way. I knew she would agree with me – she was clever like I am, which is why I kept her around despite her human handicap. Honestly, her bloodlust even gave me pause every so often.

To her right, my head mage – a woman I had turned in return for her loyalty named Nirya – looked excited. She began to explain why after a moment. "I must admit, the possibility of another Dragonborn existing is... intriguing," she said, grinning wildly. "Perhaps you can bring me his body, or corpse if need be, so I can study the Magicks that exist in it?"

"That was my intent," I said with a smile. Anything that would help me understand how to kill Lucius would be of utmost import. "Now... how do we go about making everyone believe I'm still here?"

"I may have an idea," Babette piped up. "I knew something would eventually come along and distract from the war. You have always liked to deal with things... hands on. I've been surprised it has taken this long."

"Well, what's your idea?" I asked, leaning against the Altar of Bal in the center of the room. "Speak up for the class."

"We say you have entered into communion with Molag Bal for the summer months," she said simply. "You are the Empress of the Night, so no one would consider this out of the ordinary. You will be able to leave the Empire in secret, for at least a few months, and do as you will. This is the perfect time, after all. The war will be on pause for the duration of the summer, so no one will be begging for your attention. This is the best time for this to happen."

"I like it," I said, smiling darkly. I surged upward, reinvigorated. I had a war I could fight myself, power to usurp that was not guarded by my enemies. "I think it's time to pay this so called 'god' a visit."

Jul

Lucius

I sat atop my prized steed in crimson and gold traveling clothes, Dragonskin gleaming on my skin in the light of dawn. I was overlooking the Imperial City from a hill to the north. It looked beautiful from afar, like something that was worth fighting for as the sunlight glanced off of its ivory towers. I was still waiting for Dorthe as I turned to watch the sunrise. I'd give her another five minutes before conceding that she had probably told Delphine, who would send half the Blades to keep me from going. I was the Emperor, and I was a prisoner in my own lands.

Well, that, and I'd taken the Bow of Auri-El.

It was a rash move, I know. I believe that Delphine would call it 'unforgivable.' But something in my gut told me that I needed to do it. It was like it was not just my destiny to take the weapon to Solstheim, but it was the weapon's destiny to follow me. Florentius told me that Arkay agreed, meaning I definitely had the favor of the gods on my side in this case. "How long until you decide to leave without me?" a familiar voice asked, accompanied by the footsteps of a horse.

I smiled and looked over at Dorthe as she climbed the hill. "Well, if you didn't get here soon I was worried that you would have told Delphine the truth," I explained. I grinned thankfully. "I'm grateful you're coming with me."

"Like you said," she began, shrugging in her studded leather armor, "you were going to go with or without me. Might as well make sure you have someone by your side while you act like an idiot. Someone who can get you out of the huge damn problems that you make whenever you do... anything."

"So you've learned it's better to just go along with it, then?" I asked, grinning. I nodded. "Good decision. You understand what Delphine has always had trouble even seeing: you can't stop Dragonborn once they've made a decions."

Dorthe snorted derisively. "Even a moronic one," she shot. I laughed boisterously, and she cocked her head to the side. "You seem unusually happy."

I looked up at the sky. "I do, don't I?" I asked. I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, taking it in. It was nice, to feel like myself again. "I don't have to be the Emperor, and... something else."

"What is it?" Dorthe asked, cantering next to me.

I looked down and pulled my steed towards the north. "Like I'm going home," I said quietly. Then I dug my heels into the beast's sides and it took off at a full gallop towards the City of Kings. The air was alive with a feeling that I found so... familiar. Something was calling me, something that I yearned for in the Soul of my Soul. Looking back, I should have realized what it was. I feel like an idiot now, knowing the truth. Heading home is exactly what I was doing.