Time for Blackheart to learn the truth about Paarthurnax!

Chapter 55

As Blackheart looked at his Dragon Gauntlet after the negotiation was over, it was already 10. Once everyone left the meeting room and in the main entrance, Delphine and Esbern pulled Blackheart away from everyone and moved him to the side.

"Dragonborn," Delphine said, "We need to talk."

Blackheart smiled and said "A little gentle please."

Delphine smiled back and said "I'll be sure to remember that."

Blackheart said "So what is it?"

Delphine replied "It's about Paarthurnax."

"Oh yeah," Blackheart said, "The Master of the Way of the Voice? What about him?"

Esbern then said "We know that he is a dragon."

Blackheart's eyes widen and said "Did M'aiq tell you?"

Esbern shook his head and said "No, my boy. His name was in the archives along with other names that have followed Alduin."

"Followed?" Blackheart said, "You mean to tell me that Paarthurnax followed Alduin?"

"No," Delphine said, "He was Alduin's second in command."

Blackheart was shocked and said "No…that can't be. He helped me fight off Alduin and he practically saved my life!"

Delphine said "And he is the one who enslaved humanity, caused death and chaos and it's because of him that established Alduin's rule."

"And he is also responsible for the teaching people the Shout and the saving of mankind," Blackheart said in a provoked way, "It was his help alone that aided the three Nord heroes in stopping Alduin before and it's still his help that has aid me."

"I know that," Delphine said, "His help has been very tremendous and we are grateful but his crimes are not going to be forgiven. He needs to be killed! You need to be the one to deliver justice on him!"

"Wait," Blackheart said, "Are you saying that I have to kill him?"

Delphine replied "The Ancient Blades has stated that when Paarthurnax had fall under the protection of the Greybeards, we were to avoid direct confrontation until we have an opportunity to exact justice on him."

Blackheart knew where this was going. He had learned the Clear Skies Shout to get to Paarthurnax. He then said "Arngeir was right, you guys are using me!"

"No, we are not," Delphine said, "We have helped you this far. And now you must carry out this task."

Blackheart was uncertain on what to do. Blackheart then said "I have to go."

With that, Blackheart walked towards the back exit and left High Hrothgar. Once he left, Arngeir walked up to Delphine and Esbern and said "What were you two telling the Dragonborn about?"

Esbern looks at him and replied "The truth."


"LOK VAH KOOR!" Blackheart shouted as he made it at the Throat of the World.

As soon as he was on the mountain, he saw Paarthurnax on the broken Word Wall. When Paarthurnax saw Blackheart, he said "Drem Yol Lok, Dovahkiin. I see that you are well."

Blackheart replied "Thanks to you."

He knew that he can't just go on and force answers out of Paarthurnax, he needs to trick Paarthurnax into telling him. Blackheart's thoughts were interrupted when Paarthurnax said "Why are you here? You are not here to talk to an old dovah, are you?"

Blackheart took a deep breath and said "The Blades and I had a talk today. They told me that you were Alduin's second in command and they want me to kill you."

Instead of being surprised of Blackheart's statement, Paarthurnax said "I am not surprised. It is always wise to mistrust another dovah."

He was sure surprised at Paarthurnax's answer. Mephala then said "He is telling the truth."

As Blackheart hushed her, he said "You did just hear what I said, right? The Blades are telling me to kill you. Shouldn't you be telling me not to kill you?"

Paarthurnax replied "The Way of the Voice forbids nok, falsehoods."

"So it is all true then," Blackheart said.

Paarthurnax nodded and said "My tale is long and bitter. I ask only that you listen."

Blackheart narrowed his eyes on him and said "Okay, I'll bite. Tell me, from your point of view."

Paarthurnax bowed his head and said "Before you understand me, you must understand Alduin. You know his Thu'um, his power. But you do not know the reason why. He is the firstborn of our father Akatosh, the greatest and wisest of the dovah. We are not like joor. We do not commit zeymah kein, warring among ourselves. We simply bow to the one with the strongest Thu'um. Until recently, that was Alduin."

"Recently?" Blackheart asked, "What do you mean?"

Paarthurnax replied "Your Thu'um bested his. But that is a conversation for another time. I speak of Alduin of old, before his fall to his own pahlok. The dovah ruled many lands in days long forgotten. The golt the Nords called Atmora, homeland of the Nord Hero Ysgramor, was one of them. We were gods to the joor, chief among their pantheon, and in those days, there was peace."

Blackheart said "What happened?"

Paarthurnax replied "We were the gods of a stern land, but we were not unnecessarily cruel. Until Alduin turned his gaze to Taazokaan, this land you call Tamriel. Here he saw chaos. Fahliil and muz fighting for scraps of land, with no order imposed upon them. He declared it the duty of the dov to serve as gods of Tamriel, and he would sit at the head of the pantheon."

"And no one challenged him?" Blackheart asked.

Paarthurnax said "No dovah had ever challenged Alduin. It was vanmindoraan, akin to challenging Akatosh himself. And so, the dovah came to Tamriel…and naturally, the joor resisted."

He took a deep breath and said "We slaughtered the native joor by the thousands. The willing followers of the dovah, those you know as Dragon Priests, were unable to fully quell a population that despised them, and after decades of stalemate, Alduin intervened personally."

Paarthurnax then said "His retribution was swift and brutal. The very heavens spat fire and lightning at his command. For ten days and nights he rained devastation. And I aided him. There were those who bent the knee to the dov, out of fear and desperation. My task was to break them, to turn them into slaves who were little better than sivaas. I played my part well."

Blackheart was surprised by Paarthurnax's story. So everything that Delphine and Esbern said was true about Paarthurnax. His thoughts were intruded when Paarthurnax said "Alduin called the most powerful of the dovah to speak with him here, on this very mountain. He claimed that in defying him, the joor had defied our father Akatosh himself. He declared himself the physical manifestation of Akatosh's will. That was when I first began to see Alduin's pahlok, the pride that gnawed at his heart."

He continued his story by saying "I did not take counsel with my brother that night. Instead, I flew and looked down upon the land. The ashen forests, the blood-red sky, the smoke-laced air. A seed of doubt crept into my soul. But I did nothing. I warred with myself as Alduin laid waste to city after city, and only when the rivers ran red with joor blood did I act."

Finally, Paarthurnax looks at Blackheart and said "The rest you know, Dovahkiin. I betrayed Alduin. I taught the Thu'um to mortals. And here I have lived with my shame and guilt, waiting for my brother to return."

Mephala then said "So the Blades were right."

Blackheart was at the moment stun at this old dragon. In the past, Paarthurnax has aided Alduin in his reign of destruction and chaos and enslaved countless lives. But along the way, Paarthurnax has betrayed Alduin and helped the Nords defend themselves against the dragons. Blackheart didn't know what to do.

Paarthurnax then said "The dovah were made to dominate. The will to power is in our blood, even yours. I know I can be trusted due to meditation and long study of the Way of the Voice, but I will not ask you to spare me."

As he looks into the sky and at the full moon, Paarthurnax said "What is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"

At that moment, Blackheart opened his left hand and summoned Mephala at his hand. There was a brief moment where Blackheart was thinking about fighting Paarthurnax. But this is also the one who saved him from Alduin and helped him learn the Dragonrend Shout. Blackheart is conflicted on what to do.


"Where is Blackheart?" Torlak asked.

Lydia looks at him and replied "I don't know. My Thane should've been here with us."

M'aiq then said "You don't think he left, do you?"

Serana shook her head and said "I don't believe he did. If he went to Fort Dawnguard by himself to face my father, he is crazier than I believed him to be."

All of a sudden, a voice yelled "You told him what?!"

The four of them practically covered their ears when they heard the voice. They then all rushed towards the main entrance, they saw Arngeir arguing with Delphine and Esbern. Once they got there, Serana asked "What is going on here?"

Arngeir turns to them and said "The Blades have told the Dragonborn to kill Paarthurnax!"

Everyone's eyes widen when they heard that. Lydia then said "Are you crazy?! Why would my Thane do that?! Paarthurnax saved him!"

Delphine replied "Paarthurnax was Alduin's second in command and helped him enslaved humanity. And not only that, he has killed many of my predecessors."

Lydia shook her head and said "No, that can't be true."

Suddenly, a voice said "No, it's true."

When everyone turned, they saw Blackheart walking towards them. As soon as he was near them, he said "I just went up there and talked to him. He told me everything."

Esbern then said "So did you delivered justice to him?"

Blackheart remained silent for a moment until he said "No."

"No?!" Delphine cried, "What did you say?!"

Blackheart looks at her in a furious way and said "I said no. I am not going to kill the person who saved me."

"But you must," Esbern explained, "He has done countless murders. He needs to die for the crimes he had done."

Blackheart then looks at Esbern and said "Yes, I know the things he has done in the past. But he didn't have a choice, Alduin was in charge and he was calling the shots, not Paarthurnax."

Delphine yelled "Do you have any idea the things we have done to help you?! Either you are with us or against us! Make your choice!"

Everyone was stunned at their argument. Finally, Blackheart said "Serve the Dragonborn my ass. If you can't forgive Paarthurnax for the things he has done, then you can't move on with your life."

Delphine then said "What are you saying?"

Blackheart replied "This is goodbye, Delphine."

Delphine was, say the least, upset at Blackheart's answer. She then straightened up and said "Very well, if that is what you want, then farewell."

With that, Delphine started to make her way out of High Hrothgar. Esbern looks at Blackheart and said "Good luck, Dragonborn."

After he said that, Esbern followed Delphine out of the monastery. Once they were gone, everyone looks at Blackheart and Arngeir said "I am glad that you didn't kill Paarthurnax."

Blackheart shrugged and said "If it was someone else, then yeah."

"I'm just thankful that you didn't, my Thane," Lydia said, "He has helped us a lot."

Torlak then said "So why did you spare him?"

Blackheart replied "He may have done terrible things in the past, but look at what he did for humanity. Even though he was Alduin's second in command, I believe that he deserves a second chance."

Arngeir then puts his right hand on his shoulder, smiled and said "Out of all the Dragonborns that have came here. All the students who has came to learn the way, you have excelled yourself from the rest. I know that you will have a bright future in the Way of the Voice."

"Thank you…master," Blackheart said, "So…now that's out of the way, we should get some rest before we head to Fort Dawnguard."

As everyone nodded, M'aiq said "M'aiq needs rest. He has been through a lot today."

Serana looks at him and said "That is an absolute lie."

Blackheart shook his head and said "I can't believe you said that."

Everyone laughed and Torlak said "I am bored now. I am going to head on and get some rest. See you all in the morning."

Once he head into the one of the room, M'aiq yawned and said "M'aiq is going to sleep. He will see you all in the morning."

As M'aiq was walking away, Lydia turns to Blackheart and said "I'd better rest, my Thane. We have a long journey ahead of us."

Blackheart sighed and said "Don't remind me."

Lydia laughed as she started to head to her room. Finally, Arngeir said "Well Dragonborn, I will you a good rest and see you in the morning."

And with that, Arngeir left, leaving only Blackheart and Serana alone together. As the two of them were silent, Blackheart said "So…how do you feel about facing your father soon?"

Serana took a deep breath and said "I would rather not think about it at the moment."

Blackheart then said "I know it is difficult about what you feel right now. But I promised you that I will do everything I can to protect you from him."

Serana looks at him in a concern way and said "And how do you going to do that?"

At that moment, Blackheart summons Auriel's Bow and said "As long as I have the bow, he cannot touch me or you."

Serana shook her head and said "Even with the bow, I highly doubt that it will be enough to slow him down."

"Lighten up, Serana," Blackheart said, "You think negative all the time. You have to see the brighter side of stuff."

Serana smiled and said "When don't you see the bright side?"

Blackheart replied "I really don't know."

There was a brief moment of silence when Serana said "Who do you think will be the hardest opponent to beat? Harkon or Alduin?"

Blackheart thought about and said "Well, there is a vampire lord who plans to use you and the bow to cover the sun in darkness and have his vampire friends go around the world eating people while there is a dragon who so happens to be the God of Destruction that plans on bringing all of his followers back from the grave and rule Skyrim all over again. Now tell me who is deadliest."

"You have a point," Serana said, "You are screwed in many levels."

"Tell me about," Blackheart said, "How am I going to get out of this one?"

Both Blackheart and Serana laughed. After that, Serana said "We should get to sleep."

Blackheart raised an eyebrow and said "Separate rooms?"

Serana smiled and said "Sadly yes."

As Blackheart pretended to be sad, Serana whispered "You have to wait like I did."

Surprised, Blackheart said "Wait, what?"

Serana smiled and said "Let's just go to bed. We have a long trip."

When she started to walk to her room, Blackheart said "Seriously, what did you say?"

And there you go! In the game, I never wanted to kill Paarthurnax, out of all the dragons in Skyrim, he is my favorite! Next time: the Dawnguard! Until then, please review!