"So, how will we find the path that leads to the glade, exactly?" Serana questioned.
Akiseta shrugged. "Dexion told me the entrance to the glade was in the mountains near Falkreath, and the path would be marked. He said we'd know it when we see it."
"That's helpful." Serana muttered.
They'd passed near the town of Falkreath while coming out here. Even though they were away from it, the atmosphere still felt gloomy. Serana wondered if the whole Hold felt like this. The ground was very muddy, and grey clouds coated the sky, and the air smelled heavy of more rain to come. Serana hoped it would snow instead.
The gloomy weather added to an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. She'd scanned the surrounding area multiple times nonchalantly, eyeing between the trees and thick clumps of bushes, but saw nothing. She didn't hear or smell anything out of the ordinary, but the unease persisted.
"Are you alright, Serana?" Akiseta asked quietly. "You look like you're expecting us to get ambushed."
Serana shrugged. "Maybe I am. One of the most important things I've learned is to trust my instincts. And mine are telling me to be alert." She kept her voice low.
Her father knew they were on the trail of the bow, he just had to, knowing they had Dexion all this time. The Dawnguard had been working hard to make sure they weren't being spied on, but Harkon was sure to have his own implements in place. He could easily have his little pawns be tracking them currently.
Akiseta scratched the scales along her neck. "I must admit, I've been feeling some unease myself. That's why I've opted for mostly silence out here, so we could listen. I haven't heard anything or picked up any unusual scents, but..." She looked around the surrounding area in a false relaxed manner, appearing more passive than alert.
Serana nodded. "Let's just find the glade, and get this over with."
After passing what looked like an outpost that may have been set up by bandits, that was fortunately lacking the bandits, they spotted a small pile of rocks marking a path. They followed the little mud trail as it crawled up into the mountains, a layer of snow eventually crunching under their boots. Serana hoped it would be this cold at ground level when the rain finally came.
After following a small left turn, they found the entrance to the glade, a small opening in the wall. Going inside, Serana was immensely disappointed. The little 'entryway' led to a small cave that looked like any other cave. Tree roots crept along the rocky ceiling, dirt coating their lengths, and some small flower buds poked through the grass. A fallen tree made a little bridge leading to another end of the small cavern, which led to a bend she couldn't see around.
"This is the Ancestor Glade?" She asked incredulously.
"It must be. That path we came up was the only one." Akiseta insisted, looking around. She looked a little disappointed as well.
"I was expecting something more impressive for a place where a Moth Priest ritual is performed."
"I was too. Come on, there's another cave section past that tree bridge."
They carefully made their way across the tree bridge, and followed the bend. The bright light that followed hurt Serana's eyes, and she blink several times to let them adjust. The sight before her took her breath away.
A huge cavern opened below them, bathed in light. Several streams of light fell from the ceiling at certain spots, though there were no holes in the ceiling to be letting the light in. A small stream ran along side the pathway, emptying down onto the bottom of the cavern into shallow pools of water. Several large trees with twisting branches covered in cherry pink leaves rested around the pools. Several flowering bushes dotted the cavern.
"Woah... this place is gorgeous." Serana spoke quietly, afraid speaking to loud would ruin the peaceful atmosphere.
"I've never seen a place so beautiful, in Skyrim, or anywhere else." Akiseta mused.
"This.. this is the kind of thing I've always wanted to see. It's beautiful. I bet we're the first people to set foot here in a very long time." Serana said, unable to draw her eyes away from the scenery in front of her.
The landscape in Skyrim was mostly pleasing to the eyes, especially after centuries of bleakness at the castle, and even more centuries of dark nothingness in Dimhollow. But everything she'd seen since leaving the crypt paled in comparison to this. It was like something right out of one of her books.
"I feel so honored to be somewhere so beautiful." Akiseta threaded their fingers together. "Especially with someone so beautiful." She said before softly kissing Serana.
Serana leaned up into the kiss, her heart fluttering. This definitely felt like something out of a story. Except it was real. And wonderful.
After the kiss, they headed down the path, and walked through the shallow pools of water. Serana could feel a comfortable warmth radiating from the water through her boots. An open, small, stone circular structure held the Draw Knife.
Akiseta picked it up, and walked over to one of the cherry-leafed trees. She drew the knife along the trunk, scraping off some of the bark. She placed it in her pocket, and they walked over to a nearby bush. The moths aimlessly fluttering about the bush flittered over to Akiseta, flying in little circles around her. She watched them with a smile on her face.
"Looks like they like the bark."
"Seems they do." Serana looked at Akiseta closely. It looked like a faint light was emanating around her. "Unless I'm seeing things, it looks like your starting to glow."
Akiseta looked down at herself. "Wow. Come on, let's find more moths."
They walked around the glade, gathering more moths. The glow around Akiseta grew in intensity as more moths gathered. They flittered around the Argonian in random, circular patterns. Once flew by her nose, brushing it with its wings and causing her to sneeze.
"Gah. Damn moths." Akiseta muttered, rubbing her nose.
Serana laughed. "You can't blame them for liking you, Aki."
"Bothering my sinuses isn't welcome form of affection."
"But a nip on your neck is?" Serana asked playfully.
"It's the nipper, in that case." Akiseta replied with a gentle smile.
After gathering several little groups of moths, the light surrounding Akiseta became almost painful to look at.
"I think that's all we need."
"So do I." Akiseta glanced over at the brightest column of light. "Now, we see if it works."
Akiseta started to walk towards the column. Serana caught her by the arm. The Argonian glanced at her. "What? What is it?"
Serana bit her lip, averting her eyes. Akiseta's scales were uncomfortably warm, but Serana didn't want to let go of her. "I'm worried about you, Aki. If something were to happen to you..."
"Then it does. This can't be avoided, iluukai. And it's to late to turn back now. We just have to hope this works."
Serana let out a sigh. "I know."
Akiseta walked into the column of light. A strange warmth coursed through her. The moths fluttered about her in random patterns. Akiseta swore she could here a soft trilling from them, like a little chorus. She shrugged her backpack off and pulled the scrolls out, setting them on the stone structure next to her.
She picked up the first one, looking at it with unease. The only time she'd ever read an Elder Scroll was in the Time-Wound, and she'd been lucky she'd been okay.
Serana placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm right here, okay?"
Akiseta nodded. She took a deep breath, and held up the first scroll. Unrolling it, a series of strange symbols glowed in front of her eyes, even as she laid the scroll aside. Reading the second scroll caused glowing lines to appear. The trilling became louder.
The third scroll made everything clear. It looked like a section of a map. It was the mountains roughly northwest of Markarth. A cave-like symbol was light up brightly. Words were etched in the vision beside it; Darkfall Cave. The trilling was very loud now, drowning out everything. The vision glowed extremely bright, everything going completely white.
Akiseta felt the warm water on her tail, and slowly opened her eyes, blinking as the world came back to her. She was on her knees in the water, being cradled by Serana. She could hear the vampire's voice now, asking if she was okay.
"That was strange.." Akiseta murmured into Serana's shoulder.
"Aki, your eyes... they looked so distant. It was like you weren't all here. And the, you collapsed to the ground, and you were trembling, almost violently. I almost thought I lost you." Serana said, stroking her feathers.
Akiseta couldn't help but smile at Serana's concern. It was sweet, and warmed her heart. She sat up a bit to meet Serana's eyes. "I'm fine, iluukai. I'm alright."
"I still don't trust those damn things. Anything could have happened." Serana turned a scowl to where the scrolls rested.
Akiseta let out a soft chuckle, pulling Serana into a hug. "I'm fine. And it worked."
"You know where to find the scroll?"
"Yes. It's in a place called Darkfall Cave. It's roughly northwest of Markarth."
"It's almost over then. We can finally put an end to this damn prophecy!"
There was genuine hope in Serana's eyes, and relief in her voice. So many long years of her life were stolen from her because of the prophecy. It still angered Akiseta a great deal when she thought about it, and what Harkon intended to do to Serana. He wasn't fulfilling the prophecy. He wasn't going to ruin the world. And he wasn't going to hurt Serana ever again.
"Yes, we can. This is the last step."
"Let's get going, then."
Serana stood and helped Akiseta to her feet. Akiseta took a quick glance across the glade. It looked like it had when she first got here, so her eyes were definitely fine. She slid the scrolls into her backpack and slipped it on.
"How much do you know about Auriel's bow, iluukai?" Akiseta questioned as they walked.
"Not a whole lot. It shows up in historical texts from time to time, but it's not easy to track. I do know that it's never been wielded by a vampire. That would be a new one. You know anything about it?"
"I know it supposedly draws its energy directly from the sun, which explains why it's in this stupid prophecy. I'm curious what the bow it capable of."
"I am too. I guess we'll find out when we get it."
Akiseta deeply breathed in the cold air outside. And she swore she picked up a faint scent. She breathed in deep again. Yes, it was a scent. 'No, wait... Scents.' She crouched low.
Serana followed suit, sniffing the air. "Vampires. I knew it." She whispered.
Several questions raced through Akiseta's mind. 'How long were we being followed? Do they know I found a way to read the scrolls? Do they want to kill us, or drag us to Harkon?'
Akiseta and Serana carefully peaked over the edge, looking down towards the bottom of the path. Akiseta counted three vampires, each with a thrall by their side. A large gargoyle, bigger than the ones in the castle ruins, followed along. Onyx mixed in with its grey coloring, standing out even with the overcast sky.
"Kaoc..." She muttered. She saw Serana gripping the hilt of her sword. "We're not in the best position to ambush them, you know."
"If we retreat into the glade, we could catch them by surprise."
"We can't fight them in there! It's a sacred place!"
"You have a better idea?" Serana hissed.
Akiseta cast a glace at the crevice leading to the glade. It probably did hold a tactical advantage. But the glade was so beautiful. Akiseta didn't want it to be tarnished by bloodshed. She looked around, desperately thinking of another way, her tail lashing across the snow.
'The snow..'
Akiseta looked at the rock wall behind and above them. It was like many of Skyrim's mountainsides. Snow clung to it like a blanket, and a few half-leafed trees gripped the slanted surface. An idea came to her.
Serana followed her gaze, and terrified realization came to her eyes. "Aki, no.."
Akiseta leaned over the edge and let out a sharp whistle. The vampires hastened their ascent up the path, unable to strike at her with spells from this angle. The gargoyle snarled, and leapt upward, using its wings to gain purchase, and grabbed the cliffside, starting to climb up.
Akiseta stood up, directing her attention to the upper mountainside. "FUS RO DAH!"
The snow began to cascade down the mountain. Akiseta grabbed Serana, and dragged her into the crevice as it roared down the mountain, robbing the opening of light.
They watched as the snow slid down like a waterfall. After some time, the rumbling noise came to a stop. Most of the snow had slid down past the crevice, allowing them to come out. Most of the pathway was gone, buried under the snow.
Serana was staring at the scene, understandably shocked. "I... I don't even know what to say right now."
"I... have to admit, this probably wasn't the best idea..." Akiseta said, looking at the result of what she did. Going down a slope of snow like this wasn't very safe.
Serana shook her head, walking to where snow covered the first part of the path. She held her hand out close to it, a frosty glow coming to her palm. It spread across the snow. She swung her hand to the side, flinging the snow off the path.
Akiseta looked on in amazement. "Woah... I didn't know frost magic could do that."
"You said yourself you don't know a lot about other forms of magic. Come on."
They carefully made their way down the path, Serana using her magic to clear away some heavier patches of snow.
"I'm sorry, about this, iluukai."
"It's alright, Aki. The glade is a sacred place, and I also wasn't thrilled about the idea of drawing blood in it. But this really wasn't one of your best ideas. It's like... that lightning thing you did in the Soul Cairn. You didn't have any other options, but those bolts could have hurt us."
"I know. I just couldn't see any other alternatives."
"And I understand that. And, I have to admit, seeing you be capable of stuff like this is really impressive."
"Well, I did tell you I had more surprises for you." Akiseta said playfully.
Serana smiled back at her, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I have a few of my own as well, dear."
