Unexpected Reunions
Dusty did settle down a bit when they took off, laughing and bouncing excitedly at the rush of motion. But as the minutes ticked away and he remained bound to his mother, his enthusiasm turned to irritation, and he began to fuss and kick-much to Dreyla's dismay. Paarthurnax, however, paid no attention to the increasingly irate baby.
Behind them, Ravenlight had beckoned the other two dragons down, one at a time. Zak and Drizzt mounted the first and were sent off after Paarthurnax; then she and Kaelen mounted the third and soared away themselves.
She wasn't sure how Zak was enjoying his first coherent ride on dragonback; but Kaelen, though keeping his mouth firmly shut, was hanging onto her for dear life, and she could feel the tension in him every the dragon adjusted to a crosswind or stray breeze.
Fortunately for all involved, the two hours were over quickly, and it was not long before they landed in front of the manor-much to the astonishment of the gathered Companions.
Dreyla struggled with the baby as he screamed his displeasure, stammering apologies to the dragon. As soon as they landed, she untied him and he instantly stopped crying.
Paarthurnax chuckled. "He did not like being bound, I see." He lowered his head almost to the ground to make it easier for the two to dismount.
"No. He likes being free to crawl around. Even as a newborn he hated being swaddled..." Dreyla said.
Behind them, the second dragon landed, and Zak showed how much he enjoyed being in the air by vaulting off its neck almost before it had reached the ground. He landed, rolled, and moved away, not quite shaking uncontrollably, but definitely not happy about where he'd just been.
"Well at least he's feeling good enough to do that." Drelasa said. Then she looked up. "Oh, this will be interesting..."
Dusty squealed happily as, attracted by the familiar cries he was not expecting to hear, his father came over.
"Veleth," Ravenlight greeted as she hopped down. Behind her, Kaelen dismounted, not quite as eagerly as Zak, but very near to it.
"Ravenlight." He went past to Dreyla, who about collapsed. He scooped the baby into one arm and held Dreyla up with the other. "So...they decided to play by different rules then?"
"More like by the rules they were already playing by: going after the family." Ravenlight grimaced. "Do you know where Gyrmallion is? There's something he may know about that we need to ask about, pretty urgently."
"He was checking on the others last I checked..." he said. "Late start after a late night and all..."
"How is everyone, by the way?" Drizzt dismounted and came over. "We didn't exactly have time to find out before we left."
"Gyrmallion was the worst off but...I think it was less the injuries and more Nevano's help that made his night interesting." Veleth rolled his eyes, leading them all inside. "Everyone else had minor injuries."
"I saw the claw marks," Ravenlight said wryly. "Otherwise...do I want to know?"
"It was friendly and he was almost fully on his best behavior." Veleth sighed. "However… if Gyrmallion ever gets uppity, just remind him of striped horses singing raunchy tavern songs."
"I...see."
A voice spoke from by the hearth. "The one with the golden eyes...Nevano, I think? gave him a swig of this...extraordinarily potent brandy. It got him drunk almost instantly." Elealda was stirring the fire, and a pot that...while not quite as aromatic as what Ravenlight could pull off, at least didn't reek as badly as some she remembered. "And I'm glad to see you two, because this is the extent of my cooking abilities, and I'm not sure how happy some of those warriors out there will be with it."
Drelasa bustled over. "Oh this is not bad at all. Don't sell yourself short. Here, just get a few vegetables and add a few pinches of this...and potent brandy? He brought that damned Dagoth brandy didn't he? Ugh. Stuff can pickle a gourd at thirty paces."
Veleth settled Dreyla by them, considering giving her a drop of the stuff. Dusty seemed absolutely no worse for wear, happily reaching for Elealda's hair.
"That's what he called it, Dagoth brandy." She shook her head. "I've never seen anything like it. He took a single swallow of it and couldn't move ten minutes later. And...I might have irritated Nevano by insisting he remember I'd asked him to find someone large to cart him inside after he got...distracted...because he was suggesting 'new names' for us before he vanished last night, all of them in Dunmeris, and even without knowing it, I can tell they're all quite insulting."
"Mildly, actually. The first few were teasing." Veleth snorted. "What he said after he was...interrupted was a bit more colorful. And not so nice."
Drelasa slapped a hand to her face with a groan.
"That...sounds like him." Dreyla said with a weak smile.
"What was distracting him?" Kaelen asked.
"If I had to guess?" Ravenlight said dryly, "Serana."
"First place goes to..." Veleth motioned at her. "Don't think any of you saw his face when Serana destroyed that ancient. He about tripped over his own swords. Well, the left one at least."
"I could have waited until they'd finished kissing, but it looked like it was going to take a while," Elealda said. "And I needed Gyrmallion moved rather...urgently. He certainly wasn't in any position to be moving himself, and I had a line to take care of."
"Considering they still haven't come back, accurate." Veleth said. "Though striped singing horses really made up for all that!"
"Yes, I'm sure it did, thank you," a dry voice came from behind them as Gyrmallion entered. "You've only reminded me of it six times already. Tellindil said you wanted to ask me something?"
"What can I say? You sing better than the pirates I normally have to watch after!" Veleth laughed.
Dusty laughed along with him.
"You think that's funny too?" Veleth grinned at his son, bouncing him up. "Maybe you can convince him to do it again."
Dusty blew raspberries and laughed hysterically.
"He's cute." Gyrmallion smiled at the little boy. "But he's not going to convince me to take another swig of that stuff unless I get another set of hybrid demon claws in me-and in something more painful than my shoulder. What was it you were wanting to know?"
"Something called the Heart of the Empire," Ravenlight answered. "That last demon said something about it before it was...destroyed for trying to talk, I guess."
Gyrmallion went rigid. "The Heart of the Empire?" His voice was a suddenly-hoarse whisper.
"I tried to get him to speak on it to spare you but I might have pushed too far..." Drelasa said.
"No, I was watching," Ravenlight answered grimly. "It was trying to speak. That one was a coward. Something was keeping it from talking-and then killed it when it said even as much as it did." She glanced at Gyrmallion. "So you do know what it was talking about."
He sank into a chair, his hands clenching and unclenching, before he nodded. "It's...the most closely-guarded secret I have. I...for over thirty years now, I've kept it silent." He smiled a little. "But...I guess it doesn't matter now. Because the reason I kept it silent...well...was because I was a Thalmor, and it would have cost me my life and the life of my men. Now, though..."
He shrugged, but it still took a bit of a struggle before he began talking. "About three years into the Great War, General Naarifen called me away from hunting the Blades. I'd proved...capable of finding difficult targets, and he had another job for me: hunt down and destroy what he called 'the Heart of the Empire'. To cut a long story short, I found it, and took a hand-picked group to go in and destroy it." He inhaled. "I had expected...an artifact of sorts, whether symbolic or magical. What I found was a terrified young woman in rich clothes, clutching two small children to herself."
"Symbolic...the emperor's family?" Veleth asked.
"Yes. He hoped that by killing them, we would cut the heart out of the Emperor, and stem the resistance." His hands clenched. "Naarifen, as it turned out, made a mistake. Because it was not all that long ago that I had clutched the bodies of a woman and two children to me: my wife and twin sons, murdered when-I thought-the Blades destroyed the town of Glasryn in Elswyr. And I didn't care who they were or what race they belonged to. I was not going to inflict that pain on anyone else." His hands had briefly relaxed; now they clenched again. "I knew that, were I to simply refuse, my men and I would be killed, and another group sent to finish the task we failed. So I hid them. There was a place I knew they would be both hidden and safe. I took their seals, their clothes...dipped them in blood, turned them over to Naarifen." He grimaced. "He expressed disappointment that I hadn't brought anything more… tangible, but believed me when I told him the other tokens were no longer recognizable. In the meantime, I sent her and her children to-to safety, gods, I still can't say where that is out loud-and set up a ward with them, to warn me if they were on the verge of being discovered."
"But now Naarifen is but a memory swinging from the White Gold tower and Molag Bal is looking." Drelasa said, stirring the pot. "While I have no doubt you have powerful wards around them, are they strong enough to keep these hybrid demons out? He's daring to attack us here and he dared attack in the middle of the day in the center of a large, busy city. Whatever we think he won't do...needs to be shoved aside. He will."
"You're right." He stood. "Ravenlight, do you have a map of Tamriel? It occurs to me that the name itself might not mean anything without a map to show where it is."
"I do, actually. Kind of old, but...it at least shows the countries." She stood and went into the back, returning a few moments later with a rolled piece of parchment. They gathered around as she spread it out.
Gyrmallion searched for a moment, then tapped it. "There. Glimmosven Island. Belongs to my family; tiny little piece of land everyone forgot about, except I used to spend summers there as a boy and was always fond of the place. The estate there was supposedly falling into ruin, no one had been there for decades." He smirked. "Except it wasn't. A small clan of Khajiit have been living there. I found them when I was a child and befriended them; helped maintain the deception that the place was a worthless ruin to keep anyone from shoving them off. "
"So, not in the Imperial City." Drelasa said. "In that case, we must move quickly. But there is a small problem I wish to address."
"Which is?" Everyone looked at her.
"Defeating the damned things." Drelasa said. "It takes an enormous amount of energy and magic to channel the Daedra Lords. We can't keep doing that. Not if they get smart and send several at us at once. Ravenlight and Drizzt are channeling Aedra and, as soon as Zak settles in his power, Ebonarm. That makes six of us that can actually send these things back to hell. That is not nearly enough."
Ravenlight suddenly jerked up. "Imbuing weapons with the power of the Divines. I said that-and I think I know how to do it. If I'm right-and I don't have any reason to believe it won't work-we'll be able to arm everyone in our army with weapons that can handle those things." She turned and ran for the cellar. "I'm going to go see if I'm right!"
"The good news is that Mephala has not been idle all this time." Drelasa said. "There is something we can seek. A weapon. Mephala seems to think that if we can find this weapon, we can learn the enchantment on it and put that enchantment on other weapons."
"What sort of weapon?" Gyrmallion leaned forward a little.
"For that...we need Nevano. Well, more than that, we need Nerevar." Drelasa said. "Mephala will never come out and say anything directly. She is weaving her web but she whispered to me a few strands. Enchantment, weapon and Nerevar." Drelasa raised one hand, clouds rolling overhead. "I hate to interrupt but I wish to know this. If it's something that will arm all the warriors here, it's worth any effort we can."
"Especially since we got eighty five more hybrid demons left to kill." Veleth said. "Well… eighty four now." He amended.
"That's still...a lot," Zak said reluctantly. "And if more of them have tricks like the last one..."
"I'm fairly certain we've only seen the weakest ones." Veleth said, twitching a little as a single crack of thunder made the trees shudder.
"That will bring him running," muttered Drizzt. "Probably cranky as a bear with a sore paw, but...it'll bring him."
Drelasa smiled at him. "He's had all night. He shall survive this injustice and be thankful I didn't bring that lightning bolt on him."
"He certainly did." Catti-Brie appeared, coming down the stairs, baby in arm. "I don't know where they went, but I saw when they slipped off together, right after Veleth brought Gyrmallion inside."
Drelasa merely smiled happily at that.
Dreyla's eyes went wide. "Wait...Nevano is...?"
"They've been very...obvious about it," Drizzt said, walking over to Catti-Brie for a quick kiss before accepting Alustra. "I don't think they realize how obvious they've been, though."
Dreyla blinked.
"He crashed headfirst into it." Veleth smiled at her. "Funny enough, I think Nevusa did too."
"What is in the water here?" Dreyla asked.
Dusty merely headbutted his father in the chest hard enough to earn a grunt and giggled.
"Right in the burn." Veleth winced. "Good aim there...I think."
"Didn't know you'd been burned there," Elealda commented wryly, "unless you're talking about that seared-shut wound."
"That one." Veleth said.
"Wait what?" Dreyla was on that quick. "What seared-shut wound? What did you get yourself into this time?"
"Aye, calm down. Boethiah got testy and I didn't dodge it fast enough." Veleth said. "She helpfully sealed it later. It's fine, just sore when a baby suddenly turns into a mini kagouti and headbutts it."
A second roll of thunder interrupted them, this one with a very obvious flash and a burst of cold wind. Drelasa's expression was going flat and she was stirring the pot a bit harder than necessary.
Fortunately for them, the door banged open a minute later, Serana and Nevano hurrying inside. Both looked rather...disheveled.
"You thundered?" Nevano panted.
"Sorry," Serana gasped. "But we fell asleep, and then when we woke up, we had to get-" she broke off with a squeak as she realized how many people were in the room.
Nevano blinked. "Dreyla? What are you...? Why are you and Dusty here?" He looked at Veleth's thunderous expression. "Oh no...the demons again?"
"There's more than that." Drelasa motioned. "Sit...and I need to speak to Nerevar."
"He used up too much energy fighting last night but he's listening." Nevano said. "I'll pass along what he says."
Drelasa nodded and repeated the story, starting from when they landed at the Throat of the World all the way until they landed. "I don't think the weapon mentioned is Trueflame or Hopesfire because you didn't use those."
"No...not them." Nevano trailed off, his eyes going distant. "He knows what you are talking about."
Everyone leaned forward slightly. "What is that?"
"It's a knife." Nevano said. "Vivec used it to actually kill one of those demons called… City-Face? Are you kidding? No, okay. It's...hang on, he's all over the place. He's having a hard time concentrating. He picked up the knife after Vivec threw it aside. Why, he won't say. Just said the sermons are wrong. Well, yeah, we knew that." Nevano said. "The knife had an emotional connection and he cannot settle on it. Which means he did something he greatly regrets and I suspect I know what. Name first, Nerevar. Ethos Knife! It was called the Ethos Knife!"
"Ethos Knife," Catti-Brie mused. "I wonder...I don't know if scrying works the same way here as it does back at home...but if he could tell us a little more about it, I might be able to see where it can be found now." She grimaced. "Though...emphasis on might. Scrying still isn't really a sure thing for me."
"I'm trying. As I said, he's being really squirmy about it." Nevano tilted his head back and forth. "Only one topic gets him this evasive and that's the Battle of Red Mountain OW! Vith!" Nevano rubbed at his ear furiously. "Apparently I was right. Trueflame was shattered in that battle...he used the Ethos Knife to kill Dumac, didn't you Nerevar? Nerevar?"
"Who was Dumac?" Zak asked.
"Dumac was the Dwemer king...and a friend of Nerevar's." Nevano said. "Nerevar managed to get peace between the Chimer and the Dwemer, even a friendship. He considered Dumac a very close friend. But they were both betrayed and they never knew it. Their friendship was destroyed and the two races went to war, though both kings were very reluctant over it. The end result was Nerevar killed Dumac, apparently with the Ethos Knife, the Dwemer disappeared entirely through...mysterious means, and Nerevar was murdered by Vivec, Sotha Sil and Almalexia. Voryn Dagoth went missing only to re-emerge as Dagoth Ur, and I had to clean that whole mess up."
There was a collective exhale. "I...can see why he wouldn't like to talk about it," Gyrmallion muttered.
"I got to meet three out of four of them." Nevano said. "Each time, he about lost it. Can't say I blame him. Only one of those close to him didn't betray him. Just one and history doesn't like remembering him so much. As for the knife...I don't think he knows what happened to it. Given that he lived only a few hours after all that happened and what all happened after the battle, there's no telling where it is. There wasn't just Dwemer and Chimer there that day. There were Nords, Orcs and even some Khajiit were rumored to be there. Anyone could have picked that knife up and taken it home."
"Khajii-" Gyrmallion's eyes widened. "Gods above!"
"What?" Nevano asked. "Oh please tell me you know where it is!"
"I might! The Khajiit tribe on Glimmosven-back when I first met them, they were extremely suspicious of me. And before you say it was because I was a Thalmor, I was seven years old when I met them, just old enough to keep a secret. Once they found out I wasn't going to blab about them living in the ruins of the old estate, one of the elders of the clan told me they were protecting something: an ancient weapon of Mephala, brought by their ancestors from the slopes of Red Mountain. When I got older, I half-suspected they were making up stories to make them seem more important-but I was friends with them then, and wouldn't have told anyone anyway."
"Nerevar didn't say anything about it being Mephala's..." Nevano said.
"Mephala was the anticipation of Vivec though." Veleth said. "So...makes sense."
"And it would make more sense, considering that the knife was used for almost the same purpose as the Ebony Blade." They jumped at Ravenlight's voice: none of them had heard her come back. She held a sheathed glass sword in one hand, and looked exceedingly pleased with herself. "It worked."
"What worked?" Nevano asked though he almost regretted asking.
"The consecration." She held out the blade. "Veleth, I'm not sure you should touch it: I specifically asked the Aedra who would give aid against Molag Bal, and Arkay and Stendarr answered. But...get near it, it's more than possible to sense their power in it."
Veleth held his hands up. "Boethiah is declaring no enmity with the Aedra in this but I refuse to test that."
"Wise idea." Ravenlight grimaced. "Like I said, I don't know if you should touch it. But...there's power here. And I'm willing to believe it could take down one of those demon hybrids."
Nevano snorted. "I feel like there is so much daedric influence floating around that the Aedra are starting to feel a little left out. And though I don't want to really test that out...we probably won't have to wait long. So, we got this and we get the Ethos Knife. Have the Daedra solution and the Aedra solution. Everyone can pick which they want. Molag Bal gets his ass kicked in the end."
"Won't argue with that." She set the blade to the side, where it wouldn't be accidentally knocked over or banged into by anyone. "We need to reach the Heart of the Empire as fast as possible, which will mean dragonback..." she sighed, "again...but if it gets them safe, I won't complain."
"Can take Nevusa and ride as a cat." Nevano suggested.
"I think I will this time around." She looked at Gyrmallion. "You'll have to come, too, obviously; if this clan is suspicious of outsiders-and has been hiding the Emperor's heirs for the past thirty years-there's no way they're going to trust some random strangers who arrive on dragonback."
He grimaced, but nodded. "I expected that."
Nevano grunted. "Nerevar wants to go too, but I will leave that to you."
Gyrmallion hesitated. "I...wouldn't mind his company. If you don't."
Nevano laughed. "He rents a room in here." He pointed to his own head. "I have his company whether I want it or not. He might not be able to come through the whole time but if he says something, I will let you know."
"I don't care if you come." Ravenlight shrugged. "I've got the name of an Elder Dragon I can call; give Odahviing a rest. He won't mind not having to ferry us across the entire continent." She looked at the map and went still. "Oh...Glimmosven is...near Valenwood."
"I would like it, then." Gyrmallion said. He glanced over at Ravenlight. "Is there...a problem?"
"Not really. It's just...I haven't been back to Valenwood since I left there. Nearly a hundred years ago now."
Nevano didn't say anything. He knew that pain. He didn't know what to tell her to make it any better.
She sighed, stroking the map. "If we see...my home village's tree...I may ask to stop. To see them all again. I don't know if we will. Cothy'rim is tiny, and its path is...erratic. It's what saved us during..." She glanced at Gyrmallion and fell silent.
"I'll get my bag." Nevano said. "Better not take too long in going. Molag Bal won't wait." He took Serana's hand and left the room.
Gyrmallion stood and gently, almost hesitantly, put his hand on Ravenlight's shoulder. "I...am sorry," he said quietly.
She glanced at his hand, then at him, a little smile on her face. "You weren't involved in that, were you?" she said. "The Purges."
He hesitated, then shook his head. "No. But I was...a Thalmor, at the time."
She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I don't think you'd have...agreed, or gone along with it. Not if what you told us about the Heart of the Empire is true. You weren't involved. You're not responsible, and I don't blame you."
"Nevano thinks differently," he said quietly.
"Nevano does not have a dragon living in him that would happily take that hatred and run with it," she said, her mouth twisting. "I've seen Alduin, I've seen Miraak, and I do not want to become anything like them."
"Nevano shared that brandy with you." Veleth said flatly. "He's slowly changing his mind."
Gyrmallion nodded. "I will...accept that. It definitely made...getting stitched back up easier."
"Also, him coming up with stupid nicknames for you is also his way of showing approval." Veleth set Dusty on the ground and let him crawl around. "There are far worse things to be called than an Alit tongue."
"Like the things Elealda said he was suggesting after she made him get you to bring me inside?" He was smiling as he said it.
"No that was before. What he said to her was, very roughly, go drink vinegar." Veleth said.
All the Altmer laughed at that. "I wish I'd known," Elealda said. "I'd have asked him how he knew the condition of our camp drinks!"
"That is just an innate thing with him." Veleth smirked.
"So, Gyrmallion, that ward thing you mentioned: is there any way you can tell if they're being hunted yet or not?" Ravenlight turned to him. "Because I'd like to prepare a little this time, if possible."
Gyrmallion frowned, then nodded. "I'll need a few things to set it up, but yes. I can check-and might even be able to strengthen the ward to hide them from Bal, even from here. I'll certainly give it a try."
Veleth redirected Dusty from crawling into trouble. "I'll let Nevusa know. Peel her off of Farkas."
"All right." Ravenlight beckoned to Gyrmallion. "This way, I'll show you a decent place to set up; and let me know what you need. If it's not something that has to come from outside Skyrim, chances are good I've got some or know where to get it."
It had only taken Nevano a moment to grab his bag but it was merely an excuse. He'd rather be with Serana but the room had been a bit too crowded for her.
He chose a spot and settled down with her. "Always something, isn't it?" She curled her fingers around his hand, resting her head against his shoulder.
"Almost always is." She sighed. "Though not usually this...frantic. Do you know when you're planning to leave?"
"Given how Molag Bal has this unhealthy obsession with kids, probably as soon as they can stomach it." Nevano frowned. "I really don't like how he's targeting the small ones. That's sinking to a very low and very dangerous level. Low even for a Daedra Lord."
Serana hesitated, then shook her head. "No. I...don't like remembering, but now I do. How old would you say I...well, not am...but was when it...stopped?"
"Like me. Far too young." He said. "A child yourself but then the rest of it was stolen."
She smiled, then it slipped. "I had...a sister. Almera. She was..." She swallowed. "Offered, the same as me. My mother underwent the ceremony...in hopes of keeping her from it." She closed her eyes. "My father...offered her anyway, while Mother was transitioning. Almera was...twelve." She took a shuddering breath. "She didn't survive. Remembering her hurt so bad that I...I blocked her from my memory for...millenia afterward. I had just transitioned as well...but I saw...what he did to her. He was even more eager for her than he...had been for me."
Nevano shuddered. "Gods..."
"He's always targeted the little ones," she whispered. "He hungers for their...their innocence. My father made sure I stayed a virgin until he knew that Bal would...answer the summons, for that reason."
"Anything that hungers for a child like that..." Nevano winced. "One thing my people do right is they have no tolerance for that. We shuned them. It's rare, very rare. It's a fate worse than death. The ancestors shun them, rejecting them. They destroy the soul as the body is destroyed. They become miserable, shambling wrecks, kept in the graveyards in Necrom, used as punching bags for training soldiers. For those that prey on children? It's a fitting end."
She buried her face in his neck. "I wish we could do that for Bal, and all his creatures," she whispered.
He held her close. "When Dagon tried to take over Cyrodiil and failed, the other lords made fun of him. They still do. Bal? No one is laughing. Not even Sanguine or Sheogorath. We will humiliate him on this plane and then let the Daedra Lords get creative in their punishments while we focus on building a life."
She nodded. "I...we can do that." She was quiet for a few moments longer. "I...have to tell… Did you hear...about the undercroft of Castle Volkihar? I know Ravenlight will sometimes mention it to people. It's one of those things you...you have to tell about."
"I heard mentions but nothing other than a shudder."
"There were over five thousand year's worth of bones in there. Vampires go through thralls...quickly. The strongest might last a decade. The weaker ones only last a week, and that's not counting the..." she pressed her lips together, "the playthings of an evening. Hundreds of thousands of skeletons. I hadn't known...they threw the bodies of the women who didn't survive the ritual down there, as well. And...their spirits stayed there, fearing to rise, fearing to be caught by the power of Molag Bal's altar above, and dragged to Coldharbor. Almera was there. So many people I knew..." She swallowed. "I didn't recognize her when we first went through. She knew me, called to me, but I didn't remember her. I knew her on the way back."
She stared ahead, blinking back tears. "When we destroyed the Volkihar clan-killed my father-we smashed the altar. Ravenlight, Drizzt, me-everyone in the Dawnguard, almost. We smashed it to dust and threw the dust in the ocean. And I felt the spirits...finally rise. Finally leave the Undercroft. And I...I didn't know if they'd still be able to escape. So I jammed the Dawnbreaker into the floor where the altar had stood, and prayed that, if they couldn't rise to Aetherius...that Meridia would take them, and keep them safe from Bal." She wiped her eyes. "Almera was the last to leave. I really couldn't see most of the others; just heard their whispers as they rose. She touched my face...and thanked me."
Nevano wiped her tears away. "They are free from it. You freed them."
She nodded. "It...I won't say it freed me, yet, but...I know my clan's legacy is now...only me. My mother is back on this plane; she ended her time in the Soul Cairn when my father died. But she is content in what we left of the castle: creating blood potions, tending her garden. She spent five thousand years in the Soul Cairn, just as I spent five thousand years imprisoned in a stone coffin; she is happy now in the wind and the rain, and the moonlight." She swallowed. "And I...I want to live." Her hand found his again. "With you."
He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "We have a lot of living to do, together. I got centuries, you got thousands to make up for. This time, no one can take it from us."
Ravenlight saw them and carefully backed away, making sure to make no noise on the floor. She turned and smiled at Drelasa, walking close to her to talk quietly. "Would you happen to know if we've had word back yet from Erandur or the College? This needs to happen, and preferably soon."
"All the excitement I haven't been looking." She whispered. "I can go check."
"Please. Third floor of the alchemy tower, at the roof. Nest right behind the cupola. If a reply came and no one was here to accept it, they leave them there."
Drelasa disappeared without a sound.
Ravenlight and Catti-Brie exchanged a grin. Elealda glanced at them curiously, eyebrows raised. "Is there something I should know about?"
Ravenlight considered, then explained the situation between Nevano and Serana in a few words. The surgeon's eyes lit up, and she barely held back a squeal.
"A wedding-you're planning a wedding for them?!"
Dreyla looked up, her eyes sparkling. "I...can't believe what I'm hearing. Really and truly?"
"Really and truly." Ravenlight grinned. "I got his armor spruced up for the purpose-it really looks nice-got the rings made...Serana's going to borrow a dress Nevano found for me to wow the crowds back in Blacklight, it looks like something off a statue of Azura, and she is stunning in it...and I've sent messages to a priest of Mara and a priestess of Azura about it. That's what Drelasa's going up to see, if they've answered yet."
Dreyla put her hand to her mouth and giggled. "How did you get him out of it? I've only seen him out of it one time and that was with Drelasa cursing up a storm trying to keep his skin on."
Ravenlight covered her own mouth to keep back a snorted laugh. "He was thrown headfirst into the swamp by a daedroth. Muddy from his head to his heels, and reeking, it was one of those nasty stagnant pools. I demanded he skin out of it before I did it myself, and Serana coaxed him along." She giggled. "Even got his boots."
"Oh gods." Dreyla giggled openly. "He would take those and throw them at Veleth when he got irritated. Chases my big, bad husband from the room every time."
"They were...well, rank is putting it mildly. The lining, however, got introduced to the inside of my foundry about three seconds after the stench hit me, so there's new lining now, and they don't reek so badly. Resoled them, too, and mended the really bad parts on the top. There's enough of the old boots left to keep him from griping...but they're considerably more pleasant to be around now."
"What still needs to be done?" Elealda leaned forward eagerly.
"Yes!" Dreyla lit up. "Let us know how we can help."
"Well..." Ravenlight considered. "We're having the wedding on the portico of Meridia's Temple, just outside Solitude. Serana is...I won't say a champion of Meridia, but I do think it's safe to call her a favorite, so the location felt right. It's a nice spot...but aside from the statue of Merida, and the little altar where her beacon is, the area is pretty bare. It's spring now, so there will be mounds of mountain flowers around the area, not hard to gather...and since Drizzt and Zak are not coming with us for this little jaunt, they can go with you and get rid of any predators or bandits that might be in the area."
"I'll help with that, too," Catti-Brie offered, eyes twinkling.
"Oh, this will be fun!" Dreyla said.
Drelasa came down and handed Ravenlight a small stack. "You had quite a few."
"Oh, wow. The hawks were busy." Ravenlight took the letters and flipped through them. "Riften, Windhelm, Winterhold-" she ripped that one open and quickly paged through it-"Yes, they got my message and they're bringing her. Most of them will go on to Whiterun, but Faralda will bring Aranea here. Let's see...Delphine, ah, she got hold of Madanach, I hope that means they're coming...Solitude, I'll need to read that, Elisef probably needs help again… Dawnstar… Ah! And Erandur!" She set most of the letters aside and opened the last. "And he's coming, too. He'll start tomorrow morning and probably be here by mid-afternoon, and Aranea and Faralda are coming by boat, so they should be here at roughly the same time." She grinned at the others. "They're coming! It's happening!"
Drelasa nearly danced. "Oh, I can't believe it!"
"I don't know how long it will take to retrieve the Heart of the Empire," Ravenlight said, "but we'll try to be back as soon as possible. If you could have everything ready by then..." She grinned, "then once we're back, I will bring the last element, which will be the groom."
"Drop him in a lake along the way." Drelasa grinned. "We'll have everything ready. As soon as you touch the ground we'll get him ready and drop him at the altar. Oh I wish I had a way to immortalize the look on his face when he realizes what's going on!"
"So do I," Ravenlight admitted. "This...no matter how it goes, this will be the perfect end to this little trip."
"Hopefully a lovely end for the new guests too." Drelasa said.
"Or a lovely middle before the reunion." Ravenlight chuckled. "They likely won't consider it ended until they're back at home. Which is understandable."
"Hmm true. Especially since I don't think it's going to be pleasant there." Drelasa said. "Though...let's try to aim for dawn."
Footsteps came down the stairs, and they turned to see Gyrmallion. He looked tired, but pleased. "The wards are still strong, and nothing has dared them yet," he reported. "And I was able to strengthen them to not merely warn me, but actually keep back anything that tries to attack."
"Good. Hopefully that means nothing will be able to claw you to shreds before you notice it." Drelasa said.
"About that..." Gyrmallion looked over at Ravenlight. "Do you have a problem with me carrying that sword you consecrated earlier? I'd like to be able to know that the weapon I'm carrying will be able to harm one of those things."
"I do not mind at all," she answered. "And...you know what, there's a suit of armor I made with you and yours in mind down in the forge room. You might as well put that on, too: might protect you a little better if we do run into one of those things." She sighed. "I'm going to wear the dragon armor just in case; hopefully it won't interfere too much with Nevusa's spell."
"It managed around the Ebony Mail just fine." Drelasa smiled. "That dragon bone is thicker but I think it'll manage. Or you'll be an armored cat."
She shrugged. "Probably won't be any more uncomfortable, and at least that way I won't have to sit the whole way through. I haven't been this sore since we had to race back from Labyrinthian." She looked around. "Speaking of Nevusa, though...how long ago did Veleth say he'd find her?"
As if on cue, Veleth returned, smirking and dragging Nevusa, who was cursing wildly and colorfully in several languages, by the foot.
"Here. This is yours now." His smirk grew wider as he dropped Nevusa's foot and scooped up Dusty. "Whew, 'Vusa, you kiss your new lover with that mouth?"
"Had to literally drag her away, did you?" Ravenlight blinked down at her.
"I gave her options." Veleth grinned as Dusty laughed.
Nevusa glared heatedly.
"We've got to head down to an island off the coast of Valenwood to head off the next attack of Bal's children," Ravenlight explained, "and I am incredibly sore from all the riding. Once I call the dragon in, I'm perfectly willing to go as a cat or something similar."
"Oh. See if the bull-headed idiot had said that." She made a rude gesture at Veleth who ignored her. "Sure. I actually think I got a form you'll like. I practiced last night on a few vampires. Worked perfect."
Ravenlight held up a hand to stem her enthusiasm slightly. "I need to get my dragon armor on, and my weapons. And Nevano's coming, probably in regular form, as is Gyrmallion, because he's the only one these people will trust."
"Yeah he did the cat thing as a favor but I doubt he'll do it again..." She said. "Too bad. Gyrmallion would make a pretty kitty."
"Well, he wants to talk with Nerevar." Ravenlight shrugged. "I'll go get my armor on, then call Kriifaadneh, and possibly explain to him why you're turning me into a cat before it happens."
"Not a cat this time. Don't worry! You'll like it!" Nevusa said. "I'll get my things!"
Ravenlight watched her go with some misgivings, then shook her head and went upstairs to get on her dragon armor.
"I'm dragging her back again, aren't I?" Veleth sighed.
"Almost assuredly." Drelasa took Dusty from him for her turn to cuddle him.
About five minutes later, they heard the trapdoor open, then light steps approached. One of the Altmer who'd been in the back let out a stunned exclamation in Aldmeri. A moment later, Gyrmallion entered the front room, clad in the striking armor Ravenlight had previously shown Drelasa. It fit him perfectly.
"Oh that looks even better on you." Drelasa said appreciatively.
"Definitely not Thalmor." Veleth said, though there was a definite note of approval in his tone.
"No, definitely not Thalmor." He held out one arm, looking at the gauntlets with a sort of dazed admiration. "This is..."
The stairs above creaked, and Ravenlight came down, once again in her intimidating dragon-scale armor. "Oh, that looks good on you. Does it fit properly?"
"We might find a different name than 'Alit tongue' but...you really need a different title." Veleth said. Dusty stuck his tongue out when he heard 'tongue'.
"Chii Chare," said Elealda suddenly. They all looked at her. "The Transformed People. It's a fair description of us, isn't it? And it will...appeal to the others still in the ranks who I know are getting sick of the fighting."
Drelasa smiled. "That is a good one. I like it."
"So do I," Ravenlight said.
Gyrmallion smiled. "Chii Chare. I like it, too."
Ravenlight looked around. "Are we all ready then? Veleth, go haul Nevusa outside; Drelasa, I think it might be safest if you pried Nevano off Serana. I'll go call the dragon."
Veleth groaned but headed out, bellowing something in Dunmeri at Nevusa as soon as he walked out.
Drelasa returned Dusty to his earlier exploration, which he happily scuttled off to. "Ignore the obvious cursing you hear."
"I'll keep that in mind." Ravenlight exchanged a grin with Drizzt, then headed outside. A few moments later, they heard her Shout. "KRII FAAD NEH!"
There was a loud scuffle and Veleth and Nevusa came up, Veleth rubbing his jaw and Nevusa looking distinctly ruffled, rubbing her knuckles.
"Catch her before she reached Farkas?" Drizzt asked, trying to soothe his startled and fussing daughter.
"He keeps that up and he won't get the chance to sire another child." She gave Veleth a nasty glare.
"If you carry your threats out like you hit, I don't think I'm going to lose much sleep." Veleth said easily, which only infuriated her more.
"Did you actually bother to gather anything up before...going to say goodbye?" Gyrmallion asked, trying to hide the smile tugging at the side of his face.
She turned her glare to him, one so nasty it threatened to set him on fire. Then her bag crashed into her so hard it nearly sent her flying.
"Knock it off. You'll see your new sweetheart when you get back." Veleth smirked.
"Least I won't show up pregnant on his doorstep..." She muttered darkly.
"Oh, ouch." Veleth elbowed her. "That hit a bit below the belt there."
The house shook as something landed nearby, and a deep voice rumbled in the dragon language. Ravenlight answered, partly in Dovahzuul, partly in the common tongue.
"I think your ride's here," Drizzt said wryly.
Gyrmallion picked up the sword Ravenlight had displayed to them as consecrated earlier and gasped. "She...wasn't exaggerating. This is a powerful weapon...maybe not an artifact, but close." He fastened it to his belt. "This, I think, will make any more of those demons take notice." He glanced at Veleth and Nevusa, shook his head a little, and walked past them out the door.
Veleth shoved her forward. "If you try to turn me into an animal as a parting shot, I wouldn't trust your hair potions ever again."
Nevusa's eyes went wide and she about ran to the dragon.
"One left..." Veleth looked back at the house.
Nevano came flying out of the house faster than anyone had seen him move. "Getonthedragonlet'sgolet'sgoLET'SGO!" He spilled in a rush, staring back at the house like it was about to bite him.
The dragon in question, a massive golden creature with a squarer head than most, and fewer spikes, stared at him in confusion. "And this, Dovahjud?"
"This is Nevano, the last of the group." Ravenlight arched an eyebrow at him. "Do I want to know what Drelasa threatened you with to get you out here this fast?"
Veleth was almost twitching over by Drizzt, biting his lip almost bloody to keep from laughing. He knew exactly what his devious mother just did.
"Nope!" Nevano nearly yelped.
"I...see." Ravenlight shook her head. "All right. Kriifaadneh, you understand what the plan is?"
The huge dragon nodded. "Geh. It is...strange to me, but I do not...object." He lowered his head enough that they would have little to no difficulty mounting.
"Okay...you ready?" Nevusa asked.
Ravenlight took a deep breath. "Nothing that might impair my balance up there, please."
"You'll be small enough you can hunker down and nothing he does will upset your sense of balance." Nevusa grinned.
"All right then."
With a pop, Ravenlight disappeared and a raven was in her place. "I thought it was a bit fitting," Nevusa admitted. The raven held out her wings and examined them, glanced at Nevusa, and then, with a motion that was oddly like a shrug, flapped up to perch directly behind the dragon's head.
Nevusa turned herself into a cat and leaped up lightly to settle between the two mer.
Veleth watched as the gold dragon launched itself up and off, a few powerful beats of its wings taking them out of sight quickly. It was only then he allowed the laugh out he had been holding and looked up to see his mother watching from the door.
"Don't you think using a rat was a bit underhanded?" He asked.
"Not at all." Drelasa tossed the mouse off into the brush. "They need to get moving and we have a lot to do in a short amount of time."
