A/N: Thanks again to everyone who's taken an interest in this story. It amazing how many of you there are. And thanks to Happy Mistake for taking the time to leave such nice reviews. It really means a lot. I highly suggest you take a look at Happy Mistake's story Ashes to Embers. It's a really well written story with a great take on the Dragonborn. I have no doubts you'd enjoy it.
Serana enjoyed the vast beauty the valley had to offer. It was such a feast for the eyes that it made up for the arduous task of trekking across its length to get to these wayshrines.
They'd seen many of the pretty little gleaming blossoms, and those strange colored deer and Sabre Cats. At one point, they'd even come across a giant that was more beastly in appearance that its cousins in Skyrim. It was covered in shaggy white fur, and had horns atop its head. They'd steered well out of its way.
The only thing to give them trouble was a small group of white-haired Frostbite Spiders, because of course there were spiders here. Serana wasn't sure why, but as much as she didn't like the creatures period, she preferred the ones back home.
It was quite pretty here, but Serana also noticed it was as cold as the dead of winter. It didn't bother her, of course, but it had gotten to Akiseta, who had brought out her face cover.
They had enjoyed comfortable silence on their 'pilgrimage', occasionally breaking it to discuss either their little quest, or the valley itself. And as much as Serana wanted to find the bow and put and end to this prophecy that had torn up her life, a part of her selfishly didn't want it this to end quite yet.
Being out on this journey with Akiseta was more than wonderful. It was excitement she'd never gotten in her life, and there were many other things, all of them making her feel happier that she could ever remember being. And it was far away from everything her life had ever been. It was peace.
Maybe the two of them could come back here one day, after everything was over.
A crashing roar caught her ears as they climbed up a snow-covered rise. The narrow path led out to a large plateau that was mostly made up of a frozen lake, sunlight glittering off its smooth surface in a way that made it painful for Serana to look at.
The roar was the product of a waterfall; A pulsing stream of water cascading down a sheer cliff side, crashing through the only visible hole in the ice to feed the chilled water. A thin veil of mist clung near the bottom of the stream, accompanied by shimmers of rainbow light.
"This is rather pretty." Serana mused. "Makes all this walking worth it."
"And here I thought you were having fun." Akiseta teased, voice muffled a tad by her face cover.
"Because all this nonsense is just so enjoyable." Serana shot back. "You know, maybe we could bypass finding the other wayshrines, and just fill the ewer the rest of the way with lake water."
"I doubt that would work. Devout as the Snow Elves may have been, we wouldn't be the first to look for a short cut."
"It wouldn't hurt to try, would it? You think Auriel would care?"
"It doesn't matter. This mattered to the Snow Elves, and it matters to Gelebor."
"And a stranger's devotion is such a concern to you?"
"You didn't seem to mind my concern for a stranger when I found you, iluukai. Look, mock the gods and devotion all you want."
"Aki-"
"But to suggest we cheat something sacred like this is.."
"Akiseta." Serana said firmly, catching the Argonian's attention. "I was joking." 'Mostly.'
Akiseta sighed. "Sorry."
"Why do you care so much about a religious practice, anyway? You aren't one of such devotion, especially to Akatosh. You're strongest reverence is to Mara."
"It's not so much the practice itself as what it means. It was important to the Snow Elves, so we should take it seriously. And while I may not pray to Akatosh, he is the one responsible for my state of being, as Father of Dragons and all. I also don't have much faith in the Hist, but my parents did and my people do."
Serana understood Akiseta's response well enough. This whole thing remained an irritation to her, but she'd keep that to herself from now on.
As they walked up to the edge, of the path, Akiseta froze, her face becoming unreadable.
"Aki?" Serana asked.
"I feel it." Came the Argonian's whisper.
Confused, Serana followed her gaze. At first, it looked to be merely an outcrop of dark rock, but as they moved a little further, Serana saw a curved indent, and scratches she remembered seeing mesmerize Akiseta back in Dimhollow.
A Word Wall.
The tension in Akiseta's chest increased the closer they got to the wall. It reached deep inside her, tugging at her soul as if it had a rope. Her heart raced in time with the pulse of power, hers to claim.
She brushed a pile of snow away, and placed her hand on the walls surface, reveling in the eerie warmth on the stone. She traced her claws into the etchings, feeling as if they'd been made just for her. She murmured the writing to herself as she felt the power of a Thu'um resonate in her very being, before it softly ebbed away.
A new feeling replaced it, a different kind of tension she also knew all to well.
She shot to her feet and drew her sword as the sound of ice shattering reached their ears in an almost deafening manner. Two dragons burst forth from the ice, scattering frozen shards along the icy surface of the lake. Fleshy frills lined the sides of their necks and tails. Their scales were copper, tinged with gold and making them glint. Water droplets clung to them, being tugged off by the air as they wheeled in the sky.
'Voslaarum and Naaslaarum.' The names came to Akiseta's mind as if waiting for her to see the two dragons, and they brought a sense of familiarity, as if she'd known them all her life. In some way, maybe she had.
This happened a few other times with dragons, like Mirmulnir, the first dragon she'd slain. His name had invaded her thoughts as she'd absorbed his soul.
The larger of the two, Voslaarum, dipped in the sky, sending a thinned-out stream of fire their way, seeming to be a test rather than an assault. The two woman danced out of the way as the flames stroked the ground, creating stream as they melted the snow.
As Serana brought her freezing magic to her hands, Akiseta pulled down her face cover, and quickly considered her repository of Thu'ums. She didn't have one she could use on both dragons. They needed help. And Akiseta knew just who to call.
"DURNEHVIIR!"
A piece of the world seemed to split in two, opening up into inky, purple-black nothingness. And from that tear came Durnehviir, as if he'd been waiting patiently for this exact moment. Considering how dreadful the Soul Cairn had been, perhaps he had. Akiseta felt a pang of guilt for waiting so long to call him forth.
The dragon breathed in the fresh air deeply, then turned his gaze to Akiseta. "Thank you for this freedom, Qahnaarin, however brief it is."
"Durnehviir, I must as a favor for this freedom. Please, stand by my side in this battle!"
Durnehviir looked to the sky, gazing at the dragons in the sky, who were keeping their distance for a time. His look of sorrow reminded her of how they'd looked at each other on their first meeting. Akiseta shared his regrets on fighting more dragons, but she needed his help.
He turned his head back to her. "I would be honored to fight by your side, Qahnaarin."
Naaslaarum flew down, calling out a challenge. Durnehviir roared in response, pushing himself into the sky with strong flaps of his wings that whipped up a wind. The dragons dove at each other. Durnehviir feinted to the side to avoid Naaslaarum's talons, and struck the other dragon in the face with his tail. This left the copper-gold dragon off balance and vulnerable, and Durnehviir rammed into his side.
The deadly battle was almost hypnotic to see. Akiseta was broken from her trance at the sound of another roar as Voslaarum bore down on the, flames licking the edge of his mouth.
Akiseta threw herself in front of Serana, bracing the wrist of her off hand with the back of her sword arm, and threw up her strongest ward, bringing up the protective magic shield as the flames came at them.
The flames spread across the wards surface like liquid, and the pressure hammered against her arms, joints and muscles aching in protest, her body draining of its magicka reserves.
The flames died down a moment before the ward faltered, the air hot and reeking of burning flame and magic essence.
"FO KRAH DIIN!"
Frost covered the dragon's face, coating around his eyes, making his head lash about violently. Akiseta drew her blade upward in an underhanded motion, dragging it across Voslaarum's snout, before jumping back to avoid snapping teeth.
Serana struck him with her magic, both frost and lightning striking his side. He hissed and swung at her with his wing, nearly ripping into her with a sharp claw, before pushing back into the air with a burst of flame that made them back away again.
Durnehviir and Naaslaarum were still locked in battle, striking with talons and tails. Flames from Naaslaarum's mouth scorched Durnehviir's chest, and the undead dragon retorted with that same Shout he'd used to make Akiseta feel as if her body's energies were drained away back in the Soul Cairn.
Turning her head, Akiseta saw Voslaarum diving towards them, flames gathering in his mouth again.
"JOOR ZAH FRUL!"
The dragon's wings folded to his sides as he neared, his body plummeting. And Akiseta realized her mistake.
Voslaarum hit the ice near where she stood, breaking a large bunch of it as he fell through. Akiseta didn't have time to move, and plummeted underneath the frigid surface.
Her body seized up as she was submerged in the freezing water, her gills opening up. A face contorted in pure rage came at her, and forced her body out of its shock. She dove as Voslaarum snapped his teeth at her, striking him with the spines on her tail as he swam by.
She grabbed her blade as it sunk down to her, facing the dragon as he banked back around in her direction. She grabbed his wing as he swam at her, being pulled along through the water.
Voslaarum zigzagged through the water, trying to shake her off. She held on tight, driving her claws under his scales as she moved along his neck. He slammed into the underside of the ice, and she hissed in pain as her back connected with it. Water ran into her mouth, striking at the fleshy flap that sealed her throat under the water, and numbing her mouth with the cold.
Akiseta swung with her blade, driving it into the dragon's throat and causing him to let out a muffled shriek of pain. She dug her claws into the fleshy frill of his neck, driving the blade deeper, filling the dark water around them with blood.
She was shaken free amidst the dying dragon's spasm, shoved to the bottom of the lake. She stayed down there as the dragon's soul was torn from his corpse, filling her own self with a fiery sense of every bit of his being.
The sight of floating scales and glistening white dragon bones sinking under the water saddened her, pulling at her heart. She turned her head from the sight, and began swimming up to the surface.
As she neared one of the holes in the ice, her body was struck with shock as she felt the soul of the other dragon come to her through the frigid surface. The force of it was so intense she was knocked off balance.
As the warmth from the dragon souls died down, all the cold surrounding her came back, driving into her. She kicked up towards the hole. Breaching the surface, she spat out water, coughing and trying to breath as her gills sealed back up. Cold hands gripped her, dragging her the rest of the way out of the water.
Akiseta looked around, shivering. The bones of Naaslaarum lay a good distance away, resting on ice that spider webbed underneath them. Durnehviir made his way over to her, running his snout across her cheek. His scales were rough and felt gritty, but the warmth was welcome.
"Are you okay, Aki? Are you hurt?" Serana asked, looking over the Argonian's water-logged body for injuries.
"I'm f.f.f. freezing." Akiseta choked out through her chattering teeth. She wished she could say that's all that was wrong. But it wasn't.
Killing Milmulnir hadn't brought her pride or a sense of glory, nor had finding out she was Dragonborn. And as she came to understand what being Dragonborn was, killing dragons sickened her. It was just as hard as killing another Argonian.
Being recognized as the 'Thuri' by the other dragons made her happy, because they could learn Paarthurnax's way, and she wouldn't have to kill her brethren anymore. And up until now, she hadn't had to.
The sight of the bones resting on the ice, and the memory of the ones buried below it made her want to cry.
Dragon language
Thuri: Overlord