BEFORE THE STORM

The power was intoxicating. She felt the familiar humming of lighting in her bones, like she did so long ago. She smiles, she can actually smile now, so she's making a habit of it. Sometimes it brings smiles to other's faces, others grimace at her. They know something is wrong.

Nazir and Babette, the new slaves, are back at the Castle. A new velvet black dress clings to her youthful skin. Babette was directed to make it and she did as good a job as any child vampire. Once she was clothed and decorated in her gems, she told the jester to find a carriage. They are now almost to Whiterun. Cicero sits next to her and holds her hand. The lovely Child was so loyal. Freakishly so.

It wasn't hard to find. There's a ruined tower out in the fields before reaching the city. The Night Mother remembered that from her time with Eve. When they passed the roads this way, she remembered seeing a dragon, even when Eve did not. Oblivious one she is. Her pretty lips curl again at the thought of her old host. So easy to control.

"We are here Mother!" Cicero leaps off, giving her a hand to get down. The Night Mother is strong, she doesn't need this kind of special treatment. But servitude makes one…obedient.

A few guards litter themselves around the tower. "Deal with them." She commands Cicero. He squeals with glee before going off to kill each and every one of them. The Night Mother just stands in the field, against the moonlight. The breeze had finally ebbed. Her darkened velvet form is now glowing in the night, draped in a cascading dress and cloak fit for a queen. The weight of the jewelry is a comfort. Gems fit for resurrection. She would acquire more opulent items at a later date.

When the guards are dead all there is to do is wait. Cicero holds her hand the whole time. A roar sounds from above and soon a dragon is falling fast from the clouds, his green and tan scales catching in the moonlight.

Cicero stiffens, ready to defend his queen but she just squeezes his hand. "Patience."

"Patience, Mother." He repeats.

The dragon is gaining speed, flying right to them. His glowing eyes are filled with flames, he knows what she is. She feels the power, when he opens his mouth, she feels Cicero ready to push her out of the way of danger but she knows better.

With one hand raised the power of the storm releases itself. Webs of lighting race across the landscape, lighting up the surrounding rubble and plants in a familiar purple glow. The dragon roars with it. Soon, he is nothing but ash.

Cicero tries to move but the Night Mother holds strong. "Patience." She says again.

He looks to her face then sighs. "Patience, Mother."

A moment later it happens. For this, she is relieved, she wasn't sure if it was still with her. In her old, withered, dead body this would not have been possible. But now the dragon soul unleashes itself and races across the land to meet her heart.

It was like taking a breath of fresh air after a long time in a stuffy room. Or after spending a long time in a coffin. Like her first breath in years. The power settles itself in her bones, waiting for her to call on it and be used in a new form.

"That's it?" The jester asks.

She squeezes his hand again. "Child, you have much to learn. This power is greater than any other magic in Skyrim. With this, we will rule."

"And silence will reign." He echoes her words from the carriage ride here.

She smiles again, a pretty smile, which he returns. "Yes. Sithis will be proud."

Cicero's Journal Entry

4th of Second Seed, 4E 202

This is it, Mother! We are here! We have arrived! The sentries to Sithis himself! So much to do and prepare for! Mother warned that there will be great, powerful beings fighting against us…but we are all up for the challenge!

First, a dragon. His name has been spoken across the land. It is foretold that he brough the dead dragons back to life. Whyever would he do that? The first great villain for the Night Mother to defeat.

Other Dragonborns? She warns against them. But Cicero has heard no such thing. He is more worried about the Daedric Princes. But Mother says they will be banished soon enough.

And finally, Listener. Cicero is worried about her. But Mother says she is nothing. Easy to control. She will be back and fighting for us. That is Mother's prediction. But Cicero thinks Mother should know a little better. She knows how stubborn, how disrespectful, how conniving Listener is! If Listener is not a great villain then she might be a monkey wrench thrown into the plans! We can't have that! Never! Cicero will keep his eyes out for Mother's blind spots. But she says she is growing more powerful by the day. More dragons and more Words. Then we can rule Tamriel and prepare souls for Sithis. Silence reigns…

Edit: The fourth story, Storm of Skyrim: White Wolf is out now! Storm of Skyrim: The Rift will begin Thursday!

A/N: Hey everyone! Thought I'd debrief for a minute. Kind of a lot to take in, even for the author :D First off, I want to thank everyone for reading and supporting this story. It means a lot to know that everyone's enjoying it! This is going to be a long author's note, going over the process and story ideas. I have info on the next ones down below but expect a new story tomorrow night under my profile.

This story, Assassins Accord, is the main deal. This is the story I was working towards for so many years, and I just plowed through it when I wrote it! I poured over each quest and was probably writing two to three chapters a day. I just had to know what was going to happen with Eve and how we were going to get through this intense story to the ending.

I love the Dark Brotherhood questline in the game, so I wanted to make that the center point along with Eve's relationship with the Night Mother. Since there was that little shake-up in the end, I wanted Eve to have a solid run as the leader of the Dark Brotherhood. So, surprisingly, it was almost more fun to write her in the second half when she was in the Dawnguard questline! She had power and authority which she never had before, and it was fun to see her grow with it.

Now, that ending. When I started writing this whole series, I knew there would be two parts. It was going to be the Thieves Guild then the Dark Brotherhood questline and maybe the Dawnguard story. It wasn't until I was forming the ending for this that I knew the Night Mother would be the Dragonborn. I knew she was going to be resurrected but wasn't sure why…and the answer seemed obvious. I didn't want it to end up being extremely corny, so I had to think of a better reason for her resurrection besides being the Dragonborn.

And it all made sense. If she's the Dragonborn, why would she want to be resurrected? I figured she was tired of speaking through Listeners who weren't as effective as she would be. The Dark Brotherhood worships Sithis so they would want as many people sent to the Void as possible. It only made sense that she would do whatever it takes to get souls there. Even if she has to go up against the Daedric Princes.

That was the other thing. While playing the game I kind of thought of the Night Mother as being another Daedric Prince, there is lore that states she is actually Mephala. But I liked the idea of her being mortal. I decided to write her chapters in third person since I figured it would be a little immature to try and portray her as intimately as first-person narratives can. I also wanted a little mystery with what she's truly thinking. In the last story, Storm of Skyrim: Dragonborn, I will be including the Night Mother's perspective, so you will be seeing more of her!

What's next? Tomorrow I will be posting the fourth story in this series! It's going to be a little different from the past. I was posting one story at a time, but here I will be posting two! The fourth story in this series is Storm of Skyrim: White Wolf, it follows Mjoll the Lioness and will show her origin as a werewolf. This story will show the aftermath of the Night Mother's return and what the citizens are doing to prepare to fight her. I have written it in first person and I did take a fair amount of creative liberty with it, but I really enjoyed getting in Mjoll's head! She is very considerate and knowledgeable on subjects that Eve is not, so it's fun having the contrasting perspectives! It's posted as the fourth story since it will be integral to the next part, Storm of Skyrim: Dragonborn.

Meanwhile, I will also be posting Storm of Skyrim: The Rift. This story will show what Eve is up to right after her escape from the Castle and the fallout with the Guild after being in the Dark Brotherhood. I like to think of it as a companion story to White Wolf since it runs parallel to the events taking place.

I'll be posting Storm of Skyrim: White Wolf on Sundays and Storm of Skyrim: The Rift on Wednesdays under my profile, this will be marked as the fourth and fifth story. I'm going to start with two chapters per story a week but might speed up depending on where I'm at with the final story. That one you do not want to miss: it's long, its action packed, it's everything the game Skyrim is. But scarier. It's been so fun writing the Night Mother as the Dragonborn, so many possibilities and events are taking place that I never would have expected in the game. I'm so excited to share all of these and I hope you enjoy!

I should also note: In the game Oblivion (I have not played it, just read the lore), most of the Daedra are cast back into Oblivion. In this story the Daedra who are in danger of being banished are the Daedric Princes. We've all seen what they can do to influence followers and people who worship them, so for Tamriel, it would not be beneficial to have them cast out. As Nocturnal said, without them to balance the field and send people to divine worship, then the souls are at risk of being sent to the Void. I am working under the assumption that lack of divine worship or active worship of Sithis will send people to the Void.

Cover info: Also wanted to talk a bit about the cover! I wanted to draw Eve with the Ebony Blade peeking over her shoulder and with a menacing look. I also thought I'd throw the Sithis mural in there for fun. I drew and painted it myself in Procreate. If anyone is wanting to see larger images these pieces are on Imgur and AO3 under these stories and my profile name. Thank you for reading!