Chapter 4: 4
Chapter Text
The group halts for a moment as the shout comes to an end. Everyone looks to Svarline once more, and the group falls silent.
"Well, if there was still any doubt, I think that just verified what our friend here is." Vilkas says, breaking the silence.
Irileth looks towards the sun before speaking. "We'll figure out what this means later. We need to get back to the city now."
Everyone starts double timing it back towards Whiterun.
The sun had already set by the time we reached the gate, but other than that we had no difficulties.
We are let in as soon as we're seen, and are met by what I assume to be every healer in the city. Arcadia and those with her are handing out potions to everyone who has taken only minor injuries, while the restoration mages from the temple prioritize anyone who was wounded more heavily.
"Come on." Irileth says to Svarline and myself. "We need to tell the Jarl what has happened.
The three of us move past the healers and are joined by Vilkas and a few of the more heavily armored guards. We walk through the city passing around a hundred people who all look upon us in awe. Many of them say thank yous, and well dones, as we pass them.
We come to the stairs leading to Dragonsreach and begin our ascent. The door is already open for us when we reach the apex. Allowing us to continue inside.
Where before the keep was filled with squabbling nobles and yes-men, it is now almost empty. The only figures being the black haired nord in long black wizard's robes, the blonde woman who was with him before, the Jarl himself, and the Jarl's brother. The four of them are standing around a small table with a small stone upon its surface.
Delphine
Last Hope of the Blades
Level- 72
Race- Breton
HP- 2780
Thoughts about you- You just killed a dragon
Farengar
Court Wizard of Whiterun
Level- 67
Race- Nord
HP- 375
Thoughts about you- You just killed a dragon
Jarl Balgruuf
Jarl of Whiterun
Level- 54
Race- Nord
HP- 450
Thoughts about you- Gratitude for killing the dragon that threatened his lands
Hrongar
Jarl's Right Hand
Level- 59
HP- 550
Thoughts about you- You just killed a dragon
The Dragonstone
A stone with a comprehensive map of dragon burial sites carved into its surface
The quartet notices our approach and their conversation stops.
Balgruuf moves forward to meet Irileth and speaks. "Our lookouts saw the beast fall, but we couldn't see what was happening on the ground. If you're back… Does this mean the beast is dead?"
"Yes my Jarl." Irileth answers. "The dragon is dead."
Balgruuf lets out a sigh of relief, before adopting a saddened expression. "What of our men? How many fell?"
"Of the 84 warriors who volunteered, only 27 are still alive. What wounded we had are being treated by the healers, but the dragon's attacks killed more often then they maimed." Irileth responds in a more somber tone.
Balgruuf sits in a nearby chair to process the information.
Delphine steps into the space he occupied. "How did the dragon die? What happened after? Do you know who the Greybeards were calling to?"
Before anyone can answer Balgruuf interrupts while looking at nothing. "Later Delphine. They just slew a true dragon. Allow them to rest, celebrate, and mourn before you assault them with questions."
Delphine looks like she wants to argue, but after seeing the look on Balgruuf's face she relents. Saying, "If whoever is able would tell me of the battle when you are ready I would appreciate it." Before she collects a rubbing from the table and exits the castle.
Vilkas looks towards Svarline and I and says, "The two of may consider yourselves welcome within Jorrvaskr. There will undoubtedly be a celebration of this victory in the coming days. It would be our honor to host you." He turns to Irileth and gives a nod, before he leaves as well.
Seeing Balgruuf as the complete opposite of who he was earlier, I decide it's time to go. "I am going to find lodgings for the night. I will return here in the morning to discuss the battle."
Irileth looks back to the two of us. "Good, get some rest. You've both earned it. Thank you again for what you've done. Go to the Bannered Mare. You won't be charged."
Svarline thanks her and the two of us walk out.
"Any idea where The Bannered Mare is?" I ask her.
"We can just ask for directions." She says as she starts walking.
I shrug and follow.
We wander for a bit before we get directions from an older woman and head towards the inn.
We walk through the doors to find the place bereft of patronage. Guess dragon attacks make it hard to want to party.
The only person we see is a reddish-brown haired nord woman sitting behind the counter with a bottle of mead in her hand. She sees us come in and stands up. Putting the bottle on the counter in front of her.
"You're those two travellers who went and fought the lizard aren't you?" She says as she looks us over.
"Yes." Svarline answers. "We were hoping to acquire lodging for the night."
The woman reaches under the counter and hands a key across to Svarline. "On the house. First door on the right when you get upstairs. You can have it for a whole month if you want. I didn't get a chance to cook anything tonight, for obvious reasons, but there's some fruit in that barrel there." She indicates the barrel before grabbing her bottle and marching up the stairs.
Svarline moves to the barrel and pulls three apples out. She tosses one to me then heads upstairs.
Finding myself alone in the tavern I take a seat in the corner and start eating my apple.
Dragon down. Yay!
Super powerful new spells. Yay!
Things are looking pretty good right now. Still trying to get over the fact I haven't even been here for 48 hours though. If this is how things are going to be all the time I'm going to lose it.
Anyway, I made it to Whiterun and got a huge power boost. Not a bad day. What now?
I really don't want to go meet the Greybeards. They're cool and all, but they have literally nothing to offer me. Which means I'm probably going to be traveling alone for awhile. Luckily, thanks to the insane EXP from Mirmulnir, I'm strong enough to live on my own, and even if I come across something I can't fight, I have plenty of options I can use to run away. So where am I going?
Winterhold remains the foremost option in my mind. I would benefit the most from going there. I could get weaker spells from other disciplines, start using my alchemist class, and maybe manipulate my way into becoming archmage. On second thought, I don't want the responsibility. Too many people would expect too much of me. Which would really limit what I'm able to do on my own.
Regardless, I should probably stay here for at least a week and grind using ID create. I've still got amazing EXP gain, so I should use it.
Oh! I got more Gacha coins, and a new perk which will let me get good stuff!
I activate my felix felicis effect for the week and start using my coins.
-1 Gacha Coin
Item Added
Pet Rock
This pet rock comes with a travel box and some loose straw, which can be used to make your new rock a bed
…..…..
*INHALE* …..*EXHALE*…..
…..
This is fine. This is ok. No reason to react. No reason to commit glorious slaughter. No blood for the blood gods here. No sir.
Just use the next coin.
-1 Gacha Coin
Item Added
The Lost Treasure of the Flor de la Mar
The lost treasure looted from the Sultan of Malacca. The treasure was lost at sea when the Flor de la Mar came upon a storm while transporting it and was shipwrecked
All is forgiven! All is very much forgiven! Oh my god is everything forgiven!
Literal shipwrecked treasure! I can't even begin to guess what this is all worth. It might be a little hard to use this in Skyrim because the coins aren't stamped correctly, and the other baubles have never been seen before, but I will most definitely take it.
Next!
-1 Gacha Coin
Item Added
Yamato
Legendary Weapon
A sword once wielded by the demon Sparda before he left it to his son Vergil
Yamato can cut through dimensions
Deals STR 20 Dimensional Damage per hit
This sword can cut through anything, and can cut at a distance. Stronger opponents will not be cut instantly.
I think I'm in love.
Getting a swordsman class just became my number one priority. This thing is absolutely amazing! Heck, I think I remember something about this being used to split Hell from Earth. This thing can cut through worlds.
I've got two more coins left. Keep the winners coming!
-1 Gacha Coin
Ascalon
Mythic Weapon
The sword Saint George used to slay the dragon
Deals STR 10 Holy Damage per hit
Dragons take an additional WIS 15 Holy Damage per hit, additionally, while the wielder is fighting a dragon their stats are all multiplied by ten for as long as the battle lasts
Felix felicis I love you so so much. I might actually be able to put up a fight in this world now! I can survive dragon encounters and actually fight back!
Hit me again!
-1 Gacha Coin
Item Added
Commodore 64 Controller
Use this to play your favorite games on the Commodore 64
Note: Does not include Commodore 64
Definitely irritating, but I refuse to complain too much. I have the freaking Yamato now. It should say something that out of the three good things I got, the sunken treasure is by far the least interesting. I need a class that can use swords effectively as soon as is physically possible. I am abusing ID create the entire time I'm here.
"Hey." A voice calls from the stairs. "Are you just going to sit there all night?" Svarline asks as she walks over.
She has taken off the piecemeal armor she got from Helgen. Instead wearing a simple shirt and pants.
"What's up?" she asks as she takes a seat.
"Nothing. Just thinking." I reply.
She leans in a little. "What about?"
"What to do next." I respond honestly.
"Decided on anything?"
"Nothing too substantial. I'm probably going to stay in the city for a while before heading up to Winterhold. I still need to get to the college after all." I say. "What about you?"
She adopts a confused expression. "What do you mean?"
"I mean what are you going to do from here? Are you going to head up to High Hrothgar?"
"What?" she says even more confused.
"The Greybeards." I say. Becoming a little confused myself. "They summoned you."
Svarline looks truly lost. "Who are the greybeards and when did they summon me?"
Huh?
Oooh, she doesn't have metaknowledge. I really need to be better about assuming everything will happen a predetermined way.
"The Greybeards are a group of men who live near the top of the Throat of the World." I explain. "That shout we heard on our way back from killing the dragon? That was them calling you to them. Dovahkiin is the dragon tongue for dragonborn."
She considers this for a moment. "Why should I care that they summoned me? And how do you know the dragon language? I thought that was just me."
"To answer in reverse order, anyone can learn the dragon language. The rest of us are just laughably inept at it. You are special in that learning a shout takes all of 5 seconds, and you can steal power from dragons. Others can learn shouts through meditation and study but it takes years to get where you got in a day. To the first question, the Greybeards are hailed throughout Tamriel as undisputed masters of the thu'um. They isolate themselves from the rest of us and spend their entire lives training their shouts. They would be able to show you how to use your power better than anyone."
Seemingly taken aback by my rant, Svarline takes a moment then asks, "How do you know all this?"
I shrugged. "I'm well read. Skyrim in particular interested me, so I spent a lot of time learning about it." 100% honesty for the win.
Svarline processes this for a moment before frowning. "So just anyone can learn to shout? What's so special about being dragonborn then?"
How to answer without saying things I shouldn't know… "Well for starters you are now the only living being who can steal a dragon's soul. Letting you steal their power. If the legends are to be believed, with each dragon you slay, you become even more powerful. Until almost nothing will be able to stand in your path. Secondly, the only others I know of who can shout are the Greybeards. Supposedly the Jarl of Windhelm can as well, but I think he can only use one. You can learn the dragon's magic simply by reading their words if the legends are right."
She perks up at my last sentence. "Wait, dragon's magic? Explain that."
Uh, is this common knowledge? Too late now.
"Going by the legends again, so don't quote me on this because it could be exaggeration or outright wrong, the thu'um is the ancient magic of dragons. Their language has a certain power to it. Their ability to breath fire isn't biological. Supposedly it's their language. I guess you could say two dragons fighting are just having a very heated argument."
Svarline's eyes light up. "So I'm absorbing their magic from them every time I kill them."
I nod. "According to the legends? Yes. Keep in mind though, you have to actually kill the dragon to steal its power, and as we learned today, that is no small feat."
She shakes her head and replies, "Yes, but the more I kill the easier it will be to kill more right? So I need to get stronger in order to take full advantage of this." She has a wide smile on her face.
This can't be good for Nirn. The dragonborn is as power hungry as I am.
"Theoretically yes, but again, I got all of this from random books that may or may not be accurate." I say.
She just shakes her head again. "You're right." She says with certainty. "When I killed that thing, I felt almost drunk on power, and I felt myself get stronger. That drunk feeling went away, but the strength didn't. I stole his strength. Just now, upstairs, I was able to change a cup into gold in 10 minutes. Before that would have taken me an hour at least." She looks at me. "I need to kill more of those beasts."
Wow am I unprepared for this conversation. "Going back to my original question. What are you going to do now?" I ask.
Svarline becomes confused once more. "I thought you said we were going to Winterhold?"
What?
"Ya. I'm planning to go to Winterhold, but what about you? Wouldn't you want to learn shouts from the Greybeards?"
She shakes her head. "Why would I need to? I've never seen or heard a shout before today, and I can already turn into a ghost. What can a bunch of hermits who learn in years what takes me moments possibly teach me?"
I go to respond but stop myself. Thinking about it, the Greybeards were actually kind of useless. I only ever really went to them immediately on my first few playthroughs. After that, I only went through it when I wanted to do the main questline. Even then I speed runned it and skipped all the dialogue. The only shout you need them for is Clear Skies, and a one word each for Unrelenting Force and Whirlwind Sprint. Fire breath too when you get to Paarthurnax.
Wait what did she say?
"Wait, Svarline? You said you've never seen or heard a shout before right? Have you ever seen or heard any words in the dragon language before today?"
She shakes her head. "Nope. Pulled it right out of the dragon's head."
Ok then.
That is so broken.
The Greybeards just became completely useless.
"Huh. Anyway, what are your plans going forward if you're not going to High Hrothgar?"
She looks like she's starting to get irritated. "You already said we were going to Winterhold. Why are you asking me?"
What 2.0?
Uh… Observe?
Svarline The Dragonborn of Legend
The Last Dragonborn
Level- 64
Race- Half-breed(High Elf/Nord)
HP- 2940
Unique abilities- Soul of a Dragon(Can absorb dragon souls and use their knowledge to learn shouts)
- Soul Devouring(When absorbing a dragon soul, if the dragonborn dealt the killing blow, the dragonborn steals more than the dragon's knowledge. Siphoning the dead beasts strength and power for their own. Can be used to obtain a number of benefits.)
Thoughts about you- You are her friend. You are her partner. You are an equal. You're asking obvious questions.
Obvious questions? Just because I'm going somewhere doesn't mean... Oooh. She wants to go with me. Wow I feel stupid now.
In other news, we ask what is with this woman's opinion of me? The two of us literally met yesterday. I guess if it means I have the dragonborn watching my back I shouldn't complain too much.
Looking back to her I say, "Eh, forget it. I was thinking we should stay here for about a week before heading out. Is that alright with you?"
She shrugged. "That's fine. We don't need to get there tomorrow."
"Cool." I throw my apple core into a bucket with some other garbage and move to stand when Svarline stops me.
"Wait." she says and I sit back down. "That new spell you got? You said you would explain more when we were alone."
I was really hoping she had forgotten about that. "I did, what do you want to know?"
"You said you get stronger when you overcome danger? How does that work, and what does it make you?"
"I can honestly say I have no idea how it works. Just that it does." Because I have absolutely no idea how the Gamer ability is able to function. "As for what I am, I haven't been able to find anything recorded about people with similar abilities, so I think I'm unique." Good luck finding anything in Tamriel about the Gamer.
Svarline thought for a moment. "So you're like me?" She says, "You and I both get stronger faster than anyone else can, and one day no one will be able to match us."
I thought about it for a moment. "I guess so. Except I don't need to eat literal dragons so my way is safer and likely more efficient. You probably get much more value out of a single kill than I do though."
Svarline smiled and stood up. "Well, I'm tired. We should get to bed if we want to get up in thyme for that celebration in Jorrvaskr."
I nodded and stood up, pausing when I noticed her shit-eating grin. I ran what she said back through my head and groaned. They do have thyme here don't they? Pretty sure I remember it from ESO.
Svarline laughed and started upstairs.
I grumble for a moment before standing and following her upstairs.
I follow Hulda's directions and suddenly realize she only gave us one key. Oh well, there's probably two beds. Stopping at the threshold of the room, I look through the open door to see a single large bed which Svarline is already laying on.
Oh well, not that big of a deal. We're travelling companions, and Skyrim is far less developed than back home. This is probably commonplace.
I pull my more uncomfortable clothes off and lay down on the other side of the bed in a plain shirt and pants.
"Goodnight." I say as I close my eyes.
"G'night." she mumbles back, and I feel an arm wrap around me.
Eh, this is probably normal. We are in Skyrim after all. Sharing body heat is just common sense when living in a frigid environment.
She is pretty warm. It's actually really nice….
Killing that train of thought until it dies a very gruesome very excessive death, I run through a mental list of all the things I can do to improve my level grinding tomorrow. I then close my eyes and drift off to sleep.
(Interlude: A Dragon)
Sitting atop a mountain to the far east, a dragon used it's perceptive eyes to peer down at an amusing sight. The mortals had seen the massive beast of midnight scales flying to the south of their city, and had been in a panic ever since. They were running this way and that, lighting fires, shoring defenses. It wouldn't matter if the dragon chose to strike.
Luckily for those fools who reside in the shadow of the mountain, they were not the great creature's target.
The dragon turned its head to look upon a small dwelling made from wood and straw, and bared its teeth.
The dragon lept from its perch and began a lazy descent towards the small building to the west.
The mortals scream and flee the moment they see the dragon flying once more, prompting the great behemoth to chuckle. As this is only natural for the little fleas.
A short trip across the winds and the dragon is close enough to the tiny little building to hear the manic cries of the mortals within.
"Run to the Jarl!" a particularly high pitched voice cried. "We need aid now!"
The dragon watched as a small male ran as fast as his tiny legs could carry him away from the dragon's destination. The dragon made no move to stop him.
The dragon knew its target was here, but it did not know its precise location. So, the dragon began flying over the area in ever widening circles in an effort to find that which it sought.
The mortals continued their screaming and running and praying. The dragon would only set them alight when their wails grew potent enough to distract it from its search. Those who kept their terror quiet, were left unbothered. After all, what was the point of destroying them now when all would be devoured in the end?
Beginning its fifth circle, the dragon finally spotted that which it sought. A large circle of assorted stones which created a barrier between the dirt that lay on the outside, and the sacred soil within.
The dragon allowed itself a small smile as it flew down to the holy gravesite.
Hovering over the circle of stones, using its great wings to hold it aloft, the dragon gathered its power into itself. This feat always left the dragon weak and vulnerable, but it was a weakness the dragon was willing to bear if it meant more of the dragon's brothers and sisters would roam the skies once more.
The dragon released its power and a pillar of spiritually imbued blue-green light rose from the grave of the fallen dragon.
The great black dragon took flight once more. Flying around its rising sibling while it gathered its power to conclude the great ritual.
The mortals kept on with their screaming, their cries to the gods, and their insane mumblings. All were inconsequential before the magnitude of what was occurring.
The dragon once more came to a stop above the now glowing grave, and gathered its power once more.
"Sahloknir." The dragon spoke. "Ziil gro dovah ulse!" The dragon pushed its power forwards, channeling magic from its very soul. "SLEN! TIID! VO!" The dragon bellowed.
The very ground shook with each syllable as the dragon unleashed a mighty spell which was absorbed into the faintly glowing grave.
The grave erupted outwards as if an explosion had been set off inside, and a long skeletal wing grasped the edge of the rock-lined circle. The wing was closely followed by another, and then a large draconic skull rose to observe its surroundings.
A fleshless draconic skeleton pulled itself from the pit, held together by nought but the great black dragon's power, and stalked forward.
The great black dragon looked upon its long dead brother and spoke once more. "Zu'u vokrii wah hi hin slen ahrk suleyk dii zeymah ful mu aal vokrii un vahzah golt ahst fin lok."( I restore to you your flesh and power my brother so we may restore our rightful place in the sky.) A current of energy leapt from the airborne dragon to its skeletal brother, and the latter's flesh slowly grew back. Ice colored scales and black horns restored themselves upon the newly revised dragon's frame.
"Kogaan thuri! Daar gein laan hin uth."(Thank you lord this one requests your command) The grounded dragon calls up to its savior.
The floating beast sneers. "Ofan fin joor fin faas nust lost vodahmin."(give the mortals the fear they have forgotten)
The ice scaled dragon grins and takes to the sky. He lets out his own ground shaking roar as he flies toward the city of stone.
The mortals' fear is thick in the air as the black dragon flies back to its perch to rest. The ritual was draining, but another of its siblings is free once more. Hopefully Sahloknir will not fail as Mirmulnir did.
The dragon lands upon its perch and takes in a most amusing sight.
The mortals all flee in terror as their great stone walls crumble around them. They attempt to fight back, but are torn down by flame and claw. Their great bastion, reduced to rubble and ash.
The great dragon lets loose a soft laugh. The mortals tried to contain the dragon's power by trapping it within time, but time's hold could not long suffer Her.
The mortals will do all they can to hold onto this pathetic world they have created, but Alduin, Firstborn Daughter of Akatosh will retake her rightful place as ruler of Nirn. And once she is done, she will devour all to bring about the next age.
