a wolf in sheep's clothing


A/N: For those who haven't read the Storm of Skyrim series, Mjoll and Aerin are werewolves and have joined the Companions. Mjoll is the Harbinger. I thought I'd post that here so there wasn't any confusion! I should also have the next chapter to Storm of Skyrim: The 13th Season out tomorrow or Tuesday! Enjoy!


The heat was so suffocating he could feel the sweat dripping down his back. Down his brow. Down his arms. It was a wonder the wolves in his presence didn't even mention how fearful he had become.

For the past few hours Vorstag sat at the great banquet hall of the Companions and dined with his victims. Food fit for a king and his army spread out before them, with gleaming meat, pies, vegetables, fruits, and wine for all. Since werewolves were always hungry due to their metabolism, there was always a wealth of food at their disposal.

And all Vorstag had was a goblet of blood. "Are you enjoying your meal? Would you like some food? Eve has a soft spot for sweets from what I remember." Mjoll, the Harbinger of the Companions sat at the head of the table. Her platinum hair hung down to her shoulders now. It used to grow faster when she was a wolf. Vorstag remembers from his time with her, her hair used to be whiter. He wonders if it was because she used the be the coveted White Wolf, a creature of legend with powers gifted by Hircine himself.

Now, as a human who has cast aside her wolf, she sits up a little straighter. She's not as poised, as observant, as she was as a wolf. But she has a healthy glow about her. Vorstag wonders if it's because of her scent. She wasn't showing, but he had a feeling she was with child.

No one confirmed it so far. But he wouldn't be surprised after she married Vilkas in a beautiful ceremony earlier this year. The man in question sat to her side and kept a comforting hand on her shoulder. Vorstag can't meet her eyes.

"I'm fine. Just stressed these past few weeks."

Aerin, Mjoll's good friend and new werewolf, sat to his left. He was just chomping on another piece of lamb when he asked, "What's the matter? Come to think of it, your scent's been off. Is something bad going on?"

The other wolves, Aela and Farkas turn their attention to them. Aela with her sharp eyes, assesses him once again. She looked him over when he first came in to Jorrvaskr and seemed to give her blessing. Farkas, the only wolf who didn't seem to pay attention to the whole conversation so far, watches him with bright blue eyes. He tears another piece of chicken from the bone.

Vorstag can feel the punishing heat return. He was still sweating. He hasn't seen the Mace yet, but he knows it's in here somewhere. "I'm fine. Just my love life." He tries to play it off.

That was the wrong thing to say.

Every wolf and human perks up and now stare at him like he's a very interesting, shiny, thing they found in the forest. "Who is it? Have we met her?" Mjoll asks instantly.

"I hope she's as adventurous as you." Aerin grins.

Vilkas laughs, "Ah, I was wondering why you had the look of fear when I came out and found you. What's been going on? Has there been a tiff between you two?"

Vorstag grabs his goblet and forces himself to take a small sip. These people were good. They were competent warriors. They would help him if he needed it. But not in the face of Molag Bal. After what he saw the past few weeks, every second of torture he's endured, he'd rather go through it all again to keep these people safe.

"You wouldn't know her well. Something like that. We're figuring it out though." He lies easily.

And that, seemed to break everyone's undivided attention on him. Some laughed, some teased him, the rest fell into a long conversation over when Vorstag was to get married. He only sat there, counted down the minutes until they slept, and wondered where the Mace of Molag Bal lay.


It was like a dream. After being away from her mother for so long, Serana could only sob in her arms. There wasn't a barrier between them like there was in the Soul Cairn. There wasn't an evil creature lurking around the corner to kill them and take them away from each other again. There was only Serana and her mother.

After a few hours of re-acquainting, they wandered the palace. Mannimarco was kind enough to let them have their time together. Serana was able to tell her mother of everything that transpired, and her mother took it with ease. She told Serana how Mannimarco saved her, had pulled her from the Soul Cairn. Serana felt nothing but gratitude towards the man, an emotion she never thought she'd feel for him.

But as the hours wore on, as they passed every beautiful painting that was starting to blend into each other, she had a dark feeling.

"I have a question. I was trying to find you, you told me that I had to worry about him." Serana stops before a large painting, that strange one of Mannimarco flying in the sky to his godhood. "What did you mean?"

Valerica tilts her head. The sun leaking in through the window near them lights up the side of her face. As Serana studies it, she notices it's a little thinner than she remembered. Her eyes are more sunken in. "I was to tell you your father arranged your marriage. I needed to make sure you knew what you were getting into."

It didn't make sense to her. "But what did father bargain for? To make sure the Tyranny of the Sun was completed faster? What did he want?"

Valericia looks away, at the large painting on the wall. "To this day, I still have that question. He never told me. I doubt I can re-animate him to get the answers. The only way we can is through the man up there." She points to the general area where the tall tower stands and the one Mannimarco inhabits during the day.

Something wasn't adding up. Based on what her mother told her through the notes, they should be running as fast as they could to get back to Skyrim. "Don't you want to leave?" Serana whispers so the guards don't hear.

Her mother runs a soft hand down her daughter's face. "No, dear, you know Mannimarco has our best interests at heart. He wouldn't hurt us. We're in the safest place possible."

A churning in her gut, that's what Serana felt as her mother pulled her along to go see the library. She swore to herself tonight, when mother was asleep, she would do a little investigating of her own. She only hoped she found what she was looking for.


They began to retire to their beds after a long dessert. Mjoll and Vilkas didn't eat it, but the three wolves scarfed down over half of the large cake set up. Vorstag took a few bites to be pleasant.

"How'd you like that?" Aerin asks.

"It's alright, I can't say that my dislike of chocolate has changed after I became a vampire." Vorstag jokes.

"We'll be off to bed. I'm getting sleepier earlier than I thought. Aerin, make sure Vorstag has all he needs." Mjoll reminds them. Her hand curls around her stomach, confirming Vorstag's suspicions. Vilkas pulls her close to him and kisses her on the head, his hands wrapping around her stomach with the same protectiveness she showed.

It only made Vorstag sick.

"You know what you have to do, boy." Molag Bal had said to him before entering the portal.

Vorstag only nodded.

"Come back bathed in all their blood, leave no living thing alive in that den that holds my Mace. Use it." He grinned. "Use it to kill them all. I will reward you well."

He nearly breaks the fork in his hands. "Sleep well, thank you for letting me stay." He tells them.

After they made the trek down to their rooms Aerin continues to eat his third slice of cake. It was just the two of them, Aela and Farkas went out to hunt. She seemed agitated and Farkas seemed like he would follow any of the wolves wherever they went. So, they left, after a quick goodbye and good luck to Vorstag.

He noticed the devilish glint in Aela's eye. She wanted him to get back together with the mystery woman. She had said as much when she offered to do their wedding for them, like she did Mjoll's.

"So, you'll stay the night then head out?" Aerin asks, conversationally.

"Yes. I plan to leave by dawn. I have a meeting with a boss to attend to, he'll have my head if I'm not there on time."

"Ah, well make sure to at least have some of the quiche in the morning. Our resident baker makes a really good one with gouda in it." He smiles over at Vorstag.

"I'll be sure to try it. Where are the rooms? I might get some sleep early." He says, praying that Aerin doesn't see through the lie.

"Oh, this way." He stands and beckons, Vorstag follows the young man down the stairs to the basement floor. "Mjoll and Vilkas stay at the end over there." He points down the long hallway. "Aela and Farkas tend to sleep in the fields or in the barracks with the younger whelps but here's Aela's room." He nods as they pass it. "And Farkas's."

Vorstag notes each room. Each step it takes to get from one to the other. He doesn't feel that thumping of power behind each door. They finally come to two rooms that are so close the wall between them must be thin as paper. "Here's yours right here, you're lucky. You're next to mine so maybe I can give you a wake-up call for breakfast." He grins at Vorstag.

He doesn't return it. He takes note that every other door is open unless the room is occupied. But Aerin's is sealed shut, and right behind it is that simmering power Vorstag was hunting for. He looks to Aerin and his sweet, boyish face, still smiling about the most mundane things. He's innocent as can be, and Vorstag was going to have to go through him to get this artifact. He knew it.

"Sounds good, lad. Make sure I'm up nice and early. I don't want to be late for my meeting."


At Mannimarco's request, Serana's mother has a bed in her room. They were going to sleep in the same room for the first few nights, with Dawn hovering in the corner. Serana won't say she was too pleased, she was. If this truly was her mother sleeping not ten feet from her, then she was overjoyed.

The question was whether it was her. In the library, she fawned over the books and tomes they found on necromancy and spell casting. But the joy never quite met her eyes. Serana tried many times to pry the truth from her and Valerica never budged. Serana knew her to be a stubborn creature when she was growing up. Even more so when locking herself away after Harkon's tyranny. Yet, she knew with this situation with Mannimarco, her mother would tell her. Based on the notes Serana received in the College of Winterhold, Valerica would spill all she knew about the man.

All Serana hears is her mother's soft breathing. She has an idea. The other day in the library, she was learning about soul trappings. With those pages she poured over, she found some information she didn't expect.

The passage described what Mannimarco did. He trapped pieces of souls in statues for his bargain. What she read described the process, what happens, and how to free them. All she had to do was free Valerica's soul from the statue outside, and she'd get her answer. Was it truly her mother? Or a fake consolation that Mannimarco planted with her? He's kept his distance so far, but she knows he'll come back to talk about what happened in the meadow.

Thinking about it made her lips buzz. Yet, she couldn't tell if she wanted to relish in it or throw up. To have him so close to her, when she thought he was another man, was absolutely terrifying. She decided she wouldn't be taken by that magic again, so she created a charm to try and ward against it this afternoon. It was a little purple flower hanging on the end of a long silver chain. But it held a lot of power. Her mother and Dawn knew all about it, and Mannimarco would as well. But if she was going to be his bride, she would not allow herself to be overcome with spells and compulsion.

Enough of the thoughts, she muses. She slowly moves herself from the bed and creeps past her mother. Dawn follows her, as expected, but she doubts she'll tell anything to Mannimarco. When she opens the door and creeps down the hall, she can hear his pacing down below. He would make it to her hall eventually. All she had to do was sneak past and she'd be in those back gardens.

Down the banister and along the bottom of the manor, she sees the door to the gardens wide open. Mannimarco was pacing behind her, she lets his shadow pass her before she scurries from the bottom step to the door.

Once outside, she has to breath a sigh of relief. If he knew what she was doing, it would be disastrous. He'd surely lock her up. Fresh flowers in the cool summer air greets her. She can smell each one, to her surprise, a few of them are glowing in the night. A rare kind of flower that her teenage self would have scoured Tamriel for. She brushes her hand along it but won't get distracted.

She winds around the gravel path and finally, at the end, she sees her statue. Her father stands next to her mother, staring down at Serana who was letting petals free into the pond below. She won't make the same mistake again. Instead of entering the pond and alerting Mannimarco, she circles it to lay her hand on her mother's foot.

A breeze blows through, ruffling her hair, and making her pause. What if the spell was ineffective? What if she made a mistake with her mother? She should try someone else first. She moves so she's now in front of her father's statue. Staring up at his face wasn't pleasant. His sharp features were carved out just right. That mouth that used to curl in an ugly snarl was spot on. His dead eyes stare down at Serana…no doubt in disappointment.

She ignores it and places her hands on the base of the statue. The spell was simple, but she felt like she needed to say something first. "Father…I'm not sure what to say. I wish you different. I wish you were better. I wish you helped me more." She looks up at his horrible face again. "I wish you didn't keep me locked up underground for centuries. I wish you trusted me!" Her fingers curl into the statue, breaking some of the stone. "I wish you never had the prophecy. I know you can hear me. Are you happy now? You ruined everyone's life! But no one more than my own! Now, I have to marry a man I don't know and don't care to, all for your stupid ambition!" She rips some of the stone. "I hope you're happy now. Because I don't forgive you. I don't know where you're going once I release your soul, but know this, your fate is well-deserved." She says the incantation, a few lines of words and her hands begin to glow purple.

She nearly flinches when a bright light shoots up into the sky, she watches as her father's eyes turn a cold blue, so hot and bright, she feels he's boring his gaze into her. As if to say, he heard her little speech and didn't like it one bit.

Good.

She stands, panting from fear when the light fades. "Serana? Are you okay? I heard some yelling."

She spins only to find her mother behind her donning a black robe. Her feet are covered in black slippers that were just getting covered in gravel dust. Her hair is a mess, but she doesn't seem to care. "What's going on?"

Serana is frozen. She can't really say what she's doing, and she knows it's only a matter of time before Mannimarco finds them. She runs to the other side of the statue, her mother's judgmental eyes follow her, she slams her hands on her mother's statue. "I'm making sure it's you. You're not acting like yourself and I won't let him deceive me again." Is all she says before reciting that incantation.

For a second, there was nothing, just her mother outstretching her hands and racing towards her. Then, the same glowing light shoots up into the air, her mother's statue eyes are engulfed in that same glow before slowly fading.

Serana turns her head, expecting her mother to barrel into her and take her to the ground. Instead, she finds a black skeleton falling to its knees that was slowly disintegrating into dust. The black robe still clinging to the bones.

Serana lets out a shriek. This can't be her mother. This can't be her.

"Serana? What happened?" Mannimarco stands behind the falling ashes. The yellow gravel is now covered in black soot.

"I don't know." She says and that's the truth. She can't believe her eyes.

He stares at the statues, the way he fixes his jaw…this isn't good. Serana stands up taller. "I had to make sure it was her. I needed to know."

"I should have known you'd be too intelligent to take her at face value." He meets her eyes, and she nearly shivers from the ice in them. "It wasn't her. It was someone to keep you company through the emotional turmoil."

"Emotional turmoil?" She sputters, "I was basically drugged with magic when I kissed you! I didn't want that, and you tricked me. And to make it better, you trick me again?"

He shrugs. "I had to. I thought it would help but apparently I was wrong. I won't make the same mistake." He scuffs his boot on the black ashes littering the ground. "Get some sleep. I think tomorrow it's time I tell you what's going on here. What your father bargained for. In a few days we have the wedding, so you'll need to be ready."

He doesn't meet her eyes. Doesn't even say he'd escort her to her rooms. He just turns to pace in the gardens. Serana glances over her shoulder, that rift in the sky was glowing with purple and blue light, and a million stars collecting in the center. It would be easy to run. But Dawn would catch her.

The flaming figure stands next to her, waiting for her to move. So, with nothing more than the promise of the truth beckoning her, Serana picks up the edges of her dress and walks back into the palace.


Vorstag waited until he heard Aerin's even breathing on the other side of the wall. Once another of the Companion's footsteps fades up the stairs, Vorstag stands. His heart is beating out of his chest. He decided after bidding Aerin goodnight, he would not kill him. He wouldn't kill anyone, but he would get the Mace.

The only question is whether the Mace would let him leave without bloodshed or not. He would have to resist it. In front of Aerin's door, he finds it locked, but it's not a problem. He picks it with ease and slowly moves the door open. The candlelight from the hallway spills in, slightly but he's able to slip in before it can wake Aerin.

The thrumming of power was so intense in here. It nearly took Vorstag to his knees. It was like a band around the chest. The weapon was right in the corner, resting on the floor with the hilt along the wall. Aerin gasps in his sleep. Vorstag moves quickly. His hand is just about to reach the hilt.

"Hey. What are you doing?"

Vorstag stops, his heart galloping so loud. That's probably what woke Aerin. He turns and smiles. "Sorry, lad. I noticed this out of the corner of my eye and wanted to grab it. I haven't studied the artifacts like I wanted to…"

Aerin rubs his eyes and sits up in bed. "You don't have to lie, Vorstag. Aela and Vilkas knew there was something you weren't telling us." He suppresses a yawn and instead stares at Vorstag. "I just want to know what's happening. I won't tell anyone if it's something you want to keep private."

How to say it? Molag Bal didn't swear him to secrecy and that was probably because all the people who would find out would be dead by the end of the night. "My love was kidnapped and I'm trying to get her back. The only problem is, Molag Bal took me back into service as his Champion. He told me to retrieve the Mace…" He won't dare say the other part of the deal.

"Really?" Aerin's face fills with fear. "I didn't know those guys were still around. I thought after everything with the Night Mother, they'd just go away…" He looks down at the Mace. "I don't really want to part with it, but I guess if he needs it then…"

"Why do you even have it?" Vorstag has to ask.

"Well." Aerin looks sheepish. "I've been trying to find a way to make Mjoll immortal again. Her and Vilkas. After they gave up their werewolf powers, they lost their immortality." He sighs sadly. "I though the Mace would be more helpful…but I haven't found anything yet."

Vorstag's heart went out to him. Being a vampire now, looking at mortals was like looking at a prized glass vase. They were so fragile and would break at any moment. He wonders what he would do if Serana were suddenly mortal, not that Aerin and Mjoll's relationship was the same.

"Maybe you can ask around? There must be some mages that would know something." Vorstag says.

"I could." Aerin moves the sheets to stand. "But if you want the Mace, you should take it."

Vorstag glances at the weapon again. "You might want to leave. I don't know what it will do if I pick it up."

He doesn't have to be told twice, Aerin scurries to the other side of the room and opens the door. After spending so long with Daedric Artifacts when fighting the Night Mother, he knew what kind of power they wielded.

"Okay, good." Vorstag looks to the man. "Go get the others if anything strange happens and barricade yourself in the strongest room. Don't come out. No matter what I tell you."

Aerin gives a salute. "Good luck."

Vorstag takes a deep breath and reminds himself who he's doing this for. Serana's lovely face is in his mind as he grabs the Mace of Molag Bal, and he nearly shrieks when the weapon pulls him in. His mind goes spiraling before the world fractures and everything goes dark.


The morning wasn't too pleasant. Serana stared at the curtained window for too long before getting up. Her mother's vacant bed sitting lonely in the corner. She doesn't even look at it, just dresses in the blue dress with all the cream-colored bows she was looking at yesterday. When she's good and pretty, she smooths down the blue skirts and opens the door.

She nearly jumps. On the other side was Mannimarco, he looked as if he were about to knock. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you ready?"

She sighs, "Yes. Tell me everything."

He looks down her form at the beautiful dress, the way it accentuated her curves. "I'm tempted to tell you in your room, just in case we get carried away again." He tries to joke but after seeing the look on her face, he composes himself. "Come with me. We're going back out to the meadow. It will be better to tell you there."

"No compulsion?"

"No. In the grass there won't be any, it was just at the bottom of the pond. I just want to go there so we can speak in the quiet and peace of the fields. It would be easier for me."

She didn't know why but she wouldn't pry. As long as he promised to keep his hands to himself, to not use magic on her, and to get them back to the palace safely, she would listen to whatever he has to say.

About a half hour later they're walking in the tall, grassy fields. The balmy air kisses her cheek when they wade into the vibrant grass. Mannimarco sighs and falls to sit in the grass. They were on one of the tall hills overlooking the pond and the colorful tree below. She sits down next to him.

"What's going on? What did my father bargain for?"

"Not wasting a second." He laughs, "Just feel this…" He holds out his hands to the breezy air blowing through and falls back into the grass. Serana just stares down at him. "You know what it's like to have fingers that are falling off? Parts of your flesh?"

He was talking about when he was a Lich. "No."

"You're lucky." He chuckles, his white hair frames his pretty face, but gets caught in some of the long grass. "I was foolish to do it but my quest for immortality knew no bounds."

"Looks like you finally got it." She lays back in the grass too but keeps on her forearms. If she can make him comfortable, then maybe he'll tell her…

"As for your father. He caught me at a bad time." Mannimarco sighs. He stares up at the pink clouds drifting along the endless sky. "I was just finishing the final parts of this land…when he offered me something amazing."

Serana doesn't say a thing, just stares up at the clouds. He continues, "He was frantic. He worried that he quest to complete the Tyranny of the Sun wouldn't go as planned and he was a very meticulous man."

Serana sighs and falls back into the grass. "You have that right."

"I heard what he did to you, he kept you locked up for…how long was it?"

"I don't even know."

"Ah. Anyways, he told me he would promise me your hand in marriage as long as he got you back."

That was it? "What was he gaining in return?" She asks.

Mannimarco says nothing for a while. Serana has to reserve herself to staring at the sky and the many clouds dotting it. She wonders when she will have to ask again. As the minutes tick by, she slowly moves her hand to grab his. Mannimarco's fingers curl around her palm.

"I won't be mad with what you tell me." She says softly.

"I would hope not." He squeezes her hand but then rises, he moves over her, so his white hair falls down to tickle her cheeks. His shadowed face is amused. "Your father asked for something incredible in return, it's not anything that many people get, it's why he asked me."

Just spit it out! She wished to say. But she bites her tongue and smiles at him. "What is that?"

"Serana, in order to be my bride, there are some preparations and requirements beforehand. There's going to be some changes around here. Tomorrow I'm going to have to take you far away for a bit. Out of Amaranth and back to Tamriel. We're going back to the Iliac Bay."

"Why?"

"Your father requested a creature so powerful, so deadly, that not even the Daedric Princes would cross them." His lovely eyes stare down at her. "I couldn't think of such a thing. Well, except for myself." Mannimarco gives a sly smile.

Smug bastard. She wanted to say but she bites her tongue on that too. And notices his smile isn't fading.

"You were offering him…you? Your power?"

"No. I was to return his daughter after marriage. We would still be married and would still spend time together, but he'd need to use you." He brushes some hair from her face. She's too captivated by what he's saying to smack his hand away. "Tomorrow, sweet Serana, we are headed to the Iliac Bay. Then, you are going to perform your apotheosis."

Her heart freezes. "What?"

"Your father asked for a creature such as me. And what better creature than a god? Come the end of the day tomorrow, you will see, then you'll know the power I was craving in my youth. You think being a vampire is incredible? Wait until you see the stars after you change over."

Her heart was pounding so fast with his words. Apotheosis. He wanted her to… She couldn't finish the sentence. She couldn't even think straight as he laughed and pulled her up from the grass to take her home.


Vorstag growls as claws rake his torso, around his back and up to his head. He falls to the ground but mindless monster he was, he rises and swings the Mace. The werewolf across from him growls and slams into him. They both go tumbling on the thick carpets. He can smell their blood spilling on the floor.

"Stop him! What's gotten into him?" Mjoll calls.

Vorstag slams the Mace into the wolf who howls before grasping his shoulder with his teeth. He pulls and Vorstag moves out from under him before his teeth can find purchase. He turns, swinging the Mace down but another werewolf sends him tumbling. The female stands over him, her teeth dripping with saliva.

He gets up to charge them, but the two wolves slam their hands down into his shoulders. He's immobilized. He can't get up. He can't even reach his head to tear their throats out.

"It's the Mace." Aerin pants from the side of the hallway. Vilkas was holding onto Mjoll as if she were something precious. "He took it. He said that Molag Bal has him prisoner and he needs to return it."

The two Companion leaders say nothing. Mjoll looks down at Vorstag with sadness. "It's the compulsion. He will be okay. We just need to get the Mace out of his hand."

As he hears it, one of the wolves moves to pull at the weapon in his hands. He snarls, "I am the Champion of Molag Bal, and I command you to stop!"

They don't say a thing. The weapon tears from his hand and he nearly screams with the intrusion of it. It was like ripping out a piece of his soul. He sits there, panting, and finally the edges of his vision return. No more was he seeing crimson.

"I-what happened?" He asks, horrified.

"You rampaged through the belly of our home without a thought! You nearly killed Farkas." Vilkas says with Mjoll still in his arms.

"I'm sorry." Vorstag gasps. "I wanted to take the Mace and leave but it wouldn't let me."

"It's the compulsion of the Prince. He told you to hurt us, didn't he?" Mjoll asks.

Of course, she would know. She dealt closely with the Princes when they were under the Night Mother's tyranny. "Yes. He wanted me to kill whoever had it. I wouldn't though…"

She nods. "I know. You're a good man. It's hard seeing you tainted so." She runs a hand over her belly. "He won't be happy when he finds out you didn't succeed."

Vorstag can feel the wolves still clawing into him. He lets out a laugh. "No, he won't. But he'll have to deal with me somehow."

"He will." Mjoll says, sadly. "I wish I could help you."

"You're needed here. I can handle him. I have two more tasks, then I'm free." He looks her in the eye, which is quite hard from all the way down on the ground.

"We'll let you up, you take the Mace, and shove down the compulsion." She says, finally.

Vorstag can hear Vilkas whispering in her ear. "We can't help him. I know you want to."

"There's ways." She whispers back. Vorstag wonders if they know just how good vampire hearing is.

"Let him fix it. He can."

"Should we get Eve?"

"She won't be able to help." Vilkas counters.

"I'll be fine." Vorstag finally stands, the Mace at his feet. "I can handle him. Just, thank you for keeping me sane."

Mjoll nods and looks like she wishes to hug him, but she keeps her distance. "Good luck. Come back when you're finished. I want to make sure you're alright."

"I will." Vorstag swallows hard and reaches down for the Mace. When grasping the hilt again, he prepares to fight the compulsion tooth and nail. Instead, the room shifts, fading away from Tamriel. He finds himself in the dark room with the arena and at the base of the throne to Molag Bal.

The Daedric Prince is griding his teeth. "You failed." His tall form casts even more shadows down on Vorstag. He didn't know the Prince sitting in the throne could make him feel so tiny.

"I have this." Vorstag holds up the Mace.

"You were directed to kill everyone in that room."

"I won't do it." Vorstag stares him down. "Take the Mace and be done with it."

Once again, he finds the Prince is rushing things. If they could take their time, he would still be in Jorrvaskr fighting the compulsion. Instead, the Prince lifts a hand and flicks his fingers. The Mace goes sailing over to his hands.

"To feel this after so long…" The Prince stands. He slowly stalks towards Vorstag while rolling the Mace around in his hands. Testing it. "You know what you deserve after that. It looks as if your morals got in the way. Are you ready for your punishment?"

Vorstag holds his head high, thinking of the kind wolves and humans who took him in and of the baby growing in Mjoll's belly. He would take on this punishment a thousand times if only to keep them safe. "I am."

He doesn't have another thought as the Mace of Molag Bal comes smashing into the side of his face.


In a bizarre turn of events, Serana finds she is the once pacing now. She's dressed in a sleeveless white dress made of silk that reaches past her feet and forms to her body. The little straps were the only fancy thing about it. They were lined with pearls. There were no other adornments on it. The note Mannimarco gave her said she needed to wear something plain and wear no jewelry. No embellishments that might fly off during her apotheosis. She turns back and walks to the other side of her room. When dawn came, she had a note on her door requesting she wear this specific dress that was hanging in her wardrobe.

She barely registered putting it on. She only thought about what was coming next. She wanted to run. She thought about racing to the rift outside, but Dawn would surely catch her. And if they were going to Iliac Bay, she wanted to be unbound and prepared instead of in chains as Mannimarco would do if she escaped.

So, she paced. Until the clock chimed seven in the morning. Then the door opened. "Serana? Are you ready?" Mannimarco smiles at her when he sees her in that beautiful dress.

She takes a deep breath. "As ready as ever."

The Iliac Bay was windier than she remembered. After taking Mannimarco's hand and walking through the portal he opened in the hallway, she found they were standing on a tall tower. It overlooked the water lapping the edges of the provinces below. Up above is a windy and stormy sky.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asks, breathlessly. She wondered why she was so calm. It could because on the way here, she thought she was alright with this. She didn't know how'd she feel on the other side. But once with the power of a god, she could rip open the folds of the world and dip her hands through the realms. Then, she would be able to get Vorstag and her mother back.

Mannimarco steps up to her and rests his hands on her shoulders. He stares down at her so lovingly…she almost wishes her heart weren't already taken. She wishes he weren't such an evil man. "Serana. What you are about to do has not been achieved by many people." His sharp eyes stare down into hers.

"You are going to go through a change that many yearn for. They never make the ascent because they aren't strong enough. These past few weeks, I've been watching you, assessing you, to make sure you're ready for this. And you are." He kisses her forehead.

She breathes in his scent. He wasn't a vampire or a mortal, he smelled different. His body was bathed in a strong iron scent. "Will you catch me when I fall back down?" She tries to joke.

"You won't need me." He runs his hands up her neck to cup her cheeks. "You're strong enough for this."

"Why do I have to do this when my father is dead? He doesn't need me anymore." She whispers.

"The contract is soul bound. I know you let him loose the other night." He growls. "But I will forgive that. He's useless to me now. The bargain remains. I need to keep my end of it. As a god, you will be stronger, more agile than you are now…the powers you have will be incredible. Divine." He breathes deeply. "When you are ready, go to the edge of the tower and stand on the platform. There, you will look up to the sky and the pull of the gods will take you. You must want it. You will fly to the heavens where you will be reforged."

"And if I don't?" She whispers.

"You have to. There is no other way." His eyes are frantic now. "For me to lose the bargain is to lose a piece of me. A piece of your father. If you don't, I will command you." He brushes a trembling hand over her forehead. "That compulsion you hate so much…I would have to use it." His hand runs down to her throat. She knows he said no jewelry, but she had to wear the little charm she made to resist compulsion. His fingers brush over that little flower now. She worries he'll yank on it to pull it off.

Mannimarco smiles, "You know this won't work against my compulsion. It would help against Amaranth, but it is useless in the face of a god."

She nearly shivers with the thought. Still reeling from what she was about to do, she stares up into the clouds. "I'll have any power? Just like you?"

"Limitless power, but make no mistake, you'll be coming back to me." Mannimarco kisses her hand. "Go, Serana. Ascend and fall back reforged as a god."

She's shaking but she gives him a small smile and leaves him for the other side. When she stands on the raised platform, she stares up at the cloudy sky above. Would Vorstag still accept her as a god? Would she accept herself?

She has no choice. This is exactly what her mother was trying to warn her about, what she couldn't find out before being taken by Mannimarco. She only had to believe she'd make the ascent.

Wind blows through, pulling on her dress and hair, as if beckoning her up into the sky. The gray sea spreads out below her, an already long fall from this height. But it will be even greater when she gets up into the sky.

She is a vampire, so the fall won't kill her. But she wonders what it will be like to be touched with the power of the gods. Is that what will trip her up? The wind blows through faster and faster, howling past her ears and clawing at the hem of her dress.

"Now is the time Serana, the updraft is at its greatest." Mannimarco says behind her.

She looks over her shoulder to stare at him. His hopeful and worried face. And wishes it were another. If she makes this ascent, she has a chance to pull her lover out from whatever place he is. She didn't know if he was still in the College of Winterhold, or close to the Iliac Bay, but she would get Vorstag back.

The wind pulls at her again. It blows past so furiously; it nearly throws her over the edge. "Now, Serana!" Mannimarco yells.

So, she jumps.

She goes freefalling through the air. Nothing was there to catch her but her own free will. She thinks of the clouds above and wills them to her. If she goes crashing into the ocean, then so will they. With that thought, the wind changes. Instead of freefalling into the water below and crashing into whatever rocks are at the bottom, she flies upwards.

Mannimarco yells out to her, she can't hear him as she whips past the tower and watches it fade from view. The cities below her, with the lights that were just growing brighter start to grow dimmer. The roar of the ocean leaves her and now, it's just her and the sky.

Serana looks up into the low hanging clouds and closes her eyes when she flies through. The cold whisps brush her cheeks as they move past her.

You're doing good. Mannimarco says in her mind. Wonderful. He sounds gleeful.

She keeps her eyes shut as the cold grows around her body and around her dress, still damp from the ocean spray. Serana, look up.

She follows his command and gasps. When she looks up, into the land of the gods where she is to be melded as one, she finds a glowing expanse of stars dotting the purple and blue landscape. In the center, stands the brightest star, beckoning her. Challenging her to make it there.

Keep going Serana. You will not fail.

With that thought, Serana raises her arms out to her sides, like a bird and flies. Up and up and up into the dazzling kaleidoscope of stars. Until all she sees is the blinding light of the divine.