Chapter CVI – On Top of the World
"Where's the last one?"
Aeyrin rummaged around in Bishop's pack, looking for his bolt traps.
They were camping in a secluded cavern by River Hjaal, close to the Whiterun border. They hadn't stopped since their unorthodox escape from Dawnstar and, by the time night came, they reached this point, with no real destination in mind.
They set up camp a while ago. They had dinner and washed everything, including their clothes, in the nearby river until the time came to secure the camp for the night. They were both still rattled from the events. It was already bad after that temple and then, after the Brotherhood ambushed Bishop, they spent their whole journey anxious and paranoid, constantly looking over their shoulders. Karnwyr preferred to stay outside for the night – he made that clear when he ran off right after dinner. And now was finally the time when they could relax a little. Those traps did at least give them some measure of peace in the wilderness.
If only Aeyrin could find the last one while Bishop was setting up.
"Oh. Right," Bishop remembered. He used that trap a while ago to secure the cottage. He never got a chance to tell Aeyrin – she was usually busy with other things while he was setting up those traps. And he couldn't really tell her the truth either. "It broke. When you were down south building that chapel, one of the boxes broke on me when I was setting it up in my camp."
"Oh," Aeyrin stopped rummaging around pointlessly at last and she tossed his pack aside.
"We'll make do with just two, love," he threw her a reassuring look over his shoulder.
She wasn't really bothered by that. There was only one way out of the cave and if something came for them that didn't get stopped by the first two traps, the last one would hardly help.
She didn't even really want to think about the security of their camp anymore. She just wanted to feel safe again, without those lingering doubts, but she didn't really see that coming any time soon. But maybe some sleep would chase all those thoughts away a bit. She still felt tired, even after their night in Dawnstar which was surprisingly more energizing. Even though it was still plagued by nightmares.
They weren't like those that the Skull had caused – not so vivid, not so lingering. But they were still there. She thought that it was getting better, but their ordeal in Dawnstar and the sudden memories of those fears manifested seemed to have reopened some old wounds.
She barely even noticed that Bishop was already done, as lost in thought as she had been. But he promptly tore her away from her ruminations.
He had already disposed of his clothes. And now he wrapped his arms around her waist and ushered her away from the fire to their bedroll. When she scurried back, his hands wandered to the hems of her shirt and he promptly draped it over her head.
"Come, love. Let's go to bed," he nuzzled her neck from behind slowly. Enough of those fucking traps and security measures. Enough of constantly looking over their shoulders. He just wanted to forget all that shit that happened in the last few days and concentrate on being with her, losing himself in her. They didn't really get a chance to enjoy themselves since their first night in Dawnstar. Which, come to think of it, was only two nights ago. For some reason, it felt like ages.
Aeyrin slowly nodded, pressing her head into his for a brief moment, before she started to take off her boots. Bishop kept distracting her with languid kisses on the side of her neck while she continued to struggle with her clothes, tossing away her boots at last and then her trousers and undergarments. With some difficulty of course, despite the fact that Bishop clearly wanted her naked, his wandering hands and distractions only served to hinder her efforts.
When she finally disposed of everything, she turned over to him at last and gently pushed on his chest to make him lay down on the bedroll. She snuggled to his side right away and started to plant eager kisses on his jaw in turn while she played with the hair on his chest and hooked her leg around his.
It was nice not thinking about anything for a change. Just to enjoy the feel of his heated skin against her. It was always better than any campfire.
Bishop's hands never stopped groping, stroking over her flesh or raking in her hair while she continued to kiss him. Her own hands kept wandering lower along his chest, down onto his abdomen. She let her fingers tease his lower stomach, frustratingly close, before she withdrew again and moved back to his chest once more. That promptly elicited a groan of pleasure from him.
Aeyrin flinched involuntarily. She thought that she could lose herself in this, but that sound tore her right out. She didn't know why, but suddenly the image of Bishop with that strange faceless elf she had seen in her dream flashed in front of her eyes again. Why? She hated how vivid the nightmares felt. She had heard that sound a thousand times before from him. Just for her. Yet she still had to remember that when he made it now?
Maybe… maybe it meant that there was something to that dream. It wasn't just that either. She would have never had that stupid scene play in her head if it weren't for those insecurities that Brynjolf had planted in her head when Bishop was at the Bunkhouse. She obviously still couldn't shake those feelings.
"You alright?" Bishop's voice tore her away from her ruminations once more. She hadn't even realized how strange it must have been that she just stopped kissing him and touching him altogether. And just because he groaned. Gods, she really needed to pull it together. She hated that these thoughts still bothered her.
But… maybe they were justified.
After all, those dreams brought about fears that were just all too real. Maybe this one was too.
"Yeah," she nodded hurriedly to reassure him. The last thing she wanted was to make things uncomfortable between them because of her own hang-ups. Maybe she should just be making more of an effort. She wasn't really sure what that meant though.
"S-so…" she stammered nervously and she quickly leaned in to start planting brief kisses on his neck and jaw, partially to silence herself and partially to make things less strange. Were they strange? Or was it just her? "Is there something…" she interrupted herself again with a firm kiss right onto the corner of his mouth. "That you'd like to do?" She wasn't really sure how to ask this.
"Yeah," Bishop moved to kiss her fully on her lips as he shifted onto his side. He enveloped her in his embrace eagerly and kissed her deeply once more before he spoke again. "I wanna fuck you until we both forget everything, including our names."
She couldn't help but smile, especially as his warm breath tickled her face. But she was still curious about something else.
"R-right," she chuckled nervously. "I meant more like… something adventurous."
Bishop had to wonder for a bit whether she still didn't have enough adventures for a while after the last two days, before he realized what she just asked. It was only a testament to how much he did not expect that just then, that his mind didn't go there instantly.
"Oh," he grinned at her eagerly. "You have something in mind, princess?" His hand wandered along her back until he reached her buttocks and gave one of her asscheeks a firm squeeze. He was definitely up for anything. Anything to take his mind off things.
"No," Aeyrin shook her head briskly. "I thought you would."
Bishop gave her a surprised look at that. It sounded like she wanted to do something kinky and wasn't sure how to approach it. Now he didn't know what was going on.
"I'm confused," he raised his brow at her.
"Uhm… it was nothing," she buried her face in his chest in embarrassment. She didn't want to ruin the evening with her insecurities and she clearly didn't know how to approach this without making things awkward. It was best if she just tried to keep her mind off it altogether. "Don't worry about it."
"Sweetness, if you want to do something, you can tell me," he chuckled at her. She was so fucking cute when she got bashful like this.
"No, I don't," she shook her head frantically again. "I mean, I don't mind. I don't even know what. I just… I thought you might. Just… forget it." This was just getting worse by the second.
She thought that he might? What has gotten into her? She was being so weird. Did she get something ridiculous into her head in the past two…
Oh.
"Is this about the dreams?" Bishop raised his brow at her.
"What?" How did he know? Ugh, she was so bad at being subtle, it was painful. But… it wasn't really the dream. Not just the dream. She really didn't want to talk about this now. She knew how stupid this all was. But Bishop was unlikely to just let this go. "I… uhm… a little. Maybe. Not just the dreams. They were just… a reminder. I've just… been thinking about this for a while."
"About what?" he insisted.
"I don't know," she kept her eyes stubbornly averted from his. "That you might get bored with me?"
"What?" Bishop would have almost laughed if it wasn't for her troubled expression. Where the fuck did she get that idea?
"It's Brynjolf's fault," she growled morosely. "With that Bunkhouse. He was acting like it's so obvious that you would stay there to… you know."
"You know I didn't," Bishop scoffed. And why would Brynjolf even tell her that? Why would he tell her that if he thought it was true?
"I know. But I didn't know before I found you and I couldn't stop thinking about it," Aeyrin pouted. "I… I'm just not that experienced with this stuff and I… I thought…"
"Sorry to burst your priestly bubble, princess, but I don't think you can still claim that about yourself," he chuckled at her. Besides, how could she think that anything about her could be anything but a turn-on for him?
"I… don't know," she still kept her eyes averted from him. "I'm pretty sure that compared to all the women you've been with before…"
"Sweetness," he interrupted her quickly. "I think you have some very wrong ideas about my life before you." What the fuck was she imagining? Him gallivanting around taverns, trying to find the most exciting and 'adventurous' girl around? Some glorious nights of booze and revelry like some fucking bard trying to catch as many people as they could on their charm? It was ever barely anything more than a pleasant way to pass time. That or drinking. Didn't really make that much of a difference to him most of the time. It was fun. It was a way to forget. It never felt like it did with her. Had she no idea how different it was with her? And she was kind of off with the whole 'adventurous' shit too. Well… Neeshka was a little… intense. Kind of scary sometimes. He definitely didn't miss that.
"Oh please, don't give me that," she scoffed at him.
"I'm serious," he chuckled at her. He wasn't sure why he always found her getting worried about shit like this so cute. Granted though, she was no different when he got unnecessarily jealous. Maybe there was something satisfying about having someone want you so much they let all these silly thoughts plague them.
"Look, I don't know what exactly you're imagining," he smirked. "But there's no way I'm pining for the old days, princess. What do you think it's like, always with a stranger? Sure, it was fun and a good distraction, but do you think I actually got excited about being with any of them like I do with you? Still. After a fucking year and a half. That's gotta tell you something."
"I know," she sighed as she started to idly circle her finger on his chest. She knew that, kind of. She knew that he didn't want anyone else, not now at least. She knew that she never saw him look at anyone the way he still looked at her. She wasn't really sure why she was being so insecure. She had no reason to be, but she couldn't help it. Maybe it was normal. Maybe she would always worry about something like this. Bishop never had any reason to be jealous of anyone either, well… barring the whole Raven incident, but still, even so, he probably couldn't help it. And neither could she when she was led to believe he was enjoying himself at a brothel or being pawed at by a pretty priestess.
"And that 'adventurous' shit," Bishop chuckled again. "Believe me, I've probably done more with you than anyone else."
"Seriously?" she gave him a dubious look. Considering the women from his past she knew about, she wasn't sure if he was just saying that to make her feel better.
"I was with them for one night. How do you think that would go over? You think I can come up to a girl that I just met and say: 'Hey, how about I tie you up in a room and do whatever I want with you?' That shit would send anyone running."
Aeyrin buried her face in his chest as she let out a hearty snicker against his skin. He did have a point there. Chance encounters with strangers like this were probably not where people explored the more daring ideas. And the more she thought about it all, the more stupid this whole insecurity felt. And why would she ever even think that Bishop would rather run to someone else than talking to her? Or doing stuff to her. It was not like he had ever been shy about doing something new with her.
"You have been with some of them longer though, haven't you?" she pondered after a while, though now it was more out of curiosity.
"Yeah. Exactly three," Bishop scoffed. "And that's including you. And as you know, one of them will hate my guts forever and the other one was so fucking insane and destructive, I had to murder her. I really don't want to relive either of those scenarios," he let out a derisive snort. His expression did nothing to hide the disdain in his voice, but when he looked at Aeyrin again, his face softened considerably.
"I never had… this," he slowly drew his hand across her back, making shivers run down her spine, before he tangled it in her hair, stroking affectionately. "Do you have any idea how much more exciting it is for me to even be near you? It was never like this. It was… like just a way to pass time and relieve some tension. I promise you, you never have to worry about me wanting to go back to that. Fuck, I couldn't even go back to that when we were apart, knowing how different things were with you."
She wrapped her arms around him affectionately as she continued to press her face into his chest. She didn't really need much more reassurance, but she still loved that he kept reassuring her while she was silent. She had probably built up the supposed 'excitement' of his past relationships into something that it never was. Stupid Brynjolf. This was all his fault, getting into her head like that. None of this was even worth a modicum of thought.
"Stop thinking about stupid shit, love," Bishop chuckled at her as he started to plant kisses on the top of her head and tugging gently on her hair. Why was she letting some stupid talk and some stupid dreams get to her like that? He wasn't thinking about this shit at all. It didn't even occur to him that she would ever get bored with him. She had centuries on her hands after all. It wasn't that big of a deal. He was just one small part of her long life. She might even forget him eventually. He didn't need to worry about stupid shit like that.
Yeah. He was not thinking about pointless shit at all. Those dreams did not get to him in the slightest.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly and rolled onto his back, along with her. His grip hoisted her up to straddle his thighs and he moved his hands down to her buttocks. He didn't want to think for another second anymore.
"Come on, love, let's just forget that shit. 'Adventurous' or not, whatever the fuck you want, I don't care. I just want you."
…
They spent the next few days recuperating in the wilderness, around the borders of Hjaalmarch, the Reach and Haafingar, wherever the road took them.
They didn't even do much. They have explored a cavern or two, but they avoided the larger barrows and structures along the way. Neither of them felt up to anything too dangerous or stressful. They both just wanted a break for a while.
It kind of worked. The events of Dawnstar still lingered in their minds, but the distractions of the road always helped a lot. And the distractions of being alone together. They never stayed in one place, of course. They only ever camped in the same spot for one night and they didn't linger overlong in the mornings either. The Brotherhood was still a very real threat, but hopefully staying on the move would keep them at bay a bit.
Maybe that was just wishful thinking. But nothing happened over the past few days and they were finally starting to relax a little again. It wouldn't last. But it was still a small comfort.
It was on their fourth day without any plans or direction when a familiar courier caught up with them on a road south of Dragon Bridge.
It seemed like the world out there was calling again. With a letter and, surprisingly enough, a heavy pouch of gold to boot.
The courier said nothing about the coin that accompanied the letter for Aeyrin and he quickly turned on his heel and ran off again. The pouch felt heavy. It must have been at least three hundred gold. It only made the mystery letter more intriguing.
Aeyrin eagerly tore open the letter and looked at its contents. The handwriting was unfamiliar, but she did notice the signature soon enough.
.
Dragonborn,
I do not know whether you remember me, we have spoken only rarely and briefly, but over a year ago I hired you and your companion to obtain a rare artifact for me – the White Phial. Your companion has delivered the Phial to me when you have fallen ill, but it was tragically broken. As you may know, he has also graciously given me some notes he found in the dungeon. I am happy to say that me and Master Nurelion have finally reached some breakthroughs in researching the writings. We may have a way of repairing the Phial. But we need to follow some precise alchemical formulae to achieve that. We are already working on procuring the rare ingredients, but one is unavailable to us. It is snow which is said to never melt under any conditions, according to the legends. It only forms at the very peak of the Throat of the World. I would have, of course, sent a runner or a trained scout to gather it, but as you well know, the peak of the mountain and the monastery below are not accessible to the public. I know, however, that they are accessible to you. Please, if you can, try to see if the Greybeards would allow you to travel to the very top of the mountain. I have included a compensation for your consideration only. This is my Master's life work. We would be both eternally grateful if you could gather this snow for us. Even if Master Nurelion doesn't know how to show gratitude very well.
I will be awaiting your response, hopefully with the snow as well. You should be able to recognize it by its softly blue coloring.
Quintus
.
"Who's the money from?" Bishop asked, just as she had barely managed to finish the long-winded letter.
"Quintus," she answered and folded the letter back. It would be quicker to explain that to have Bishop read it too.
"The alchemist?" Bishop raised his brow. It felt like he had been paid by that man tenfold already. Though, granted, getting that weird phial for him was an ordeal.
"He found a way to repair that phial of his, but he needs some rare ingredients. Apparently there is some weird snow that never melts at the summit of the Throat that he needs, but he needs someone who can actually get there. I guess the Greybeards wouldn't let just anyone through the monastery."
"'Snow that never melts'? That's fucking crazy," Bishop chuckled. Though it was winter. Not a lot of snow melted now anyway. Did that mean that the snow wouldn't even melt by fire? That sounded made up. Although by now, they've seen crazier shit in their travels for sure. "You wanna go see if it's actually true?" he smirked. They didn't really have any other destination planned anyway.
"Well, we did already get paid," Aeyrin chuckled. "And I wouldn't mind talking to Paarthurnax either." The dragon could shed some more light on their situation. On Alduin, on the Elder Scroll. He was just so… vague all the time. She should be used to that by now. Everything about this prophecy, about the dragons and about how the Scroll would help always felt a bit vague. It was frustrating.
"Can't hurt," Bishop nodded. It was as good a plan as any.
It was going to be a long journey. And they would have to pass through the Pale again, unless they wanted to risk going through Whiterun Hold. And the routes across the Reach and Falkreath weren't exactly tempting either. The northern route had been their go-to for a while. It wasn't exactly tempting now, but they would just have to avoid the vicinity of Dawnstar altogether.
Not that that would keep them safe from whenever the Brotherhood decided to strike again, but it was better for their own peace of mind.
That was the least they deserved now.
…
The journey up on the mountain was as arduous as ever.
Their travels across Skyrim didn't exactly go as peacefully as they had hoped either. Once they were ambushed by bandits, and aside from the occasional animal attacks, they have also encountered a dragon. It flew off once it got wounded by their assault, but that only left them more rattled. They had to be very careful in the area in case it decided to come back for them and settle the score.
But it was all definitely better than the Brotherhood. Those fortunately haven't made their appearance.
They have made it to the mountain unscathed though.
They stopped by Vilemyr Inn for the night, greeted by a very content-looking Lynly there. It was nice seeing her so happy, now that Sibbi was dead and she could live her life here without the fear of being discovered by him. No matter what mess this whole thing caused, killing Sibbi still did some good.
Of course, Lynly had no idea that they had anything to do with it. For all she knew, the timing of his death was just a miraculous coincidence to her. And she was too relieved to think too much about it all.
Bishop, Aeyrin and Karnwyr set off right after breakfast, grabbing the supplies for the Greybeards once more from their usual supplier, since they were going there anyway. There were several trolls there along the way up the peak, and it begged the question how the supplier usually handled the journeys. Maybe he was much more capable than he seemed. Or very skilled at evading the wildlife.
The Greybeards were as cheerful as ever. They weren't very talkative, as per usual, and Aeyrin didn't even bother discussing the current situation with them. Arngeir only mentioned that the 'end was nearing' – typical Greybeard resignation and doomsaying. It was fortunate that their leader was more interested in stopping the inevitable, as opposed to accepting it.
The old men weren't really surprised that Aeyrin and Bishop wanted to make their way up on the peak again. It had become clear a long time ago that the Dragonborn was more interested in the knowledge and counsel of an actual dragon, as opposed to their meticulous insistence on restraining her abilities.
When they finally reached the very summit, however, the dragon was nowhere to be found. He would likely show up soon enough though.
In the meantime, Bishop and Aeyrin were looking around for that fabled snow.
Aeyrin was already shivering like a leaf, especially after having to get through those horrible winds up there with the use of her Shout. Being up there in the winter season did not help anything either. Sifting through snow didn't exactly sound like a great idea to her just then.
Fortunately, when they were pretty sure that they had spotted an oddly blue-ish patch of snow between some rocky outcroppings, Bishop didn't even wait to ask before he grabbed one of their provision bags and started to climb up carefully. He still didn't really believe that the snow wouldn't melt, so it was a good idea to keep it in the bag with the ice-wraith teeth already prepared to keep it cool and all the contents fresh. It would probably melt the second anyone would take it out, but that was Quintus's problem. He just didn't want it to melt in their packs.
It was still weird that the snow looked so different. It did look kind of magic. It was too subtle to notice unless one knew what to look for. And it looked especially strange from up close. It even seemed to glitter a bit more in the sun.
And just as he was almost done filling up the sack, the gusts of wind picked up a bit and the familiar sound of wings echoed through the area. It seemed like the mountain's resident was never far from his peak.
"Dovahkiin, Joor, what brings you back to my Strunmah? My mountain," Paarthurnax's booming voice bounced off the rocks as he hovered above Aeyrin, by the small plateau. His mesmerizing wings spread wide, almost as if in greeting. They even blocked the sun momentarily.
"We're actually here to get some… snow," Aeyrin chuckled a little. That was a ridiculous reason. As if there wasn't plenty of snow all over Skyrim. "Special snow. Is it true that it doesn't melt?"
"Geh, Dovahkiin. Snow full of Lah. Magic," Paarthurnax finally landed in front of her, disturbing the snow around, but his eyes briefly looked up at Bishop still filling the rest of the sack up on the outcroppings. "Resilient even against the Hokoron. The enemy. Krein. Sun."
"Is it alright to take some?" Aeyrin looked at him bashfully. It somehow seemed strange now. He spoke about the snow with an odd reverence.
"Drem," Paarthurnax actually sounded like he chuckled a bit. "Od Alun Daal. Snow always returns. You may take what Kyne gifts anew."
Good. That was reassuring at least. It looked like they weren't stealing some magical phenomenon forever.
"How do you even know it doesn't melt?!" Bishop called out from behind her back. She briefly looked over her shoulder, only to see him already scaling down the mountain, almost down at the plateau. "Have you ever even seen it anywhere else other than here? Of course it doesn't melt here," He smirked by the time he made it down and approached Aeyrin.
"Joorre Kruziik, the mortals of old, have used it in their magics. Years and Eras have passed. I have seen much, Joor," the dragon nodded knowingly before he turned his attention back to Aeyrin. "Tell me, Dovahkiin, what of your Nir, your hunt, for the Thu'um Nol Muz? Shout from men."
"We're… working on it," Aeyrin nodded. "Apparently, someone could see the battle that happened here and learn the Shout by using an Elder Scroll."
"Geh. The Kelle. They flow through time, giving glimpses of past and future. Your future is in learning from the past. Tiid Los Aak. Time guides," Paarthurnax nodded knowingly. He had suggested before that the Scrolls were their answer. Though it was much more complicated than that. She didn't even know how she was ever going to get that Shout if she couldn't read the Scroll herself, if she couldn't see the battle herself. She wished that Paarthurnax would be able to learn the Shout. It would make everything so much easier. The Scrolls could safely be read with someone with enough will and understanding. Who else but an ancient, wise dragon? And he could learn the Shout and teach it to her.
But that was impossible. He said that dragons couldn't learn that Shout. That it wasn't made by them. That it was used against them.
It was still a little confusing to think about how dragons actually 'worked'. And there was still one thing that she couldn't understand at all.
"We… we saw Alduin," she took a deep breath. She really needed to know why her Shouts didn't work on him. It bothered her so much. It was terrifying.
"Alduin. Zeymah," Paarthurnax looked like he almost sighed at the mention. "He grows powerful. Los Du. Devours. More souls. Dinok. More death. Your war ensures his success."
Aeyrin nodded at him. This they knew. But there was nothing to do about it. The war bought them the time they needed. They had no way to face Alduin. Especially after what they've seen of him.
"But the Goraan. The young, the new. They get impatient. Hungry after their slumber," he continued regretfully.
"'Hungry'? I thought dragons didn't eat people," Bishop raised his brow at him.
"Hungry for the Nir. The hunt. Suleyk. Power. They wish to rule again. Some get bolder."
"Like the one in Karthwasten. It attacked a settlement," Aeyrin scowled. It wasn't just Alduin they needed to worry about getting impatient.
"Geh. Sahsun Los Ag. More will fall, more will burn."
Lovely. It was to be expected, perhaps, but it still felt strange to hear it. As if the dragons hadn't been bad enough, plaguing the roads and lone travelers.
"I just… I'm not sure if the Shout will be enough to stop him," Aeyrin let out an uncertain sigh. "When we crossed paths with him… I tried. But none of my Shouts affected him at all. I don't know how that's possible."
"Dovahkiin, greet me as the Dovah do," Paarthurnax gave her a meaningful look suddenly.
What? Now he wanted some silly ceremony? Was it some way to deflect the question?
"Paarthurnax, if you know something…" she sighed again, now in exasperation, but the dragon interrupted her promptly.
"Greet me, Dovahkiin."
Fine! But he wasn't going to get her to forget her question.
"YOL TOOR!"
Her flames enveloped Paarthurnax's scales and dissipated quickly. Great. He had his greeting, now could they get back to…
Oh!
She had always assumed that it was the scales – that's why her fire was often useless against dragons, right? But… that wasn't always true. And why wouldn't it hurt his eyes or his wings? This was something else.
"How?" Aeyrin gaped at him as she finally connected the dots. She had never thought about it too much, about why he didn't even flinch when she 'greeted' him the first time.
"The Thu'um. It seeps. Rotmulaag, Words of Power, they become part of being," Paarthurnax explained. "Tiid, Fen, Sos. Time, will and blood make a Dovah one with the Rotmulaag. Dov cannot know the Thu'um Nol Muz, the Shout you seek. It is for the blood of men. Only Dovahkiin with the knowing of Dovah and blood of Muz can learn it. But the rest. The rest is for the Dov to Diivon, to swallow. To Lahney, to live. An ancient Dovah who knows many Rotmulaag, used many Rotmulaag and made them his own, he will not be harmed by them any longer. They are with him. Gein. They are one."
"So the Shout that he cannot learn is the only thing that can harm him?" Aeyrin shook her head in palpable desperation. One Shout. That was all. And she didn't even know what it would do. What if it didn't kill him?
"Weapons can harm him," Bishop scowled. They had to, right? No matter what, weapons worked against dragons. Right?
"Geh. There is no shield but our scales," Paarthurnax nodded. "But Alduin, Zeymah, he is strong in body and spirit both. It is a challenge. Dilok, deadly, to even attempt. And he will not leave himself open to harm. And if he does, he will retreat into Sovngarde to re-gather Mul. Strength."
Yeah, they've seen it, alright. His scales were like the sturdiest of armors and he was too fast to hit anyway. Even if weapons harmed him, it was nearly impossible to use them to do it.
Aeyrin was lost in thought, mulling over the words. This complicated things. She already knew that Alduin wasn't affected by her Shouts, but she still thought that it was some kind of trick that he did, something that she could counter. This was much worse. It was just who he was. The first dragon ever, firstborn of Akatosh. If anyone would know and 'internalize' every single Shout out there, it would be him.
"Can she do it?" Bishop interrupted the sudden silence. Aeyrin wasn't really sure what he was asking anymore. Was he asking if she could ever even hope to harm Alduin?
"The whole… 'one with the Shout' thing," he explained when the dragon remained silent and Aeyrin just looked confused. "Can she learn a Shout so much that it doesn't harm her?"
Paarthurnax remained silent still. He seemed to be actually uncertain.
"Vomindok. I do not know. Tiid, Fen, Sos. Your Fen, your will, it grows stronger. Stronger with each Dovah you defeat. But… the Sos, the blood, it makes Dov strong. It conquers the Rotmulaag, the Words. Without the blood of Dov, control shatters. Krent," he gave her an oddly sympathetic look. "Sos of Dovahkiin, it is not pure. Sos Do Joorre, the blood of mortals, it flows through you as well. And… Tiid. The time."
Aeyrin only nodded at him in response. It was pretty clear. She didn't have centuries at her disposal. She didn't have the pure blood of a dragon. She couldn't ever hope to control the Shouts as they did, even if she was getting much better at it, and she could never hope to actually become invulnerable to the Shouts.
That was fine though. She never even thought that it was an option. She just hated how hopeful she had gotten when Bishop asked.
The important thing she needed to concentrate on was that she was getting better, the more she used the Shouts. And it fit the whole 'internalizing' thing as well. She just had to keep practicing and not shying away from her powers. They may have been useless against Alduin, but they were not useless against the other dragons. She had seen it all too many times. They were not as old as Alduin, they were 'dead' for millennia while he was roaming the currents of time, supposedly.
"Ahkrin, Dovahkiin," Paarthurnax gave her something that could actually pass for a smile as he bared his sharp fangs at her. "Courage. You are alive. Nahlaas. And many Zeymah, many brothers, fell dead at your feet."
Yes. He was right. Maybe she didn't have the skill or tools to defeat Alduin. Not yet. But she sure as the Void could deal with the results of his handiwork.
"Take care, Dovahkiin. Be wary," Paarthurnax stood on his hind legs suddenly, disturbing the snow all around them with a large heave. Some of the snow even sprayed them a little, but it was hardly any worse than the storms raging below the somewhat calm plateau. "Your name, it echoes in the mouths of the Zeymah. You were a legend first. A simple Joor second. A pest third. Now… you are Dovahkriid. A dragon slayer. A threat."
That could have been a very bad thing, but it also could be a good thing in some cases. Like when that dragon on the road fled from them – it was afraid. As terrified as she was in each battle with these beasts, it was comforting, in a way, to know that so were they.
And maybe one day, Alduin would have a reason to be afraid too.
They just needed to get that damn Scroll.