"The Dragons? I think you may be confused, boy. I killed the dragons. All of them."
"Well, you must have missed some. I fought one off near Labyrinthian. An Elder by its scales."
"An Elder Dragon. On my doorstep." A deep, malicious chuckle echoes through the room, "How interesting. Very well. Let us see how well these new dragons die."
He strides to a wall a presses a hidden button and the walls groan in response. Ancient gears groan to life as displays rise from the floor. Fabulous and regal stands of armor gleam brilliantly in the fire. Hundreds of weapons line the walls, each more impressive than the last.
"Is that… made of Dragon Scales?" I ask in shock as he dons a set of pitch-black armor.
"Yes, yes, it is. Specifically, they are the scales of an ancient terror named Alduin."
"Alduin!? How is that possible?"
"I killed him. Almost 4,000 years ago, he and I battled in Sovngarde, and he lost." He says as wraps a cloak around his shoulders.
He must be mistaken. Alduin lives, I know it. I've seen him with my own eyes. Ah, a title maybe?
"You're not bringing a sword?" Serana asks
"Ha! For an Elder Dragon? Why bother."
"We'll need to wait for sundown. You haven't fed since before I slept."
"No need, Serana. I'll explain later, I've got a dragon to kill!" his eyes flare to life with excitement.
With the press of another button, a whole wall slides away revealing an elevator and he motions for us to enter. He stands anxiously, filled to bursting with anticipation.
"So, is it true that you can kill Dragons with ease?" One of the men asks reverently.
"I wouldn't say easily, but yes, I can kill them." He turns and addresses us, "Once the doors open, you Will do as I say. Find cover, keep your head down, and leave this dragon to me. Take your cue from Serana. Understood?"
There's no hesitance in his voice. No concern. He exudes confidence and power as he looks to each of us for confirmation.
"Serana, keep as many of them alive as possible. It shouldn't be much of an issue. What I'm about to do will draw attention from every corner of Skyrim."
"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what are you going to do?"
"Make a statement."
Three simple words, and yet they fill us with fear and intrigue. I look to Serana who just shakes her head.
The doors open and the sunlight floods into the elevator. Serana cringes and diverts her gaze. The Dragonborn seems to bask in the light, appearing completely unfazed even as wisps of smoke rise from beneath his cloak. With a sigh, he steps forward and leads us towards the clearing where Serana fought the Elder dragon. He motions to an ancient cairn and tells us to take shelter within if things become too dangerous. He stands exposed on a bluff and a single word explodes from his lips
"Dovah!"
It's a challenge. A Dare. It doesn't take long to receive a response. Three to be exact. Terrible roars echo across the plains from Eldersblood peak, Skyborn Alter, and Rorikstead. His shoulders shake as great booming laughter erupts from his chest.
"Meyz Dovah! Meyz ahrk grind Zu'u!" Meyz ahrk Dir!" His voice, his true voice hurts our ears as it thunders across Whiterun.
"Serana, what did he say?" I ask, still holding my ears
"Rough translation, 'Come Dragons. Come and face me. Come and Die.' He just issued an open challenge to all dragons in the area, possibly across all Skyrim." She says plainly, her hand on her dagger. "They don't have to accept. But most won't refuse. They're too prideful."
The dragons' flood over the horizon. He clenches his fists tightly, waiting. His power is building in anticipation of the coming battle. With a flourish, he throws off his cloak and reveals the black dragon scale armor beneath. It seems to glow in the sunlight, the faint red trimming flares to life as he brings his power to bare
"Joor Zah Frul!" A cone of energy erupts from his mouth and strikes the first dragon, its wings buckle from the force of it, and it begins to fall to the ground.
He's on it in an instant, an ethereal purple blade manifesting in his outstretched hand, he turns the blade and delivers a vicious stab into the dragon's eye, and the beast roars in pain. His thickly armored boot slams into the beast's bottom jaw, slamming its head into the dirt before an equally armored gauntlet grabs the top jaw and forces it open
"Yol Toor Shul!" A massive gout of flame erupts from his mouth into the dragon's maw. Its body squirms desperately to escape his iron grip before going slack as it dies.
The remaining dragons' roar at the death of their companion and bank to attack from the air, one attack with ice and the other with fire, he raises his hand and summons an ethereal shield to block the flame and barely shrugs as he's hit by the frost. The blade disappears from his hand as the dragons' circle to attack again and he launches a series of fireballs at the frost dragon. He clips the dragon's wing with his attack, and it slams into the ground with full momentum, digging a deep furrow into the ground. The flame dragon lands behind him to divert his attention from its fallen ally, it releases another blast of flame, "Fo Krah Diin!" he roars, ice and flame mixing between them, blinding the dragon. "Wuld Nah Kest!" he blasts forward closing the distance, "Fus!" he aims at the ground and the shout launches him into the air. He lands on the dragon's neck, grabs one of its massive horns, and delivers a sharp kick, the horn breaks away and he slams the tip into the dragon's skull, "Fus Ro Dah!" he shouts, his leg begins to glow as he stomps down onto the horn releasing a shockwave and driving the horn into the dragon's brain killing it instantly.
The final dragon stays still, stunned by the display. The purple blade materializes in his hand again as he marches over to the dragon. Anger flares in the beasts' eyes and it releases a great blast of fire. He makes no move to dodge or stop the attack, he lets the flame wash over him like a tidal wave. When the flame finally dies, the Dragonborn stands unfazed. His hand darts out and grabs the dragon by the nostrils, dragging the beast's head forward, he glares into its eyes as he drives the blade, inch by inch into its skull.
The men erupt in joy as the final dragon dies.
"He's not done yet," Serana says coyly
Suddenly, the dragon corpses begin to glow as if on fire, the scales begin to fall away, and an odd energy vortex erupts from each of the dragons towards the Dragonborn who welcomes the energy with open arms. We avert our eyes as the energy is absorbed, leaving the Dragonborn wreathed in a radiant light. He begins to walk towards us when the men burst forth from our hiding place to meet him. The men are ecstatic, massive smiles threaten to split their faces in two while some have tears flowing freely. He greets them as kin, arms stretched wide.
"He's still got it. I gotta admit, I was worried." Serana says as we walk towards him.
"Never in my life would I have dared to believe that it was possible to kill a dragon. I still can't believe it if I'm being honest."
"That's normal. It took me a few weeks before the shock wore off, and that was back when Magic was commonplace. You've lived under their yolk your entire life, and no one has managed to even come close to hurting a dragon, never mind kill one."
"I must say Serana, I'm rather disappointed. These dragons didn't hold a candle to the ones I fought all those years ago. Back then, I would've had trouble with 2 Ancient Dragons and an Elder Dragon. I barely broke a sweat."
"Well, it has been 4,000 years since they've had any challenges to their power." She says plainly
"They have grown weak from their victory and opulence. A shame." He turns his gaze to me, "Where is your main camp? There are some things I need to do alone. But I will meet up with you when I am done."
"We're holed up in Blackreach. There are multiple entrances all over Skyrim."
"I know the place. Clever. Deep underground, no way for the dragons to attack, multiple ways to enter safely. Well-chosen Grayson."
"It wasn't my decision alone. But thank you. When should we expect to see you?"
"Oh, I won't be too long. I want to check on a few… friends and then I'll meet you in Blackreach. Is the entrance at Raldbathar still active?"
"Yes, it is. But you'll have to pass by Shearpoint to get there."
"Shearpoint won't be a problem. I shouldn't be more than a day."
"Shearpoint may not be as you remember, Wolf," Serana says as she grabs his arm.
"It's true. Shearpoint is a Massive outpost. It's the stronghold of one of the Dragon Priests, Konahrik. He's very powerful, He leads the other priests and answers only to Alduin."
He stops dead in his tracks. "What did you say?"
"He… leads the Dragon Priests and answers only to Alduin?"
His eyes flare with a deep crimson. "Alduin is dead. Long dead. I'm wearing his corpse. And now you tell me that Alduin has returned." He says stepping closer with each word until I stand engulfed in his shadow.
"It's true. The dragon that leads them calls himself Alduin. We figured it was just a title, like a king or something."
"The dragons do not use titles. Each name is unique, and no dragon would Dare use the name of the World-Eater. I need to find Paarthurnax. He'll know what's going on."
"Where are you going, Wolf?" Serana calls.
"The Throat of the World. I will get to the bottom of this."
A blue orb appears in his hand before a flaming, skeletal horse rises from the ground. He grinds his heels into its skeletal haunches, and it bolts forward with incredible speed headed towards the mountain at the heart of Skyrim.
I deplete my Magicka increasing Arvak's speed, and I arrive at High Hrothgar in record time. It's been a long time since someone has been here. It's odd being here again, it's made even stranger by the fact that Arngeir isn't here to greet me as he has so many times before. I push forward through the monastery and into the courtyard as phantoms of Arngeir, Wulfgar, Borri, and Einarth move about, memories playing out before me from my time here. I use "Clear Skies" to open the path as I have hundreds of times before whenever I sought an audience with Paarthurnax. It isn't long before I arrive at the Throat of the World, the cold nipping at me like vipers. I throw back my hood and channel my voice, "Od Ah Viing, Paar Thur Nax, Dur Nah Viir!" Summoning three dragons back-to-back drains me and I shake off the lightheadedness that follows. Nothing. After over an hour of waiting none of my dragon allies answer my call. They must be dead. There's no way they would ignore my summons after all this time. Curiosity would compel them if nothing else. This is not good. I look towards Raldbathar and Shearpoint, even here I can see Shearpoint clearly. Stronghold, indeed. Hmm, if I can't get answers from a dragon, then a dragon priest will have to suffice. Konahrik, the warlord. The only dragon priest I couldn't find.
"Dovah! Zu'u lost Vokrii. Zu'u Dovahkiin ahrk hin bok Oblaan!" That should get their attention. Prepare yourself Konahrik. I am coming for you!
From the Writer - I hope you enjoy this one. I'm already writing the next chapter and I hope I'll have it finished before too long.
"Dovah! Zu'u lost Vokrii. Zu'u Dovahkiin ahrk hin bok Oblaan!" - Roughly translates to, "Dragons! I have returned. I am the Dragonborn and your time is over!
Any advice, recommendations, questions, or concerns are always welcome. Stay Safe and Stay Healthy! - Gravix