Morndas, 9:42 PM, 10th of Sun's Dawn, 4E 202
Dawnstar. A subarctic little town. One of the nine major cities in Skyrim that was built by the Nords. Although I wouldn't call it a city. It's the capital of The Pale region, busting with trade from fish to smithing materials. It's situated along the Sea of Ghosts, making it a prominent trading stop between Windhelm and Solitude. Both are located at the east edge of Skyrim. The long forgotten Dawnstar Sanctuary is hidden behind the stone cliff. I left Shadowmere by the gate and went on inside. A few residents were yelling at the Jarl, a young female Nord. I ignored them. I continued my way down the dirt path. Around the corner by the sea was Arnbjorn. He was bloodied and didn't look good. Blood was everywhere. "Should have figured Astrid would send you." I took out my bag and handed him a healing potion.
"You're hurt." He took it and drank its contents.
"What gave it away? Ha ha ha ha ha. Yeah, got to admit that little jester is good with that butter knife. But don't worry. I gave him as good as I got. He's in there." He pointed to the Black Door behind him.
"Go home, Arnbjrn." I sighed as I approached the door. I'm going to hear that ear piercing voice again. Maybe I can cover my ears. I tried it.
"What is life's greatest illusion?" I gritted my teeth as covering my ears did nothing!
"Innocents, my brother." I groaned, rubbing my head. I feel like my ears will bleed if I have to listen to that voice one more time!
"Welcome home."
Inside I found a trail of blood. He should be easy to find. "Listener! Is that you? Oh, I knew you'd come! Send the best to defeat the best, Astrid knew her stupid wolf couldn't slay sly Cicero." His voice echoed as I went deeper. "Oh, but this isn't at all what Mother would want. You kill the Keeper or I kill the Listener? Now that's madness." He cried. Suddenly, ghosts appeared from the walls and started to attack me. A simple swish, swish, stab and they were gone. A little deeper and I came upon a bridge. I took one step and spikes suddenly emerged from the walls. "Ouch! Pointy pointy! My home is well defended. I always have been a stickler for details. Get it? "Stick-ler." Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, I slay me!" This was easy to get past. All I had to do was crawl to the other side. More ghosts greeted me and died just the same as the last. Down a set of mossy stone steps I came to a room with oil on the ground. I looked up to see lanterns that were lit. I pretended to walk in but jumped as the lanterns fell and the whole room caught alight. There were some ghosts in the room but died by the fire. "You're... still alive. Cicero respects the Listener's ability, of course, but could you at least slow down a bit? I'm not what I used to be. Heh." I ignored him as I walked through the fire and carried on. In another room down the path, more ghosts tried to kill me. Is this all he has? Ghosts and by-the-book traps? Easily killing them off, I came across an ice cavern? How did this get here? "Brrr! Chilly! You'll enjoy this. Not an original part of the Sanctuary, per se. Let's call it a "forced addition." Force by what? Oh, come and see!" He was sounding more and more unsure of himself at the minute. In an opening in the small tunnel of ice was an Ice Troll. A white furred beast. Very stupid creatures. It was a rather big area so I could shout without killing myself. So far it was clueless I was here as I slowly made my way on a ledge. It was chewing on a large bone. Too easy. I didn't even bother. I just moved past it without issue. "All right, so Cicero attacked that harlot, Astrid! But what's a fool to do, when his mother is slandered and mocked? Surely the Listener understands!"
'Oh I understand, Cicero. So don't worry.' I thought as I ventured further.
"Cicero admits, he thought the Listener would be dead by now, Heh. Maybe we could just forget all this? Let bygones be bygones? What do you say?" I came to a stop in a room full of coffins. One by one, ghosts emerged from their graves to kill me. They were all lined up, and I am no longer in an ice cavern threatening to collapse on me. So I did the most logical thing.
"Yol Toor Shul! (Fire Inferno Sun!)" The shout burst out of my mouth and I smiled inside. Fire spread everywhere and left non standing. It also made my body feel warm and good inside. There was one last door at the end of the room. Where Cicero resides. At least I hope it is. So I prepared myself for a fight.
"If it's any comfort, I do feel slightly bad about Veezara. Stupid lizard got in my way! But please tell me that hulking sheepdog has bled to death." I opened the door and there he was. Cicero. On the ground, bleeding out. He was clutching his side and he was breathing in labored breaths. "You caught me! I surrender! Ha ha ha ha." He coughed and wheezed. I crouched down next to the dying form of Cicero.
"You have no idea what you put me through, do you? You betrayed us." I wasn't mad, or angry. To be honest I was rather happy he did. Helped me... find myself.
"Traitor? Me? Silly assassin. So confused, so confused... and they say I'm mad! If I'm a traitor, so are you! Have you not heard the maiden's voice? Are you not the Listener? So walk away! Let poor Cicero live! Tell Astrid you did the job! Stabbed, strangled, drowned poor Cicero! A tiny white lie for a dark assassin!" I took out an iron dagger I found and put the blade to his chest. I didn't hurt him, I just let the tip of the blade stay there. Lightly touching him. I had no reason to kill him. And Astrid is a problem.
"Thank you, Cicero." I let the dagger fall flat on his chest and I walked out without a word. I will not kill an unarmed wounded man.
I walked into Sanctuary, cold and hungry. Astrid was waiting at her usual spot on the wall when I came in. "Arnbjorn is safe, and for that you have my thanks. But what of the fool? Is Cicero dead?" My features remained mute.
"Yes, Cicero is dead." I lied. I just had to eat something.
"Excellent. Once again, you've proven yourself a born assassin. Tell you what. Why don't you hold onto Shadowmere a while longer? He's a fine stead, and hasn't been ridden nearly as much as he should lately. And now that this Cicero mess has been mopped up, we can get back to the matter at hand, hmm?" Right, killing the Emperor. Or in my case, killing the god of gods and a liar. "Veezara is already on his way to kill Gourmet. A phenomenon. Have you read his cookbook?" I shook my head, but now I was going to read it. Wait… what! Veezara is infiltrating the Castle Dour? I better make sure he gets it done. But before I do, there's something that's been throwing me off about this whole thing.
"Astrid? In the cabin, when you recruited me... none of those people were the contract, were they." Astrid chuckled.
"My, my. You're a smart one. And I'm guessing you think it was me who had the contract?" She asked, ever so amused. I shook my head.
"No. The contract was me, wasn't it? That's why you had me kill one of those three. You set it all up. To take a life to fulfill my payment. Just like Lucian Lachance did 400 years ago." For a moment, Astrid just stood there, not saying anything. Just looking at me. I waited for her to reply but it seems as though she were awestruck. Or waiting for me to do something. "Astrid? Are you... gonna say something or..."
"You truly are a magnificent person. You know that?" I was slightly confused by her statement. By what term does she use me for being magnificent? "It seems as though you know everything about the Dark Brotherhood. But not just that, but there seems to be a... particular trait you hold. Almost like our previous Listener. You are indeed a strange individual. But it doesn't matter. Go to Castle Dour and help Veezara. Sithis be with you." And with that she left my sight. I simply shrugged. I already knew that. The previous Listener and I are both Argonians, both had Akatosh's influence in their lives. And we both have the same traits like she said.
Walking up to Castle Dour in my council robes, My amulet of Mara, Akatosh, Saint Alessia, and the Elder Council on my neck. To be honest, I wanted to rip Akatosh's off and burn it in hellfire. "Stop right there. The tower is off limits until further notice." A Commander said, standing in front of the door. It was Commander Maro. Someone who I do not like very well.
"My name is Prince Diinmaar. I'm here to join my father, Talen-Jei." He grunted but stepped aside. Inside was the Throne room, but I didn't care. To my right were the steps to the second floor which I took. Turning a corner I came to the last door. I took a deep breath, adjusted my robes and opened it. Around a long table sat some higher-ups in the Empire, and at the end sat my "father". He smiled warmly at my unexpected arrival.
"Ah... another welcomed guest." Guest? Why would he call me that? No matter.
"Father, I wish to speak to you." Talen-Jei's eyes widened, why?
"Uh... my son?" He asked. Now I was confused.
"Yes? Your son." I said. Something is going on.
"Uh... Oh yes my son! Haha! How are you these days?" I didn't buy it. Something is definitely wrong here. I looked him over. Green scales, orange-ish hair... and he wears the right clothes but... I looked him in the eyes. They weren't gold. They were dark green. I was about to draw my dagger when the door opened behind me.
"Aha! Here we are. Honored guests, I present to you- the Gourmet!" There stood Veezara in full Chef's attire. A cook stood next to him with a pot in her hands. Upon seeing me here he slightly panicked. I smiled and beckoned him to come in. When he came close I whispered in his ear.
"Kill him." He nodded.
"Ah, the Potage le Magnifique. So delicious. My friends, as Emperor, I of course reserve the right of first taste." Talen-Jei would never do something so selfish! This man is a fake! I looked at Veezara who I now saw had a dagger under his sleeve. I rushed to his side and bumped his shoulder. He looked at me through the corner of his eye. I shook my head. At first he was confused but eventually he got it. "Oh... Oh how marvelous. Just delicious. It is everything I had hoped it would be. It... I..."
The Emperor impostor suddenly started to look like he was about to pass out. "I think something's... wrong... I..." Then he just fell face first in his dish. Everyone started to panic. The guards drew their swords as they advanced on Veezara. I did the same.
"Father!" While all the commotion was happening I pretended to chase Veezara to a bridge above Solitude. "Veezara, you need to run. It was a set up." I quietly said as I chased him down. He made it halfway across the bridge when Commander Maro and a few Penitus Agents stopped him.
"That lizard was, by far, the most insufferable decoy the Emperor has ever employed. I'm glad he's dead. Ah, but I'm even happier that you killed him. You, an assassin for the Dark Brotherhood, have just made an attempt on the Emperor's life. Would have succeeded, had it been the real bastard." Veezara was panicking as he tried to find a way out. I put my sword away and grabbed him from behind. "Not so fast, "my prince"." I raised a brow. "Surprised? So was I, when one of your "family" came to me with the plan. We worked out a deal, you see. An exchange. I got the both of you, and the Dark Brotherhood gets to continue its existence. But you know what?" I let go of Veezara as we stared down Maro. "I've changed my mind. How about I kill your friend here, then I take you to a public execution! And butcher each and every one of your miserable little friends!" Both sides dared to make a move. Both sides waited for the other. It was a standoff.
Having enough of this. I pulled Veezara behind me. "I'll try and hold them off as best I can! You get back to the Sanctuary!" He grabbed my arm but I shook him off. "Go Veezara! Find the traitor!" He only nodded and ran back the way we came.
"Your Sanctuary's being put to the sword right now. That's what I think of this "deal." You killed my son! All of you! And now you'll pay the price." He turned around and walked away as his guards approached. "Capture him. Kill the other. And make sure there's nothing left to bury." I scanned around for a fast exit but there was none. I scoffed at my luck. I'll worry about these guys later. Seeing no other option, I ran over to the ledge and jumped. The guards all looked over to see if I was dead. But I wasn't. I felt my body shift rapidly. I was about to hit the ground, and I knew that this was a big risk considering how low I was to the ground. But it worked. I roared in victory as I swooped back into the air. I almost forgot what it felt like. I felt free. Truly free. At first I hated it but now! It's bliss.
"Zu'u los fah hi, Bormah! (I am coming for you, Father!)" I knew where he was. On his ship, The Katariah. I saw it when I arrived at Solitude. It is now trying to flee Skyrim. I looked around through the sky and I soon found my prey. And so I do what dragons do best. I lit the place aflame.
"Dragon!" Sailors yelled. Some Penitus Agents tried to shoot me down but the arrows only bounced off.
"Alduin lost viilut! Zu'u fend lost gir wah pahlokaal mey. (Alduin was right! I should have listened to that arrogant fool!)" I flew to the front of the ship where the Emperor's quarters resided. Clinging onto the boat as it wobbled with my added weight, I slashed open the hull to reveal the interior. Inside, the real Emperor stood backing away from me. The fear in his eyes. Good. "Faas zey, Bormah! (Fear me, Father!)" I bellowed. "Hi vorohah zey! Ahrk nu hi fen biis fah nii! (You made me! And now you will pay for it!)" I couldn't stop the tear flowing down my muzzle as I grabbed him and flew into the air.
"Let me go dragon!" He yelled and flailed as I flew higher. "What are you doing! What caused you to do this my son!" That ticked me off. Roaring. I flung him into a snowbank from a few feet off the ground. I watched as he hit the snow and disappeared inside. I descended down and landed next to the pile of snow. I waited for a few seconds. I soon saw movement in the pile as my body started to burn back to its mortal form. As this happened I summoned a cloak made of fire to cover my naked body.
"Do not pretend to be something you're not, Akatosh." I growled as the Argonian stood up in the snow.
"Diinmaar? Why would you say something like that to your fath-" I was on him like an instant.
"DO NOT... call yourself that. My father is either dead or somewhere out there!" I pointed out the wilderness. "And so is my mother!" His face got a bit angry at those words. "When I was young, you taught me to never lie. To never work for the forces of evil." I tried very hard not to look away from him, to not let any tears fall. This was just too painful. "But yet... here you are. Akatosh. My so-called father!" He started to try and get out of the snow. He failed as he fell down. "Do you know what happened to me when Veezara told me about you? I DIED inside!" He was now trying to crawl out. "And now I wonder... was any of it real? Did you ever love me? Or was I just a pawn like the poor Argonian woman you laid your dirty claws on." I cried. The tears just wouldn't stop as I continued my rant. "I loved you because I thought you were my father! I loved Keerava because I thought she was my mother! And now I don't know what to think because you played the biggest lie in the history of lies! You lied to me! To Keerava! To the Empire! And to yourself!" I was screaming at this point. And Akatosh finally managed to get to his knees. He looked broken and lost as he looked at me with blank eyes, but not at my face. "What kind of twisted fucked up joke is this… After I'm done here, you can go back to Mara. At least she can stand heartbreakers like you."
I heaved as I finished letting out my feelings. And now, Akatosh... is broken. On his knees in the cold snow. Looking down in defeat. I took hold of my amulet of Akatosh... and ripped it from my neck. Throwing it in front of him. He flinched when I walked up to him. I grabbed Keening from my belt, the dagger that saved my life multiple times. The dagger HE gave me when I was a boy. And threw it down as well. Next was the Elder Council amulet. I did the same with that. When he saw it he finally looked me in the eyes. My emotionless, tear riddled, dead eyes. "I am NOT your son..." I stuttered. "I am not your PRINCE..." The tears were no longer falling, but my face was still stained in their wake. And my eyes still burned. "And I am not your Dragonborn."
I don't even think I want to kill him anymore. He did that himself. The god is dead. I would be only wasting my power, his... power. I'll now leave the Dark Brotherhood once I help them this last time. Then I'll live a normal life. Those Cultists don't have to worry about me anymore, the Dawnguard will need to find someone else to fight the vampires, the Empire will need to find someone else to be next of kin to him, and Alduin, wherever he is, can do what he wants. I don't care anymore. Now... I am only Diinmaar, The Adventurer. Maybe I'll go hunt down my real parents. If they are alive that is. I didn't bother saying anything else as I walked away. Akatosh followed me with his gaze. I only have one last thing to do before I leave my old life behind. And that's to save my friends and kill a traitor.
When I reached Sanctuary, the Penitus Oculatus were already there. Luckily, before I left Solitude I grabbed my armor. They let me through without question. Inside was a mess. Fire everywhere, dead body's of Penitus troops littered the area. Further ahead in the main chamber I saw Arnbjrn as a werewolf. It didn't surprise me much though when a few Agents overpowered him and he died on the spot. When they spotted me they saluted. They probably didn't get the news yet. I told them to evacuate, which they did, which gave me less casualties on my trip to kill Astrid. All the other pathways were caved in by debris and the only way I could go through the commons. Everything was on fire and in ruin in that room too. Upstairs I heard Nazir taunting an Agent. But he was losing by the looks of it. I stood behind him and the Agent smirked as he thought I was here to join the fight. "Nazir." He stopped engaging the Agent to look at me. At first, he was confused as to why I am wearing Imperial armor. So I explained. "Nazir, I know this looks bad, but you need to get out of here before this place crushes us all. Where's Astrid?" At first he just looked at me as if I was crazy. But then he started to laugh.
"So you are alive." He choked on the smoke that filled the air. "I was starting to wonder." I looked at the Agent behind him who was having trouble figuring out what happened.
"Go. Save yourself kid. This is no place for a boy to die." The boy quickly nodded and ran back the way I came. Looking at Nazir I sighed as I knew I had some explaining to do, but that can't wait.
"Nazir, you need to leave too. Go to the Dawnstar Sanctuary, there we can rebuild." The Redguard only nodded as he limped away. But stopped short to look back at me.
"And before you ask, no- I don't think it was you. So thank you." I nodded as I continued on. Soon we made our way to the Night Mother's room. I heard her talking but I paid no mind to it. I continued on to find the traitor. I didn't get far though as the path I was in suddenly collapsed. And everything was plunged into darkness. I could still hear the sounds of the infrastructure of the place failing. Is this it? Is this how I die? By a bunch of rocks falling on my head? Heh. I guess I could have died in worse ways. I could have died in my sleep by the very assassins I lead. I could have died by any of the people that now follow me as friends. I could have been killed by Alduin, but he never really did anything except for trying to get in my head or mock me. I could have died by my own troops. The irony in that one. I could have died by bandits, savages, marauders, or thief's... But no. I die from a few rocks! And now I wonder... Are my parents one with The Hist? Will I get to see them? Or are they alive and now... now I am the one who is leaving them? Or will Akatosh bring me back? No. No, he won't do that. I made it quite clear that I want nothing to do with him. He's already done enough damage as it is. So I guess I'll wait…
"Hurry, Nazir! I'm telling you, he's in there!" Babbete?
"I'm going... as fast... as I can, you stupid she-devil. I don't see you... helping..." I heard them trying to dig me out. So I'm still alive?
"C'mon! I don't pay you to do nothing! Put your back into it!" Was that Deeja? What is she doing here?
"So my friend has been with the Dark Botherhood this whole time? I have questions." Now Inigo? Great.
"Believe me, we all have questions for him." General Tullias? Why is he here? He should be helping out in the war!
"We've been digging for hours. How do we know if he's even in there? I need to get back to Whiterun before Irillith gets suspicious. My men aren't cut out for manual labor." Balgruuf? I'm not even going to question it anymore.
"Yeeaahh! There! I found him!" I heard Deeja yell.
"Can you get him out?" Babette asked.
"Little girl, I don't think anyone could survive this much poured on top of them." She replied in sorrow. Soon after she said that I started to hear people screaming. Wait screaming? Then I felt and heard a loud thud on the ground VERY close to me.
"Move out of the way, mortals! Faal Dovahkiin praag zey! (The Dragonborn needs me!)" That was a dragon! I felt something being flung off me. I also heard a few people yelling. When all the debris was off me I barely opened my eyes to hide them from the light. I was lifted out by something? It was slimy, wet, and kinda sharp. And... moving? Then... it was gone, replaced by hard ground. And for a moment, nothing happened. I was too weak to do anything anyways. My eyes stayed mostly shut, I remained as still as a statue, and I knew that I was on the verge of death. And it felt so welcoming. I can leave this place behind and go join my real family in The Hist. I can finally be free of the world's problems. I didn't even try to fight it. Death for me would be a blessing. I stayed like that for several minutes. And now there were small murmurs throughout the group. Asking if I was dead. But sadly for me, I wasn't. And I don't think I ever will.
My thoughts were halted by the rapid wet licks on my face coming from the dragon. Is Gandr here! Ha! I wonder how I tasted? Probably of dirt, rock, and cloth. I tried to move my head away from Gandr's assaults with her tongue. But I will give it to her, it did bring me back to life per se.
"He's waking up!" I heard someone cheer. I heard quick footfalls come my direction and then that person skidded to a halt right next to me. Then that familiar feeling and sound of someone using a healing spell washed over me. "Dragon, can you stop that. You're not making this go by any faster." The person now identified as Lily only got a growl in response. And the licking continues. I tried to open my mouth to say something but saliva got in my mouth before I could. Followed by more licking as I sputtered. I heard the dragon chuckle as she did this. I'll get her back later. What's weird though is that she didn't sound like Gandr. Her voice was more... deep. Realizing this I gasped, bolting right to my feet as I wiped the saliva away. I looked around frantically trying to figure out where and who was here.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down." I heard Nizar say as he approached. "It's alright. You've been through a lot. Maybe you should just sit down for a bit..." I wiped my eyes to get rid of the haze that irritated them. Looking around I noticed that LITERALLY everyone was here. Everyone I ever helped and knew as a friend was here! I stumbled as I tried to turn around but a hand stopped me from falling.
"I got you my friend." I smiled at the sound of my brother's voice.
"T-Thanks... Inigo." I swallowed, but my throat was too dry. My voice was hoarse and quiet, but the saliva still in my mouth helped to fix that. It was a gross feeling, but it helped non the less. I tried to turn again to meet the dragon responsible, only to stumble backwards in surprise. For what I thought was an eight-hundred pound, scaled reptile, was actually a very lithe Alduin. So that's what the Shout did? Boring! My smile immediately disappeared and was replaced by disgust. He, or should I say she, chuckled again.
"How does it feel to be rescued by your nemesis?" I wiped the remaining saliva off my face and spit the rest out of my mouth.
"Not as good as it should be. Why are you here?" I demanded. She only took off into the air.
"That is for me to know, Dovahkiin." Then she winked and flew off! Damn it! Not only do I have the dragons trying to get me to boost their reputation, now ALDUIN is after me! Again! My Shout completely backfired! Never using it again! I don't even know how long I stared at the spot where she was until Veezara popped out of the crowd and rushed over. He was covered in soot. Seeing him alive helped my mood a little.
"Veezara? How'd you escape Sanctuary?" I asked.
"I'm Shadowscale, remember. We need to look out for each other, which is why I killed that traitor while she was performing a Black Sacrament." I think I had enough of those for a while. Or any form of rituals actually... or anything to do with killing.
"Well... I'm done." I stated. I simply limped off to the nearest Inn to drink my problems away.
"You're done? With what?" He yelled from behind as I made my way through the crowd. I didn't even look back when I replied.
"Everything!"