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"They have taken you from the Imperial City's prison, first by carriage, and now by boat, to the east, to Morrowind. Fear not, for I am watchful. You have been chosen."

Thunder rolled, and wind blew, and then a throaty voice spoke.

"Wake up. We're here. Why are you shaking?" he asked in concern. "Are you okay? Wake up."

Eyes opened to see a Dunmer with a long scar going from one side of his chin all the way up to and across his forehead.

"Stand up," he said while helping. "You were dreaming. What's your name?" When no answer came, he chuckled. "What's the matter? Never seen a Dunmer before?"

"No. No, I haven't."

Weiss gasped as she awoke, her head leaning off the side of her bed. She slowly sat up, groaning at how tired she still was. For some reason, she had heard Azura's voice in her dreams, and then saw something. She looked over the Azura's Star sitting on her nightstand, and then took the artifact in her hands to look it over.

"You wish to better understand your future, to prepare for it," she heard the voice of the Daedric Prince. "But seeing the future will not help you prepare. Rather than glimpse the Dusk, I will show you the Dawn. Prepare for the future, by looking at the past."

"The past?" the still waking vampire muttered. She sighed and placed the artifact back down. The girl stretched herself, and then went to prepare for the day.

"Any idea who it was?" Blake asked her teammate as they walked towards the courtyard.

"Not at all. It was too short to get any big clues." Weiss shook her head. "All I know was that he asked…whoever I was seeing the point of view from what their name was. There was a mention of never seeing a Dunmer before, and then I woke up."

"Never saw a Dunmer before? You think it could be another from Remnant?"

"Possibly, but I'm not sure what showing me about them is supposed to do. I don't even know who it was."

"Must be connected to Azura somehow. Maybe that'll help."

"I'm not sure. I'll try to look into it, but there's no telling what I might or might not find."

Weiss suddenly stopped as she caught sight of Savos Aren talking with an Altmer in thick robes, a hood pulled over most of his head. The stranger had to have been over seven feet tall, perhaps the tallest being she had ever seen. What was really telling though was the four people standing just to the side of them, looking lost, yet hopeful.

"Weiss?" Blake asked in concern.

"Those are the four vampires the others and I freed," Weiss whispered while gesturing in their direction. Blake looked over and her ears flicked.

"And the high elf?"

"I'm not sure, but going by what I'm seeing, I'm willing to bet he's with Duskfall. Might even be the friend Archmage Savos mentioned to me when I first joined." Weiss looked out past the gates of Winterhold and sighed. "Well, you be careful headed to Solitude. Call or text me every night and morning as well as the moment you get to the cities."

"Yes, mom," Blake replied with a roll of her eyes before laughing and wrapping Weiss in a hug, which the heiress returned. "You take care of yourself, too."

"I will. As well as your noisy friends." They split up and Blake began heading down the path. Weiss watched her go for a moment and was prepared to head back in, but then the Altmer that had been speaking to Savos was near her. Weiss paused and took in his visage. His eyes were a glowing orange hidden beneath his hood, with black hair peering out around them. Though yellow-skinned like most Altmer, his was a pale yellow.

"You are Weiss Schnee. Savos told me about you." The vampire hummed and nodded.

"He…did?" Weiss felt a strange sort of weight around her. She wasn't sure how, but something was telling her that the vampire right in front of her was far more powerful than she could even think of being.

'Savos called him a friend. Dunmer don't just call anyone friends. They may have known each other for centuries. He could have been a master wizard when Savos was still an apprentice. Maybe even before he was born.'

"Yes. May I?" He held up a finger, though Weiss wasn't sure what he wanted. Not knowing what he was going to do, she looked back up at him expectedly. "It's only a simple probe. I want to see the face of your…predecessor."

"The one who bit me." Weiss whispered before nodding. "All right, but if I don't like where you're digging I'm shoving you right out." The elder vampire nodded and touched the tip of his finger to her head. The Mnemonic Probe started, but it was gentle, almost waiting. Weiss did her best to recall what she could of the vampire that bit her what seemed like ages ago. She heard a small hum, and then suddenly the image sharpened. The memory went back to the back of her mind as the vampire took his hand away and the Probe ended.

"Damn," he quietly cursed. "Thought he had long fled to High Rock and beyond. Seems he stayed and finally met his end barely more than a dried up corpse. Fitting."

"You… You knew him?"

"I knew of him. He was despised, even by other vampires. Diableric. I ask that you do not follow in his footsteps, should you ever learn what they are. Down that road only lies worse damnation than what we already face."

"I…don't know how it can get much worse, but I'll be careful…,sir."

"Jarmak." The Altmer hummed after giving her his name and then stroked his chin. "You are trustworthy enough. Feel free to come to us should you ever need help from others. Simply look for where dusk falls at the heart of dawn, and sing."

"Everything should be in order then," Weiss heard from behind Jarmak, and looked to see Savos ushering the vampire women forward. "Safe travels, Jarmak. Do take care of them. They're a rough lot, but not wicked in any way."

"Wickedness is always a choice." Jarmak smiled and nodded before turning away. "Come then, children. It's a long way home."

The Bosmer vampire groaned as they went, but the Nordic one paused for a moment to nod at Weiss. The heiress nodded back and watched them head on their way. She looked over to Savos as he came alongside her to watch their departure, then cleared her throat.

"So he was the one from the Duskfall Kindred. Your friend?"

"Yes." Savos smiled. "That old elf has been around a long time. Sometimes he takes a few years to teach at the College. Taught even me a thing or two."

"How old is he?" Weiss looked out towards the departing vampires, just now crossing the bridge into Winterhold.

"No idea. But I recall him mentioning things from as far back as the Second Era. I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of the oldest beings on Nirn. Think he may have even had a hand in the First Aldmeri Dominion." Savos laughed a little and shook his head. "He has some odd stories though. If you ever find you have the time, I might be able to recount a couple."

"I might actually like that. If you wouldn't mind helping me though, sir, I've finally made major headway into the communication enchantment." Weiss pulled out her scroll phone and set it to call Blake, who should have been close to the stables by now. "It turned out we needed a proper way for the devices to input and output the information, so our non-magical communicators turned out to be a pretty good vector."

"Hey Weiss," Blake answered from the middle of Winterhold. Savos was actually startled when he heard her voice and saw her face, a bit of the town moving along in her background. "What is it?"

"Just showing off to the Archmage, letting him know of our success. Thank you again, by the way."

"No problem. Oh, be careful about M'rissi. She tends to…claw apart her bedding sometimes. Night terrors. Don't tell her I told you."

"Oh… Right. I'll look into it. Good-bye."

"Bye." Weiss hung up and looked back to Savos, who was stroking his beard in thought.

"Input and output, you say. Well, how about we start with something simple? Crystals are useful for both taking in and sending out images. The crystal balls like what the bank uses allow a two-way view within them.

Weiss smacked her own forehead. "Crystal ball! Why didn't I think of that before?"

"I bet Zora could set up right there," Ruby pondered over a very empty field, nodding her head. "Yeah, just set up a nice cottage there, a fence here, and then cotton all around."

"I think farming is a little more complicated than that Rubes," Yang pointed out.

"How hard can it be? You put some seeds in the ground and make sure they have plenty of water."

"Well, you gotta think about the soil. Cotton takes some very rich soil to grow."

"Well, there's some Giants nearby. Maybe she could get some mammoth manure."

Yang looked forward and saw a group of Giants herding their mammoths. Several were looking their way, and a few were wearing basic iron chest armor. A little further she could see their camp where smoke was rising from their fires.

"I think that might be their field."

"Ah crud! You're right! Hey, hold up." Ruby slowed her horse and looked towards something in the distance. "I think that's some lady Giants. I wanna check it out." She turned her horse and began heading in the direction of the Giantesses, catching a few of the herders' attentions and causing her sister and housecarl to groan.

"Ruby, hold on!"

"My Thane, please make your intentions to the Giants clear."

Ruby took out her Giantspeech talisman and put it on as she approached what she now could see were three elder Giantesses and two younger ones, one of them probably still a teenager or young adult. They noticed her coming, and a nearby male started taking a stance, but Ruby just waved.

"Hello. I'm Ruby Rose. Don't mind me. I was just curious about what you're doing," Ruby explained while Yang and Lydia caught up to her.

"Ruby?" one holding a staff asked before breaking out into a wide smile. "Friend of Jo'Tunn! We gladly welcome you to the sacred Sleeping Tree." She then gestured over to a tree that Ruby was surprised she didn't notice at first. It was lavender colored, almost crystalline in its appearance. It glimmered in the sunlight, and the small pond around it was filled with blue waters that slowly gave off a purple mist.

"We heard about your helping the Guldun and Cradlecrush tribes," another one said as she squatted down next to Ruby. "And teaching the Talking Stones to craft iron shells."

"I was just doing what felt right." Ruby bashfully kicked the ground. " Seems like you guys got some armor too."

"A few from Talking Stone came to trade and show us the ways to craft them. We have done the same for Guldun, who we hope will show more Jo'Tunn towards sunrise. We may have lost the art, but we can bring it back, thanks to you."

"Grandmother," the youngest began, "can we show her? Do you think she is trusted enough?"

"I believe so."

"Ruby, what's the dealio with the old Giant ladies?" Yang asked, a little tired of being left out of the conversation.

"Oh, I forgot." Ruby reached into her bag and pulled out another talisman. "Here." She handed it over to her sister, who put the necklace on.

"Yes, I believe she is trusted enough to be granted the Sight and Strength of the Sleeping Tree."

"Okay, what did I miss?"

The Giantesses looked over to Yang, and the youngest one scoffed.

"Do you not know what an honor it is to even be considered to taste of the sap?"

"Wait, what sap?"

"They're talking about Sleeping Tree Sap," Lydia explained. "Ysolda trades for it sometimes. It can make a man as strong as an ox, but slow as a horker."

"Wait, so it's a drug? Is that legal?" Yang looked at the housecarl. "Is Ysolda a drug dealer?!"

"It's not illegal." Lydia shrugged. "It's not one of the more harmful substances, like Balmora Blue or skooma. More akin to moon sugar, pipe weed, or smokebug."

"Ysolda is the one we sell the diluted leftovers to, right?" one of the elders asked.

"Yes, that is the one." She nodded towards the three women. "Folk from afar in all directions make the pilgrimage to the Sleeping Tree in search of its guidance and gifts. I believe Ruby is worthy of such a gift. And I would hope that the Sleeping Tree shall show you a greater path."

"Oh, okay. It's some kind of spiritual ritual. Like those guys in the northern parts of Vacuo who drink cactus juice for spirit journeys."

"I think there was a lot more to it than that Rubes," Yang warned. "Also, who knows what drinking this stuff could do to you."

"It'll be fine, Yang. What'd you say it does Lydia? Makes people slow down a bit? Aren't you always complaining about how fast I am?"

"It was more me complaining about how I am not that fast, but you do raise a good point. The effects aren't normally all that bad and usually short lived." Lydia then looked around, noticing that several of the males had started coming their way to investigate what was going on. "Besides, it does seem like an honor. They would be making an incredible exception."

Yang squinted and looked towards the Sleeping Tree. "What even is that anyhow? I don't think I've seen another tree like that, ever."

"It sprouted long ago, when a single seed escaped the Flying City."

"Umbriel," Lydia muttered. "That happened a hundred and fifty years ago."

"What's Umbriel?"

"It was a city that came from Oblivion. Some say it came from the Realm of the Hist. There are those who say it planned to eradicate all mortals save for Argonians, or that it was going to turn everyone into Argonians. It destroyed the Black Marsh city of Lilmoth and began making an undead army to assault the Empire. It took a group of heroes sacrificing almost everything to stop it. If this tree came from there, then it's probably related to the Hist trees."

"Aren't those, like, really important to Argonians and stuff?" Yang looked over to the tree again. "You sure this is okay?"

"It shouldn't be harmful, but I don't know what all it would do."

"When it was but a sapling, my grandmother noticed its beauty and a drop of sap leaking from the side. She tasted it, and then followed the words she heard and dug this pond out around it. After that the Sleeping Tree grew great and strong, and sometimes gives its sap to us so that we may commune with it. I have taken the journey a few times, and have been given great strength in exchange for being its caretaker. If you look, you will see our men are often taller than other tribes. We are blessed by Kann to have such a responsibility and gift."

"That's really cool, uh, neat. I'd be honored to join your ritual, miss," Ruby told the shaman. "It's about time for us to camp anyways."

"Hurry up, you milk-drinking sons of elves!" a gruff voice belonging to an armored Dunmer yelled. Cyrigs ran by him, but Gyaf stopped several meters away and doubled over, gasping for breath.

"Sarge, you're killing me!"

"Don't get my hopes up! Just run! Lopin' has already gone past you twice now!"

An Argonian ran up and paused by Gyaf to scoff at him. "(The fatso couldn't run unless a sweet roll cart were to go by)," he said in his native tongue of Jel.

"Exactly! What if we needed to run from Thalmor agents plannin' to take away all of our rights! While you'd slow them down, they'd catch up to you so fast they could get right back on the rest of our trails barely hindered! So speed up, that way it takes them longer to catch you, and the rest of us have time to plot their demise through a series of unlikely traps! Good points, Lopin'!"

"(Why, oh Hist, why am I stuck with you fools)?!" the Saxhleel bemoaned before continuing his run.

"Come on! That's the third time he's passed you!"

"No fair! He has those weird bird legs!"

"Actually," Cyrigs yelled from the other side of their snow-trodden running circle, "our plantigrade legs allow us to run at a more constant rate than digitigrade legs like Loping-on-Heavily's. He'd actually get tired quicker than the average man or mer. Yer just that fat and lazy."

"I'm…not that fat."

"I did tell you, you should join me on my diet," Donnert said as he came by. "Seriously, that ash-yam juice will give you more energy than you'll know what to do with. Good thing I've got plenty of physical activities to keep me active."

"Don't try to make him better than he is," the former sergeant grumbled. "You'll give me less to yell at him about!"

"Come on, Sarge! Once he's past the hump he'll be a brand new man! Just gotta get behind him, you know."

"Only thing behind him is my crossbow!"

Gyaf yelled as he had to move out of the way of a crossbow bolt. "Are you crazy, you could have killed me!"

"That's half the idea!" He reloaded the crossbow with practiced ease. "Now either run and suffer or get hit!"

"I hate you!" Gyaf grumbled yet complied, only for him and everyone else to stop as a new, feminine voice sounded. Looking over to the source, they saw the Ohmes girl from before, strangely talking to a clear rectangle and looking exasperated.

The girl's ear twitched as she led her horse along. "Yes, Weiss. I'm at Windhelm. I'm taking my horse to the stables right now. Yes, I have plenty of water. It's not the first time I've been on a boat ride." The girl continued to speak into the rectangle as she headed towards the docks, not giving any of them a second glance.

"…Who's she talking to?" Cyrigs asked now that the very pretty girl was gone.

"(It could be that she is using some sort of new long-distance communication device designed by a mage to talk to a friend of hers. Going by what she said, it is a familiar friend concerned for her well-being)."

"Yeah, Cyrigs! We're fighting for religious freedom. Let the weird Khajiit woman pray while she walks if she wants to!" Donnert happily nodded, ignoring Loping's scowl.

"(If we ever run into a leviathan nest, I am shoving you into it)."

"Thanks, buddy."

"Oh hey, that Khajiit girl is back," Kirk observed.

"The cutie or the beauty?" Tu'kar immediately asked.

"Wha- What the!" Kirk looked at him in barely contained anger. "Seriously? That's how you differentiated them?!"

"Well yes, of course. One of them was cute, and the other was beautiful. One of them I'd feel okay patting her head, but the other one I wouldn't mind studying a little racial phylogeny with, if you get what I'm saying."

"I wish I didn't! Seriously, man, Khajiit are a totally different species!"

"People used to say the same thing about elves, but then the Bretons happened. And Ohmes like her are basically ninety-nine percent elf, which are ninety-eight percent human. I may not be a math-magician, but that's gotta be ninety-five percent at the least."

"First off, it's mathematician. Second, that's the stupidest damned reasoning I ever heard. Ohmes might be man or mer-like, but the same Khajiit born a week later would've basically been a housecat."

"Okay, first off to you, that's racist. We're supposed to be fighting against racism and shit like that."

"And Stormfolks!"

Both of the men looked back to see their orcish companion and sighed in relief. The orc was unnaturally stealthy for one of his kind, which was the only reason he even ended up on this assignment.

"Hey Kobulz," Kirk greeted with absolutely no enthusiasm. "Did you get us some food?"

"Yes!" he announced excitedly. "I actually got us food for forever!"

"I am frightened but intrigued," Tu'kar began. "What'd you find?"

"I found…a whole cow!"

The two looked over to see a cow tied to a nearby tree, chewing on some hay.

"Uh, Kobulz, while this does kinda meet the requirements of food," Kirk started off before taking a deep breath, "we kinda meant something we wouldn't have to prepare from literally the very first step."

"No, no, see, I thought this through. With my brain and everything." Kobulz held up his finger. "See, cows make milk. And milk is good for drinking. And you can make cheese out of it, which is food. So, I got us unlimited milk and cheese."

"That's not any better, you nitwit! We still have to feed the cow!" Kirk groaned and smacked his head against a boulder.

"Look, my man, how about you take the cow and trade it for prepared food," Tu'kar tried to advise. To his credit, Kobulz seemed to ponder it before nodding.

"Oh, okay. Maybe I could trade her back to the Giant guy I got her from."

"Giant?" Kirk asked in curiosity. "How'd you buy something from a Giant? Do you even speak Giant?"

"I don't think so. I speak normal sized. Unless I yell, which isn't much. NO, the Giant was a bandit, so I confiscated her."

"You confiscated the cow…from a Giant bandit…and you want to sell her…to the Giant bandit." Kirk and Tu'kar looked over as the ground began shaking to see a Giant clad in hides and shaking a club at them.

"Son of a bitch!" Kirk yelled before taking off.

"Yeah, this shit's on you. Later Kobulz." Tu'kar sped off after the other soldier, leaving behind Kobulz to think on his situation.

"Hm, angry bandit running at me… Oh no! I'm going to be robbed! Don't worry, Martha! I have a great plan!" The Orsimer turned and grabbed a boulder before lifting it out of the ground and turning around towards the attacker. The Giant paused when it saw the orc lifting a rock that likely weighed more than he did, and then throw it down towards him. The Giant tried to run back, only to trip and then get rolled over by the boulder as he continued to fall down the mountain. Kirk and Tu'kar watched in amazement and somewhat entertainment as the Giant went down, likely being crushed to death a little at a time.

"You know, I keep forgetting how strong that orc really is," Kirk mumbled.

"Yeah. Guess that's the Gods way of making up for his stupidity." Tu'kar smacked his lips. "Maybe we shouldn't have left food gathering to him."

"That was dumb on my part, I'll admit."

Ruby, Yang, and Lydia were seated near the Sleeping Tree, which now glistened in the moons' light. The Giantess shaman offered over a large bowl toward Ruby, from which the young girl took a deep draught before she brought it back and covered it with a cloth.

"So what now?" Yang whispered over to Lydia, who shrugged.

"We ask that the Winds of Nature help to guide the young Ruby as she steps into the worlds of endless colors and scents," the shaman said as she raised her hands towards the tree. "Let her see a true path before her."

"Whoa, I'm definitely seeing some…colors," Ruby dizzily said as she stood. Yang went to grab her, but one of the elders held her hand out.

"Let her walk the path. There is no danger," she reassured the elder sister. Yang wasn't too sure, but she decided to let Ruby go while watching her closely.

The young Dragonborn began to slowly walk forward, but as Yang noticed, she was getting slower with every step. Lydia tapped Yang as they turned to watch her and held her hand out.

"Could I see your scroll? We could cord this for later."

"You mean record?" Yang looked over and then shrugged. "Know what, that actually sounds like a good idea." The blonde took out her scroll and began recording. "So, Ruby's tried some Sleeping Tree Sap, undiluted. Part of a Giant ceremony and stuff." She kept the scroll aimed at her sister, who was now taking very slow steps. In fact, Yang couldn't recall Ruby ever going that slow. Seeing it was actually starting to crack her up a bit.

To Ruby, she was seeing the world in a new way. A violet line seemed to appear before her, leading her towards something. After a few steps, she came up to an old, fallen log. Likely one dragged up by a Giant or mammoth. The light seemed to circle it, and Ruby just knew what she needed to do. She reached down and picked up the log, lifting it over her head. A thought crossed her mind and she grinned before rearing back and then throwing the large log with all of her strength.

"Holy-" Yang went at the display of strength. She might have been able to throw a log like that, but only if she really put effort into it. "Okay, so apparently that stuff really does increase strength."

Ruby looked down and saw the top of an old chest. Smiling, she bent down and pried it open to reveal a dwarven war axe, about half the size of the one Yang carried, a magic scroll, and a large gem that was glowing. She picked up the gem first and could feel something from within, almost begging to be released. She held it up and squeezed tightly, until the gem shattered in her grasp. The glowing from within escaped into a mist that then formed itself into the ghostly visage of a mammoth bull. The Giants and two women jumped in surprise, but Ruby stood still and resolute. The mammoth ghost looked down at her for a moment before rearing its head up and lifting its truck to trumpet out. Ruby smiled brightly as the mammoth ghost dissipated, a little bit of its mist flowing upon her.

The girl reached back in and took out the scroll and waraxe to bring them to her sister and housecarl, walking slowly back towards them. Yang stared incredulously as Ruby came back to them at a snail's pace. She blinked a few times and then looked over to Lydia.

"Uh, what was that?"

"That looked like a Grand Soul Gem, and it looks like she shattered it in her bare hands and the soul inside was a mammoth's."

"Okay… I saw that much. What exactly caused that?"

"I don't know, but my best guess is it's something to do with the sap."

"Yeah. Wow! Okay." Yang looked back to her sister, who didn't seem to make much progress in coming back to them. "This looks like it's going to take a while."

When Ruby finally made it back to Lydia and Yang, she was tuckered out and ready to go to sleep. The two watched over her as she laid down and quickly fell asleep, breathing steadily and deeply. Yang was still a little worried about any lingering effects the sap might have, but they didn't seem dangerous so far. She looked at the axe Ruby had given her and twirled it around her hand a moment.

"Here. You go. Yang. I. Thought. You. Might. Like. Another. Axe. To go. With. The other. One. You. Have." Ruby had told Yang earlier, only to drop dead asleep practically on the spot.

"Man, that stuff can slow people down."

"I think it was because it was straight from the source. The stuff Ysolda normally has doesn't affect people to that degree," Lydia explained from where she was seated at the Giants' fire.

"Yeah, that is a big distinction there. We don't even know how watered down it is." Yang sat next to her while putting the axe back on her belt. "It was pretty funny at first, but then it went weird and kinda amazing."

"That seems to be Ruby in a nutshell," Lydia commented as she brought the squirrel on a stick she was cooking back and prodded it with a fork. "I wasn't sure what to think about you all when I first met you, but the more I learned, the odder you all seemed. Yet, at the same time, it was simply amazing." She sighed. "I can understand why you aren't quick to share how you do it though."

"You do? 'Cause I don't." Yang frowned and shook her head. "I've had half a mind to unlock a few people's Auras a few times. But…I won't go behind my teams' back like that. Weiss wants to make sure it's safe first, and by that I mean safe for the individual and the world."

"Well, I certainly see why you'd want to make sure it's safe for the world first," Lydia agreed. "The civil war might not be as active right now, but it's still there. The moment both sides figure out how to circumvent the dragon problem, they'll be right back at it. Then there's the Thalmor watching it all unfold."

"And whoever gets Aura will be the winners unless the other side can catch up." Yang nodded. "Yeah, but there's also the individual thing. We don't know what it'll do to each person. We might be too dissimilar for it to work right, is what Weiss is afraid of. Back on Remnant, having an Aura is basically proof of having a soul. Even trees and plants have an Aura, just not much."

"Well, here on Nirn, we may not have Aura, but we clearly have souls. We just saw a mammoth's not too long ago."

Yang shivered and groaned. "Gods, that's just… The idea that a soul can be captured is just…"

"Scary?"

"Horrifying! Paralyzing!" Yang gripped her elbows and leaned in on her knees. "It's supposed to be the most untouchable, sacred part of a being. Even with an exhausted Aura and a broken body, your soul's still there. But apparently things here figured out how to get at even that."

"To be fair, it's mostly from daedric interference." Lydia took a bite of squirrel and nodded. "Some say the first Soul Gems came from Molag Bal. Others say they're crystalized magicka, which is how they hold a soul, and the way most are made nowadays apparently proves that. I don't know the specifics, but the College makes theirs with some sort of magical wells. Sometimes mines find a few as well."

"I guess I'll ask Weiss more about that. She said they resemble inert Dust, which would make sense if they're made of magicka." Yang hummed to herself in thought. "Has Ruby been a handful while you've been traveling?"

"If she wasn't at this point, that might worry me more." Lydia laughed and offered over some of her squirrel to Yang. The werewolf accepted and tore off a chunk before beginning to gnaw at it. "She's surprising, most of the time. When you see a young girl like her, you don't think of a skilled warrior, but there she is, taking on a dragon one on one to save a couple of farmers. Slaying hordes of undead and stopping the revival of an evil necromancer. Yet she still refuses to see anything but the best of the world. She gets up with a smile and is ready to adventure. To go to places unseen in centuries, discover ancient secrets, and save the lives of countless strangers."

"That sounds like Ruby living the dream she's always had; to be a hero that saves the day." Yang laughed a little while Lydia turned to her.

"And you?"

"Hm?"

"What about you? Were the Companions what you wanted out of life?"

Yang took in a deep breath and sighed. "To be honest, I wasn't sure what I wanted out of life. I always said I wanted to travel, see the world, feel the thrills…" Yang looked down to her arm and clenched her fist, feeling her nails against her palm. "Here I am, seeing a whole new world, traveling all around, feeling all kinds of thrills from hunting wild game to fighting dragons… It's definitely not what I wanted. I wanted…something else." She looked at the few bones she had left and resisted to urge to gnaw at them before tossing them right into the fire.

"Did you get it?"

"I think I have, or at least, I'm pretty close to it."

"Fus ro dah," they heard, followed by a short breeze coming directly from Ruby. The two started breaking into giggles that turned into full-blown laughs after a moment. When they quieted back down, both sat with a smile on their face for a long moment.

Yang reached over and nudged the housecarl. "Come on. Let's get ready for bed."

"Still need help with your armor?"

"I've gotten used to the one latch, but I think I could still use a hand with the back."

Upon waking up, and determining that there were no negative consequences of Ruby's sap drinking, Ruby, Yang, and Lydia continued on the road, heading west and then turning up north. Not long after they hit the bend, Lydia noticed someone running at them from the direction of a fort in the distance. The sisters dismounted as well in time to see a crazed looking woman wearing a tangle of feathers in her hair and with most of her face covered in war paint charging them with a pair of saw-like swords. Lydia readied her sword and shield, but Yang held up a hand before taking a few steps forward. The charging woman aimed for Yang and screamed as she came close, only for a fist to crash down upon her head, knocking her out and to the ground.

"What's up with this chick?" Yang asked as she prodded the woman with her toe.

"She's a Reachman, likely a Forsworn," Lydia said as she walked over and began patting down the attacker. "They're Bretons, really. The feathers are fake."

"No, chick is another word for girl where we're from."

"Kinda like lass," Ruby explained.

"Oh, I see." Lydia took out a few small, empty bottles. "Skooma," she growled before tossing them aside. She checked a little more and found a device and the woman's belt. "Skooma pipe. This one's an addict."

"Sheesh, that stuff really is like Angel Dust," Yang muttered as Lydia tossed the pipe aside and began stomping it. "You've seen them before?"

"Back when I was a guard. Every once in a while someone thought they could get away with it."

"Drugs are bad," Ruby said before throwing a raspberry.

"You drank Sleeping Tree Sap last night with a bunch of Giants."

"That's sap. It came directly from a tree. Drugs are things you have to do some chemistry to, like distilling a special kind of sugar."

Yang hummed and looked to one of the bottles. "Alright, I'll give you that. Still, it definitely had a narcotic effect on you."

"Yeah, but not…that." Ruby looked over at the direction the crazed addict had come from. "We should probably check that place out. They might have more skooma there which… How do you get rid of skooma?"

"Usually we'd pile it up and burn it away from the city."

"Oh, then we'll do that."

"Uh, they'll probably put up a fight, Rubes," her sister warned.

"Yeah, so will we. Besides, they're pretty close to Rorickstead. What if they all got high and went to attack the village? No, better to run them off and bust them up. Let's tie her up and go."

The three bound the addict woman's hands together and to her ankles before heading in the direction of the fort, which their map labeled as Fort Sungard. Upon their approach however, it became more and more apparent that this was not going to be a simple task. Animal heads had been severed and placed on pikes, intermixed with people impaled on stakes. All were long dead, but there was still flesh that crows and ravens picked at from the corpses. Ruby felt her stomach turn, and it only worsened when she saw what looked like a man that had been strung up by his intestines.

"These are definitely Forsworn," Lydia said as they took the horses away to tie them up somewhere. "Normal Reachmen might be a little barbaric, but they're going far above and beyond that. I wouldn't be surprised if there are profane daedric rituals going on."

Yang blanched at that while Ruby's eyebrows furrowed.

"How profane?" Ruby demanded.

"They… I'm not sure what I can tell you."

"Lydia, I have literally killed people with my own hands," Ruby ground out, shocking her sister both from her tone and the statement itself. "WHAT could they be doing that's so terrible?!"

The housecarl looked to the side and took a deep breath. "It's not unusual…to find that groups of cultists have performed…torture or human sacrifice, maybe cannibalism."

Ruby looked back in the direction of the fort then quickly tied Chocolate's reins to a tree and started heading towards the place. Yang tied Lucky Day and went after her.

"Ruby, be calm. I've run into these kinds of places before."

"And?" The Dragonborn looked back at her sister, expecting an answer. Yang looked aside and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I don't want you to run in and get blindsided by just how awful it can be. Lydia wasn't lying when she said there could be cannibalism and torture, but we have to keep our heads on straight. Half these people will be desperate to stay alive, and the other half will gladly throw themselves into the jaws of death."

"Good." Ruby reached behind her and pulled out Crescent Rose, extending the scythe as she did. A few people began yelling as they saw them approach, and a few fired arrows at them. Ruby quickly flitted out of the path of the arrows and then charged the gates. Yang smacked an arrow away and ran after her. A man with blood across his face screamed as he held up two axes, only to receive a spiked knee to his face. Ruby spun around and blocked a woman's sword, then shoved her back before looking around. More corpses were seen decorating the inside, and they made Ruby's blood boil.

"Krii!" she Shouted at a group of Forsworn rushing her. Several of them stumbled, and a few of them felt their armor loosen. Ruby charged them with a scream while Yang caught a man's arm and broke his elbow to force him to drop his weapon. Blood suddenly spattered at Yang's feet and she looked up to see Ruby slicing the Forsworn apart like she would Beowolves.

The brawler paused a moment, but was brought out of her daze when she had to duck under a double sword swing from a man wearing an antlered headdress. She came up, separating his arms and punched him in the face, expecting him to go down, only for his head to snap back, with his eyes looking square at her. He screamed as he brought his swords back, and Yang bent back to avoid them before lunging back up and punching, only to miss as he dodged, caught her arm and then slammed a sword hilt against the gap in her plate armor at her armpit. She yelled and pulled away to dodge three strikes from the Forsworn, where she noticed something off about his chest. Figuring she'd had enough of him, Yang grabbed her enchanted Dwemer axe and swung down, cutting through the sword the Forsworn tried to block with and into his shoulder. The man grunted as his body began catching fire, but then he reached over and yanked the axe out then pushed Yang back.

"What in the…" Yang stared in disbelief as the man seemed to shrug off nearly having a third of his body sliced off, and then noticed that the strange thing on his chest was actually in his chest. Where a heart should be, there was instead some kind of spiky plant thing pulsing with energy. With his one good arm the man charged her, and Yang blocked with her weapon, letting go with one hand, and then reached, breaking through the leather holding the bulb in place, gripping it and then ripping it out. The man stumbled at that, and then seemed to drop dead on the spot. Yang grimaced and looked to the thing in her hand before dropping it. Holding her axe, she looked forward and nodded before rushing back towards where Ruby was. Lydia was at the gate and knocked a woman over before driving her sword into her chest. Ruby let out a scream that sounded almost animalistic before bringing her scythe around and yanking it through a man's abdomen.

"Hi mindol dreh pah paar!?" she yelled at them while looking at a force of archers gathering at the top of the stairs. "Daar muz los dii, ni hin!"

The archers drew back their bows, and Ruby took in a breath. "Fus Ro Dah!" The Shout smashed against the group of archers, flinging most of them into the air and over the wall of the fort. Yang heard the sound of flesh hitting stone from beyond and flinched. The one out of the group that hadn't been blown away stumbled up and scrambled to get away despite the wooden shrapnel in his leg. Ruby started after him, the man begging as he crawled away, only to fall down unconscious within a few seconds. Even then, she continued forward, anger clouding her mind.

"Ruby!" Yang screamed, and then the girl paused. Ruby looked back to Yang and began taking in deep breaths before starting to sob.

"I- I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I-" she looked around herself and took in another breath before slowly releasing it. "I…lost myself for a second there. I'll be fine. Just…let me catch my breath."

Yang saw Lydia gesture to her and walked over to the housecarl, eyes and ears open for whatever answers she could give her.

"Do you know what that was about?" she whispered to her.

"I have an idea, but I don't want to lay baseless accusations on her," Lydia whispered back. When Yang stared at her with desperate eyes, Lydia sighed and continued. "It's likely the dragon part of her."

"Dragon part?" Yang looked back at Ruby, who seemed much calmer than before.

"Dragons, from what we seen and heard, are really possessive, and Ruby wants to protect everyone. She saw something like this…"

"And then she and the dragon part both hated it."

"She couldn't fight it back down because they were both doing what they both wanted." Lydia looked around at the recent addition to the carnage. "To be truthful, we would have likely come out of here killing just as many as what we had done if not more, Dragonborn or not. But what was… What is affecting her…"

"Is the way it happened." Yang sighed and looked towards the ground. "I never saw her that upset before." Taking a deep breath, Yang started walking back to her sister. "Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah, just need to catch my breath, like I said. Let's go inside," Ruby insisted while heading towards an open door. "They might have prisoners or anything in this place."

"That's true." Yang went after Ruby, holding her axe at her side while she did, Lydia right behind her. A little ways into the building, Ruby collapsed her scythe and placed it at its spot on her back, beneath her cloak. Ruby grimaced at the sight of different hearts placed on a table, along with a couple of Spriggan taproots that Yang recognized. As they headed in deeper, Yang began to smell an odd scent she couldn't quite place. It was an animal, but not one she'd ever smelled before. Wondering just what it could be, the girls turned a corner and saw a shrine-like setup. Oddly enough, there was an old carving dedicated to Kynareth alongside ones to Namira, Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, and Boethiah. The last one she didn't recognize, but she was pretty sure it was another Daedric Prince's offering. Candles were placed around the shrine, along with various animal and humanoid skulls. Behind the shrine seemed to be an effigy of some sort, but then it moved and a groan came from it and the three knew it was no effigy.

"They're still alive!" Ruby shouted as she sped over and began pulling off feathery decorations and furs to reveal a thickly muscled, humanoid arm tied to a wooden cross. She took a dagger and cut the ropes loose while Yang went to do the same at the other side. They helped the being down as they freed his torso and legs, and then he reached up and pulled a gag from his mouth. All of the women were surprised as they stood up and realized that part of what they thought were coverings were actual fur and a bull-like head on a human torso. The Minotaur coughed a few times, then gasped for air as he picked himself back up to his hooves, only to immediately cover himself in embarrassment. Ruby blushed herself into a shade of crimson while Yang ripped an old banner from the wall.

"Here," she offered to the Minotaur, who nodded and took it before tying it around his waist.

"Thank you," he got out in a deep, baritone voice. "Thank you so much…for freeing me. These…lunatics were planning to sacrifice me! To Kyne of all beings! My people's direct ancestor!" He snorted and then shook his head "I'm…parched. Do any of you-"

"Here, bud," Yang said while offering one of her spare canteens. "Take it. You need it." The Minotaur accepted and then guzzled down the contents before letting out a sigh.

"Thank the Gods," he muttered. "My name is Nirero Woodpad. I am eternally grateful to you all for saving my life. Please, may I know the names of my saviors?"

"I'm Yang Xiao-Long. This is my little sister, Ruby Rose."

"Hi," Ruby greeted, still blushing deeply.

"I am Lydia Snow-Mare." Yang looked over at her in surprise. "What?"

"Nothing, I just never heard your last name before. Kinda started to think you didn't have one."

"I do. It just never seemed pertinent to tell it."

"You've literally sworn your life to protect my sister."

"…It may have been an oversight on my part."

Nirero laughed. "Sorry, I know I shouldn't, but after being tied up for well over a day slowly suffocating and dehydrating, I think I'm finding humor in all the wrong places." He continued laughing, a small, cattle-like grunt coming up once in a while.

"Come on," Yang offered, gesturing towards the exit. "Let's see if we can find you some clothes that fit and get out of here."

"Both of those sound like lovely suggestions."

The moment they found a pair of pants large enough to fit Neriro, the sisters began setting everything flammable within Sungard on fire, Ruby with her Voice and Yang with flame magic. As they exited the burning place, they headed towards the other two standing with the horses, the beasts of burden oddly at peace with the Minotaur.

"Ah, so you're akin to a knight dedicated to a lord. I understand now."

"Okay, you guys ready to go?" Ruby asked.

"As ready as I can be. I'm afraid my people aren't really suited to riding horses though, so I'll have to hoof it."

"Ha!" Yang laughed aloud. "Nice! And, well, that's probably what happens when you're six hundred pounds of pure muscle."

"Four-fifty!" he objected while hitting a fist to his chest. Yang smiled back at him while the girls all got onto their horses and began heading north. "I'm at least glad we're heading in the same general direction."

"What're you doing in Skyrim, anyways?" Yang asked. "Not that you shouldn't be or anything."

"No, I understand that seeing a Minotaur outside of Cyrodiil is rare these days. I'm actually a member of the Imperial Legion. I was sent with a group of reinforcements, but we were ambushed by the Forsworn. They saw me and decided I was to be specially sacrificed."

"Why though?" Ruby asked.

"Hm, do you know where Minotaurs came from?"

"Uh, not really."

"Well, we're descended from Kynareth. Nords called her Kyne. She sent her son, Morihaus, to assist the tribes of men that fought against the Ayleids. He served directly under Queen Alessia, the First Empress, and the two fell in love. Their children were the first generation of Minotaurs."

"Oh wow! That's so cool! I never knew that before! I thought you were like Khajiits or Argonians."

Nirero shook his head. "Nope. Direct kin to man. Something that the Guardian, bless her soul, realized and reawakened within us. Before the Oblivion Crisis, we had been shunned out of society by the followers of the Alessian Order, damn Marukh the Monkey's soul to Oblivion! We were pushed into the wild for millennia, but even after the old doctrines were thrown out, we were never allowed back in. It took the desperation of the Oblivion Crisis to get people to even think of accepting us back, but that's all behind us now." The Minotaur snorted, wetting his bull nose. "Nowadays, I suppose we're somewhere between orcs and goblins in how well we're accepted. That is, most won't accept us unless we're completely useful to them."

"Well, you're a soldier right? That's pretty respected, right?" Ruby asked.

"Nope. I'm a blacksmith." He chuckled at Ruby's confused look. "Legions are more than soldiers, child. You've got carpenters, blacksmiths, and alchemists in every unit. Enchanters in the big ones. I think only about eight of ten of every Legion is soldiers. The rest is support. Now, that doesn't mean I don't know how to swing a warhammer as well as my crafting one like any self-respecting Minotaur, but I'm a blacksmith first and foremost."

"That's pretty neat. I'm pretty good at smithing myself. Yang too."

"Ah, that's good to hear. Don't want to be stuck only knowing how to swing a blade all your lives. It helps to balance your destruction with creation."

"What was that about the Guardian though? The Guardian of Lightning, right?"

"Well, that's what some call her. Some call her the Guardian of Wind, or the Guardian of Downtrodden. That's what Minotaurs, Mulukrin, and Mulukrog were when she came along. They say she'd have sooner killed a hundred soldiers than let them hurt a goblin family. Some folks have been trying to get her canonized as a Saint alongside the Hero and Martin Septim, but some people don't think she's worth it." Now Nirero snorted angrily. "Bringing three races back into civilization and helping end the Oblivion Crisis wasn't enough for them, apparently."

"I'm pretty sure she only set the table for goblins and ogres," Lydia pointed out dryly, earning a snort from the Minotaur.

"Semantics!" He waved his hand. "It's still insulting to my people that she isn't viewed as 'deserving'."

"That does sound a little messed up," Yang admitted. She peered forward and saw a town on the horizon. "I think we're nearly at Rorickstead. Think we're okay to approach? I don't know if these guys have ever seen a Minotaur before."

"Maybe not, but they shouldn't be too jumpy. I have you three around, don't I?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Ruby said, waving her sister's concern away. "Besides, didn't you, Weiss, and Blake come around here one time?"

Yang sucked air in through her teeth. "Yeah, we did."

"Don't look at her Gleda, you don't have to," the man told his goat while leading it away from the group that had just arrived. Some children had come and were in awe of the Minotaur, who laughed and answered their questions calmly while letting the twin girls touch his horns to note that they did feel like a bull's. Ruby, meanwhile was up on a nearby hill, trying to meditate.

She could see her soul, and the dragons within were angry. They felt what she felt, but each felt it in their own way.

They are mine! They belong to me!

They are my subjects! They are my responsibility!

They took them from me! They took what is mine!

They took my things!

They hurt my people!

My people!

My belongings!

Mine!

They…hurt…the ones…I promised…to defend.

They hurt those I promised to defend.

Ruby focused on that truth, making her mantra until she could feel the souls within her calming, their rage more focused. Their erratic flying around the pillar straightened out until they were steadily going around once more.

"Hey guys." Ruby looked up to see Yang standing a little ways down the hill and Lydia sitting close to her, meditating as well. "Rooms're all set for the night. You meditating too, Lyd?"

"I'm…hoping to understand what exactly it is my Thane's doing to better protect and serve."

"Makes sense. Anyways, there's-"

Yang was cut off by a man riding a horse right up to them, stopping only a few feet away from the girls. His horse breathed deeply as he dismounted and walked over to them. He was dressed in sandy leather, a long overcoat over a set of leather armor, his face was covered by a scarf and a pair of glass eye-protectors, with a wide-brimmed hat atop his head, and a crossbow slung across his back.

"Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long?" he asked.

"Who wants to know?" Yang asked carefully. The man reached into his overcoat, and the Huntress readied herself, only to loosen her stance when he pulled out a parcel.

"Express delivery from Winterhold. Weiss Schnee."

"Something from Weiss?" Ruby asked as she took the package. Lydia took out a few septims and handed them to the man before looking back at Yang.

"Don't you have express couriers back home?"

"Uh, they look a bit different. Thanks, Mr.…?"

The courier was already back on his horse and heading away from them, riding away in the distance.

"Okay? Wait, how did he find us?"

"The Courier's Guild has some ties with every guild and organization, even some of the more questionable ones. Everyone wants to send and receive their messages without any problems, so they don't mess with the couriers, and help them when they can."

"Wait, if couriers have that much power…?"

"Let's just thank the gods that they want the world to be in balance."

"Are they really that feared?"

"One time in Hammerfell, a courier got betrayed by a client and nearly killed. He recovered, went after his former client, and within a week the client and his entire criminal enterprise were either dead or burning. Probably both."

"Now though, you have ended the cycle," Jyggalag declared. "You now hold the mantle of madness, and Jyggalag is free to roam the voids of Oblivion once more. I will take my leave, and you will remain here, mortal. Mortal…?" the daedra repeated as if in question. "King? God? It seems uncertain.

"This realm is yours. Perhaps you will grow to your station. Fare thee well, Sheogorath, Prince of Madness."

The Daedric Prince of Order then faded away, and the other four heroes looked to their friend in shock and some fear.

"Tell me…it's not true, right," Denor got out. "You're still you?"

"Friend, can you hear us?" Nicaea tested, tears building up.

"Aye, I hear you perfectly fine. My ears are still on me, right?"

"Please, just let us know everything's all right," Lerian requested.

"Come on, let's just head back… I…I can't remember. Please!" Yohannes begged.

"What's that? Memory problems? Well, I suppose that's perfectly normal in my realm"

"It's not your realm!" Denor pleaded as she walked forward. "It's not… you're not…Sheogorath!"

"Just tell us your name!" Yohannes demanded, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. "Please!"

"But I told you my name, already. All those months ago when ya ran with the Emperor through my little cell. We had a whole meet and greet right next to me old boney buddy." The cat-eyed face of an elder man with a snowy beard and white hair turned towards them. "I am madness. I am insanity. I. Am. Sheogorath."

Blake closed the book and took in a deep breath. It was becoming impossible to not imagine Team JNPR in the place of the Four, and she could almost visibly see the pain in their eyes in that last part, even if it was the one artistic license was most liberally applied to. Yet the characters were all too much like them. Whatever little faults the writer may have had, he got their characterization down right. And the idea of the horror they went through when someone who had basically become the fifth man on their team was just… Erased wasn't even the right word for it. Overwritten seemed more apt. While no one was sure, most of the evidence pointed to the Unknown becoming Sheogorath. There were entire philosophic theses written on the subject and a whole philosophy itself dedicated to the idea behind it. Mantling, to act like something greater, until you become it.

'I really shouldn't have read that book.' Yes, he was a more recent writer, and fairly good at it from his other works, but now that she knew how likely the possibility was she couldn't drive it from her mind.

"We're about to pull up to Dawnstar," a sailor told her and the other passengers. "Get yourselves ready to depart if you're leaving."

"I'm for the ride to Solitude," she reminded him.

"Right. You lot getting off though?"

"We are, good sir, thank you," the cloaked Altmer said. The sailor just nodded and headed back above deck.

"So, you're headed home? Must be nearby." Blake looked at the Altmer, who nodded.

"Safely so. Not too far, not too close." He looked over and hummed as he read the cover of her book. "A good tale, though not entirely accurate. The author got the order of the Gates' appearances a little mixed up at a time."

For half a second Blake wondered if he shouldn't be more careful with that information, and then recalled that as an elf he could be totally expected to have been alive at the time. "There are a lot of inaccuracies, but it was a good read."

"Was? Why, my girl, you haven't finished it yet."

"I'm a little…bummed out about recent chapters."

"Going by the thickness on either side, you must be at the end of the Shivering Isles arc, right when the Unknown has fully mantled Sheogorath." He hummed and shook his head. "It may seem a depressing way to end, but if you look at it, it is a balance."

"How?"

"It's not all that different from Martin Septim's sacrifice. But, where Martin gave up everything, the Unknown embraced everything. Both, in the end, were no more, yet both succeeded in saving what they loved." He leaned back and hummed again. "Martin loved the world and all of its little people. He tried to make himself and the world a better place. In the end, the best thing he could do was give his all, let Akatosh come into the world through him, and save all of Nirn. To save the Shivering Isles, the Unknown had to finally let go, embrace the madness within him, and take on the Mantle so that Sheogorath would be the one to defeat Jyggalag. Perhaps it is a cautionary tale, or maybe signs of two paths in life. Do we let go of everything and float away, or embrace it and dive in? What is right and wrong? Are either right or wrong?"

Blake felt the boat hit against something, then heard a quick commotion above them as the sailors did their work. An Argonian poked his head down and nodded.

"All right. We're docked. All ashore that's goin' ashore."

"Fare thee well, Miss Belladonna." The Altmer hummed before standing up, then was followed out of the boat by the four women he was traveling with. Blake looked back to her book, and then slowly opened it and turned to the next page. All that was left was a short epilogue beneath a drawing of Martin Septim backed by the Five Heroes.

"The Amulet is shattered. Dagon is defeated. With the Dragon's Blood and the Amulet of Kings we have sealed the Gates of Oblivion, forever. The last of the Septims now passes into history. I go gladly, for I know my sacrifice is not in vain. I take my place with my father, and my father's fathers. The third age has ended, and a new age dawns. When the next Elder Scroll is written, you shall be its scribe. The shape of the future, the fate of the Empire, these things now belong to you."

We must never forget those that have sacrificed their all for us. Even if we can't recall the names, we must recall the deeds. If we do this, then there will be more than just five heroes. There will be heroes in us all. The heroes we remember, the heroes we imagine, and the heroes that make ourselves.

Be a hero. Remember, and live!

Weiss heard her scroll ring and picked it up to see the call was coming from Ruby. She sighed with a smile and answered the call to see Ruby and Yang's faces.

"It works!" the younger sister exclaimed.

"Ho-ly-"

"Thank the gods it works from… Where are you two right now?"

"We're at Rorickstead," Yang answered. "I can't believe this is actually working!"

"I can! Man, it is great to see you without having to traverse the country first!"

"It's good to see you too, Ruby." Suddenly a message popped up. "Oh, hold on. Blake's calling." She swiped to add the call and a second screen popped up to show Blake with a tear streamed face.

"Hey Weiss, just letting you know the boat's stopped at- Oh, hey guys. You got your pieces already. Express really is fast."

"Worth every denar," Weiss agreed with a nod.

"You okay Blake?" Yang asked in concern. "You look like you've been crying."

"Just…read something pretty emotional. Oh… Oh god. Weiss, the book…"

"Oh, right. Gods…" Weiss suddenly looked downcast, trying to form the words but unable to. "...Yang, Ruby. I don't really know how to tell you this. So I'm going to show you this paper and let you read it."

Weiss took the sheet where she had written down the links between the speculative heroes' name and JNPR. A few moments later, the girls' jaws began to gradually drop.

"What?" Ruby asked, tears beginning to form.

"Hold on. Where did you get this information from?"

"From the book Journey of the Heroes. Almost every character trait that the characters display match that of Team JNPR almost exactly." Weiss sadly shook her head. "The ones that aren't exact matches we aren't too sure about or they developed over time."

"But that would mean…" Ruby drooped. "They died."

"Ruby, they didn't die," Blake tried to correct her.

"I don't think they are," Weiss shook her head. Seeing the sister's confusion, Weiss continued. "Look, I did a favor for Azura and so she gave us a hint. Wherever Remnant is, it's outside of Nirn's time."

"I was about to say," Yang began. "They were still at Beacon watching Zwei while we were picking up my birthday present."

"Oh no! Zwei!" Ruby gasped. "Oh no! Your birthday present!"

"Calm down, Ruby. Another thing she said is that we will get back. Somehow."

"Wait, what exactly did she say?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow. "Our interactions with…her type haven't exactly been the best.

"You guys sure enjoyed partying with Sam," Ruby grumbled.

"Out of all the Daedric Princes, she's the most trustworthy. Okay, uh, she said: You have crawled from upon the serpent's trail, -likely a reference to Lorkhan- from beyond the reach of even the mightiest dragon.-almost definitely a reference to Akatosh- From the vast emptiness, to the filled center. -The filled center is definitely Nirn- Others have made this journey before you, the first being the great serpent himself. Some have traveled down, others have traveled up.-That's what gave us the hint that other people from Remnant have come to Nirn- Yet everything that goes one way must come back and rejoin. -Our guarantee home."

"You're sure it's JNPR though?" Ruby asked.

"Everything matches up. Even physical description. I mean, if I described a short, redhead with a penchant for hammers and lightning, what would you think?" Blake pointed out.

Both sisters looked over at the other side of their screen. "Blake, how long have you been reading that?" her partner questioned her.

"Look, I did think it was a little uncanny on occasion…"

"You never thought to bring it up, though?"

"I've run into that kind of stuff before! I once read a book that sounded just like me and…someone else I know, only with a different backdrop. It's not exactly unusual to see familiar characteristics in book characters."

"We're talking about four very varied people who were described accurately down to the hair color?"

"…Maybe I didn't want to think about it?"

"Great job, partner. Wait, where are you anyways?"

"I'm on a boat, headed for Solitude. We're at Dawnstar right now."

"Oh, that's where I'm headed," Ruby announced. "Can't tell you why though. Thalmor might not like the details."

"…Same. Let's just text each other later. I'll let you know when I've landed."

"Cool! Oh, and guess what? We met a Minotaur!"

"Wait, a Minotaur?"

"What's a Minotaur doing in Skyrim?" Weiss asked. "N-not that he shouldn't be in Skyrim! It's just-"

"He's Neriro, a blacksmith for the Legion. Some Forsworn killed his unit and were going to sacrifice him to Kynareth." Ruby growled for a moment but quickly straightened herself. "Hey guys, when we've got less trouble on our plates, we need to go over and fix the Forsworn problem in the Reach."

"Uh, Ruby, it's not quite that simple," Blake began.

"Yeah, I know. War is a bit more complicated than fighting monsters, but we really can't let this stuff go on."

The other two Huntresses were quiet for a long moment, giving Yang some time to prepare a suitable answer for their inevitable questions.

"What did you see out there?" Weiss finally asked.

"Remember Orphan Rock?" Yang asked the two. "Lower on the 'quality', much, much higher in the quantity."

Both girls winced at that. "Well, I'll look into some more on the history of the Reach when I find a moment," Weiss promised. "For now, let's try to focus more on the tasks at hand. Blake might need your backup in Solitude, so be ready for that. Yang, you didn't say where you're going."

"Murder investigation in Morthal. A house burned down. Killed a woman and child. Looks like the dad did it. Gonna find proof."

"Why's it look like he did it?" Blake asked.

"Would your dad move in with another woman the day after your mom died?"

"No."

"Yes."

The rest of the group looked over to Weiss, who had a thoughtful look to her face.

"Scratch that, he'd probably move her in."

"Weiss, we need to have a big long talk whenever we see each other face to face," Ruby told her partner.

"Maybe. Keep in mind, that's a talk I haven't even had with my boyfriend yet."

"He's been your boyfriend for, like, a week," Yang pointed out.

"Semantics."

"He probably hasn't even been to second base yet."

"He might have. What's second base, exactly?"

"He hasn't," Blake said plainly.

"Whatever! I'm sure we'll get all of them eventually."

"Ooh la la! Weiss, I didn't think you were so forward!" Yang sang, causing Weiss to blush.

"What?! No! Blake, help me! What do they mean?"

"Nope. You dug your own grave for this one. I'm not pulling you out."

"Hopefully he does."

"Ew! Yang!" Ruby glared at her grinning sister.

"Stop it, you brutish, barbaric dog!"

"Hey, this girl's a wolf, batty!"

"Stop arguing, guys," Ruby asked of her team. "Yang will explain to you what she was talking about from the privacy of her own scroll whenever you two feel like having that conversation." Any further arguments between the two were preemptively silenced by another glare from Ruby, and the two relented.

"Well, now that that's all taken care of..." Blake began.

"Oh hey, Blake," Yang suddenly spoke up, cutting the Faunus off. "Remember that book you were planning to write?"

"Yes?" she responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, when we rescued Neriro, the Forsworn kinda stripped him down. Poor Rubes here got an eyeful." Ruby turned the color of her namesakes at that and seemed to sink into herself while Blake looked on in horror. "So, when you get to that point-"

"Blake, what in the name of all twenty-eight gods are YOU WRITING!?" Weiss screamed.

Hi mindol dreh pah paar? - Did you think you could do anything you want?

Daar muz los dii, ni hin - These people are mine, not yours