Hey guys! This is freaking chapter 50! My fiftieth chapter! Yes, I know I technically passed the fifty mark on this site, but that's counting the Apocrypha and Omake parts. Well, me, xTRESTWHOx and NaanContributor got it here for you guys!

"Hey, S'aharra," Blake called out as she entered the house from the lakeside porch. "I'm here."

"Ah, good to see you, dear friend," the Khajiit greeted her as she entered. "Is all well?"

"M'rissi's doing well, and so is the little cub she's taking care of." Blake figured it probably wasn't so little anymore by this point, but she kept that information to herself. Erandur then came in after her and bowed his head.

"Greetings, ma'am."

"And greetings to you, kind sir. You are traveling with friend Blake, yes?"

"That I am, though I think I may rest my feet in Riften for a spell. I believe I'll go and see the Temple of Mara soon, too."

"I might join you. I could probably use some divine inspiration right about now," the Faunus said before heading towards the front door. "First, I need to let the Guild know I'm back."

"Ah, yes, another thing," S'aharra called after her. "Your friends, Weiss and…the yellow one are here. Weiss told this one she would be in the Ratway looking for you."

"Oh gods! By herself?" Blake asked in annoyance before heading out. She went down to the sewer entrance and moved at a quickened pace, only slowing when she entered the Ragged Flagon itself. Weiss' white hair and light blue robes stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the dirty browns and near-blacks of the underground bar's normal patrons. The heiress had been in discussion with Vex and Sapphire by the looks of things.

To Blake's immense surprise, Weiss appeared to be advising the thieves on how to best select targets for theft.

"So you see, going that way about it will only cause you to lose profits," she continued in her lecturing tone at them. "You have to consider the long-term effects of totally destroying a caravan that a business might need to stay on its legs. Most merchants can recover from a handful of missing items, but only large companies and corporations could hope to shake off the loss of a whole shipment."

"I don't know. That might not have as good a turnover," Vex objected. "And that's ignoring the armed escort bigger companies could afford."

"No. No, I see where she's coming from," Sapphire stated, then hummed to herself while tapping her chin. "Although, if you know the caravan's from a bigger company, it might be worth the hit. Wasn't there someone doing that once upon a time?"

"Yeah, and now Larkspur's rotting in Whiterun's dungeon."

"Actually, they freed him long ago," Delvin said while turning back to look at them. "Good to see ya, Belladonna. Yer friend here's been a delight."

"Blake, you're here," Weiss stated as she stood up. The two nearly made to hug each other, but paused in consideration of their surroundings then settled on shortly clasping an arm around each other for a moment. "How's everything?"

"Well enough. Ruby's taking Esbern up to Riverwood. Maybe we'll finally get somewhere on this whole dragon situation." They turned and began to walk away from the crowd as they talked. "Meanwhile, we've got a problem here."

"Yes, a few of them mentioned it. Someone by the name of Karliah. I'd offer to help, but I need to make my way back to Volkihar Castle." She calmly looked over her shoulders then reached into her bag and pulled out a wicked looking chalice that was, somehow, filled with red liquid. "This thing has some strange magic about it. I filled it from the Bloodspring then added a few drops from those idiots. Now it won't pour out unless someone's drinking from it."

"And you know that because…"

"It's not very appetizing." Weiss put it back in and made sure her bag was secure. "Either way, I need to head back. I'll be going up through Windhelm and taking the boat from there, and I'll be sure to get a couple of baths and clothes changes to make sure there's no evidence of anyone else's involvement. Yang's made doubly sure that we haven't been followed, but we were sure about it on the way there, too. We weren't wrong, but we didn't think about someone beating us to the punch."

"As long as you're sure you'll be fine."

"The same with you. I don't know much about your Guild Master, but if these people have reason to be afraid then that's reason enough to be cautious."

"Belladonna, good to see you back," Mercer's voice called out to her, causing the girls to turn towards him as he approached. "Three days, like you said. Well, I hope you're ready to go out again."

"We're leaving now?"

"No, but first thing in the morning we will, and we won't be stopping except to sleep, so grab what rest you can. I have most everything we need packed, so just bring bare essentials. Meet me at the north gate first thing at dawn."

"Yes sir," she answered with a smile before the man turned and went back towards the Cistern. Weiss looked back at her with a questioning glance. "What?"

"Nothing. You just seemed a little eager."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, just an observation." Weiss shrugged. "Anyways, we really should get ready. We both have a long trip ahead of us."

"Yeah, that's true. Where's Yang, by the way?"

"She went ahead to Fort Dawnguard to tell them the bad news about Tolan, Adalvald, and Dimhollow's secret. I imagine she's probably already briefed them."

With a yell, Yang uppercut the vampire then swung down with Holy Ardon, splitting open her chest. The refugees behind her screamed as they tried to get away from the battle, and one of the attacking thralls suddenly collapsed while clutching his head. Isran bashed the knee out from under another attacker then crushed his head. Yang took a moment to catch her breath while looking at the spell that surrounded him, shrouding him in a whirling ball of light.

"Neat trick," she said while sheathing her axe. Isran, however, was seething as the spell faded.

"Look at this," he growled as they looked over a half dozen vampire bodies interspersed by two dead Dawnguard members and a few of the refugees. "I should have known it was only a matter of time before they found us. It's the price we pay for openly recruiting." He sighed as he shouldered his warhammer. "We'll have to step up our defenses. I don't suppose you have some good news for me?" he asked as he looked back at Yang.

"Well, I know these guys aren't with the main group. The Volkihars have a sort of uniform." They also didn't smell like them, but that wasn't evidence she could quite present. "Other than that, well, things aren't so good."

"Of course. Why did I suppose differently? Fine, tell me what you know."

"The thing the vampires were searching for…was a woman trapped in Dimhollow Crypt." Yang had thought through the explanation over a dozen times on her way there, trying her best not to sound too sympathetic or idiotic for what came next. So far, she didn't have too many ideas.

"A woman? Trapped in there?" Isran seemed dumbfounded by the notion. "That doesn't make any sense. Who is she? More importantly, where is she?"

"Okay, so hear me out before you get mad. I found a woman buried in a tomb through some magic stuff. She has no idea what's going on, and doesn't even know about the existence of the Empire." The Redguard's eyebrows shot up at that. "So she asks if I can lead her home, and I think 'Okay, sure. I might be able to get some clues as to what's going on if I do.' Then I bring her to an old castle, and it turns out…she's the daughter of a powerful Vampire Lord."

"And so you delivered her to them," he stated, anger showing in his eyes.

"They…also have an Elder Scroll," she got out quickly.

"They…what?" he blinked and shook his head. Then, a look of righteous anger and horror marred his face, and he looked her straight in the eyes. "And you didn't stop them?! You didn't secure the scroll?!"

Yang, anticipating this reaction, quickly responded. "Hey, I was lucky they let me leave there alive. There were dozens in that one room alone, and I could tell there were way more lurking around." She sighed. "Look, it wasn't the smartest move, I'll admit, but I barely knew what an Elder Scroll was, much less what one looked like. I still barely know what they are."

He sighed and set his hammer down on the ground. "I suppose you're lucky you're not dead. Or worse, one of them." Yang flinched at the comment, but he didn't seem to take notice. "By the Divines, this couldn't get much worse, though. This is more than just a handful of fighters can handle."

"Yeah, you're telling me. They have a castle on a rocky island with only one viable direction of approach that they can clearly see people coming from." Yang huffed and rolled her shoulders. "Not to mention enough vampires to fill a stadium. A frontal assault with what we have now would be suicide."

"Yes, we're going to need help with this." He nodded and looked back at her. "I know you were only here as a liaison, and that trip to Dimhollow was more than enough to prove the Companions are willing to back us, but we need your help, and the help of others. There are people I've met and worked with over the years. We need their skills, their talents, if we're going to survive this."

"I know a few people myself. I might be able to get you some help, too."

"Good. Let's go and compile what we have. I have two people specifically in mind whose talents will be more than welcome." He buckled the warhammer to his back as he started heading back up to the fort, Yang following after him.

"Oh, uh, a little more," Yang said after a bit, causing him to turn towards her. "About Tolan…"

"I'm guessing something happened there."

"He took off ahead of me while I was helping with the stuff in Winterhold…"

"Heard about that." He sighed. "He's gone, then?"

"Yeah, but he fought well." She took out the Amulets of Stendarr from a pouch on her side. "I also came across Adalvald. They killed him right when I got there."

"And that's two more casualties for the Vigilant." He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "Probably best to either take them to Stendarr's Beacon or the chapel near the mountains. Come. I'll show where they are while we go over things."

Zora had decided to lead M'rissi and Inigo to Lakeview while Ruby and Lydia had planned to escort Esbern straight to Riverwood. However, Ruby didn't hear anything about what Gorr was planning on doing neither the night before or when Blake had left in the early morning. As they were packing and preparing, Ruby approached the large man and cleared her throat.

"Yeah?"

"So, where are you planning to go?" she asked him.

"Well, that's a problem, friend, seeing as I'm following you for a reason. Rather not have to think about where I'm going, if that's okay with you." Slowly he stroked his goatee while looking over the stony hallway. "But, if you want my advice, I'm a 'this way' or 'that way' guy. I just flip a coin, or someone annoying, and let it make heads or tails of the situation."

"Well, I guess if you're going to be that way about it." Ruby fished into her pocket and pulled out a diem. "So, heads for me, tails for Zora?"

"Sure. We'll go with that." As she flipped the coin into the air, he made a small laugh. "Who knows. Maybe I'll get a moment to-"

Somehow, the coin hit a gap between stones and, against all odds, got stuck pointed straight up on its side. For a long moment, the two stared at the near impossibility with stark confusion.

"You know, I don't consider myself a very spiritual person," Ruby started out slowly. "But something like that…"

The memory of what happened seemed to stick to Ruby's mind like syrup. In the end, Gorr decided to go his own way and 'follow his stomach'. The fact that the botched coin toss was what caused it seemed to haunt her like a confused ghost. She had almost refused to pick it up, as though doing so was going to invite more instances of the odd twist of fate.

"You mentioned slaying a dragon," Esbern suddenly spoke up from the back of Summer Breeze. "One attacked you at, uh, Lakeview, was it?"

"Yeah. Ausshulmiin. He just popped up all of the sudden and we took him down. I knocked him to the ground, then Zora came in and stabbed his chest. Then Gorr followed up and hammered her sword right into his heart like a nail. Said that all that time working on the house actually came in handy after all." Ruby giggled at the memory, then winced when the other side came up and she felt memories of having a sword driven into her chest come to the forefront. She took in a deep breath and focused on separating those moments in time before releasing it, seeing the 'her' grained against 'them'. "So, while I don't have to be the one doing the killing blow, I do have to be actively fighting a dragon to absorb its soul. If I'm not fighting it, I get nothing, even if I'm nearby. Blake proved that when she killed the other one."

"Yes. If we had been battling it for a little longer, you might have been able to absorb it."

"I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you," she muttered. Esbern seemed to look at her oddly, but said nothing else on the subject. As they reached Riverwood, the group dismounted and started heading inside. For a moment Ruby was walking firmly, but her steps faltered and she looked back at her housecarl. She then noted the downturn of Lydia's lips and the slight drop in her eyes.

"Lyd, you okay?"

"Hm? Yes, my Thane. I'm fine," she answered. Not believing her for a second, Ruby checked back over her shoulder to see that Esbern was continuing on into Riverwood, heading along the right path to the Sleeping Giant Inn. She then looked back at Lydia with a grimace.

"You're obviously not. What's wrong?"

The housecarl looked up and sighed. "I failed."

"What? No you didn't. I'm-"

"A vampire held you in his grasp, and nearly bit you," she interrupted Ruby. "If you hadn't had your Aura, you would have been bitten and partially drained by him. If Zora hadn't gotten to you in time, you could have been killed. I failed you. I was so caught up in fighting that I forgot my duty is to defend you, and it ended up being someone else that saved you."

"Hey, come on. It wasn't your fault. Besides, it was days ago, and I wasn't-"

"You weren't hurt because of extraordinary circumstances," Lydia jumped in again. "If you were a normal Tamrielic human or elf, you wouldn't have the protections you do. And I wouldn't have been able to save you there where your powers couldn't." She released a sigh. "But maybe, you wouldn't be in half of those situations in the first place." Her eyes widened, as though realizing what she had said. "I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

Ruby looked down and nodded. "No, it's okay. I…think I understand why you're so frustrated." She looked up and took note of Lydia's armor. Being orichalcum, it was stronger and lighter than simple steel, but it was still just armor. It didn't boost her reflexes, tune up her senses, strengthen her, or protect her internally from shock. It only gave her a slight edge against the normal warriors of the world. "I've…been there before."

Lydia seemed to want to say something else, but simply nodded. Ruby tried to think of something else to tell her, but her thoughts were halted when Esbern came back.

"Um, I…can't seem to find the place," he admitted weakly.

"Okay, we'll head there with you." Trying her best to leave the conversation behind, Ruby led the old man to the inn. Inside, Delphine was looking over some papers at the bar, looking a little nervous as she did.

"Delphine!" Esbern exclaimed when he saw her. The woman turned around and gave them a smile as her tension visibly dissipated. "I… It's good to see you. It's been a long time."

"It's good to see you, too, Esbern," she answered. "It's been too long, old friend. Too long." After a moment of silence, she cleared her throat. "Well then. You made it, safe and sound," she directed at all of them. "Good. Come on, I have a place we can talk. Orgnar, hold down the bar for a minute, will you?"

"Yeah, sure," the man muttered before looking over the fairly empty establishment. "Not like there's much to look over, anyway..." Delphine led the group down into her secret basement, being sure to shut the doors behind them as they went. It wasn't much different from last time, though there was another katana hanging on the wall.

"Now then," she began. "I assume you know about…"

"Oh, yes! Dragonborn! Indeed, yes!" he said excitedly while looking at Ruby. "Well, this changes everything, of course." He began shuffling through his knapsack. "There's no time to lose. We must locate… Let me show you. I know I had it here, somewhere…"

"Esbern, what-"

"Give meeeeeee just a moment… Um…" He continued rustling through the bag for a second. "Ah! Here it is! Come, let me show you." He took out a book and opened it to its first page. While one read Annals of the Dragonguard, 2800 – 2819, the other one was a map of Skyrim with several locations marked by a language that seemed similar to old-fashioned Central Anima texts. One of them was clearly important, as it was marked with a red box. "You see, right here. Sky Haven Temple, constructed around one of the main Akaviri military camps in the Reach during their conquest of Skyrim."

"Do you know what he's talking about?" Delphine asked Ruby, who shrugged.

"Shh!" he hushed the woman. "This is where they built Alduin's Wall, to set down in stone all their accumulated dragonlore. A hedge against the forgetfulness of centuries. A wise and foresighted policy, in the event…" He looked up and placed his hands on his hips. "Despite the far-reaching fame of Alduin's Wall at the time – one of the wonders of the ancient world – its location was lost."

"Esbern, what are you getting at?" Delphine demanded of him.

"You mean… You don't mean to say you haven't heard of Alduin's Wall?" he asked in surprise. "None of you?" Ruby just shook her head and Lydia shrugged.

"Let's pretend we haven't," Delphine suggested. "What's Alduin's Wall and what does it have to do with stopping the dragons?"

"Alduin's Wall was where the ancient Blades recorded all that they knew of Alduin and his return. Part history, part prophecy. Its location has been lost for centuries, but I've found it again. Not lost, you see, just forgotten."

"Wait, isn't part of losing something forgetting where it is?" Ruby asked.

"I, uh, oh." Esbern rubbed his chin. "I suppose… Well, this was more a lack of looking. The Blades' archivists held so many secrets, I was only able to save a few scraps."

"So you think that Alduin's Wall will tell us how to defeat Alduin?" Delphine asked.

"Well, yes, but…there's no guarantee, of course."

"Sky Haven Temple it is then. I knew you'd have something for us, Esbern." Delphine looked down at the map and pointed at the important looking place in the Reach. "I know the area that you're talking about. It's near what's now known as Karthspire, in the Karth River Canyon. The quickest route will be across the top of Ilinalta, then we'll follow the road into the canyon and go by Granite Hall, where we'll ditch the road and head straight there. From Granite Hall onwards, though, it's wild country. The Forsworn will be everywhere. Best be careful."

Ruby grimaced at that. Her last and only run-in with Forsworn hadn't been a great experience. "Okay. So, when will we leave?"

"As soon as I'm ready to travel. I assume you're still good to go."

"I guess so."

"Good. I have a couple of horses waiting for us. I'll be up in a moment. Go ahead and get something hot to eat."

With that, the other three left the cellar hideout while Delphine pulled out her armor. Ruby thought about what she wanted to eat, but couldn't really think of food very much. Unbidden memories came to mind from when she had been to Sunguard. Of blood flying through the air and people falling to pieces. Of men and women being torn apart by her Voice and scythe. She shut her eyes and shook her head violently, trying to think of anything else.

"Ruby, are you hungry?" Lydia asked her.

"I'm… Maybe just some bread."

Blake and Mercer went out at the same time as Weiss, but were soon well ahead of her. Weiss ended up joining a large caravan that was taking several supplies to the place where they were planning to build up a new community. The people were an interesting lot. They mostly kept to themselves and were different from the Nords that made up most of the populace of Skyrim. For a moment, Weiss was reminded of the defining features of the Mistralians. The fact that several of their guards were wielding katanas only seemed to compound the image. Still, she had convinced them to let her travel amongst them, which with their destination just short of Kynesgrove would cover most of the distance. It was about halfway through the first day and somewhere between Fort Greenwall and Shor's Stone that she decided to risk asking them about themselves.

"So," she began with the white-haired woman in charge of the caravan, "you're all working on making a settlement."

"We are," she answered curtly. "The dragon's presence in the craglands has made it safe, ironically enough. We have already told him of our intentions, and he will see to our safety against those meaning us harm."

"Ah, that's good. May I ask where you're from? If you don't mind me saying it, I noticed-"

"We are Ashen," she quickly answered. Weiss suddenly felt self-conscious. It seemed likely that the woman had been asked the same series of questions many times before.

"Sorry."

"Do not be. You are curious. At least you are trying to be polite about it." The woman looked back at the caravan and their carts full of cargo. "Most are suspicious of us, and think we are throat-slitters and child-takers."

"Well, that's terrible of them! But to be honest, I've never actually heard of Ashen before."

"There aren't many of us on Tamriel. We are refugees. Or rather, we are the children and grandchildren of refugees." She closed her eyes and hummed. "My mother came here sixty years ago, landing on the eastern shores of Morrowind before she and her clan pushed their way through to Skyrim. I was born somewhere between the landing and crossing the border. We've been on the move almost constantly ever since. There are only a handful of stable homes for us. Now, however, the dragon Vulgahrotru gives us an opportunity to finally find a safe home in the open."

"Wow," Weiss muttered, rubbing her chin. "I couldn't imagine being forced to keep on the move like that." Another thought then passed her mind. "Wait, you're almost sixty years-old? You don't look a day over forty."

"It's a gift," she said with a smirk. "It doesn't necessarily mean we live longer, but we do tend to keep a more youthful appearance than other races of Man for longer. It's quite nice to hear a young beauty like you compliment me," she said with a blush while cupping her cheek. Weiss laughed and shook her head. The woman then reached over and offered her hand.

"Yokota Reisa."

"Weiss Schnee," the heiress said while offering her own hand. Rather than shake it, Reisa clasped her hand with their thumbs crossing and gave her a gentle squeeze. Weiss squeezed back and then the two let go.

"So, where did your mother come from, anyways?"

"From across the Padomaic ocean. Some came from the shores of Akavir, but the first of us came from Haishima, the Isle of Ash, before it sank beneath the waves. They came to escape the slavery and unending wars that formed in the wake of the Oblivion Crisis."

"Oh, so you're Akaviri! I should've figured from the swords. Are there any people from there still around? I don't think I've ever heard a first-hand account of Akavir."

"Unfortunately, the only ones who could have seen the land were too young to remember it then, and too old to remember it now. I'm a grandmother myself now, and I was not even conceived until they had left it all behind. The younger generations know nothing of it, and it may be for the best." She looked over to where a group of men and women were talking amongst themselves, hefting backpacks rather than riding on mounts. Weiss noted how some of them had duller colored hair rather than the bright or deep colors of their elders, or how one had the beginnings of a beard that could certainly grow to someday match the likes of Tolfdir, Valdimar, or Kodlak. Her gaze then went up at the sky. "Damn!"

"What's the matter?" Weiss asked in worry.

"Snowstorm. Looks like a bad blizzard. It'll hit us likely by tomorrow. Everyone, blizzard coming tonight," she announced to the rest of the caravan. There were several startled yells followed by others confirming the storm's approach. "Make sure camp's set good tonight and everything's tied securely. Everyone get a pole for their spot. I don't want to lose you in the snow."

"Is it that bad?"

"Don't know. Can't tell until it hits us. Hopefully, Saruhiko blows it by us quickly."

Camp was set as evening came, and all could now clearly see the incoming storm. Weiss hoped that Blake was okay, then decided to actually try praying, hoping that the substantially real gods would deign to hear her out. As she prepared her own spot, accepting a pole that was stuck into the ground near her tent with a bright flag at its top, she noticed a few people setting up something that looked almost like a stage. As Reisa went by, she waved her over.

"So, what's going on there?" Weiss asked.

"Ah, a few old men thought the young ones could use some entertainment before the snow keeps us down." She smiled as she placed her hands to her hips. "They're doing a shadow puppet show. I forget what it used to be called, but it's an old tradition, and a great way to tell the old stories."

"Oh, well that is interesting." Weiss looked back at her small tent and the stakes holding it down. "I think I'm just about done here. Do you suppose they'll mind if I join?"

"I think you're likely to freeze solid by yourself, but if you want that tent to stay up, I suggest weighing it down with some large rocks here, here, and here," the older woman suggested while pointing out a trio of corners. "But, if you want to join in, I'm sure no one will mind you watching. I might watch it myself if my back doesn't complain too much." Weiss was about to comment on that, but then remembered the woman's actual age and dashed the thought. After she pulled up some stones, mostly carrying them via telekinesis, and set them in place, she went and investigated the setup, which now had a small brazier set behind a paper stage. The half-dozen children and handful of teens and youths were settling in while the adults and elders sat further back. Weiss deigned to sit among the adults, noting how some of them were still working, mostly at cooking up dinner for the others or tying down the last of their loads.

The sound of a small gong rung out, catching everyone's attention, followed by a pair of drumbeats. A moment later, an identical pair were beat out, and then repeated a third time. The show that began was something resembling the creation myths she had seen and read about before, beginning with the splitting of the one world into twelve before it 'broke' and became the Aurbis, but the gods had different names, with some having even different representations. The Lorkhan equivalent, Imoogi as they called him, had felt ignored and overlooked, as all the gods enjoyed the Dragon God Ryūjin's gift of time while not knowing or even understanding Imoogi's. So he slithered out and away from them before looking in, then he suddenly understood and slithered back.

He went to Akira Taiyo, and told him of his plan to get them to see both their gifts for what they truly were, for Akira's was magic and energy, and it was needed for his plan to work. Akira drew up the first architecture with Imoogi's guidance, and then they presented this idea to the others, most of whom looked at it oddly, but many others were excited for it.

Then the world of Mundus was made with Nirn at its center, taking many pieces away from the gods and limiting them. Several actually found it amazing, a few even going so far as to praise Imoogi's genius. Akira Taiyo, however, ran like a coward, which Imoogi said he knew he would do and planned for, as the hole he made shined light from Aetherius and lit half the world at once, and all of it as it circled. Some however, were embittered by this sudden limitation, and demanded Imoogi undo it.

"'But here you can finally see my gift,'" the person voicing the serpent god defended. "'Just as you are limited by Ryūjin's gift to see and enjoy it."

"'This is no gift,'" Hachiman the warrior god decried. "'It is a curse!'"

"'And we were the ones that chose to undergo Time,'" Omoikan, god of wisdom added, "'but you have forced this upon us. Undo this.'"

"'It will be undone, but only when you see it.'"

Many of the gods grew angry with him, especially Ryūjin, who did not like others telling him what to do. And so they decided to wage war against him and force him to undo their binding. However, each time they sent an army of mortals, Imoogi managed to grant a gift to his armies of Men and Tsaesci. It wasn't until Ryūjin shook himself so hard that some of his scales came loose and turned into the dragons that things actually seemed to go against the Serpent God, since they couldn't be killed permanently, as other dragons would revive them after every battle. However, he made a plan and told the humans to fight back the dragons after one was killed, then the Tsaesci were to eat it and quickly. When they did and left only bones, the dragons tried to bring him back but failed.

With the dragons finally cowed, the armies of Imoogi felt emboldened, even without the chief god there to see them. They decided to kill two more dragons and feed them to the Tsaesci as well, and the ones left fled either across the ocean or across the land.

However, it all backfired when Imoogi suddenly appeared in the grasp of Hachiman and Ryūjin, the spirits of the three dragons in his coils. His plan had been to fool the others into thinking his followers had found their final deaths, but when they killed the other two he had to catch them as well to keep up the ruse, and he could not escape his brothers at that point.

"'You may have frightened away my children, but you have lost now.'" And they tore him open and pulled out his heart, only to find that they could not destroy it. The final story beats played out with them throwing the Heart away and across the world, dripping its blood across the mountains, and then Imoogi gave his last words to his followers, telling them not to blame themselves but to see the rest through. Some of the gods following Imoogi swore vengeance while others called a truce, but the narrator declared that that was all another story and ended the tale.

Several of the children were nearly asleep by that point, and the young men and women were ready to eat and head to bed themselves. Weiss stood up and stretched, noting how dark it had gotten and feeling the bite of the chilled wind even with her vampiric curse and Atlesian ancestry. She looked up at the dark clouds and saw some snowflakes drifting down, then went to bed herself.

After what seemed like an eternity of being surrounded by the muted howls of the winter wind, and the layers of cloth and fur that separated her from it, sleep finally came to her.

Just past the last of the mountains before they reached the open snowy plains, a blizzard had suddenly poured in from the north. In a matter of minutes, it went from a relatively sunny day to a dark and cold one. Blake tried to hold against the biting wind and snow, but Mercer stopped her with a hand to her shoulder.

"There's no going through this!" he shouted above the raging winds. "We've got to stop! Over here!"

Blake simply nodded and walked after him, leaning sideways against the wind as he took her to a pile of boulders that stuck out of the ground at about twelve feet, snow building up against one side of it. He took out the emergency tent and they quickly set it up, anchoring it to the stones as close as they could. When it was done, he went in with the lantern and Blake followed him, sitting down and shivering as she rubbed her arms. She had barely noticed it in their rush to get out of the sudden weather, but her ears all felt numb and cold.

"Damn storm," the older thief mumbled as he set down his lantern in the center and started pulling out several furs from his pack. "At the very least, Karliah won't be able to move in this either."

"At least one good thing will come from this..." Blake muttered as she assisted her guild master. Once they were finally set, Blake started a small fire and the two brought themselves close to it. Blake was shivering, so she wrapped one of the furs tightly around her. Mercer had done the same, and the two sat in silence. For a moment, they heard nothing but the sound of howling snow, and Mercer then grunted.

"Sounds like it won't let up 'til morning," he noted, and Blake couldn't help but agree. The two went back into silence again, Blake's thoughts drifting in and out of their current objectives. After a few minutes of only hearing the wind howling outside, she finally worked up the nerve to ask the Breton something that had been on her mind for the past few days.

"Um, Mercer?" Blake started, drawing the older man's attention. "If you don't mind me asking, how... How exactly did Gallus die?"

"You mean, how did Karliah kill him?" he stated, to which Blake nodded. Mercer grunted once more before beginning to voice his recollection, "Twenty-five years ago, roughly speaking, the Guild was in a golden age. Everyone in Skryim, from peasants to kings, both feared and respected us. But, we didn't stop there. After all, why should we? You see, Gallus was the always the planner, always one step ahead of the authorities as he marked out museums, businesses, and everything else for a mark. Towards the end, there was one heist he was planning. No one outside of Karliah knew what it was, but it was big. Took years of planning, but he finally took me and Karliah to do it."

"What happened after that?"

"She betrayed us," Mercer spat, and Blake felt her anger rise. "She wanted the treasure for herself, and so she stabbed Gallus in the back with a poisoned knife, then tried to kill me. I barely fought her off. Still got the scar to prove it, too." At that, Mercer partially lifted his armor to reveal a small scar on the side of his torso. It was jagged and pale, likely from an arrow striking him.

"She did that to you?" Blake asked, and Mercer nodded. Blake felt anger once again, and she looked him in the eye. "She'll pay for what she did."

"Aye, that she will. Now, get some sleep. I'll keep watch."

Blake nodded at Mercer's command, then fell back against the fur mattress. As she laid down, her hand briefly brushed against the hilt of the Ebony Blade. Soon after, a cold whisper entered her tired mind.

He's hiding something.

Rather than respond or rebuke, Blake merely shut the voice out entirely, then closed her eyes. As she listened to the sounds of the wind and picked out Mercer's breath apart from it, sleep fell upon her.

The first day of travel brought Ruby, Lydia, Delphine, and Esbern to the cross in the roads near the border of the Reach and Falkreath. The second brought them up past Granite Hall, which amazed Ruby when she saw that it was formerly a Dwemer ruin that the people had settled.

"Wait until you see Markarth," Lydia had told her. "I've been there a few times, and it's much bigger."

"I wonder what they did to stop the automatons from coming up," Ruby wondered.

As the afternoon began to fall away, the group left their horses tied next to a shrine to Dibella, then made their way along the rocky canyon. Soon, a camp of Forsworn became visible, with smoke rising from several fires dotting the place. Among old ruins and a stone platform, the place had been affixed with newer wooden bridges and ramps, with tents and huts set up all about.

"That's a lot of people," Ruby muttered as she saw the dozens of men and women in patchwork furs and leather armor moving about.

"Likely one of their big staging areas," Delphine explained as she took a knee and looked over the encampment. "We could probably sneak past them after nightfall. We just need to get through the cave…and…"

The sound of wingbeats hit their ears just before a dragon came from over the mountain and dived down just above them. It was large and forest green, with a pair of neck frills and a paddle-like tail. The dragon spun around once and then began hovering over the panicking people.

"Joorre, count yourselves as blessed!" he announced proudly as he flapped in place. "I have come to rule over this space. Kneel and serve, and you shall all be rewarded!"

For a minute the Forsworn seemed too shocked to move, then one moved forward on the raised dais where the forge was set.

"How dare you! We serve no tyrant! Not even a dragon!"

"Bah! If you will not serve, then you will be made an example of!" As the Forsworn readied themselves, the dragon looked as though he was going to Shout, only for him to suddenly snap his attention up, sniff the air, and then look at the four watching from off to the side. "Dragon…scales?" He bared his teeth and roared in anger. "Dovahkiin!"

"Uh oh," Ruby said as she jumped up. "Everyone duck!"

"Yol Toor Shul!" Flames poured out and licked the cliffside as Ruby and Lydia dived one way and the Blades went the other, the rocks turning red and orange under the intense heat. Ruby then jumped down and used her Semblance to get both her and her housecarl safely below. The dragon followed them with his gaze, but was forced to fly up as several arrows, ice spikes, and fireballs crashed into him. "Dovahkiin! Your end nears, and it is Golalthur!"

"I don't think he likes me," Ruby got out as the two stood.

"Me neither." Lydia got to her feet and readied her weapons, only for Forsworn to surround them.

"Prepare to die, Nord!" one of them yelled before swinging a spiked sword at Lydia. She blocked with her shield then pushed his blade aside before stabbing her own into his chest. Another came at her from the side, but Lydia squeezed the handle in her shield, deploying its dagger. She then slammed her bladed shield into her foe, piercing his throat while knocking him away. The others attacked, and Ruby brought out her scythe before spinning it about and then knocking one away and slicing another's legs out from under him. The Forsworn seemed to back off, but then something else appeared near the dais.

"Take down that dragon," the horrifying combination of old crone and bird screamed while pointing bloodied talons at the crowd, "and bring me their corpses!"

"Yes, Mother Dele!" several of them responded.

"There's a hagraven!" Lydia shouted in warning.

"Not the biggest issue right now!" Delphine shouted back before slicing her katana through one man's throat then across a woman's belly. The woman screamed and continued trying to charge her down, only for the Breton to spin out of the way and then cut through her back as well. Esbern was also taking on several, throwing a few explosive spells before having to draw his ebony dagger and block an incoming axe strike. His Frost Atronach then came in and swiped its arms into a group, sending them flying with the sounds of shattered bones. Golalthur had just finished roasting a mage alive and turned back to Ruby, only for another arrow to hit his wing in the armpit joint and cause him to falter mid-flap then fall to the ground. Delphine made for him, carving open a Forsworn that got in her way before going for the dragon's leg.

Ruby jumped forward while kicking a man away then swung Crescent Rose around and stabbed into and through another. Her reflexes went off and she jumped up, narrowly missing being hit by a Hailstone. She saw the source having come from the hagraven and gasped at what she saw behind her. At the far end of the camp was a brazier, a table, and a flat-topped boulder where a young Giant, not even old enough for his beard to start growing in, lay dead and dissected. Ruby's teeth ground into each other as her eyes narrowed into slits comparable to Golalthur's.

"Lydia, back the Blades!" she commanded as she landed and spun, carving open two women's chests and taking off a man's head. With her path opened, she charged towards the witch. As she closed in, a Forsworn wearing an old looking helm and wielding a glass sword and elven war axe stepped in her way. She struck at him, but he blocked and crossed his weapons with hers before swinging around and tossing her. Ruby recovered in midair and landed on her feet before squaring up against the man, noting the plant in his chest that had taken the place of a heart. Two more came up, one with a longsword, and the other with magic spells readied.

"Protect Mother Dele!" the mage shouted.

"We won't let you touch the matron," the man that got in her way challenged as he took a stance.

"Fine." Ruby dashed forward and shifted into her Semblance as the man sliced at her, going around and reappearing behind him before kicking his back and knocking him away. The caster threw a pair of ice spikes at her, but Ruby jumped over both and threw a Bolide at him. The flaming rock slammed into his chest and knocked him away with a shout. The swordsman swung at her and Ruby parried and then brought her scythe around, stabbing it into his back. The man screamed aloud, then jolted forward, pulling himself off the blade before swinging around at the girl. Ruby ducked under the blow, but the dual-wielder was back and coming at her fiercely. Crescent Rose spun in her hand rapidly as she deflected his strikes before finding an opening and then carving up and into him, just nicking his ribs. The swordsman was back at her, bringing his blade down on her, but she managed to block him. Ruby then cried out in pain as something hit her from the side and fell to her knees. She looked up to see the hagraven smirking as streams of lightning stretched from her fingertips and at the Dragonborn.

The swordsman brought his sword to bear again, but this time Ruby got out of the way with her Semblance taking her backwards. The dual-wielder rushed her, and their weapons tangled, but Ruby was unable to hold on as he kicked her away and tossed Crescent Rose back to his fellow. The swordsman smirked as he picked up the scythe and then threw it even further back, where the ebony blade then hit the cliffside above the dead Giant and embedded itself there.

'Damn it! Ruby internally cursed. She got back up to her feet, and this time when a stream of sparks came at her, she had a ward readied. The dual-wielder swung at her and she leaped over him while drawing Dawnbreaker and her ebony sword and sliced them both across his back twice. He stumbled forward while screaming as she rushed at the swordsman. Her ebony sword met his steel and sank into it while Dawnbreaker pierced his throat. For a moment, Ruby saw the flames burning his face, but then one hand reached up and grasped the glowing blade as he forced on a grin. Ruby was forced to move out of the way and let the sword go as Dele cast a spell at her, leaving a wide line of lava across where she had been, just far enough away from the man to miss him by a hair. Just then, she saw the mage coming back up.

"What does it take to kill you guys?!"

"These are my Briarhearts," the hagraven declared proudly. "They have shed their weak mortality for power! Strong and nearly unkillable! They'll be your end, maggot!"

Ruby looked at the three and took note of the plant bulbs that had taken the place of their hearts.

'Video game weak points?' she thought. 'Real life doesn't normally work like that. Then again…'

"Hope this works! Tiid!" As time seemed to slow around her, Ruby rushed at the closest Briarheart, the swordsman who was in the midst of pulling Dawnbreaker from his throat, and sliced her other sword across the leather straps holding the bulb in place. He fingers wrapped around it just as time resumed its normal pace. Ruby jumped back as he stumbled, then he collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, falling right into the lava where he began burning. The hagraven and his fellows looked on in shock and Ruby smirked.

"I have you now!" she declared as she tossed the bulb away. "Tii-urk! Gahuh!" Ruby felt her throat constrict and then felt as though it was tearing apart. She coughed up flecks of blood and nearly stopped to stare in horror, but the dual-wielder was already recovered and coming at her again.

'Oh no, I rushed it!' Ruby thought in a panic. The Greybeards had warned her a few times to be careful about how rapidly she used certain Shouts and to always look out for the signs. 'My throat was telling me to cool it, but I tried to hurry like an impatient baby!'

The mage launched a rapid number of firebolts at her, forcing her to keep on the move as the dual-wielder tried to carve her apart, his axe trailing flames and his sword trying to bite at her. The hagraven seemed to be watching in enjoyment as Ruby tried to pull herself together. After a moment, she got down a pattern in her mind and waited. As she ducked under another of the crazed carver's swings, she threw an Ice Shiv at the mage. The spell lanced through his arm and spun him around, and Ruby hit him with a Rift Bolt, which sent him backwards and off the ledge he was on. As he fell, she charged and sliced through his neck, sending his head rolling down the nearby stairs. Dele looked on in shock and the last Briarheart charged her with a scream. Ruby took a stance, then threw her sword forward. Confused, the Briarheart paused to knock it away, only for Ruby to charge him with the Spear of Might in hand. The polearm's head pierced through his plant-like organ and knocked him onto his back, where he struggled a moment before going still.

"You…" the hagraven ground out as she backed away in fear and Ruby stood tall, staring her down with reptilian eyes as she pulled the spear free.

"Me." Ruby dashed in a flurry of rose petals at her, the tip of the Spear of Might barely being halted by a ward spell. Dele tried reaching towards her with a fiery spell, but Ruby leapt back as she charged her own magic. Her hand went up, and then the two were surrounded by a wall of purple energy.

"What magic is this?" the bird woman exclaimed with a caw.

"This is the magic of the Magna-Ge," Ruby said before throwing down three Rods of Power around her. The witch tried attacking the Rods to no avail, giving Ruby the time she needed to charge and launch the Sentinel spell at her. As it made contact, the Rods whirled to life and began releasing their energy upon Dele. The first volley hit her square on and caused her to stumble forward. The second came into contact with her wards, shattering them as they did, and then the third slammed her into the ground and burnt her even further. Their energy spent, they dissipated. The hag tried to pull herself up, but the moment she was on one foot ice seemed to hit her leg and wrap around it. Ruby then fired a stream of Creeping Cold, causing the Fracture mark to explode. The hag screamed as the flesh on her leg burst and the icy spell began slowly freezing her solid.

"D-damn…you!" she cried out as she tried leveling a fire spell at the Dragonborn. Just then, the Event Horizon collapsed and brought its energy to bear on what its caster saw as enemies. The still thawed part of Dele was hit with concussive power, bringing trauma to organs and bones, and her frozen half shattered apart, finally killing her. Ruby let out a sigh and began focusing a healing spell on her throat, but was brought out of the lull in combat by a draconic roar. She ran over to the dais' edge and saw Golalthur trying to get at the Blades and Lydia, who had dropped to the water level to keep out of his grasp. He was still trying to get them with his snout and occasional bouts of a breath attack, but they were keeping themselves safe, if barely. Ruby stepped back, then ran forward and jumped towards them while activating her Semblance.

"Wuld!" she managed to Shout, launching herself forward ever faster while she held the Spear of Might before her. She slammed into the side of Golalthur's neck, piercing deep into it just behind his head. He roared in pain before going limp and partially slipping into the structure. Ruby looked over at the other four, all of whom were worse for wear, and cracked a smile before letting out a laugh. The others began to chuckle as well, but then Golalthur's head began to shake as he growled. With a shout, Lydia plunged her blade down behind one of his frills, stabbing into his brain and stilling him. This time, the body began conflagrating, signaling his true death.

"Okay," Ruby got out as she felt the soul going into her. "Let's go to the temple thingy already."

The four took a minute to clean themselves up and Esbern summoned a pair of Flame Atronachs to begin disposing of the bodies. He had taken the two enchanted blades from the Briarheart and looked over them, as well as his helmet.

"Well, this is Akaviri make, certainly. It has an enchantment around it…an old one." The man muttered to himself as he turned the helm over in his hands while observing it. It had a rounded cap, toppped by a triple crest that reached from the nose guard to the back, shaped like a winged dragon. The bottom of it flared outwards, a design that would help turn glancing blows away from the wearer. "I think it restores…energy? Magicka? Stamina? Both? Ah, I see! It restores either magicka or stamina whenever someone attempts to do you harm, turning the energy of the blow into energy you can use."

"Oh, that's cool!" Ruby exclaimed. "Yang could really use something like that! Although, she barely ever uses that Aegis of the Unburned. Hm, are you going to use it?" she asked the Blade.

"I believe this should belong to you, Dragonborn," he said while handing it back to her. "You did defeat the one who had it, after all."

"Thanks." She put the helm on and was amazed as it seemed to fit perfectly. "Whoa!"

"How is that thing still around in one piece?" Delphine asked as she lit a torch before they delved further into the cavern.

"A part of the enchantment, I believe," Esbern explained. "Older styles of enchanting were less precise, but could offer a greater range of uses with some built-in preservation and ease-of-use portions. Of course, what we might see as an interesting and convenient tool, they might have seen as a weapon or armor piece fit for kings and other stations of importance."

"Well, how does it look?" Ruby asked.

"Not bad," Lydia told her. "But the color doesn't really match your ensemble at the moment." Ruby took off the helm and looked it over before looking at her armor.

"Huh, you're right. Qahpeyt's red is way more striking than simple brown and steel-grey. Well, guess that means we'll have to whip out the paint when we get home." She set the helm back on her head as they continued following the Blades, coming out into an open cavern where a building could be seen emerging.

"Yes. Definitely early Akaviri stonework here," Esbern said as he looked around them. They headed up a set of stairs and Delphine looked over across a gap to something that looked like a drawbridge.

"We've got to get this bridge down," the woman said before turning to a set of waist-high stones Esbern was looking at. "Maybe these pillars have something to do with it."

"Yes. These are Akaviri symbols," he observed. "Eh, let's see… You have the symbol for 'king'…and 'warrior'… And of course the symbol for 'Dragonborn'. That's the one that appears to have a sort of arrow shape pointing downward at the bottom." Ruby looked closer at it and could see that the Dragonborn symbol had what looked like two dragons facing each other, their snouts nearly touching, with the downpointed arrow between their bodies and its tip right between their legs. She then looked at the other two and got an idea, recalling the pillars that seemed to be in every other Nordic ruin. She spun one around so that another Dragonborn symbol showed, then the one at the far end.

The stone bridge came down almost gently, opening up the path before them.

"Well, that worked," Delphine declared. "Now, let's see what those old Blades left in our way."

The four went across and into a narrow cavern before coming up to a strange floor with large tiles with symbols on each one. Delphine was about to go on forward, but Esbern held out his arm.

"Wait!"

"Why are we stopping?"

"We should be careful here," he warned them. "See these symbols on the floor?"

"Pressure plates?" Ruby guessed.

"Sure looks like it." Delphine held up her torch to let its light cast as far as it could. "There's a pull chain on the other side. I don't know what the trap is, but I don't want to find out."

Ruby hummed while looking around the room and then back down to the floor. She noticed how several of the symbols were the one for Dragonborn, then noted how those very ones all lined up next to each other.

"I think I see the path!"

"The Dragonborn symbol?" Lydia asked. At Ruby's nod, she closed her eyes and gave one of her own. "I see." The housecarl stepped forward onto the first one, then began calmly walking forward, even as Ruby gasped and started flinging out her arms.

"Lyd! Hold up!"

"It's working. Please wait while I go over."

"But but…" Ruby shook her head then began tip-toeing onto the path while casting Candlelight. Lydia looked back at her and sighed while shaking her head.

"It's fine, Ruby."

"We didn't know that before you started!"

"We do now." Lydia reached over and pulled the chain, then a wall opened up a secret entrance off to the side. Ruby grabbed her housecarl's hand and brought them over to it with her Semblance, but Esbern merely walked over, stepping on pressure plates as he did.

"The chain also deactivated the traps," he explained. He looked forward at the bridge before them and began crossing. "I think we must be close to the entrance."

They followed him further into the ancient structure, going through a few turns and up another set of stairs before turning into an open area where a large wall stood before them, a giant bald head carved at its center. The four looked around in awe at it all.

"Wonderful!" Esbern said as he approached the head. "Remarkably well-preserved, too." Ruby walked after him, and noticed a large circle set in front of the head carving. Esbern bent down to observe it and nodded. "Ah, here's the blood seal. Another of the lost Akaviri arts. No doubt triggered by…well, blood. Your blood, Dragonborn."

"Under different contexts, that might have been very worrying to hear," Ruby responded, which made the old man chortle for a moment.

"Oh no, nothing to worry about! We'd only need a drop or so. Erm, maybe a little more. Just a little though, not much."

"If you need help with drawing blood, let me know," Delphine offered.

"No, it's okay. I've done it before," Ruby answered as she took off her left glove. "Uh, different circumstances then. Let's see…" She took out a glass dagger as she consciously pulled back her Aura, then thought better of it and felt around for her elven one before recalling that she'd let Weiss have it for experiments. "Ah, crackers! Hey, Lyd, I hate to ask you to help with this…"

"Here, look up at the carvings," Lydia said as she took Ruby's arm into her hand. "Esbern, can you tell us about this place?"

"Oh, well, let's see here. You can see how the ancient blades revered Reman Cyrodiil," he said while pointing out the giant head.

"That's Reman?" Ruby asked.

"It seems so, yes. This whole place seems to be a shrine to Reman. He ended the Akaviri invasion under mysterious circumstances, you'll recall." He walked up to one of the columns a few meters away from the head and looked closely at the symbols on it. "After the so-called 'battle' of Pale Pass, the Akaviri went into his service. This was the foundation stone of the Second Empire."

As Ruby listened, she suddenly gasped as a sharp pain hit her palm and looked down to see Lydia had pricked it with her steel knife. Ruby overturn her hand and let the blood fall onto the seal, which immediately began glowing white.

"That's done it!" Delphine exclaimed as part of the seal began turning. "Look, it's coming to life!"

Ruby looked up after the very center locked into place and saw the head rise up and backwards, revealing it to be the door to a staircase that led in.

"After you, Dragonborn," Delphine offered. "You should have the honor of being the first to set foot in Sky Haven Temple." Ruby nodded, and walked ahead and through an old set of stone doors, throwing up a new Candlelight as she entered the dark hallway. Lydia and the Blades came in after her, the old man looking at the carvings on the walls.

"Fascinating! Original Akaviri bas-reliefs, almost entirely intact!" He looked over at a stylized column and hummed in appreciation. "Amazing! You can see how the Akaviri craftsmen were beginning to embrace the more flowing Nordic style."

"We're here for Alduin's Wall, right Esbern?" Delphine asked after his second pause.

"Yes, of course. We'll have more time to look around later, I suppose," he admitted while moving on. The group then emerged into the main hall, lit up by a skylight far above them. Esbern gasped and began quickening his pace towards a large structure at the head of a stone table. "Shor's bones, here it is! Alduin's Wall… So well preserved… I've never seen a finer example of early Second Era sculptural relief!"

"Esbern, we need information, not a lecture on art history!" Delphine growled in annoyance.

"Yes, yes, let's see what we have." The man began looking over the wall at one end, holding his torch nearby in order to better make out the details. Noticing a brazier, he dumped a bag of brazier coals he had into it then lit them. The light then spread as the fire upon them grew, letting him see it better. "Look, here is Alduin. This panel goes back to the beginning of time, when Alduin and the Dragon Cult ruled Skyrim." He took a few steps over. "Here, the humans rebel against their dragon overlords – the legendary Dragon War. Alduin's defeat is the centerpiece of the wall," he continued on while illuminating the middle of it, showing an even larger carving of the black dragon. "You see here he is falling from the sky. The Nord Tongues – Masters of the Voice – are arrayed against him."

"So, does it show how they defeated him?" Delphine asked impatiently. "Isn't that what we're here for?"

Esbern sighed. "Patience, my dear. The Akaviri were not a straightforward people. Everything is couched in allegory and mythic symbolism." He looked a little closer and rubbed his finger against one part of the carving. "Yes, yes. This here coming from the mouths of the Nord heroes. The Akaviri symbol for 'Shout'." He waved his torch around as he searched the carving. "But…there's no way to know what Shout is meant."

"You mean they used a Shout to defeat Alduin? You sure?"

"Hm, oh yes. Presumably something rather specific to dragons, or even Alduin himself. Remember, this is where they recorded all they knew of Alduin and his return."

"So we're looking for a Shout then. Damn it!" Delphine turned to Ruby as Esbern continued looking over the wall. "Have you ever heard of such a thing? A Shout that can knock a dragon out of the sky?"

"Not…specifically," Ruby admitted. "I mean, I've knocked one down with Unrelenting Force, but that was at an angle above him. He, uh, what was his name?"

"I think you mean Paalduzaam," Lydia offered.

"Yeah, Paalduzaam. Huh, that's weird. Why don't I remember…?"

"Remember what?" Delphine probed.

"Uh, nothing. Um, so basically, no. I don't know the Shout to make dragons just fall to the ground."

"I was afraid of that. I guess there's nothing for it. We'll have to ask the Greybeards for help. I hoped to avoid involving them in this, but we have no other choice."

"Um, you don't like the Greybeards? What's wrong with them?"

"If they had their way, you'd do nothing but sit up on their mountain with them and talk to the sky, or whatever it is they do. The Greybeards are so afraid of power they won't even use it."

Ruby shared a look with Lydia, who shrugged.

"You know I've already done the sitting on the mountain part, right?" At Delphine's raised eyebrow, Ruby sighed. "Look, they have their reasons for doing things, and they've been a big help to me."

"Really, then why haven't they stopped the civil war or done anything about Alduin?" Ruby tried to think up an answer, but then realized something else behind it. "They haven't. Not a damn thing. And they're afraid of you, of your power." Ruby widened her eyes a little at that, and Delphine shook her head. "Trust me, there's no need to be afraid. Think of Tiber Septim. Do you think he'd have founded the empire if he'd listened to the Greybeards?"

"Well, they have a point. I hurt myself overusing my Voice just before we got here. And I could… I could hurt people."

"It's only dangerous if you don't know how to use it. All the great heroes had to learn how to use their power. Those that shrank from their destiny… Well, you never heard of them have you?" Ruby looked down as she thought it over. "And then there are the villains, those who misused their power. There's always a choice, and there's always a risk. But if you live in fear of what might go wrong, you'll end up doing nothing. Like the Greybeards, up on their mountain."

Ruby put her hands to her hips and let out a huff. "I'll go and see what Argneir can tell me, but as for pushing it… Well, I can't make them talk."

"Just let them know how urgent this is." Delphin looked around a moment and hummed in thought. "We'll look around Sky Haven Temple and see what the old Blades might have left for us. It's a better hideout than I could have hoped for."

"Look here, in the third panel," Esbern called over to them, getting the women's attention again. "This is the prophecy that brought the Akaviri to Tamriel in the first place. The search for the Dragonborn. Here are the Akaviri – the Blades. You see their distinctive longswords?"

"Katana, yeah," Ruby answered as she walked up to the carving.

"Now they kneel, their ancient mission fulfilled, as the Last Dragonborn contends with Alduin at the end of time."

Ruby looked at the carving that was apparently meant to be her, seeing an armored figure standing with a cape splayed behind them, their face turned from the viewers and towards Alduin.

"I don't much see the reason you couldn't have sent these things by courier," Anum-La complained against the cold. Stendarr's Beacon happened to be high on top of a smaller mountain, which took them from the almost bearable non-icy chill of the Rift to the more frozen, higher climate of the Jeralls.

"Sorry, Anum, but this is the kinda thing you gotta do in person." Yang wasn't a fan of the cold either, but still she pushed on. "At least snow's not coming down on us."

"Don't tempt fate. The gods are only so willing to pull us out of a pinch."

They came up to the top and Yang sighed when she saw a pair of fires with both a spit and a cooking pot over them. Three Vigilants were on the ground level, while a fourth was watching from the top of the small tower.

"Hold traveler," a High Elf woman called out before approaching them. "What is it you want?"

"I came across Tolan and Adalvald," Yang said before taking out the pair of amulets. "They fell while fighting vampires. I'm sorry."

The woman took them in hand and sighed. "Stendarr's mercy upon you, sister. Thank you for this, at least. Did they… Was it hard?"

"I'm not sure, but I know Tolan went down swinging," Yang confirmed. "There were several dead vampires where I found him. And Adalvald was defiant until the end. I just wish I could've gotten to them sooner. Oh!" Yang took out Adalvald's notebook. "It's not much use now, but this was his. I don't know where the other two it indicates could be. Dimhollow, at least, is cleared."

"Thank you, again." She flipped through the book and sighed. "I feel so…useless up here, but Brother Hof says we need to recuperate before we can go back into Skyrim. We were hoping Brother Tolan could get the Dawnguard to help us, but…"

"But the Dawnguard would want you to join, not just make an alliance."

"It's selfish, what he's doing. I hope he realizes that before it's too late."

"To be fair, they're still setting up. Heck, the actual Dawnguard barely has anyone. I'm not even a member, but they've needed my help a bunch lately."

"Well, maybe we could use your help." The woman looked behind herself and then back to Yang. "Listen, there's a chapel where several of our brothers and sisters have taken refuge, but we haven't heard from them in a while."

"Want me to check on it?"

"If you could. I'd send a courier, but that'd require going down to Riften. Brother Hof said we could try next time we get supplies, but…"

"You're worried?"

"Yes, I'm worried!" she practically shouted, before wincing contritely. "Sorry, I shouldn't have raised my voice there. You can't… Or maybe you could. It doesn't matter. Please, just let us know what's going on. I can't wait for supplies to dwindle down on top of the time for the letter to reach them and receive a response."

"It's okay. I'll check up on your friends, don't worry."

"At least this time, it should be much warmer," Anum-La complained.

"Oh, let me get you something warm before you leave. It's the least I can do."

"Many thanks."

After receiving a warm mug of what Yang could only think of as watery hot chocolate, the two headed back down and towards Riften. The cold, thankfully, left them after a while and Yang began to sigh in relief.

"You wouldn't think of fifty degrees as warm until you've spent a good while in way below freezing temperature."

"Honestly, to me it just feels like this land can't decide whether it wants to just freeze my tail off or freeze me solid," Anum said before giving a short laugh. Yang suddenly paused in her steps, making the Argonian halt as well, and then a man riding a donkey came down the road, pausing at the sight of the blonde.

"Hair bright yellow…" he muttered before looking in an overstuffed pack at his side and then pulling out a piece of paper. "Excuse me, are you Yang, uh, Ex-ee-o Long?"

"It's pronounced 'sh-ih-ow', and yes, that's me."

"Oh. Sorry about that, ma'am. I've got a letter for you. Not sure who from. No sender's name. Just says a friend." He passed it down to her and Yang opened it.

Hail Companion,

I apologize for this ruse, but I sent this letter to you in hopes that it would not be intercepted, and in truth, its words are meant for another. I wish to speak with this person outside the ruins of Folgunthur, by the marsh that reminds her of home. Give her my regards, as I hope the both of you are well.

Sincerely,

An Old Friend

"Huh, looks like it's actually for you," Yang said while looking up. "Wait, where'd he go?"

"He left as soon as you took it. Couriers are usually too busy to linger," Anum-La explained. "And what was it? For me?"

"Yeah. Says it's an old friend," Yang told her as she handed the letter over. She looked back at where the courier had disappeared to and saw him and his donkey becoming less and less visible through the trees around the roads. "Fast little boogers."

"An old friend?" Anum-La muttered while going over the letter. After a second, she nodded. "Well, I think we can rule out Arnwulf. This person's knowledge of the alphabet goes beyond the letter 'C'. As for who it is, well, I have no idea. In life, you make a lot of friends and a lot of enemies, and this could be from any one of them."

"Well, they did go through the trouble of sending this. They could be for real and might need some help. And if it is someone looking to get us, I could always use the exercise," Yang bragged while stretching out her arms for emphasis.

"Ha haha! You remind me of myself. There wasn't a trap alive I couldn't swing my way out of." Her expression cooled, though, as she crossed her arms. "That's why Dalum-Ei used to always remind me…youth fades. Every day your swing gets a little heavier, your feet a little slower. In time, you learn it's better to avoid the traps altogether. That, or you don't live to see another."

"I won't argue with the wisdom of that, but my swings and my feet are plenty light for now." Yang nodded. "We can check on it while I'm seeing about these guys Isran wants me to check out."

"Good enough for me. Can't help but wonder who it is, and why the caution." Anum-La looked at the letter again before folding it up and stashing it away.

Ruby stretched her arms and yawned as she exited her room in the Frostfruit Inn. As she sleepily walked into the main hall, she took out Dragonbane, an ancient Akaviri katana that she'd found when poking through some rooms at Sky Haven Temple before leaving, and looked over it again. It had etchings on both sides, one in the Akavir symbols, and the other in Dovahzul, which was how she knew its name. Like the Dragonguard helm, it was enchanted by an ancient technique, which Esbern had told her gave it the power to deal more damage to dragons. It was an odd thing to have as an enchantment in her mind, but she figured if anyone would have made something like that, it was an order of ancient dragonslayers.

She groaned as memories came to mind of fighting said dragonslayers. For a moment she concentrated, separating 'then' from 'now'.

"Guess I got more to talk to Argneir about," she mumbled under her breath. She then set the katana aside and looked at the plans on her scroll. She wasn't sure if Yang had gone over them yet, but after digging up an old and worn suit of Akaviri armor and a few books on their designs and a few others, she had some ideas for improvements on Qahpeyt. The design might have been ancient, but if its proliferation in both worlds meant anything, it was telling in its effectiveness.

A pair of boots stumbled in as the door was pushed upon and a man nearly tripped over his own feet as he entered.

"A, uh, excuse me, is a 'Metalla Fan' here?" the courier asked, clearly confused. Ruby snorted and raised her hand.

"That'd be me."

"Oh, yes. It seems to be. Match the description… I have a letter for you. Your hands only." He handed over the sheet of paper, and Ruby broke the wax seal before opening it.

Ruby, this is very urgent. I don't know why, but the dragon we've been looking into seems to have gone mad. It went from skulking about to burning down homes and attacking caravans, as though trying to cause a scene. Some Legionnaires tried to stop it, but they were massacred. However, everyone and everything points to Shearpoint Mountain as its lair. It goes there after every attack, almost certain to leave witnesses.

Something's not right about this, but I fear what it intends by doing all of this. Quickly write back to me, and I'll see if I can't assist you in taking him down before much more damage is done.

Forest Son

Ruby reread the letter again then looked back at the courier as he made to leave.

"Wait!" she called out to him. "What do you know about a dragon from Shearpoint?"

"Shea- Shearpoint?" he quivered out. "There's this monstrous dragon out that way that's been attacking everything that moves it seems. I- I'm afraid to go anywhere near there!"

"Wait, I think I heard something about that," another patron said while turning to them. "A young woman lost her whole family to that thing. She said it chased her for miles, but seemed like it wasn't even interested in killing her."

"I heard he burnt an entire refugee caravan, only leaving behind a single child!"

"Wasn't there a group of miners that got scorched inside a cave not too long ago? Do you think he did that, too?!"

As more and more patrons spoke up about the atrocities committed, Ruby grit her teeth in anger.

'Another one!'

"Lydia!" she yelled while going back into their room, catching the housecarl as she was pulling on her armor.

"Ruby?"

"Hurry up! We've got to get going! Quick, how long will it take us to reach Shearpoint Mountain?"

"Shearpoint? Well, if I remember rightly, that's…halfway between Whiterun and Windhelm."

Ruby grunted in anger as she pulled at her hair. "Too long! He'll have… Hhhhaaaaaaaaaahhhhhgggghhhhh!"

"What's all the ruckus!?" a well-dressed man demanded while coming to the door of their room.

"I'm sorry, sir. My Thane is having…difficulties."

"We need to get to Shearpoint as quick as possible!" Ruby yelled from behind her. "People are… They're dying!" Tears stung at the edges of her eyes, and the man hummed in thought.

"Well, I have some Whiterun scrolls, but I keep those for emergencies. This however… I'd say it counts, but they don't come chea-"

"How much?" Ruby demanded.

"Oh, uh, I don't know what the exact cost for them is, but they're around five hundred-" Ruby snatched up her bag and dug through it, finding the place where she kept her denars hidden and pulling out a handful.

"I need two!"

The man looked at her fistful of coins and shook his head. "Tell you what, keep the money for now. I'll get you those scrolls, Thane. Meet me outside when you're ready." The man turned to leave, and Ruby started packing anything that wasn't already packed.

"My Thane, you need to-" Lydia paused her words as Ruby sucked in a deep, sudden breath and let it go. A second one followed, then a third, gentler one.

"He's baiting me," Ruby growled out in realization. "He has to be. He's doing all of those…things to catch my attention."

"Then it's a trap," Lydia relayed.

"That's his mistake." Ruby got back to packing and going over supplies. "We're going to make him pay for it."

"Absolutely, Ruby," her housecarl agreed. "But we can't let it get to our heads."

"I… You're right." Ruby took another calming breath and looked at Lydia. "I'm sorry if I snapped at you."

"It's fine." The Nord threw on her cuirass and began buckling it into place. "Let's go and stop a dragon."

Minutes later, the two were outside and accepting a pair of enchanted scrolls from the man.

"Godspeed, Dragonborn," he said, and Ruby nodded.

"Thank you. Wait, how'd you know?"

"Well, dragon scale armor, red hair, Thane of Whiterun, itching to kill a dragon." He chortled and Ruby laughed nervously.

"Yeah, guess it's obvious. Thank you, mister."

"Rorik. Just put them to good use."

Ruby nodded, and she and Lydia both opened and activated their scrolls. A moment later, space whirled around them, twisting and turning before returning to normal, revealing they were now at the front steps of Whiterun's walls. Without saying a word to one another, Ruby and Lydia turned and headed towards the stable to rent a pair of horses to take them to Shearpoint Mountain, determined not to let anything get in their way.