Of Elder Scrolls and Huntsmen: Dragon Rose

by JessesanMan

Team RWBY finds themselves in a strange, new world where Grimm are nonexistent and magic is commonplace. They journey to find a way home, but along the way are caught up in several ancient prophecies and must save this world they find themselves in. As time goes on, they adapt to the dangerous land of Skyrim and fight against its foes be they small, large, or godly.

94. Triple Threat

Sorry it took so long, but we're back with a new chapter. If you don't know, working two jobs can suck the life out of you. A hearty thank you to xTRESTWHOx and NaanContributor for carrying me along.

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Chapter 91: Triple Threat

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27th of Morning Star

---

Ruby and Weiss slowly poked their heads up from the portal, peering over the stones in Mundus while standing on the ones in Oblivion. Where the planes met, there was a strange, tingling sensation on their bodies that felt weird to the Huntresses, if not discomforting. But they weren't focused on that. Instead, they were focusing on the scene they happened upon. Squared up against Yang, Blake, and Lydia were four vampires in Volkihar-style garb, comprised of two Nords, a Bosmer, and a Dunmer. Weiss recognized the two elves as the alchemist Feran Sadri and his assistant Ronthil, though she couldn't quite place the Nords.

One of the Nords, who had a face even more beastly than Feran's, spotted them before they could slink back down and pointed a finger at the two girls.

"I knew it!" he cried out, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's a portal of some kind! Bet it leads to somewhere important."

"Wait," the other Nord said. "Don't that one look like someone we know?"

Weiss sighed as Feran's eyebrows went up, followed by a smirk from the dark elf vampire as he craned his neck to get a look at her.

"Well now. I thought the werewolf looked familiar," Feran said while stroking his chin. "Dear Weiss, please come up and…let your brethren know what's going on."

Grumbling under her breath, Weiss figured the best thing to do right now was to play along with it. At the very least, Feran didn't sound so much suspicious as he did amused, which told her that their jig wasn't up just yet.

Weiss confidently walked up and out of the Soul Cairn Portal, taking a good, long glance at the vampires before her. The two unknowns felt average for the Volkihars. Feran, of course, was old and experienced. Ronthil was new, probably having only been in the clan for a few years, if it could even be counted in years yet. Serana walked up behind her, with Ruby coming in from the rear with Crescent Rose in gun mode.

"Lady Serana?" Ronthil squeaked out, seeing the vampire princess and immediately becoming confused about the protocol. "Is this… Wait, have you found…more Elder Scrolls?" He blinked and shook his head after spotting the twin objects tied to Weiss and Serana's backs.

"So you've been looking for the Elder Scrolls this whole time?" he asked, pointing at the artifacts in question. Serana briefly flinched at her lapse in judgement, but otherwise was able to maintain her composure. Feran seemed to notice, but the two Nords clearly didn't.

"And they found two of them," the darker-haired Nord pointed out with interest dripping from his words. The blond looked at him, and they shared a smirk.

"The rewards for bringing two Elder Scrolls to His Grace would be immense indeed," the blond pointed out in a conspiratorial tone, ignoring how everyone could clearly hear them.

"I can only imagine how thankful he'd be," he added then looked at Serana directly. "Especially if...they're connected to the prophecy."

"What you think, Feran?" the beastly one asked their Dunmer companion. "We get rid of these filthy mortals, teach the newblood a lesson, then bring back the Scrolls and Serana to Lord Harkon, and then we'll all get plenty rewarded."

"Oh, we certainly would be rewarded," Feran agreed with a nod. "If, of course, we somehow managed to defeat them all. A Khajiit noted for destroying swaths of dark cults and assassin temples, a werewolf who reportedly toppled the Silver-Bloods' little empire, the rising protegee of Harkon himself, and the Dragonborn dragonslayer."

For a moment, both sides were confused. Team RWBY and their two friends were shocked at how much the vampire knew, and how it led to him almost sounding like he was siding with them. The two vampires were just blindsided by all of the information they had been given. However, they soon were over it and back to squaring up against the women.

"Whatever," the blonde dismissed. "It's all a bunch of rumors, anyways."

"They're nothing compared to us," the darker-haired Nord agreed with a firm nod, letting his fangs show in an intimidation display.

"You're both idiots," Feran said with a sigh. "Ronthil, take your vengeance."

Before anyone could question what he meant, a fist burst through both the Nord vampires' chests, holding their hearts in either one. Ronthil ripped his arms back out from them, holding their hearts firmly, even as they turned to ash in his grips.

"I've always hated you two," he growled out as the vampires fell to their knees, clutching their hands to their chests in a futile attempt to stem the bleeding while trying to look back at him with fear and confusion on their faces. "I get a lot of shit from just about everyone here, but you two...! Well, say hello to Lord Bal for me."

Gasping, the two fell all the way to the ground, dying for what would likely be the last time.

"Sorry about that mess, all of you," Feran told them as though apologizing about a spilled drink, taking out a jar for Ronthil to put the ashes into. "These two saw...something in the courtyard. It was hard to make out, as they didn't have the vocabulary needed to pass on what they saw, but it was clear a secret passage was discovered, and you two were seen with a 'bunch of mortals' heading in."

"So, you investigated," Serana figured as she tried to determine what Feran's angle was.

"There was no choice. I knew it had to have been something important, especially since you were being secretive about this whole thing," Feran pointed out as he nonchalantly sealed the jar of vampire ashes and packed it away. "I knew this would end one of very few ways, almost all of them with those two fools dead."

"You killed them to get rid of witnesses," Weiss said. "That only helps us."

"For now, perhaps, but I'm certain it will help us all, as a collective, in the end. I don't care much for the power plays of the others, but this isn't one of those. Serana has no ladder to climb. She's, for all intents and purposes, Harkon's heir and his true second, no matter what Vingalmo or Orthjolf might think. Weiss is a hand-picked protégée of our lord, and she has already proven herself to him. Whatever you're doing, it's not for yourselves."

He smiled in a way that reminded RWBY of when their teachers had found something funny in class, if a bit darker. To Weiss, it seemed as though Feran knew, or at least suspected, more than he was letting on, but it was impossible to tell where his thoughts truly lied.

"Not curious about the specifics?" Serana asked him, just as suspicious as her fellow vampire.

"I'm sure you have it all figured out," Feran dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Just like I'm certain you have your reasons for this...interesting collection of mortals following you."

"...Thanks," Serana replied after a moment, deciding to take the offering. "That makes everything easier. We'll be heading out soon, then. Just gotta make sure nothing crawls out of this Oblivion portal."

"Understood. Castle Volkihar barely survived the last time the denizens of Oblivion invaded the realm en masse. The last thing we need is for such an opening to persist right under our noses," Feran agreed, with Ronthil nodding alongside his master. "We'll take these corpses to be eaten by the death hounds above, then. It'll be quite the laugh at the dinner table."

With that, the vampire alchemist and his assistant turned around and left the room, dragging the corpses away and leaving the party behind. They stared forward, watching then listening as their footsteps echoed down the stone corridors. Only when they could no longer hear him, not even Blake, did they turn around to face each other.

"Guys," Ruby began, "we need to get out of here. Now."

---

"That was all fairly nerve-wracking," Weiss said once everyone sans Blake was in the Refuge, the Faunus using her array of stealth abilities to sneak out of the castle undetected far more effectively than any of the others could.

"Well, it could've been worse," Ruby pointed out. "We could've actually had to fight our way through a whole castle full of the strongest vampires in Skyrim."

"Vampiric politics continue to serve in our favor. And we did succeed in our mission," Lydia concurred. "We've found the second Elder Scroll. All we need now is the third one to figure out what Harkon is after."

"Actually we know what he's after," Weiss corrected her, a solemn tone taking over her voice. "He wants to find and retrieve Auriel's Bow, then corrupt it with the blood of a Daughter of Coldharbour."

"He wants to what?" Yang asked, recoiling at the implications while Serana merely sighed.

"My mother explained it as much as she could on the way back to Mundus," Serana began to explain as she took a deep breath. "If my father does this, whether it kills me or not, he could control the sun itself.

"By firing an arrow into it? How does that work?" Yang asked as she scratched her head. "How would an arrow even get that far, anyway?"

"Nirn's sun isn't like Remnant's, Yang," Weiss began to explain. "Ours is a big ball of gas, constantly burning and giving off massive amounts of heat, energy, and light."

"That still sounds strange to me," Lydia muttered under her breath, with Serana nodding in agreement, but Weiss ignored them both.

"Nirn's, however, isn't an actual star as we view them. None of the stars in the night sky are. They're actually holes to Aetherius, made when the Magne-Ge fled the creation of Mundus. The sun is simply the hole that Magnus left behind when he fled," Weiss continued. "It serves the same function as our sun, just with a completely different method."

"Weiss is correct," Serana stated as she leaned forward in her chair, clasping her hands together. "Combined with the divine power of Auriel's Bow, all an archer would have to do is aim at the sun and launch an arrow. The godly power would send it sailing right through the hole Magnus made straight into Aetherius, which my father is counting on. If he manages to get Auriel's Bow and fire an arrow made with my or my mother's blood into the sun, he could blot it out eternally. Vampires of all kinds would be able to walk about in the daylight with no issues."

"Not to mention the environmental impact," Weiss added, with Ruby nodding along in agreement while Serana and Lydia looked inquisitively at the heiress.

"The what?" Lydia asked.

"You know," Ruby started, gesturing her hands in a rolling motion. "Plants need sunlight to live. Herbivores eat plants. Carnivores eat herbivores. Without sunlight, everything alive would just...die."

"I didn't even consider that," Serana mused while tapping her chin with her finger, her frown deepening as the implications settled. "Yes. No matter what, we can't let this happen. We need to find the last Scroll and then secure the Bow."

"Would it not make sense to not find the Bow?" Lydia asked. "If the Scrolls are out of Harkon's reach, then it stands to reason that he can't find Auriel's Bow."

"Were it only that simple," Serana answered with a sigh. "Father's doing everything he can to secure this. He's been obsessed with this prophecy for thousands of years, and he's unlikely to abandon it when he's so close to actually achieving his goal. Everything my father's done has been building up to this. He's even expanded the clan. I heard about and saw him taking in the 'weak-bloods' that he used to despise and making them Vampire Lords in order to fill out the ranks. He's ready to go to war with the world. While I don't know if he can win, he can certainly do a lot of damage."

"We've given it some thought," Weiss started, "and we think that the best thing would be to find the Bow, then hide it within Oblivion somewhere. The Refuge could work, but it shouldn't be our first choice for the same reason Valerica eventually decided against staying here."

Yang spoke up at that. "There's always the chance that somebody could take the amulet and get in here."

"Yes. Same with the Scrolls, really. I think, until we find a suitable place in Oblivion, the safest place for these things is on our persons." Weiss shifted her shoulders as she took off the Elder Scroll and set it down on the main room's bed. "Which is going to be hell on my back."

"I can tote it for ya," the blonde offered.

"Thank you," Weiss replied with sincere relief in her voice. "I really appreciate it."

That was when Blake appeared in the center of the room, Gauldur Amulet in hand.

"Got us out of sight of the castle," she declared. "Should be safe for you all to come out."

"Good job, Blake," Ruby said with a pat to the Faunus' shoulder. "Right, our next move is to get the third Scroll."

"Down in the depths of Blackreach," Lydia reminded her. "A place few have dared travel and even fewer return from."

"I imagine we're a little tougher than the average group heading down there," Yang pointed out.

"True, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," Weiss interjected. "We need to prepare for this. If what we've read is even half-true, then Blackreach isn't merely some cave. It's an underground network the size of an entire Hold, maybe several. It was also the center of Dwemeri civilization in Skyrim, unlike the mere outposts and factories most of the ruins we've traversed so far appear to be."

"If the city Blake and I saw below Irkngthand is any sign, those places can get pretty big and complex," Yang conceded.

"And we only went through a part of it," Blake recalled. "An outer district, maybe. Do you think we have to get into the center of this one?"

"I'm not sure," Weiss admitted. "All we have to go on is the entry point we were pointed to and 'Tower Mzark'. I've been brushing up on my Dwemeri alphabet, so I might be able to find it once we're down there, but in all honesty, we're effectively winging it."

"Which means we'll need to be prepared," Ruby concluded. "We're going to stock up at Whiterun, load and unload whatever we need."

"There's also a few things I should check on at Duskfall," Weiss added. "Some of it might be able to help us in the long run."

"Right. So our very next step is to rest, recuperate, resupply, and ready ourselves," Blake stated. Suddenly, something squeaked, and then a blur of red and blue landed on her head.

"Hey! What the…!"

"Briiviing, ni!" Ruby called out, and then the dragonling hopped off and glided towards the Dragonborn, who caught her and held her like a cat.

"I think she likes you, Blake," Ruby giggled as she hugged the dragonling affectionately.

The Faunus sighed as she straightened out her hair, then flatly admitted, "Still better than the dog."

---

When the party got near Duskfall Haven, Weiss and Serana were dropped off while the rest continued on to Whiterun. It wouldn't be hard to catch up to the rest, and Serana wasn't sure how the Duskfall vampires would feel about a bunch of super-powered mortals being led to their sanctuary.

Upon entering, Weiss noticed a change in the atmosphere. A tension was hanging over the place that she almost felt she could grab. The look on the faces of the vampires let her know that something had happened or was happening that put them all on alert. When they reached Jarmak, she had hoped he would be unaffected by the miasma of stress, but even his face looked tightened in worry.

"Weiss, Serana," he greeted them with a small hum. "It is good to see you."

"What's going on?" Serana suddenly asked, apparently feeling everything Weiss had on their way in. "Everyone looks like the whole county picked up torches and pitchforks and are on their way here."

"Ah, that." He hummed while rubbing his chin in thought. "It's...not as bad as many think, but it is a bad sign. A few days ago, around twenty vampires up and left. They took little with them, but more concerning was their destination: Volkihar Castle."

Serana's jaw dropped, and her eyes widened while Weiss exclaimed, "You're kidding!"

"Hmm, afraid not. More troubling is the possibility of why," Jarmak answered. "One of those who left arrived merely three days before. I believe now that he was a member of Harkon's court, looking for recruits."

"It's getting big, whatever my father's doing," Serana said as she raked her fingers back through her hair. "Gods, but I wish I knew what he was thinking. I can't remember a time where such a large army of vampires was formed."

"The Gray Host," Jarmak answered. "Hmm, but even that was not vampires alone, but an alliance of many sorts of...dark creatures."

"So, it's really unprecedented?" Weiss asked. "We don't even have numbers for how many are at Castle Volkihar, and we know for a fact they have outposts and bases spread around, just no idea where or how many."

"Hmm, yes." Jarmak pondered the information for a moment. "It appears he is truly amassing an army. He believes the time is nigh."

"The time?" Weiss asked.

"The time where vampires will rule the world," Jarmak stated, an angry, dark intonation finding its way into his normally calm voice. "When Molag Bal's chosen hold Tamriel's fate in their hands."

---

Weiss walked further back into the Haven. Jarmak's words had left a bit of a chilling effect on her, but she knew she couldn't let it get to her. As she neared her destination, a four-legged blur of black charged out into the hallway to intercept her.

"Ah, hello Leslie," Weiss greeted the death hound, who immediately started wagging her tail and panting heavily as she received greeting pats.

"W-weiss?" Gilly called out before coming from her room. "Oh, I…wasn't ex-pecting you."

"We came by for a few things, but I figured I should check and see how you were doing." While Weiss wasn't as familiar with the young woman as she was with her friends, the two still had a bond. The heiress also felt a modicum of responsibility toward her fellow vampire, seeing as she was the reason the poor waif had been pulled deeper into the world of darkness.

"Well. I mean, I'm d-d-doing…" Gilly stammered, then shook her head and paused for a moment. "Well. I'm doing…well."

"Right. And Leslie seems to be doing fine, too," Weiss pointed out while continuing to pet the undead beast.

"Oh, she's doing good. We, uh, take walks sometimes." Gilly brushed some of her locks back from her face while looking down. "Uh, I learned ice phasing."

"Really? That's good!"

And surprising. Weiss recalled her 'lesson' in ice phasing and figured that Gilly wouldn't have volunteered to go through such a thing, nor would Jarmak have put someone so underprepared through it. More than likely, she just happened to have a talent for it.

"Y-yeah. Thanks. Um…" She tried to make eye contact, failed, and then cast her gaze back down at her feet.

"Is there something the matter?" Weiss asked her, hoping it wasn't too major.

"It's, um, just that… I've been here a little while. Since before New Life, and… It's safe and quiet, but… I think…I want to go back to traveling with you all."

Weiss took that in and blinked slowly. She hadn't expected the quiet farmgirl to suddenly ask to join her on their 'adventures'. Everything about it felt like a bad idea. Especially considering their next destination.

"Gilly, I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Weiss began to explain. "We're not just traveling around. We're going to some dangerous places. We aren't even sure if we'll be safe going to this next one, and… Well, you're not much of a fighter."

"I know," the girl breathed out. "I know I'm not, but…I've been thinking. Everything scares me. Harkon. The vampires in that castle. The vampires here. The people above. That…monk." Her brow furrowed. "I think back to…that time. When I pushed him off the cliff. It's…stuck. His face. He wasn't scared, but… He had so much hatred on his face, even as…he fell."

Gilly managed to look up and meet her eyes, and Weiss was taken aback by what she saw. The fear that so characterized the farmgirl in her mind was gone, replaced by a look of furious determination.

"Men like him…they won't go away. There's always going to be ones like him. Forever. I…have to fight. I have to learn how to p-protect myself, and I c-c-can't do that…hiding down here forever." She shook her head. "I can't do much now, but I can learn. I c-an cook and get the camp gear straightened while I learn and we travel. I…know it'll be hard but…I have to try. I can't…live in fear forever."

Weiss felt her heart tighten at that. She had to look away herself for a moment before turning her sight back to Gilly and seeing that, while some of her anxiety had returned, she still held her gaze evenly.

It wasn't one-to-one. No two lives were ever the same, but Weiss saw a reflection there that she couldn't ignore.

"The final say isn't mine," she finally admitted after a moment of thought. "But I'll take you to where we're meeting with the team. Maybe… Maybe we can take you along."

Gilly smiled, her stiffened limbs unwinding as the tension left her body, from both her apprehension and braced willpower.

"T-thank you, Weiss." She suddenly shot forward and wrapped the heiress in a hug. Weiss was startled for a second, but then slowly hugged her back, a smile on her face.

---

It wasn't that Ruby didn't know how to prepare for long trips. She simply wasn't the best of their team at it. That honor went to Weiss, who somehow was able to plan and organize their logistics to an uncanny degree. Ruby could still do it to an acceptable level, but there were a lot of factors she didn't have, such as how long the trip was going to be.

"I mean, normally we don't need that much food, because we could always forage or hunt for some more, or we could find someone or someplace that could sell us food," Ruby told herself as she held a few foodstuffs in her hands. "But, I don't think we can eat anything down there. I know chaurus are mostly toxic, but what if we get lost and we're down there for a month and that's all there is?"

"Ruby, I'm sure we won't starve to death," Blake told her while going over the dried and smoked meats and fish they had just purchased. In short, there was a lot, not that Blake was offering any complaints about the latter. "We don't even have to worry about running out of light sources either like we would back home, since we all have spells for that now."

"We can start up a garden in the Refuge," Ruby then figured after a moment of thought, completely ignoring her teammate in favor of focusing on the task at hand. "Might take a while for the plants to grow, but Weiss knows that plant growth magic."

Ruby paused for a moment, then she snapped her fingers and declared, "We can stick food in the multiplying chest thingy!"

"Okay, Rubes, stop worrying so much," Yang told her with a tussle of her hair, an action that Ruby sputtered at while slapping away her hand. Yang simply laughed at her reaction while continuing, "Weiss will catch up to us in a little while, then you can delegate all the careful preparation to her."

"It's not like weight is an issue anymore," Lydia pointed out. "Anything you think is proper for storing in a house could be stored in the Refuge."

"Yeah, still not used to factoring that into our plans," Ruby admitted. "The fact we don't need camping gear alone shaved several pounds off our carry weight."

"Not to mention your collection of weapons."

Ruby turned and pointed at Blake. "You're one to talk!"

"I use all of the ones I've picked up," the Faunus defended herself.

"...Okay, fair, but it's not like I can abandon the blade I created with my own hands for the ebony saber that my best friend gave to me for my birthday and the katana made specifically to fight dragons!"

"Well, when you put it like that…"

A knock sounded on the door to Breezehome, cutting the two girls off, and Yang stood up from her comfy spot next to the fire.

"I got it," she called before grabbing and pulling the latch to see a panting woman in the Whiterun Guard uniform, her helmet held in her hands. "Hey, what can we-"

"Thank Kyne you're here!" the guard desperately declared. "It's… There's a situation at Riverwood! Dragons!"

At the mention of the dreaded beings, they all stood to attention.

---

"Mere minutes ago, we received words from Riverwood by runner," Balgruuf the Greater explained to the collection of guardsmen, Huntresses, and Companions. Along with Yang, the rest of the Circle had been summoned. Luckily, they were all present and had answered the jarl's summons, even Kodlak.

"Three dragons appeared in Riverwood a few days ago," Irileth continued for her jarl. "They encircled the village and made a few displays of their ice and fire breath. Since then, they've besieged the people and have made demands of them."

"What kind of demands?" Ruby asked, genuinely wondering what the dragons would be after. Especially if three of them were working in tandem.

"The messenger never got around to that before collapsing," Balggruuf admitted before shaking his head. "He ran all the way from Riverwood until he made it here. Even as swift as those Bosmer can run, that's no short sprint."

"Whatever they want, we need to go down there and put a stop to it," Farkas spoke up.

"My brother is right," Vilkus followed up. "No matter their demands, they're still threatening the people. If a group of men did the same, we'd label them bandits."

"Exactly. Companions, I hold no more sway over you than any jarl, even if you rest in my city," Balgruuf told the Circle's members. "However, I plead that you defend the people of Skyrim in this matter."

"We hear your pleas, Jarl Balgruuf," Kodlak answered with a fist pounded against his chest. "I'll fight for Skyrim's people any day, and I'll fight for them now. And I believe my fellows feel the same."

The Circle nodded in agreement with Kodlak, letting the jarl know they were ready to go.

"Thank you, friend." He then looked over to Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Lydia. "And you, my thanes, will you rise in defense of Whiterun?"

"Absolutely, sir," Ruby answered with a far softer chest thump.

"As for the rest of you," he spoke to the collection of guards, "go and defend Whiterun's people. Follow the commands of Thane Blake and Thane Ruby as though their words were my own. Meet at the gates and march out within the hour!"

The small crowd gave out an affirmative shout and then scattered to prepare. Unlike the trip Team RWBY and their company were planning, the road to Riverwood was a few days at most, so most of the guards would probably be ready to go before the hour was up.

"Well, at least we're ready to go," Yang mused.

"Yeah, but…what did Balgruuf mean by that?" Ruby wondered.

"By what?"

"He told them that me and Blake are in charge," Ruby explained. "He didn't mention you as a thane."

"Huh?" Yang thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. "Well, I guess it's cuz I'm a Companion."

"I'm a Companion, too," Ruby reminded her.

"Oh yeah. I, uh, kinda forgot that," the blonde admitted. When Ruby shot her an almost offended look, Yang hastily added, "I'm sorry, you haven't exactly been a part of the big Companion stuff lately! It's just been me!"

"The rumors about what happened in the Reach have gotten around," they heard, cutting off the argument before it could really begin, and they turned to see Kodlak approaching them. "The others told me about what happened, but it was only days before word of mouth made it as well, if a bit distorted."

"I heard some whispers, but I didn't think much of them," Blake spoke up. "It all seemed to lead up to a tall tale about Yang fighting the whole Markarth guard, the escaped prisoners, and the Silver-Bloods' forces all at once."

"I coulda," the blonde lightly boasted. "But yeah, that didn't happen. It was all at separate times."

"And about you becoming a Lord Thane over a significant area of land?" Kodlak asked.

"Well…that was pretty sudden." Yang grinned and rubbed her neck. "It's not a big issue, right?"

"It's a complicated one," Kodlak admitted with a nod. "I can't tell you that you can't own land or be a lord over land and be a Companion at the same time. Indeed, several in history have. But, at the end of the day, you have a loyalty to that land and the people who reside there. Can you promise that it won't bring you into conflict with your brothers and sisters-in-arms?"

Yang's face went serious as she thought deeply about the situation. In fact, Kodlak's point there was something she was fearful about. Not just when it came to being the Thane of Reachwater Run, but also about being the Arda. Both titles came with a lot of baggage, but one was significantly heavier than the other.

"I can promise that mine will never be on the attack," she eventually settled on saying. "But, I made an oath to defend the land and its people, just like I made an oath to defend Whiterun. I'm not going to march on anyone else's land, but I'm not letting them do it to the ones I swore to protect either."

Kodlak let out a grunt and nodded. "A fair answer. I hope you never see yourself pushed between one oath or the other in this. At the very least, you should never have to worry about one of ours clashing with you." He uncrossed his arms and swung them in and out as though to work out a kink in his back. "Walk with me a moment, Yang. There's something I wish to tell you before we depart."

"All right. I'll see you guys in a minute," she said to the rest of her team as she followed the old Nord. Ruby and Blake gave her a parting wave each as they headed out, but the two werewolves went deeper into the palace. Yang wondered if they were allowed to go further in like this, but no guards made to stop them, and Kodlak seemed to know where he was going. Up a flight of stairs and then down a long hallway, Kodlak pushed open one of two giant doors to reveal a giant room with one wall open to the sky.

"Whoa," Yang intoned at the sight, spotting a second dining table set out in the rather pleasant looking sunlight. "I've seen some big back porches before, but this…"

"This is the Great Porch. Long ago, it's where Olaf One-Eye imprisoned the dragon Numinex." He pointed up, and Yang looked to the ceiling to see what looked like a massive yoke chained up.

"Ah, I see." At least now she could understand how that story might work. The yoke was so thick and reinforced with giant, iron bands that she believed it could hold all but the biggest dragons if chained properly. If she was seeing things right, then it looked like it snapped into place around the target's neck with two wrought iron hooks, both several inches thick.

"Man, the old Nords built to last," Yang finally said with an appreciative whistle.

"They say it's maintained for appearances if nothing else. But we're not here for that. With all the guards preparing, everyone's running around inside." He nodded towards the table. "Let's sit. This may take a moment."

The two went over to the table and pulled up a couple of chairs. Kodlak sighed as his legs were relieved of his weight and, after a moment, he looked over to Yang.

"You've gone through a lot since coming here, lass," Kodlak finally began, and Yang nodded after a moment.

"That's…not wrong." Yang took a deep breath and slowly released it. "Don't know if we've explained everything about it to you, but…Skyrim and Tamriel, in general, are a lot different than what we're used to."

"I can only imagine."

"But…the whole thing with the Silver-Bloods." Yang shivered, rubbing her arms with her hands at some of the memories that came to her. Along with the stinging of silver in the air, seeping into every other breath and always dusting onto her skin, was the memories of the people there. Lines of good and bad were blurred as men as innocent as they came, unrepentant killers, and everything in-between were thrown into the same cell with the same troubles and the same means. Yang could tell that she was expected to fall in line with it all, eventually.

"All because one man wanted to make a few more septims," she hissed. "And another just wanted closure."

"I can tell the experience has wounded you, lass, but I can also see that it's begun to heal."

She gave him a smile, overwriting the cold feelings crawling through her skin.

"Well, I've got a lot of good friends who were there for me in the end. Willing to bust down gates and start prison breaks."

Kodlak nodded. "Truth be told, I was ready to gather all the Companions and bring them to Markarth to get you out." He closed his eyes and nodded. "I'm glad it didn't come to such. Compared to the blood that might have been shed, a few exiles and executions were merciful."

Yang nodded at that, not having much more to add. Thonar's death…still did little emotionally for Yang. What was more satisfying was the slow but steady return of property to the people as the investigation before and after his public hanging commenced.

Restitution was far more satisfying than revenge.

"Yang, I've talked to you before about finding a cure," Kodlak suddenly said, gaining the blonde's full attention, her eyes going wide.

"Huh?" she responded. "You don't mean… You…"

"Tell me, Yang, do you know the story of how we became werewolves?"

She thought it over a moment before, in the end, realizing she honestly didn't know the original story.

"No. All I know is Aela and Skjor," she winced, hoping that she hadn't opened any old wounds there, "saw it positively. Vilkas, not so much. Farkas is…neutral? Hard to tell with him sometimes. Yeah, not really sure if it was a blessing or a curse."

"More complicated than either," Kodlak agreed.

"How did it happen?"

"As you may know now," Kodlak began to explain, "the Companions are nearly five thousand years old. This matter of beastblood has only troubled us for a few hundred. One of my predecessors was a good, but short-sighted man. He made a bargain with the witches of Glenmoril Coven. If the Companions would hunt in the name of their lord, Hircine, we would be granted great power."

"Ah, shoot," Yang muttered, seeing where this story was going.

"They did not believe the change would be permanent. The witches offered payment, like anyone else. But we had been deceived. The disease, you see, affects not just our bodies. It seeps into the spirit. Upon death, werewolves are claimed by Hircine for his Hunting Grounds. For some, this is a paradise. They want nothing more than to chase prey with their master for eternity. And that is their choice. But I am still a true Nord. And I wish for Sovngarde as my spirit home."

"So, you managed to figure out a cure, then?" Yang asked hopefully.

"I've spent many of my twilight years searching, and I found a way. The witches' magic ensnared us, and only their magic can release us. I don't believe they'll give it willingly, but we can extract their foul powers by force. I will seek them out, go to their coven in the wilderness, strike them down as a true warrior of the wild, and bring back their heads. The seat of their abilities."

At that, Yang's excitement died down a bit and she blinked in surprise. She didn't imagine it would have taken something that brutal and specific. Imagining herself committing to such a path, she gulped loudly before responding. "Uh, all right. Can we not…ask them to undo it?"

Kodlak chuckled at that. "Well, I doubt they'd be willing to listen. Either way should work, but I expect I'll have to fight them. Many of the witches were there to cast the first of this curse, and I can't imagine them giving up on what they might see as their greatest work." He then looked at her more seriously. "Unless you believe that you can bring them around somehow?"

"Well, I can be convincing when I want to be." Yang flashed a smile that could almost pass for innocent, if it weren't for how her teeth shifted into fangs while she did it.

"But I also have a couple of special things going for me," she waggled the finger she bore the Ring of Hircine on in his direction, "If they're supposed to be Hircine's biggest fans, then the fact that I'm wearing his Artifact should get my foot in the door, eh?

"Also, I'm guessing this coven has some hagravens, and while I don't know what this particular group's political beliefs are, I did just get crowned Arda of the Reach. Hopefully, that'll have enough clout for them to listen to me." The gold werewolf then clenched that hand into a fist as the band gleamed ominously in the sunlight from the balcony, "And if they want to make a fight of it anyway, well, then I'll give them one."

The Harbinger considered her points for only a moment before nodding in acceptance. "Very well Yang. Perhaps I was too hasty to think of tackling this weapon-first. If you believe you can obtain the cure from them willingly, then I owe you the chance to try."

Yang solemnly returned her pack leader's nod, grateful for his trust with the fate of his soul, before clapping and rubbing her hands together. " So, where is this coven, anyways?"

---

The women half-expected the group of Whiterun guardsmen to be set out on a march. What they did not anticipate was being shown that the real bulk of Whiterun's military power came from mounted calvary. Forty men and women were not merely suited up, but each had a horse bred for war to carry them, greatly increasing the mobility of the force. Each of them had been asked if they needed a mount as well, but they all declined, as they all had their own.

"Why did we bring out the horses again?" Lydia whispered to Blake. "You know, instead of stuffing most of us into the Oblivion pocket again?"

"Appearances, mostly," the Faunus answered her. "We also might need the horses if a fight breaks out."

"Uh, okay." There was a short pause. "Why?"

"There's tons of tactical uses," Ruby piped in, with less whispering and a more casual tone. "Even if we don't fight on horseback, there might be civilians who need to be evacuated from an area quickly, in which case, the horses can get them away."

"But what if they don't know how to ride?"

Ruby was silent for a moment, and almost rubbed her chin in thought before answering, "They just have to stay on long enough to get out of danger. Falling off a horse a few hundred feet away from us is better than getting roasted by a dragon."

"...Hm, can't argue against that," Lydia admitted with a shrug. "I would certainly prefer that if I had to choose."

Much of the ride was monotonous, with only short conversations breaking the cold silence that hung over everyone. Many of the guardsmen felt that they were in over their heads, with only the presence of the Companions and the Dragonslayers making them feel like they had a chance. For Ruby, Yang, and Blake, there was a tinge of nervousness as they had never faced a trio of dragons before, but it was soothed thanks to all of the backup they had on this mission.

Several hours of riding later, and the army crested the last hill before Riverwood came into view. Even from far away, it could be clearly seen that a group of people were gathered in a small spot in the center of the village. Overlooking the frightened villagers were three dragons. One was thin and dark red with black stripes, with a long, slender tail that slowly waved behind it and snapped at the tip like a bullwhip. The mid-sized one - which was still larger than the average house in Riverwood - was a mix of peach and white on its back and belly respectively that flowed into each other on its sides and wings. He also had a sextet of horns that arced up from his skull and nearly met at the tips, appearing almost like a crest. The biggest of them was a first for the Huntresses, as the dragon almost looked fat, with a more rounded belly. However, the thickness of his legs and the way the muscle moved beneath his violet and grey scaled skin as he shifted to look in their direction let them know that it was not so simple. They could see that this dragon was strong, especially as he moved his giant body without the aid of his wings like most other dragons did. His own massive horns were forward-facing and just above his eyes, seemingly hiding them from view. Combined with his massive snout and girth, it all came together to make him look far larger than he really was, which was already fairly big.

"Halt!" the mid-sized, peach dragon called out to them.

At first, there was a mite of confusion as to whether or not everyone should listen, but then the red one held out a wing and curled its claw around one of the villagers. It was far away, but Blake was certain it was Camilla Valerius. The threat was clear, and the soldiers and warriors began bringing their steeds to a stop.

"He said 'halt,' you verminous mortals," the red dragon hissed out. "Or do we have to start making examples of the consequences of- Ow!"

The larger dragon suddenly smacked him in the head with his wing in a way akin to a punch. All of the mortals present were completely dumfounded by the action, staying still even as the smaller dragon withdrew his claw to rub at the spot he had been hit.

"I will mathe the threats, Malkreinzaan," the dragon reprimanded his fellow with a strange slur to his words. He then looked over to the force arrayed against the dragons and gave their equivalent of a smile. "Kendov! Warriors of Wihiterun! Whe were unsure if you would awrive. This, t'uly, will make t'ings easier."

Ruby suddenly held up her hand, gaining the dragon's attention.

"Okay, I've got to ask, what's up with your voice?" the girl asked, surprising everyone with her blasé tone towards the massive being of destruction. "I have literally never heard a dragon with…whatever you've got going on."

"Lotgeindwiin has been eating chaurus bugs again," the peach dragon said, followed by a chuckle. "They've swollen his tongue."

The now-named Lotgeindwiin turned his head to look at his fellow with a hiss. "Qomotaadmindol, that ist not for the mortalsh to know!"

"Lost tinvaak us, drogi, daar hi fen krif hin sahlo fah pusojur."

"He's got a point," Ruby inserted. "Chaurus are really poisonous. Eating those things can't be good for you."

All three dragons refocused on Ruby, as well as several of the mortals around them.

"What?" she asked the crowds.

"You understood that?" Qomotaadmindol asked in curiosity. "No mere mortal child could so easily understand Dovahzuul so competently."

"Then that's the one!" Malkreinzaan snapped and hissed before bringing his head low and growling. "Red and black and female! Dovahkiin!"

Lotgeindwiin's draconic smile returned and grew even larger. "Dovahkiin, eh? Los hi Dovahkiin, mal kirr?"

"Uh…" Ruby looked around for a moment, as though searching for some sort of cue, unfortunately missing her sister and Lydia waving their arms at her several feet back. "Ge."

The large dragon made a throaty laugh and turned his right eye back at his fellows. "Morah nol frod. Tinvaak faal jorre."

"Rubes, what did that guy just say?" Yang asked with more than a little worry as she pulled her mount up with her through the crowd.

"Well, uh," Ruby began while tapping her fingers together and swaying her upper body from side to side awkwardly, "'tinvaak' usually means conversation or battle, depending on the context, but I think with the way he said 'morah ni frod' there, which basically, in this context, means that they're changing up their strategy-"

"Su Grah Dun!" the massive dragon Shouted before leaping into the air far faster than anyone thought something of that size could go. "Tiid Klo Ul!"

"Shit!" Yang cursed as she reached for her enchanted rings, trying to keep an eye on the dragon at the same time.

"Everyone du-" Ruby started, only to be cut off as a claw slammed into her and carried her off moments before the thunderous sound and wind of the dragon's passing hit the gathered force.

"Ruby!" Yang, Blake, and Lydia all cried out as they saw her being carried away by Lotgeindwiin.

"I'm fine!" she called back to them as she pulled an arm free of the dragon's grip. "Protect the people!"

Lydia either wasn't listening or figured herself an exception, and she immediately spun her horse around and kicked its sides, charging to where the dragon was taking off with her thane. Gritting her teeth, Yang resisted the urge to do the same and instead turned back to look at the two dragons who had remained and were now readying themselves to fight.

"Blake," she called over to her partner.

"Yeah?"

"Lead the guardsmen to protect Riverwood's people. Get them to Embershard where they'll be safe."

"Got it. What about you?"

"I'll keep the dragons busy."

"Not alone, you're not, lass," they heard from nearby and looked to see Kodlak with the rest of the Circle behind him.

"Wouldn't dream of leaving you guys out," she said with a growing grin.

Even if they weren't exactly Huntsman-level, Yang knew that the four Companions were still expert warriors. She'd even fought a dragon with Farkas by her side and saw him hold his own. And before that, she'd seen almost all of them fight against Mirmulnir. The only one she was really worried about to any extent was Kodlak, and only because she had yet to see the older man in action yet.

Still, the werewolf inside of her relished the idea of hunting strong prey with her pack at her side. She could almost imagine these dragons as bison to be felled by their wolfish selves.

"Guardsmen, with me!" Blake called out as she rode down and alongside the river towards the village.

"I thought we'd be following the Dragonborn, not the cat!" someone complained, only to get a slap to the back of the head.

"Jarl's orders! Go!" a far more helpful voice shouted.

With that, the stampede of horsemen went one way after the Faunus thane while the Companions all left their mounts to be used by the soldiers and ran towards the dragons. Malkreinzaan laughed and launched himself up to glide over the Whiterun army, snapping his tail down and splitting one of the unlucky men in half. Aela took aim and loosed an arrow at the dragon, piercing near the shoulder of his wing and eliciting a roar of pain from him. His attention went towards the Companions, and he turned around to face them instead.

As Yang readied herself to face their opponent alongside the others, the earth shook next to her and she turned to see that Qomotaadmindol had landed a few meters from her and was looking her over with interest.

"Going by your facial features and the patterns of behavior…you must have some sort of kinship or relation to the Dovahkiin."

"What's it to you?" she sneered, readying herself and Ember Celica to fight the dragon, who chuckled at her response.

"You don't understand, do you?" he asked her. "Dovahkiin is more than a mortal with a gift. She is, for all intents and purposes, a dragon. A dragon born to fight Alduin, the greatest of dragons. Can you imagine what that means for the dragon who can best her? Defeat her? Destroy her?"

Yang's anger flared, her eyes briefly going red, which the dragon seemed to catch.

"The Dovah who could succeed in that would become legend among all Dov. Thuru Alduin werid okii suleyk! Even our Lord would praise such might!"

"Yeah, well you'll have to get through me first!" Yang yelled before launching herself forward with the added force of her shot gauntlets.

Her right arm arced around to slam into the dragon's snout, but he ducked down and met the blow with his crest-like horns and turned with it, changing her momentum and then pushing back, launching her up the steep mountainside and away from where her comrades were fighting against the other dragon. As she rolled back to her feet, she saw the peach dragon coming at her, sliding over the foothill and steep embankments below her as smoothly as a lizard crawls over rocks.

For a moment, she was worried about the Companions' well-being, but she saw Kodlak leap out of the way of a tailstrike and then slam his hammer down on the appendage, earning another painful roar from Malkreinzaan before Farkas and Vilkus moved in as one and made twin slices on his neck, forcing him to push back away from them.

Yang smiled and turned back to face Qomotaadmindol as he rose up near her.

"Couldn't fight more than one little mortal at a time?" she taunted him.

"If you had to break a wall down quickly, would you slam against the whole thing, or pull out the largest stone?" He chuckled at his metaphor before spreading his wings and then flapping them. "Don't worry, little mortal, you'll all be back together soon."

He took off and began to circle around Yang's position.

"Jiid So Daan!"

The sky directly above them darkened, and Yang saw what looked like multiple balls of fire coming down directly towards her.

"Ah damn," Yang muttered as she prepared to dodge what she would later call 'a bunch of flaming bullshit'.

---

Ruby's short trip via dragon claw ended rather abruptly, quite a distance away from everyone else, too. As she was released, she straightened her fall and then whipped out Crescent Rose. Three shots straight down slowed her fall enough that she was confident in landing on her feet, and did so without problem. Lotgeindwiin spun around and came to a landing that shook the earth around them, laughing as he took his birdlike stance.

"Dovahkiin!" he called out to her before spreading his wings. "I am Lotgeindwiin! I oncshe ruled the land your kine now call Wihiterun, in slevirche to Alduin. Few, even among tha Dov, could chlaim to be my better."

"Okay, first off, you really need to lay off the chaurus if they do that to your voice," Ruby pointed out to the dragon, to which he made a low growl.

"[Very well, then,]" he said in the dragon language.

"How come you- Hold on. [Why does your speech not slur when you speak in this language, but it does when you speak the mortal tongue]?"

"[Do you think the divine Dragon Language could be misspoken by a dragon? It is not merely my tongue, but my soul, my Voice, which speaks these words into existence. They are Truth given to Sound. Not even your voice can speak it as True as mine]."

Ruby grimaced as she squinted in concentration. "[That may be. But I am learning more with every day]." Her voice steadied and grew deeper, sending thrums of power through the air and earth around her.

Lotgeindwiin's lips drew back into a smile.

"[Yes. Good. Fight me with all you have, Dovahkiin. You will need your full might to survive Lotgeindwiin's power]." He reared back his head as he took a breath. "Al Gron Nok!"

Two spots swirled as the air screamed, and then two metallic humanoid forms with hot, molten centers appeared. One raised its arm, and Ruby was forced to dodge as liquid metal was shot at her.

"Iron Atronachs," she recognized them. While she hadn't seen any in real life before, Weiss did show them all a book about all the different Daedra one could potentially see in their lifetimes. These were among the more dangerous Atronachs given what they were made of and what they could do, especially to her weapon.

Crescent Rose was stowed away again as Ruby summoned magicka to her fingers and focused on a spell she had yet to try but was sure was the right call for these guys. After a moment of charging, she cast the spell and ran back as one of the Atronachs charged at her, not noticing the ice crystal she left behind. At her silent command, the crystal shattered underneath the Atronach, cooling it severely and causing it to roar in a way that reminded her of a forge's bellows. The Daedra tried to heat itself back up, but Ruby quickly threw a Fracture spell onto its front and cast a Hailstone on it with her other hand in quick succession. The two ice spells exploded against each other, and then the Atronach crumbled before returning to whence it came.

The second approached more cautiously, keeping an arm up so it could try and fire its liquid metal as it came close, but Ruby punished that approach with a barrage of Hailstones. Feeling itself weaken, the Iron Atronach charged, this time pushing up its own heat as it did. Ruby leaped over the foe and twisted in midair while taking in a breath.

"Fo Krah Diin!"

The Atronach stumbled as its back was frozen, and Ruby drew Crescent Rose back out and loaded a new ammo cartridge into the feed. The first shot blew a hole into the summon, and then the second followed and exploded into ice within the hot molten core. Confident there wasn't enough heat left to damage her blade, Ruby swapped her weapon to Scythe mode and swung the point through the body of the Daedra like a giant pickaxe.

Before it had completely disappeared, Ruby felt more than heard Lotgeindwiin land behind her. She turned and took in a breath for her Thu'um just in time to see two walls of teeth closing in on her.

"Feim!"

The jaws audibly snapped shut on her, but in spirit form, Ruby was able to merely walk away from the attempt to consume her, though she chose to run and then use her Semblance to put even more distance between her and the dragon.

"[Running won't get you far, Dovahkiin]," the dragon taunted her as she rematerialized.

"[Just positioning myself, Lotgeindwiin. If we're going to be close, it's going to be on my terms.]"

"[So you say.] Su Grah Dun!"

The dragon leaped at her as soon as the Shout left his mouth, his speed drastically increasing as the distance closed and his wing claw came at her. She parried the first strike and blocked the second from his other wing, but had to leap out of the way as he tried to snap her up once again.

"Su!" Ruby Shouted, and then dashed forward, the power of the Thu'um adding to the speed and force of her swing. Her scythe nearly carved into Lotgeindwiin's face, but he dodged and reached forward with a claw. Ruby leaned back and slid beneath the grasp of his talons before spinning back to face her foe.

The Dragonborn was forced to leap as the dragon's thick tail swung around with the force of his quick turn at her. With a yelp, she dodged a snap at her mid-air form with a shot from Crescent Rose, feeling the air hit her from the force of his jaws closing. Her feet hit the ground, and she had to jump back once again as his wing's wrist crashed down towards her, punching into the earth almost like a fist.

"Sov Ag Slen!" Sparks of electricity launched from Lotgeindwiin's mouth and spread out, threatening to overwhelm Ruby. The girl jumped away and ran while listening to the dragon's breath shortening, calculating when it would be safe for her to act. As his Shout ended and the cascade of Lightning Breath began to slow, Ruby spun around and took aim with another cartridge loaded into her rifle. Two shots rang out and impacted the dragon's scales, one of the orichalcum-core bullets cracking a spot in one place and the other blowing a large scale off as it ricocheted. Ruby noted her efforts to make 'anti-Alduin' bullets were showing fruit as Lotgeindwwin roared in pain and jumped forward.

"Yol Toor Shul!"

"Yol Toor Shul!"

Fire met fire and swirled around each other in a flaming tornado, incinerating grass and brush in the immediate area and turning an unlucky tree nearby into charcoal. After their Shouts tapered off, both combatants were standing in a field of fire, squaring off once again.

"[Your Thu'um is strong, Dovakiin]," Lotgeindwiin admitted with a throaty laugh before spreading out his wings and flapping them, extinguishing any of the flames around them with gale-like winds and beginning to take to the air. "[But it is not enough]."

After launching himself high into the air, Lotgeindwiin took in a deep breath.

"Tuz Kein Zun!" he Shouted into the air.

Ruby had never heard the specific Shout used before, and so readied herself for anything as her mind tried to decipher what it might do from the context of the Words. 'Blade-War-Weapon' could have meant many things, but she didn't even expect what it did was possible.

Motes of light apparated and combined in front of the dragon in a long, relatively slender shape, then shimmered and solidified, becoming a massive sword with a violet hilt and guard and a blade the same grey as many of the dragon's scales. Ruby was awestruck and, in the back of her mind, mildly jealous. She could subconsciously feel that this conjured sword had a presence which was much closer to Faolan's Shehai than any Bound Weapon spell she'd seen. Lotgeindwiin seemed to proudly smirk before grasping his Thu'um-conjured weapon with his mouth, then dove down. Ruby readied herself to dodge but was nearly caught off-foot when the dragon crashed down almost on top of her, forcing her to quickly backpedal, then roll to the side as the sword was swung towards her. The blade sung as it rushed past her, a foot of the metal carving through the hard earth like it was warm butter.

Lotgeindwiin flicked his mouth, changing the grip on his weapon as the momentum flipped it and then swinging it back at Ruby again, who had to jump over the blade this time, and nearly tripped up while doing so. The dragon curled his neck and tail as he continued his motion into a half-turn. Ruby got back to her feet just in time to see he had swung up and over, and now the blade was coming down at her. She barely sidestepped the strike but was still blown off her feet from the force of it.

Hoping that Lotgeindwiin found his weapon stuck from the overhead blow, Ruby turned to see that he was withdrawing it easily from the ground and preparing to strike at her again. A well of frustration started to build inside of her as she charged forward. With a battlecry, she leaped into the air and reared her scythe back.

"Wuld Nah!" she Shouted, blasting herself forward in the Whirlwind Sprint while adding her Semblance's speed into the mix. Lotgeindwiin's eye went wide, and he canceled his planned strike to instead pull his sword into her path.

Ebony clanged into the unknown material, sending out a ring followed by a small thunderclap before the dragon shoved against his far smaller opponent. Ruby flipped back and then fired a shot to get herself to the ground quicker. Her next aim was to get under the dragon and try to attack his underbelly, but the moment she made to run beneath him, his legs coiled up and then launched his body up and backwards, ripping up hundreds of pounds of fire-baked dirt. The moment his feet hit the ground, however, he was back to swinging his blade at the girl.

"Damn it!" Ruby cursed under her breath before ducking under the massive blade and charging at the dragon, fury taking over her mind.

Lotgeindwiin grinned at her again and let go of his blade's hilt for a second, letting it turn in his mouth as his grip switched again, canceling his sword's current momentum and bringing it back at Ruby, digging a furrow in the ground all the way. She stopped short of running into its trajectory and jumped above the dislodged earth for good measure, but then something else cast a shadow over her for less than a second before it crashed down onto her.

Ruby wanted to scream in surprise and pain as she felt her body being smashed into the ground, but her breath had been knocked out of her by the impact. Her Aura was flaring and flickering, but holding despite it all. When light came back into Ruby's star-filled vision, she saw that Lotgeindwiin had brought his tail over during his last swing and had slammed it down onto her while she was focused on his sword. The dragon turned back towards her and aimed his sword in a downward strike. Ruby pushed up against the protestation of her body and tried to pick the best way out of the attack's path, but then something came between her and the dragon, and a glowing, yellow circle appeared before them.

---

Yang's fight against Qomotaadmindol was going far from how she wanted. His Meteor Storm pushed her further away from her allies, as she noticed how it seemed to 'track' her and her alone, and decided to not get everyone caught up in it. When it finally abated, she tried to close in, only to get blasted back, again and again, then targeted with things she was sure weren't Shouts, seeing as he wasn't saying anything when using them. They varied in form from amorphous lights to ghostly weapons, but they were all fast and had frightening accuracy.

After dodging several ghostly throwing axes, Yang glared at the dragon angrily.

"Why don't you fight me up close, you bastard?!" she shouted, only for the dragon to laugh.

"You are a melee specialist, are you not?" he asked her as though it was a regular conversation. "If I keep you at length, you cannot harm me, and I see no reason to give you an advantage."

Yang growled under her breath, then stopped a moment to think. If Qomotaadmindol's entire reasoning for keeping her away was specifically so she couldn't get a hit in, then she would simply have to dissuade him of that idea.

"Well, then, you asked for it!"

Yang summoned a Firebolt in each hand and then threw them one after the other. The dragon was surprised by this sudden change, and both exploded against his neck and chest before he could react. He slung his head back and forth while backing up a few steps, then wordlessly summoned several spears and launched them towards Yang.

The blonde smacked two out of the air then rolled over the third while powering up a double-handed Fireball, which spun and stretched as she flung it at him like a discus. The spell raced towards Qomotaadmindol and smothered his vision in flames for a moment. Yang rushed forward and grabbed Chilling Dior from her back, intending to carve into the dragon's neck with the freezing Dwemer axe. Unfortunately, Qomotaadmindol saw her coming a split second before she had closed the distance entirely.

"Fus Ro Dah!" he quickly Shouted, launching her away.

Yang cursed aloud even as she was in mid-air, firing Ember Celica three times to get herself re-oriented. Unfortunately, the dragon had launched her off the cliff and over the village, almost to the river itself. She had to shoot downwards to keep from falling too fast, then focused her Aura on her legs before landing with a roll close to Alvor's house.

"Yang?" she heard and turned to see Blake, having just dismounted near the gate, it seemed.

"Oh, hey sweetheart. I was just dropping by," she said with a laugh before turning back to see that Qomotaadmindol was taking to the air again. "Is everybody out?"

"I think. I came back to make a second check before heading to help you and-" Blake was cut off by the door to Alvor's house slamming open, revealing the blacksmith himself.

"Yang, Blake," he called to them. "Thank the Gods you're here!"

"Alvor!" the Faunus shouted in surprise. "We need to get you out of here!"

"No time for that. I have something that might help you with those dragons. Something I've been working on in my spare time." The blacksmith gestured for them to follow as he ran out and behind his house.

"Crap," Yang groaned as she ran after him, keeping an eye on the dragon, who seemed to be lazily deciding whether or not to continue fighting her. She and Blake stopped as Alvor showed them his apparent project.

"Whoa," the Faunus quietly marveled.

"Is that an anchor chain?" Yang asked, seeing the huge, thick links that Alvor could fit his hand through.

"Aye. Got to thinking about if we'd ever need another dragon trap like in Whiterun. Never had to make one before, but it wasn't too difficult compared to a normal chain. It's just that carrying the damn thing at this point takes a whole team of men."

"Just right for me then," Yang boasted before looking to her partner. "Think you can gain Qosomoto-whatever's attention for a bit?"

"More than a bit," Blake answered, already seeing where this was going.

---

Blake was already regretting agreeing to this plan. She had to keep ahead of the dragon, taking potshots to keep all of its focus on her while dodging every attack at range and melee that it threw toward her. Yang had mentioned that Qomotaadmindol seemed to know some other kind of magic. She hadn't mentioned the part where almost all of it had some tracing component, requiring more than a few uses of her Semblance to stay ahead.

When she came to a stop back near where she had started and turned while gasping profusely, the dragon landed in front of her, a ring of ghostly summoned swords appearing around his head like a floating crown.

"Out of breath, little cat?" he taunted her as the swords pointed toward her. "Do not fret. It will be swift."

Before the spell launched, the anchor chain swung out from a sidestreet to slam into his neck just behind his crest-like horns and wrapped around him twice.

"Gotcha, bitch!" Yang called out triumphantly before tugging hard, further disrupting the dragon's spell and giving Blake a larger window to run in. The chain was unwrapping from the dragon's neck, and Blake jumped up and caught it before diving between his horns, pulling it as 'taut' as she could before hooking a handful of links onto the back-facing spikes around his neck and shoulders, including a large one that was a hooked shape. When Yang yanked the chain again, it was firmly lodged onto Qomotaadmindol, and Blake bailed.

Yang pulled again, forcing Qomotaadmindol forward, but then the dragon found his footing and started to walk back. Yang gripped the chain tightly but still found herself sliding forward.

"Damn it, physics, why?" the blonde cried out before gripping two links tightly, hoisting the chain up, and then whipping it down.

The anchor chain made a wave with the motion that ran up to the dragon's head, slinging it up and then down as well. Yang's eyes widened at the sight, then she smirked before repeating the action. Qomotaadmindol helplessly saw it coming and tried to brace for it, only to have his head smashed into the ground for his efforts. Yang repeated the motion once more, with even more vigor this time, and then yanked the chain hard after it pounded the dragon's head again. The whole dragon was pulled forward off of his legs and wings, his belly dragging into the ground before Yang dropped the heavy chain and leaped up.

She raised her fists over her head, then fired both gauntlets simultaneously to rocket back down with a double hammerblow onto Qomotaadmindol's skull. She was briefly suspended in the air as she threw her whole body into the strike, her splayed legs actually rising up on either side of her arms as she bent at the waist, all the force traveling down through the dragon's head to crater the ground beneath his jaw.

The Huntress sommersaulted back, prepared for more, but the dragon remained still. After counting to ten and seeing no movements in any of his limbs, Yang let herself relax a minute amount. She nearly jumped back into action when she saw something move, then realized that it was just the dragon breathing.

"I, uh, think he's out cold," she announced. Blake was by her side a moment later and looking over the creature.

"I think you're right," she concurred. "Has that happened before?"

"Not that I know of," Yang said with a shrug. Before she could voice her thoughts on what to do with the dragon, another's roar reminded them that there was more going on than their one fight. "Crap! The Companions!" she shouted before rushing to their aide.

The battle between the Companions and Malkreinzaan was going quite differently. Farkas, Vilkas, and Kodlak harassed the dragon in melee from different directions while Aela shot it with unerring accuracy. Malkreinzaan's legs and wings were covered in deep and shallow cuts, but all of the men had a few bruises and cuts from close calls, and, in Farkas' case, a bit of a limp. The two Huntresses-in-training caught a glance of the battle as they ran to join them, noting how unlike the lizard or bat-like gaits of most dragons, Malkreinzaan moved more like a massive cat or ferret, leaping and jumping to try and get the angle to his advantage before using his tail, claws, or teeth on one of the Companions.

The dragon jumped up and over Kodlak, baring his fangs as his head came around to snap up the old man. Yang felt her stomach lurch, but Kodlak managed to bring his hammer under and up, slamming the dragon's jaws shut with force. Unfortunately, the dragon's head still rammed into him, knocking him into the air and over several meters, with his flight being stopped by a cart that was knocked over with him, sending cabbages everywhere.

"Kodlak!" Yang called out to the man. Malkreinzaan turned his attention to her for a moment but then paid for the mistake as Farkas leaped forward and drove his sword into the dragon's chest, halfway up the blade. Malkreinzaan roared in pain and jumped up, swinging his tail up and knocking the larger twin away before coming back down. His scream-like roars rang out as he tried to pull the Skyforge steel blade out of his body, only to get his wing claw cut and bloodied as well from the effort.

Yang then rushed in, sending herself up with a fiery blast and then twisting to deliver a haymaker onto the dragon's cheek. Malkreinzaan spun with the attack and knocked her away with his tail, but Yang tucked and rolled as she drew Black Whisper and Holy Ardon with the intention of carving the dragon apart.

Without prompting, Blake tossed Gambol Shroud tacross her path to embed the kusarigama into a log wall before pulling its ribbon taut. Yang hit the black line feet first, her leg muscles bunching as the ribbon stretched elastically, and she took the moment to shoot a wink her straining girlfriend's way, who rolled her eyes with a fond smirk before slingshotting her right back. Malkreinzaan saw the gold projectile coming and reared back his head to Shout.

"Yol Toor Shul!"

Yang gritted her teeth as the heat washed over her, singing the tips of her hair and burning some of her clothing on the fringes. Overall, however, she came out of the other side of the Fire Breath with no real damage, a fact that made Malkreinzaan's eyes widen in shock when he saw her coming for him.

Black Whisper's beard was hooked behind a scale, letting Yang swing herself against his face and aim Holy Ardon for one of his eyes. The Dwemer blade split dragon scales and destroyed his left eye completely. The dragon shrieked and buckled as Yang held on and tried to chop at him for even more damage, like a demented combination of a rodeo cowgirl and a lumberjill, but then he suddenly leaped up and flopped down. Knowing better than to let herself get caught between a dragon and the ground yet again, Yang bailed, jumping off the dragon's face and rolling to a stop.

Yang didn't understand Dovahzuul, but she was fairly sure Malkreinzaan was cursing her in the most colorful ways between his pained screeching and thrashing. When he finally calmed down and looked back at her in rage, his hackles were raised high and his entire body was wound tight, ready to jump at a moment's notice.

"Voag," he growled angrily. "You think you're safe?! Think a dragon can't harm you?! Think I won't kill you?! I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"

"Bring it on, buddy!" Yang taunted him while looking from the corners of her eye to where the Companions and Blake were.

Her girlfriend was to her left and back a few meters. Vilkas was still up and trying to get an angle on the dragon, splitting its attention. Farkas was down with what looked like a busted leg. Aela was helping Kodlak to his feet, and the old man seemed to have coughed up blood going by the red streak down his beard. That worried her, but it wasn't something she could do anything about while they had Malkreinzaan to attend to.

"It. Is. Brought!" the dragon hotly decreed. Yang wanted to laugh, but then something made the hairs on the back of her neck stick up.

"Kun Shul Ag!"

Light, like a concentrated beam of sun, raced toward her. She barely had time to dodge, even moving out of the way of it before it started. She could feel the immense heat of it, and better yet, saw it hit the ground and boil the very earth.

Yang gasped for a moment, then saw the dragon rearing back to do it yet again. Instantly, her thumb went to the Time Slow ring, and she ran out of the way of another one of those Burning Lights. As soon as she thought she was safe from that one, she had to activate the ring for a second again and duck under another one.

Malkreinzaan roared and snapped his jaws angrily as he glared at Yang with his one good eye. For a second, the blonde thought she had it all under control. She readied herself to rush the dragon again as Vilkas got its attention, but then it looked past towards Farkas' prone form. Yang felt a chill as the dragon's eye lit up with an idea.

"Fus!"

Vilkas found himself blown back towards his brother, unable to brace for the sudden Shout of force. He got back to his feet a moment later, but by then Malkreinzaan was ready, and Yang was running towards them.

"Kun Shul Ag!"

Yang screamed as she saw the beam beginning to form. The two were over a dozen meters away from her, and even if Vilkas could get out of the way in time, Farkas almost certainly could not. Yang pushed her body as hard as she could and was wringing out every ounce of power from the Time Slow ring that she could, not to reach them, but to get in the path of the Shout.

She saw the deadly Shout coming and held up her ebony axe, hoping that the material, known for its heat resistance, and the magic-drinking enchantment would be enough. The blast hit the flat of the axe head, and Yang was forced to drop Holy Ardon in favor of getting a second grip on Black Whisper to fight back against the force of the Shout. She could feel the radiating heat of the blast warming her while, from behind, she could see that Vilkas had grabbed Farkas and was trying to drag him out of the way. To her horror, the light started to move, Malkreinzaan's gaze and aim tracking them. Yang stepped over with a grunt, keeping herself between them.

The black crystal-metal was beginning to turn orange, and Yang's world was in pain as she held out her hand and focused all of her Aura on holding back the attack. Seconds seemed like hours as she screamed and focused everything into fighting against the death that the beam promised, her hand burning against the superheated axe. Blake was running forward, with Malkreinzaan's eye turning to look at her and his tail ready to whip out and cut her off.

As Yang felt her Aura withering down to its last vestiges, she saw Kodlak running in from the other side, his face enraged, almost feral. The expression was only enhanced by the blood running through his teeth and down his beard. He spun on his feet, holding out his hammer and using it like a fulcrum, adding more force to it with a second spin, and then he was jumping into the air, a battlecry on his lips.

Malkreinzaan's attention was split between the target of his ire and the immediate threat of Blake, who had drawn what he could sense was the deadliest weapon on this field. He did not pay attention to the sickly, old mortal who happened to be in his new blindspot. Thus, he had given Kodlak the widest opening to strike the sword in his chest with all the might that he could summon.

A Skyforge warhammer met the hilt of a Skyforge greatsword, ramming it all the way up to and past the crossguard into the dragon's chest. The tip of the blade burst out from the opposite side of where it had been embedded, and the Burning Light ceased.

Malkreinzaan was in total shock for a moment, backing away and trying to speak as blood flowed from his jaws. A breath wheezed out of him before a weak roar, and then the dragon thrashed his head around. He fell moments later, rolling and slamming his limbs about. Slowly, he weakly gave in, until he finally stopped moving entirely.

Everyone had stopped watching moments in and instead rushed to help their fellows with their wounds. Yang had stumbled to a knee, dropping the steaming ebony axe and clutching the arm that had held off the bulk of Malkreinzaan's Burning Light. Her palm had been partly blackened, and the skin of her fingers was peeled and dry. Much of her forearm was reddened, all the way up to her elbow with various degrees of burns that were worse the closer they were to her hand. Blake quickly pulled out a medical kit, looking for topical burn treatments and bandages, blubbering almost senseless words as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes.

Yang looked up to the gathering Companions somberly.

"We've got to…check on Ruby," she got out before they heard what sounded like the clashing of steel ring over them with a follow-up of thunder.

---

Another ring and thunderclap sounded out as dust was thrown into the air and Lydia's feet were nearly buried into the already compacted earth. Her shield was held above her, and her Adamant Aegis was layered over it, holding against Lotgeindwiin's Thu'um blade, even with cracks running across its surface.

"Gah!" Lotgeindwiin growled as he pulled his sword back. "Pesht!"

"I promise I will be far more than a pest to you, dragon!" Lydia growled right back, drawing her sword. "Ruby, are you alright?"

"Never better," the younger girl groaned out as she extracted herself from the ground. "He's…faster than I thought he'd be."

"Then we'll have to outmaneuver him."

"Yeah." Ruby made a humorless laugh as she rolled her shoulders. She brought her scythe back to her hands and readied herself to run. "Go at him from the right. I'll go in left."

"Got it."

The two then split up, and the dragon eyed both curiously. He then moved, swinging his sword from his right to left. Ruby leaped over the blade, and, as it came at Lydia, the housecarl deflected it up with her shield. Unperturbed, Lotgeindwiin tossed his sword straight up into the air and spun around, raking the ground with his tail, which both women jumped over.

"Fo Krah Diin!" Lotgeindwiin Shouted as soon as he craned his neck around, prompting Ruby to plant her feet firmly onto the ground before facing him.

"Yol Tor Shuul!" she Shouted in kind.

Ruby burned through the frosty Shout while Lydia merely held up her shield and Semblance and pushed past it. Seeing as he hadn't even slowed the two's approach, Lotgeindwiin apparently did the next best thing and took to the air while his sword came back down. One claw grasped the hilt and stabbed the blade into the ground, and then the dragon was half-hovering, half-standing on the sword hilt.

"Oh, come on!" Ruby griped as she and Lydia stopped and looked up at the smug dragon. "No. You know what. I have the perfect solution to this."

The girl put her sniper scythe away and reached into an enchanted quiver at her back. From within the normal-sized quiver she pulled out the Dragonbone bow made for a ten-foot tall being like a rabbit out of a hat, then one of its spear-sized arrows.

"Ish that- Agh!" Lotgeindwiin cried out as the projectile sank into his gut. Growling, the dragon began flapping harder, pulling his sword from the ground and then swooping into a circle in the air, though seemingly without aim. As Ruby reached back for another arrow, she paused as she realized that Lotgeindwiin and his ridiculously huge blade were spinning faster and faster.

"Oh- Oh, shoot! Run!" she yelled as she put the bow away.

"Su Grah Dun!" she heard Lotgeindwiin Shout behind her, and then the whooshing became more like a massive whir. "Tiid Klo Ul!"

"No, no, no, no, no," she muttered while casting the summoning spell to bring out Arvak.

The spirit horse whinied as Ruby jumped onto his back and then pushed him to speed up. She directed him over to Lydia, then grasped her arm and pulled her onto the mount alongside her. Both looked back and saw, to their horror, Lotgeindwiin perform an aerial backflip to fling the sword from his talons, which rapidly boomeranged towards them right over the ground like the world's biggest buzzsaw.

"Not good," Lydia muttered. "Wait, I have an idea!"

"Idea?!"

"Get ready to jump with me."

"What?!"

The spinning blade was dangerously close when Lydia and Ruby both stood up in the saddle. At a silent countdown, they leaped into the air, towards the incoming attack, and then Lydia pushed as much of herself as she could into bringing up her Aegis.

Soul sword met soul shield, and then the two women were bounced up and slung into the air. Holding each other's forearms, the two went into a spin that they split from, with Lydia going up and Ruby down. Ruby used Crescent Rose to adjust her heading, then looked straight down at the now confused Lotgeindwiin.

"Fus Ro Dah!"

The Unrelenting Force impacted the massive dragon's head, sending him to the ground, unable to follow his spinning blade, which Ruby sped toward. Lydia was coming down now, with both hands gripping the hilt of her sword as she aimed for Lotgeindwiin's back. The blade sank in, but to Lydia, it felt like she may as well have stabbed the ground for all the good it did. Getting to her feet, standing upon the dragon felt more akin to alien terrain than a beast's back. Quickly, she ran for the head, hoping to deal whatever damage she could before she was forced off. As she reached the neck, the dragon stirred beneath her, getting back to his feet and turning his head to look back at her. Their gazes met, and, in a moment of defiance and in the hope of buying Ruby a few more seconds, Lydia thrust her sword down.

Lotgeindwiin's shoulder twitched.

"Like the bite of a flea," he intoned.

"Then how about…this!" Ruby shouted as she pulled up the tower-sized sword and swung it around with a mighty heave and twist of her hips. It took a draught of strength potion and half a bottle of Sleeping Tree Sap, but with both and all the power her Aura and Thu'um could give her, she managed to sling the weapon back at its wielder point first.

The blade sank into Lotgeindwiin's chest, and he looked down at it in surprise. For a moment, both Dragonborn and housecarl felt elated that the crazy plan had somehow worked. Then the dragon grabbed the sword's hilt with his teeth and pulled it free, revealing that no damage had been done.

"Thish is my blade, crafted by my Thu'um," Lotgeindwiin explained to their shocked stares before shaking himself back and forth, trying to dislodge Lydia from his shoulder. "It cannot hurth me any more than your shoul can hurtsh you."

"Aw, biscuits," Ruby groaned as she felt the potions fading from her, replaced by a slowing crash that was going to last for at least half a minute. "I was saving this for a sunny day, but… Dur Neh Viir!"

Lotgeindwiin ceased his attempts to remove the Nord from his back when he heard Ruby's Shout. The air above her seemed to rip open, and then from within the dark tear emerged the rotten-looking dragon necromancer.

"I hear your call, Dovahkiin," he said as his feet and wings touched the ground. As the portal closed, Durnehviir took a deep breath and sighed. "Ah, how I have missed Vus."

His eyes then landed on the still dragon with a sword in his mouth.

"Oh? Lotgeindwiin? I heard you fell when the lizardfolk set loose a pair of leviathans upon you. You have been brought back, I see."

"Who…are you?" Lotgeindwiin asked, cautiously taking a few steps back while keeping his eyes squarely focused on the newly arrived undead dragon.

"You must not recognize me, zeymah. [It is no wonder, for where I was trapped, I have been completely changed, within and without. You may have known the once-me Dinokyahthur]."

"[Dinokyahthur?! But you… No, you were trapped? In Oblivion]?"

Durnehviir laughed at that. "[Yes, and as you can see, time in the Soul Cairn has not been kind to me]."

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, Durnehviir, [but we were kind of in a fight to the death, and we were in a bit of a pinch]."

"[Ah, so you need my skills in battle? Very well. It has been a long time since I've talked/battled with a true dragon. Our little fight has reignited my interest in the activity]."

Lotgeindwiin snarled at that. "[You will not find me lacking, brother, should you choose to battle with me]."

"[I have no doubts, oh shiny one! But you recall I was never one for direct battles]. Diil Qoth Zaam!"

Blue mist quickly spread from Durnehviir, rolling over the landscape, and then the undead dragon chuckled.

"[Ah yes. Beautiful Land of Dawn. So full of life, and thus full of the dead]."

Bones began to pop out of the ground practically everywhere, pulling themselves together when they fully emerged and then beelining towards Lotgeindwiin. Not only humanoids, but various animals as well. From nearby, skeletal birds and bird carcasses flew in a growing macabre flock. Hordes of skeletons and zombies in partly decayed armor wielding rusty weapons charged at the dragon, all mindless and fearless, even as he swiped through whole ranks and raked them with dragon fire.

In his distraction, Durnehviir had jumped in, claws aiming for his face. Lotgeindwiin roared out and jumped back before swinging his blade into Durnehviir's side. The necromancer dragon ignored it and lunged his jaw toward the other dragon, missing his neck, but scraping his chest and pulling off several scales. Lotgeindwiin was forced to let go of his sword as he started hopping back, shaking his feet, which were now covered in several undead creatures that were biting and clawing at him, looking like white ants against his large form.

"Gah! Enough of this!"

Lotgeindwiin took to the air. Ruby and Lydia readied themselves for whatever attack he had planned next, but to their surprise, he merely flew away. His sword disappeared in the same motes of light it had appeared in, and then the undead army Durnehviir had summoned began to fall apart, in some cases literally.

"Ah, there he goes," the undead dragon noted amusedly. "And I had yet to show you my special Shout. Ah well. Another time, perhaps, Dovahkiin?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Ruby agreed, a little bewildered at a dragon deciding to flee from battle. It wasn't like it was impossible, but most were headstrong creatures, fighting until death merely to prove they were right in some cases.

"Ah, but I suppose before my anchor in the Soul Cairn draws me back, we can go over this Shout," he said while indicating the piles of bones and fetid carcasses that now dotted the ravaged landscape.

"Oh, uh…" Ruby mumbled, trying to find the best way to politely refuse, but Durnehviir didn't notice her discomfort or didn't care as he was already continuing.

"Diil," he began. "Undead. The first-traveled step beyond the circle of Lass ahrk Dinok, Life and Death."

---

"So they wanted someone from here to go in Bleak Falls Barrow?" Blake asked Zora, who nodded.

"Yes. To retrieve something at the end of the crypt," the warrior woman explained. "A stone with a map and draconic writing on it."

"...You mean the Dragonstone?" Ruby spoke up. "The one we took to Farengar after our first visit here?"

"Hey, most of the village didn't even know that," Zora admitted. "Besides, everyone was too afraid to go into that place. Well, I wasn't too scared, but I was not about to go in there alone."

"Why? I mean, we cleared that place out," Ruby pointed out. "There shouldn't have been any draugr roaming the barrow at all."

"That's the thing about these ancient barrows. Whatever magic the Old Nords put in there, they tend to revive the draugrs after a while, so they're never really clear. A party can go in, kill every single undead in the place, then a month later they're back like nothing ever happened. If anyone fresh dies in there, they're added to the horde," Zora explained, with Joselyn nodding in confirmation. "Still, there was a bit of a plan to get everyone inside, but that fell apart when the dragons said they wanted at least half the villagers to stay as hostages."

She sighed and took a deep drink of mead. "We were about to draw straws on it when you all showed up."

"That's…" Blake faltered with her words.

"A little cruel, yes, but the dragons were getting impatient. Well, the small one was. The big one seemed entertained by it all. I guess he thought crushing the forces of Whiterun would be fun."

"All right," Yang called out as she exited the room where the Harbinger and Farkas were recovering from their wounds. "Everything's okay. Farkas can go whenever, and Kodlak can leave in a couple of days."

"And how's your hand?" Ruby asked her in concern. Yang showed her the bandaged limb in question.

"Still stings like hell, but I can feel it getting better. Poultices and potions are doing their job, and my Aura's high as it can be with this going on."

Ruby sighed. "Gosh, Yang, you almost totally lost your hand."

"...Better than the alternative," the older sister quietly stated. That, Ruby knew, she couldn't really argue against.

"Why don't we go see how our prisoner is doing?" Zora spoke up, changing the subject completely. "I'm sure the big guys out there could use a lady's touch."

The three Huntresses decided that they might as well see how all of that was going. They all followed the Breton woman out of the Sleeping Giant and to the outside of the village walls.

The corpse of Malkreinzaan was gone, apparently carried away by Lotgeindwiin after he fled. Qomotaadmindol, however, had been left, still unconscious where Yang had beaten him down. A number of villagers had wanted to kill him and be done with it, but others, headed by Ruby herself, had argued for having him imprisoned and tried fairly. There were several protestations to this, but in the end, no one would go totally against the Dragonborn, let alone her and two other Thanes with a force of Whiterun cavalrymen backing them.

And so, Qomotaadmindol was chained to a pair of large logs trapping his wings against his sides with the anchor chain, several smaller chains, and ropes of various thickness. The dragon had grumbled and wiggled upon waking up, but found that he was well and truly tied down and wouldn't be getting loose anytime soon. As it was, he patiently waited as the lumberjacks and soldiers tried to figure out how to get wheels under him so that he could be towed back to Whiterun. His eyes shifted to look at the approaching Huntresses, and he shifted his head a bit to mumble through the bindings keeping his deadly mouth closed.

"Ah, Dovahkiin, Kaaz, Voag. Have you come to ensure your prize is secure?"

"You're not a prize," Ruby explained to him, trying to not channel Weiss as she did. "You're a prisoner. You committed a crime, and as a sapient being, you're to be tried with due process and sentenced accordingly."

"Hmm, yes, of course. Law and order must abide as much as rule and time. This land is far different than before." He looked over at a Dunmer woman, who paused as she felt the dragon's eyes upon her. "That one is not in chains or quartered, so the Bron have loosened up in that regard, at least."

"It's called progress, and it's a good thing."

"Aren't you a little upset?" Blake asked him. "Your friend left you, after all."

"What point is there to being upset?" Qomotaadmindol asked her. "It was only logical. Malkreinzaan is much smaller and lighter than I, and he was in the open. He would be easier to carry away, and Lotgeindwiin could not take us both."

"Yeah, he was also dead," Yang pointed out.

"Not exactly. Not as you mortals normally see it." He shifted a bit, and everyone nearby took a step back and watched him cautiously, but it appeared as if he'd only moved to adjust himself for comfort's sake. "Lotgeindwiin is a… There is no real mortal word for the concept, but he was one of the few dragons that answered directly to Alduin. There are Shouts that most Dovah can barely manage with their Thu'um that Lotgeindwiin could easily speak into being. One of those is the Shout to Revive."

"I know the one you're talking about," Ruby commented in recognition. "We saw Alduin use it to bring back Sahloknir."

"Ah. For Thuri, it would be… What is the mortal term? The playing of children?"

"Uh, yeah, childsplay."

Qomotaadmindol chuckled at that. "Yes. Childsplay." He then eyed Ruby with more intent. "Dovahkiin, do you really intend to defeat Alduin? If you could not defeat Lotgeindwiin, then how do you plan to fight the Lord of all Dov?"

"I… Well, I won't be fighting him alone. And I'm still learning. Learning more about this whole…thing."

"Not alone?" His eyes looked all around the group. "Ah, yes. Fahdonne. You have powerful friends, Dovahkiin, but will they be enough? Can their power equal your own, in the end? Will they…even matter?"

Ruby didn't know why, but that question sent a small chill up her back.

"[Friends always matter, Qomotaadmindol. Not just for their power, but for what they mean in our hearts as well]."

The dragon was quiet for a moment, then he tilted his head, as if to get a clearer view of the young Dragonborn.

"[Bormahu was cruel to choose you]."

---

A few days later…

In the field where Lotgeindwiin's battle was held, a group of dark-cloaked individuals were going through the remains. One, however, had forgone a cloak in favor of forest-green leathers tinted with pink at the edges. She was focusing a sort of ritual, drawing in the ambient energy of the area around her before dipping a hand towards it.

"Hmm, yep, that's necromancy all right," the youthful-looking, pig-tailed Breton said before standing up and nodding her head. The others all glared at her.

"We're more than aware of that," one of them berated her.

"Ah, but the kind!" she emphasized while raising and wagging her finger. She then began to pace while pinching her chin. "It's not Worm Cult. Too clean. In fact, this wasn't mortal-cast at all. Add the talk of dragons at the nearby village and the fact that an Oblivion portal was opened here… Yes, Soul Cairn. Likely Durnehviir. Someone managed to call him, meaning someone's been in and out of the Soul Cairn. Possibly recently."

"You're certain?" another figure asked.

"Positive. I can feel some residual spacetime possi-positions that indicate draco-tonal Shouting. Given that it's Skyrim, one can usually say that may have been a Nordic backward-foil-Voice fold, but not this much, this fresh. Too many hills don't exist for that."

"...What in His name is she saying?"

"Old speech," the Breton mage said, waving her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. You youngsters have other things to worry about. We need to inform some people about the changes this indicates. You go and talk with the Duskfall Haven. They have some people there that might be useful. You two go to the College of Winterhold, then see if you can garner the interest of any Telvannis in Morrowind. Make sure to make it sound prestigious, interesting, lucrative, etcetera. The rest of you, inform The Underking." There was a gasp at that. "Yes, I know, but Greater Necromancy is involved. It's only a matter of time until the Worms poke their fingers into this pie. And by my right foot, I will not have a Daedric Prince popping out of this one. Once was too much, damn it!"

The robed persons began to scatter, either because they had objectives to fulfill, or they no longer wanted to be too near the madwoman.

When she was certain she was sufficiently isolated, she pulled out a device that, by all appearances, looked like a locket. However, it was in truth a rare Dwemer artifact. She only knew of three other pairs, and one of them belonged to the Imperial family. And the one holding the other half of this one was an old friend of hers.

"Teniris, old man, how're the isles?"

"I'm not that much older than you," the Altmer on the other end bit out. "You found out something." A statement, not a question.

"A few things, really," she started off. "For one thing, the dead are getting restless. Pretty sure Wormy's about to get up, and Undy's not going to like that one bit."

"The Worm King is gone."

"You know how we necromancers are, Tenny. We don't like staying dead for long."

"Don't call me that."

"As for the whole thing about Dragonborn, I'm almost certain of it. Not even the Tongues at their peak could do this kind of draco-tonal shifting."

"...Then it really is happening."

"Don't get too down, friend. I've had ears everywhere and I'm pretty sure this is a different breed of Dragonborn than dear, old Tibby. More Remmy or perhaps even Aly style."

"That's not something we can leave to fate. We must ascertain the Dragonborn's ultimate goals. I've looked into this whole prophecy affair inside and out, and all it tells us is who they're meant to fight."

"She. This one's a girl."

"Be that as it may, we must make sure that she does not become like him."

"Oh, no doubt, but I think you might be worrying over nothing. Run by that Thorn boy if you come this way, all right."

"...Justicar Thorn? I knew he was on assignment there…"

"He's got a working relationship with the Dragonborn from what I hear. Which isn't much. Beratu is less than what the Thalmor want working with them. Still, he can get you pointed in the right direction, if nothing else."

"Good. That will simplify matters. Thank you again for keeping me informed, my friend."

"No problem, Tenny. Tell the kids Aunt Malnie says hi."

"...Mal, the kids have grandkids at this point."

"Well tell the whole clan. They all love me."

That finally got a chuckle from the stoic elf. "Sure. Take care, Malnie."

With that, their communique ended, and Malnie stashed the locket away.

She took another look around the field, sensing the necromantic energies that were slowly diffusing themselves from the area. 'Clean' necromancy. Specifically, the smaller, fresher patch which overlayed the Soul Cairn-tainted zone. Not a term she invented, but one she adopted the moment she figured out what her 'healing' magic really was. Necromancy without disturbing the true rest of the dead. If the Soul Cairn was involved, then it wouldn't have cared to use the 'clean' sort and just done what was easiest. That meant whoever had called upon the power cared.

"My, my, caring about every little soul," she muttered as she bent down and poked at the skeleton of some long-dead rodent. "What a grand and intoxicating innocence!"

---

4th of Sun's Dawn

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Lot gein dwiin - Great One Steel

Mal krein zaan - Small Sun Yell

Qo motaad mindol - Lightning Shake Thought

Lost tinvaak us, drogi, daar hi fen krif hin sahlo fah pusojur - [This (has been) discussed before, my lord, you will need to fight your weakness for bugs]

Los hi Dovahkiin, mal kirr? - [You are Dragonborn, little girl?]

Morah nol frod - Concentration/thought/plan change field/battlefield. [A phrase effectively meaning "Change of plans"

Tinvaak faal jorre - [Argue with/fight the mortals]

Thuru Alduin werid okii suleyk - [Our Overlord Alduin (would) praise/exalt his power]

Jiid So Daan - Moon Sorrow Doom - Meteor Storm

Al Gron Nok - Destroyer Bind Lie - Summon Atronach

Sov Ag Slen - Shock Burn Flesh - Lightning Breath (official)

Tuz Kein Zun - Blade War Weapon - Soul Blade

Voag - Unburned, lit. not suffix (vo) + burn (ag)

Dinok yah thur - Death Pursue Overlord