A/N: Long chapter again. Not gonna spend time on travel between wayshrines now because it's unnecessary.
"Welcome, initiates, to the Wayshrine of Illumination. Are you prepared to honour the mantras of Auri-El and allow his teachings to show you the way?" the prelate of the wayshrine they arrive at next intones.
"We are," Destra says reluctantly.
"Very well. Enter. May Auri-El's brilliance illuminate your path."
Neither is certain they are actually prepared for another wayshrine, but they have no choice but to proceed. Destra takes Serana's hand, and they walk through the archway.
—
Lucia lies on the ground before Destra. Blood flows freely from her nose, her ears, her mouth. Destra feels her throat tingle with ancient magic from a freshly expelled shout. Lucia does not move. Destra runs and throws herself to the ground beside her daughter. She takes the young woman's head into her lap and draws on what little Restoration magic she possesses. It is not enough, she knows, but there is no one else around them to lend aid. Destra tries to pick Lucia up, carry her to a more adept healer, but in this quasi-memory, she is not strong enough. Destra watches as her little girl, her only child, dies by her actions.
But no. Destra knows this is not true.
With all of her might, she picks up Lucia, forcing this realm to obey her as she carries her daughter to the healer. Lucia is restored, and as in reality, she tells her mother she does not wish to see her again. Directionless, Lucia wanders out of the temple. Destra follows her, a shadow in a memory she should not be privy to. Lucia looks to Jorvaskr and watches for several minutes before shaking her head, an unfallen tear in her eye. She walks out of the gates of Whiterun and heads west.
Wolves, bears, and bandits accost Lucia, and despite Destra's best efforts, she cannot intervene. She does not need to, however. Her daughter requires no aid in combat. Her mothers taught her well, after all. For days Lucia wanders the wilds aimlessly. On the fourth day, she stops in Rorikstead. She is exhausted, hungry, and filthy. Destra's heart breaks anew to see her child in such a state. She brightens slightly when Mralki, Erik's father, recognizes Lucia and offers her room and food.
Mralki asks her why she's in Rorikstead looking like she hasn't seen a bed in a week. He asks where Destra and Aela are. Lucia's face darkens. She tells him that Aela is dead and that she and Destra got into a fight, that they aren't speaking. Mralki frowns. He tells her that she's welcome to stay at the inn as long as she needs. It's the least he can do for family. Lucia thanks him both then and when he brings her something to eat. Destra sits next to her and tries to touch her arm. Her hand simply passes through.
Lucia stays at the inn for several days. She cooks and cleans to pay back Mralki, despite his insistence that she needn't. One afternoon, a group of Imperial soldiers wanders into the inn. Lucia brings them a round of ale, and one asks her to join them at the hearth. She sits quietly while they talk about the state of the war, recent battles, and which side is better equipped. Another asks Lucia which side she favours. Lucia tells her that she's never given it much thought. The war was almost three decades old now. Why should she care about a war with seemingly no resolution? The soldier laughs and tells her it's a fair point.
The group drinks until nightfall, and eventually Lucia joins them in imbibing. By her second mug of mead, she is laughing at the crude jokes the soldiers make. By her third, she is singing loudly with them. By her fourth, she is flirting back with the man who originally invited her. Destra smiles at her daughter's good time. She does not follow when Lucia brings the soldier to her room. The next morning, the soldiers prepare to move out. Lucia's companion, Thaik, asks her if she'd like to come with them. After some thought, she tells him she would. When he is certain no one is watching, he kisses her fondly.
Lucia and the soldiers reach Solitude after two days. Thaik takes her to Castle Dour to report to Legate Rikke. The legate looks her up and down before telling her she'll do. Thaik offers to take Lucia into his squadron, and after a scrupulous glance, Rikke nods. Thaik does his best to hide the grin that threatens his lips. Rikke rolls her eyes and tells him that Lucia is to begin training immediately. He salutes, and after signing her papers, he leads her to the training yard.
For three weeks, Lucia trains. Her instructors are pleasantly surprised at her bowmanship, and she quickly picks up what skill she lacks with a sword. Thaik watches her most days and gives her pointers when he thinks he can help. She doesn't need them, but she also doesn't tell him that. Some nights they spend in the bedroom, but many more they spend around the fire. They talk about their childhoods, their interests, their hopes, their fears. Lucia tells Thaik about her mothers and growing up with the Companions. Thaik tells Lucia about his father and growing up amongst the warriors of Hammerfell.
When Lucia's training is complete, Thaik informs the company they are forwarding to a ruin called Korvanjurd. He isn't certain why exactly, only that an artifact buried there might help the Legion win the war. None of them are hopeful, but they move out anyway. When the company arrives, the bodies of both Stormcloaks and legionaries litter the snow. Thaik mutters that this piece of junk had better be worth it. Lucia helps the other soldiers bury the dead, ally and enemy alike.
Thaik orders the group to help secure the inner sanctum. A few draugr oppose them as they press inward, and Lucia cringes at the sight of the creatures. This does not stop her from slaying more than any other member of the party. Thaik smirks at this. It takes them about an hour to reach the room where the artifact is supposed to be held. Thaik says that they are looking for the Jagged Crown according to the captain, and one of the soldiers baulks. He cannot believe they came all this way for a piece of jewellery. Thaik squares with him and tells him it's an order, and the soldier backs down. Privately he tells Lucia that he agrees.
The crown is naturally atop the head of a powerful draugr lord, and it takes Lucia, Thaik, and two others to bring it down. When they secure the crown, the legate of the operation orders them to bring it to General Tullius himself. On their journey back, Lucia asks Thaik how the crown is supposed to help the Empire win. He shrugs and says that it's important to the Nords. Supposedly it will help legitimise the wearer's claim to the High Throne. She asks him who will wear the crown then. Ulfric is an ancient, all but on his deathbed, and Elisif is not so young herself anymore. Thaik laughs and tells her it hardly matters, so long as there's an imperial ass for the throne. This is enough of an answer for Lucia.
The two deliver the crown to the general when they return to Solitude. He seems as convinced as they are of its import, but he is also pleased that Ulfric does not have it. He, too, is an old man, but he hates like a youthful firebrand. Legate Rikke orders Thaik's company to assist in taking a Stormcloak-occupied fort, and they head out the next morning. Destra watches for months as her daughter is shipped all across Skyrim to fight a war that she herself refused to get involved in. All the while, she sees Lucia and Thaik grow closer.
One morning, the company receives word that all units are to report to the Imperial Camp outside Windhelm. Tullius intends to sack the city. None of them can believe that the war may be nearing an end. They march with gusto. When the general is pleased with the amassed forces, he details the battle plans to the army. That night, they attack. What Stormcloaks remain are battered and poorly equipped, even in their own capital. The battle is over almost as soon as it begins, and Lucia and Thaik rush the Palace of Kings alongside Tullius and Rikke. Ulfric waits for them atop his throne. He and Tullius are both old men and well past their primes, but the rebel king still challenges the general to single combat. Tullius smiles wickedly when his blade sinks into Ulfric's heart.
Tullius dies a week after the end of the war, his mission complete. Rikke assumes command of the Imperial forces in Skyrim. She allows anyone who joined for the sake of the war effort to leave if they so choose. When Lucia tells Thaik that she is pregnant, their decision to leave is easy. Destra watches their wedding, a small ceremony witnessed by a few of their soldier friends. She watches as they build a house in Falkreath Hold, only a few miles from the Ancestor Glade. She watches as her grandson is born.
One evening, when the boy is a few weeks old, Lucia tells Thaik that she wants Destra to know about them both. He smiles and brings her a quill and parchment. They send the letter with a courier the next day. Lucia does not know that the courier is killed by a bear two days later, the letter forsaken in a ditch by the side of the road. As the vision begins to fade, Destra commits the location of her daughter's homestead to memory.
—
Valerica pushes the Elder Scroll into Serana's arms as she guides her into the crypt. She tells her daughter that she will be back for her once it's safe. Serana asks when that will be, but Valerica hushes her. She kisses her on the forehead and gives her the potion she's prepared. Reluctantly, Serana drinks it. Sleep overtakes her within seconds. Valerica watches her for a few moments before closing the tomb and casting the sealing spell. After ensuring that the traps she's set are functioning, she leaves the cave.
Serana can see her body inside the crypt. She wonders briefly if she is dead before remembering the wayshrines. Serana decides to follow her mother. She already knows what happens to her here.
Valerica hisses to herself when she steps into the sunlight. The carriage driver she enthralled waits obediently by the side of the road. Serana climbs in beside Valerica and reads over her mother's shoulder as she journals.
Serana is safely interred with the scroll. It would take Harkon a thousand years to even find the chamber, and even then I doubt he could open it. He never did pay mind to the arcane unless it suited his own plans. I will take my scroll where he cannot follow, even if he possessed the knowledge to get there, which he certainly does not. I know not where the last scroll lies. I can only hope its location is lost to time and neither he nor any other fool stumbles upon it by chance. Serana does not know where I intend to hide, and it is safer for us both. She is strong, but there is no telling what tortures Harkon would suffer her through to pry that information from her.
Serana laughs bitterly to herself. Her mother would never compliment her to her face.
The carriage arrives at Castle Volkihar a day and a half later. Serana cringes when Valerica feeds on the driver after soul-trapping and killing him. She might think less of it had she not seen the Soul Cairn with her own eyes. This makes her think of Destra and the fate she is doomed to. Serana frowns.
Valerica uses the same passage Serana and Destra used to get to her laboratory. She removes the crests of the moondial before closing the stairway from the other side. The gargoyles leave her be, and she reaches the lab without any trouble. Serana wishes it had been this uneventful for them. The laboratory itself is pristine. No dust or cobwebs mar the shelves' surfaces, and every book and ingredient is in its home. Serana had forgotten a thousand years had passed since her mother was last in it.
Valerica begins pulling reagents and recipes. She works like a maelstrom, and suddenly Serana thinks that time is not only to blame for the mess. When she is satisfied with her collection, Valerica packs her supplies before opening her journal.
I am now prepared for my journey. I do not know how long I will be gone, nor the state of the world when I return. I leave this ledger as a final account of my actions should I find myself unable to return. Serana, you are the only person who has any hope of finding this place or me. I do not anticipate that you will have to, but should your father find your location first, I expect you to escape him and search for me. I will be in the place where foolish souls go. You know the spell, and I will leave you what you need to cast it. I love you. Be strong.
Valerica deposits the journal on the shelf that Destra found it on only weeks ago. Serana remembers this passage well. Valerica mixes the bone meal, soul gem shards, and void salts before cutting her hand and dripping her blood into the mixture. The portal opens with vibrant light, and after one last look around the laboratory, Valerica steps through. Serana follows her back to the Soul Cairn. She doesn't think she could ever get used to this place.
Valerica closes the portal once she is through. Harkon cannot follow her, but there is also no turning back for now. She calls out to the Ideal Masters and beckons that they offer her refuge in this plain. She offers a bag of soul gems. No one responds, but a beacon begins to emit from the ruins Serana and Destra found her in. Valerica drops the bag, and it disappears into the sand. She walks toward the ruins. When she steps through the doors to the courtyard, the beacon evaporates, and the magical barrier erects. Valerica curses.
A roar sounds in the distance, and soon Durnehviir swoops into view. He tells Valerica he is charged with guarding her. She is safe in the Cairn, but she is confined to this fortress. Valerica asks how long he must guard her, how long she must stay. He tells her until the Masters may claim her soul as payment. She laughs at him and says that he'd better be a patient creature.
Time advances quickly now, and Serana watches as her mother waits for centuries in the Cairn. Occasionally she mixes a potion, reads a book, casts a spell. But for the most part, there is only loneliness and the void. Valerica does not cry, but Serana recognises the sorrow anyway. She does not shout, but Serana knows the anger. She does not scream or mutter, but Serana sees the madness.
Serana realises that this could have been her fate too. But she remembers nothing of her thousand-year slumber. She silently resolves once more to retrieve her mother from the Soul Cairn when their quest is complete.
—
When Destra and Serana wake this time, both are more smile than tear. Serana tells Destra that she needs to talk to Valerica again, apologise, maybe, for being as harsh as she was. Destra is not certain she agrees, but she nods all the same. She tells Serana that she has a grandson, that Lucia is married, and she knows where to find her. Serana beams and promises they'll go as soon as they can. Destra promises her the same.
Destra is fifty-six years old. She knows she won't live forever. It doesn't matter so much, now. She has a grandson.
A/N: I feel like the Skyrim Civil War would just be one of attrition. Ulfric can't realistically win with his resources, and the Empire wouldn't waste more resources than necessary just to prove a point. It also wouldn't suit Destra's character to get involved, so Lucia is the one who helps resolve it in place of the Dragonborn in-game. Bear with me on the timeline though.
I also wanted to make Valerica slightly less awful. I do feel like centuries in the Soul Cairn would make anyone a little cray cray.