"So, the Dragonborn appears, at this moment, at the turning of the age. We will see if you truly have the gift. Show us, Dragonborn. Let us taste of your Voice."
The Word leapt to her lips without thinking.
FUS
The old man in robes stumbled back as the others looked on in awe. "Dragonborn, it is you. Welcome to High Hrothgar. I am Master Arngeir; I speak for the Greybeards. Now tell me, Dragonborn, why have you come here?"
"Why indeed?"
Because there's a dragon soul lodged in my head that will not go away.
"Manners, hatchling. I also see revealing that fact as a very poor decision. As do you. Answer truthfully. You knew the reply when outside the door. What has changed in these scant minutes?"
"I am answering your summons, Master," Elana replied in a clear voice.
"We are honored to welcome the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar. We will do our best to teach you how to best use your gift in the fulfillment of your destiny."
"What is my destiny?" Everyone seems to know but me.
Mirmulnir chuckled. "I have come to like your tongue, little one. Careful you don't actually come to earn my respect."
Elana visibly smiled, swiftly hiding it as Arngeir replied, "That is for you to discover. We can show you the way but not your destination."
"I'm ready to learn."
"You have shown that you are Dragonborn. That much is clear. But do you have the discipline to follow the path before you? That remains to be seen. Without training, you have already taken the first steps into forming your Voice into a Thu'um, or Shout. Now let us see if you are willing and able to learn. When you Shout, you speak in the language of dragons-"
Is that true?
"Aye, it is. Certain words of dragon tongue can be formed into something of a physical manifestation. How do you think I breathed fire? I called on the form of fire itself. And yet 'yol' is still the word I'd use when explaining how I'd clear a field. You need only one 'Word of Power,' as the Greybeards call them, to form a full Shout. Now pay attention to this mortal Master."
"-will now teach you 'ro,' the second word of Unrelenting Force. 'Ro' means 'balance' in the Dragon Tongue. Combine it with 'fus' to focus your Thu'um more sharply."
The other monk turned and Shouted, "RO." The word burned itself into the floor and her mind.
"It feels as it did in the barrow, does it not?"
Yes…
"Let the other Master help you learn."
"-you can absorb a slain dragon's life-force and knowledge directly to understand a Shout. As part of your initiation, Master Einarth will allow you to tap into his understanding of 'ro.'"
Another stream of light came towards her. This time, she was prepared for the onslaught of BALANCE in her head to counteract the madness learning the word had briefly wrought inside her.
"Let us see how fast you can master new Thu'um."
But I have to process-
"You didn't process before-"
"Show us you're improved Unrelenting Force Shout-"
I'm not ready-
Yes you are; you're strong-
"We'll conjure targets-"
I can't-
"RO! FUS RO!"
"FUS RO!" The words exploded from her at Mirmulnir's bidding and the concussive blue aura bowled over another of the grey cloaked monks and the apparition that had appeared.
"Again!"
"FUS RO!"
"Again!"
"FUS RO!"
"There. See if you doubt me or yourself again."
She had knocked about each of the apparitions. As she worked to catch her breath, Arngeir began to speak. "Your Thu'um is precise. You show great promise Dragonborn. We will hold your next trial in the courtyard. Follow Master Borri."
A/N: I'm afraid I'm not ready to regularly update, but since it was the weekend, here's the next chapter.