A BLADE IN THE DARK
The Dragonborn
Kynesgrove was just on the horizon. The Night Mother peeks out from under the cover of her cloak. As she said before, it was best to stay hidden in this region. It was unlikely that they would be ambushed and overtaken. Very unlikely. But the less said about her here the better.
It was a good sign when she was spoken of in hushed whispers. When no one has ever seen her, only heard about her, the perceived threat is far greater than the reality. It was best if she lived in their imagination for the time being.
She covers herself yet again when the carriage is driven through town. Many people stand outside, some gawking at the sky, others looking to board up the nearby buildings. As if that would help.
"Don't go there!" A woman yells up to the carriage driver.
"Why? What's going on?" The impish man asks.
She waves her arms erratically before pointing at the sky, "A dragon is here!"
"Attacking Kynesgrove?" He asks again.
"Well, I don't know. Not yet…it flew over the town and landed on the old dragon mound!" The stubborn woman continues, completely ignorant to the time she is wasting, "I don't know what it wants but I don't want to wait around and find out! You should do the same!"
The Night Mother senses the carriage driver is about to try and continue the conversation. So, she leans over the edge and raises her hood, letting her eyes envelop the woman with their power. "You. Get in back. Now."
The woman nods slowly and climbs into the bed of the carriage with the waiting predator.
The mound is a very large burial site. It would have to be to hold such a thing as a dragon. The Night Mother rests on the edge of the carriage, waiting for Delphine to show her pretty face again. The dragon in question is circling up above.
"Mother, she's waking up!" Cicero calls.
"Let her. If we kill her then we bring suspicion onto ourselves." She murmurs, the dragon hasn't appeared to have seen them yet.
Someone puts a hand on her shoulder, "Sorry, I, I'm so dizzy. I need help down."
The Night Mother clasps the woman's warmer hand and allows her aid in getting off the carriage. "Go home." She says.
The woman nods and looks the sky in terror. "By Talos." She whispers before running. The Night Mother leans back onto her forearms to watch the show. The woman runs right across the dragon burial mound and is just in the line of sight of the dragon. He swoops down, a graceful creature meant for the sky, and eats her in one bite.
Her lips curl up in a small smile. Cicero leaps from the carriage at the arrival of Delphine. She races up the hill and comes to dead stop when she sees the black dragon. He falls from the sky once again to hover over the burial mound.
The oblivious innkeeper cowers near the carriage, "Stay under cover. This is what we came for. We need to see what happens."
The Night Mother watches this dragon, her hood falling back so she has a clear view. "Sahloknir! Ziil gro dovah ulse!" The dragon roars, "Slen Tiid Vo!"
"This is worse than I thought…" Delphine says in anguish.
The Night Mother tilts her head when another dragon digs himself out of the grave. His bones rattle as he pulls himself along the ground to shake off the dirt like a newborn babe. Interesting, the theory of the dead dragons are true…and no Thalmor in sight.
The dragon, Alduin, speaks more of his language but the Night Mother has heard enough. She leaps from the carriage, dropping the cloak even with the falling snow and looks up to Alduin.
"You do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah." He roars down to her.
"Mey Dovah." She replies, the dragon lands next to his freshly risen brother, "You are almost as bad as some of my children."
"And I have heard you are as fearful of Tamriel as her citizens are of you." Alduin turns, his large face stares down the Blood Flower.
She smiles, "That is not so. Better for them to whisper my name than to see a figure they can defy. Many people want to hunt you Alduin."
The dragon stalks towards her, raising his head, all he has to do is clamp those powerful jaws around her and she's dead. Or so he would think.
"I have a way out for you. Join me. We will take over Tamriel, there is no need to destroy it, yet." She barely whispers. This is so the others don't hear her bargain. Of course, she wanted to turn her gaze to taking Tamriel after Skyrim. Of course, the souls are still meant for Sithis. It truly didn't matter if this dragon wanted the world destroyed, that time would come eventually but not when her reign was still as youthful as a baby.
"Join Lady Death when I can do this all on my own?" He grins, then shoots up into the air, "Why would I side with the sole person who could defeat me?!" He roars something in his language and is soon covered by the clouds.
Now that the bargain was a failure, the dragon across from her is prowling. He blasts a fray of ice, aiming directly for her but she was prepared. She holds her hand and calls the currents of the storm to shield her, before sending them out to engulf the dragon, tuning him to dust where he once rested whole.
"It's done." Delphine gasps from behind her. Her bow is ready just in case the great beast was still moving.
"You didn't believe me?" The Night Mother raises an eyebrow.
"No, I, oh somethings happening! Gods above!" She exclaims.
That familiar power rushes from the bones of the great dragon, across the land and into the Night Mother herself. She sighs with the newfound power and thinks of which shout to ready. There are few but very powerful ones to choose from.
"Dragonborn." The woman breathes.
"Yes, now you see." The Night Mother stares the other woman down, "Now, we need answers as was promised."
"Of course, whatever you want to ask, nothing held back." Delphine moves forwards, the Night Mother can't help but wonder how lovely she would be as a maid. Or a servant. Someone to grovel at her feet.
But those are thoughts for another time, "Well, Delphine let us start with the mammoth in the room. What are you and what do you want with me? Why call on such a…dangerous ally?" She smiles, waiting. Even if Delphine lies and tries to cover up any intentions of killing her and Cicero, she will see through it.
"I'm one of the last members of the Blades." The Night Mother thought so. Dragonslayers from long ago. "We served the Dragonborn, the greatest dragonslayer of our kind." She continues, "For the last two-hundred years since the last Dragonborn emperor the Blades have been searching for a purpose. Now that dragons are coming back, our purpose is clear again. We need to stop them."
"Hm," The Night Mother ponders, "You still think this is a Thalmor trick?"
"I don't know, I know as much as you do. That was the first time I've seen that black dragon!" She has the good grace to put her weapons away before Cicero gets the wrong idea. He is watching them from the carriage with bright eyes.
A very good way to hide to something, through ignorance. The Night Mother decides to keep what she knows about Alduin to herself. For the time being. "Very well. We need to get to the bottom of this."
"Yes! We've been blundering around in the dark like fools! We need to figure out who is behind this all! This is why the Thalmor theory holds weight. Think about it." She snaps when the Night Mother gives her a mocking glance.
Cicero is stalking behind Delphine with a blade at the ready. The Night Mother just raises a hand to stop him. Delphine mistakes that and now the words are tumbling out of her mouth, "Oh, you probably don't know the Thalmor as well as us. They are the faction that rules the Aldmeri Dominion. The ones who almost destroyed the Empire during the Great War thirty years back. There's no worse enemy to humankind in Tamriel. It's too convenient. The Empire had captured Ulfric, the war was basically over. Then a dragon attacks. Ulfric escapes and the war is back on. And now dragons are attacking everywhere. Indiscriminately. Skyrim is weakened. The Empire is weakened. Who else gains from that but the Thalmor?" She sneers.
"You are quite intelligent." Is all the Night Mother says to that. This conspiracy theory might be a ploy, or a tool. If Delphine turns out to be someone untrustworthy, then from the sound of it, the Night Mother can snap her fingers, give the "Blades" to these Thalmor, and then she is owed. Not that she needs it. But debt can be a worthy treasure.
Furthermore, Ulfric Stormcloak. That man. The one that Eve saw during her execution day. It sounds like he has the way of the Voice. A potential enemy? It is best to let them fight it out before she intervenes on behalf of their weaknesses.
"Thank you." Delphine gives a small smile, "We need to find out what the Thalmor know about dragons. We need to get into the Thalmor Embassy. It's the center of their operations in Skyrim. Problem is that place is locked up tighter than a miser's purse. They could teach me a few things about paranoia…" She rolls her eyes.
The Night Mother keeps her eyes on her. What a weak warrior. Letting her guard down so easily. "And how do we get into this Embassy?"
"Not sure yet. I have a few ideas. But I'll need some time to pull things together. Meet me back in Riverwood. If I'm not back when you get there wait for me. I shouldn't be long." She beams at the Night Mother and immediately averts her gaze.
Her fangs are showing with her smile, "No. You know how precious our time is. Send me a letter. You know where the address is."
"I will but you'll need to be ready." Delphine sputters.
The Night Mother only pulls her dress to keep from getting dirt ruining it on the way out of the burial mound. "I always am. Never underestimate who you're working with."
It's almost like the woman forgot who she was dealing with. Forgot about all the stories and myths. The gossip around towns. The reason people were fearful it was the reason for businesses shuttering. Surely a small village such as Riverwood would be going through a tough time at the moment. This woman barely had her head in reality.
But maybe that is for the best. The Night Mother takes Cicero's hand and pulls him into the carriage. She doesn't give one last look to the Innkeeper. She doesn't have to. Nor, does she care. All that is on her mind now is the need to get back to the Castle and quickly. The Brotherhood has been without her for too long.
"Cicero thinks she's lying." He wheezes when he pulls the oars again. The sea is choppy but they get closer to the island by the second.
"Perhaps, nothing to fear at the moment." Her eyes are kept on the horizon. No dragons near here. Maybe they took her warning seriously.
"Mother, what if she's arming a force against you? Ready to invade your Castle?" He cries.
"Sweet Child, you are paranoid." She smiles. The towering fortress breaks free from the mist, coming into view and showing all the dragon skulls kept on spikes lining the perimeter. They had twelve so far. On the shore stood a solitary Redguard man. His hands were clasped behind him and he had an easy smile to match his rigid posture.
"Good to see a familiar face." Nazir grins when the bow scrapes the shore. He helps the Night Mother from her boat and chaperones her through the large doors.
"Tell me, any trouble in my absence?" She glances around the room. Still bloodied from the last meal, at least the bodies were fresh now.
"No, not unless you call a lost newly wedded couple a problem. They're up for dinner tonight." He smiles. She wonders again for the second time if this man would want to be changed over. He never expressed a desire to, and the Night Mother prefers to keep it that way. But immortality does become enticing.
"Get the others." She tells him and lets him run off. She brushes her hand over the silver coffin that kept her hidden and barricaded for years. It sits in the main room, upright and standing, waiting to be opened. She does so now, the gnarled and withered body rests inside.
The Night Mother strokes the head of her old vessel. Wishing for once that she could be in it again. Not as a dead thing, but as a living, breathing creature back in her own skin. As grateful as she is for her new body, she does have moments of longing for how she once was.
"Mother. They're here." Cicero states. She glances over her shoulder to find Babette, Nazir, Cicero and all the other initiates crowding the room. There were too many to count now.
"Good. We have contracts. I heard the call of no less than twenty-five Black Sacraments on my journey. You all should be getting a piece of this and if not, you go in pairs." She watches her army. Her forces. The map of Skyrim is plastered and nearly carved into the side wall, right next to the coffin. Knives replace each Hold that they have taken. Only the north so far.
"The dragons are still a threat. Do not underestimate them. I am looking for a way to deal with them for good." She grinds out. Memories of the arrogance Alduin showed come flooding back. She hasn't been around that kind of attitude in so long…not for at least a month and a half.
"Go now," The Night Mother commands, "Hear the Black Sacrament. When those contracts are completed, we will work on taking Whiterun Hold." The initiates echo back to her, "Yes, Mother." Then run off to do all the murdering they can.
She sighs, lounging in a chair at the main table. Takes a sip or two from the nearest wrist. "Mother, how was your journey?" Babette asks.
"Tiresome. The Innkeeper has us on a goosechase but I think she's planning something."
"Against us?" Nazir takes a goblet and fills it to the brim with blood from a nearby pitcher. He hands it to her and bows his head slightly, showing respect.
Her upper lip curls but she takes the offering. Some were too prone to kissing up to her. "Possibly. She was fearful. There are other considerations. The dragons are a tangible threat. I saw Alduin with my own eyes, I tried to bargain but he was having none of it. The fool." She spits.
"More complications." Babette hands her a stack of letters, all from the Blue Palace, she takes them in her small and delicate hands.
"Elisif again?"
"Requesting to see you not once or twice but ten times." Nazir laughs.
"She is low on my priority list." The Night Mother tosses the letters into the nearby fire, "It is quite possible she wants a bargain." An interesting thought occurs. She can invade the Thalmor Embassy by Elisif's word alone, but there are too many potential problems with that. For one, she could lose her footing in the Hold if too many of her members were killed. Not for long but time was precious at the moment.
"What of Eve?" Nazir asks. That stupid, paranoid and nagging question that all the others repeat.
"I have not heard of her nor seen her. It is possible she is cowering in the corner of the province." The Night Mother takes a sip from her goblet. Decadent. "And if she is planning something, striking up the courage to fight against me again, she will have another thing coming." She holds up her hand showing that ring that Eve had on. It was given to her back in Whiterun by the Seer, a way to cut off the Daedric Princes from her mind, and thus from the Night Mother herself.
Babette giggles and Nazir sits across from them. "What of them? When will they be banished from Mundus?"
"When the time is correct," she murmurs while watching the flames flicker from the fireplace, "It is a complicated process, one that takes more time and less distractions like dragons."
"Mother! For you!" Cicero skips over to her, bows, and hands her a note. A fresh one.
She opens it and glances over the contents quickly. "The Innkeeper, these are our instructions."
"Oh, yes Mother! A night of deceit and trickery!" Cicero giggles.
"What's this about?" Nazir asks.
"Just aiding the conspiracy theories of a paranoid woman. Nothing more. It will get us to our goals though, more quickly than you would think possible." She throws that note into the fire as well, "Cicero get ready."
"Yes, Mother!" He sings as he races out of the room to his own.
"Keep your eyes out here, as usual. This won't take long."
"Yes, Mother." The other two, very obedient initiates say. How wasteful it was for them to be under Astrid's rule, now they are in the correct home. The Night Mother goes to wait outside the Castle for her henchman. There she stares at the stars above. The North star was bright and brilliant tonight. A beautiful thing. Something she never noticed before that night in Morthal when Eve was sent to Sithis. It is a precious gem to behold and there aren't many beautiful things left when you live forever.
"Ready Mother?" Cicero races past her to the rowboat.
She takes her time walking and enjoying the night before their journey. There is no need to rush now that things are under control.
Cicero's Journal Entry
11th of Sun's Height, 4E 202
Off to stop the Thalmor! Or, wait, to find the dragons secrets! These things are complicated but Mother, smart as she is, knows just where all the pieces lay! Tonight will be a night for revelry, for feasting, for lying and deceiving! The night could possibly be ripe for murder! A little cloak and dagger, hm? Cicero can barely wait!