Entering the doors of the temple, Loki had to cast magelights along the long ascending hallway to keep from tripping on the uneven steps. They barred the doors in case some wandering forsworn realized the bridges were down and the entrance was unsealed and decided to investigate. As they exited the corridor and entered the main chamber the lights from the hallway could barely penetrate into the darkness of the huge room. Loki summoned up the biggest ball of light he could muster and cast it directly into the center of the ceiling, lighting up the chamber like it was a huge chandelier. The three stood and stared at what they had just discovered for several moments before they could even come up with words to express their amazement at the detail of architecture of the Akaviri.
"The quarters should be this way." Loki began leading around the left side of the room and up the stairs to the living chambers. Once there, he lit a fire in the fireplace to warm the room and get ready to heat up some food for the evening meal.
If I ever do go home, I'm really going to miss magic. I already know I'm spoiled on setting things on fire at will.
He stowed his gear in a chest next to the bed he had chosen, making sure it was still sturdy enough to not crumble to pieces before putting his weight on it.
"I swear it seems like the magic that sealed this temple off for the last 1600 years must have served to preserve it against time as well as intruders. It's as if it could have been occupied last week. Even the stack of firewood is perfectly preserved, not rotted or crumbling."
"It is amazing the condition this place is in. Are you sure it's been that long since it was locked?" Hadvar asked.
"According to the lore, it was sealed some time around 1E 2818, after the completion of Alduin's Wall, that big mural we saw in the main chamber. I know there is a lot to explore in this temple and we need to take time to go through it properly, but there is one thing that I must go look for tonight or I'm not going to be able to sleep thinking about it." With that, Loki lit another magelight and stuck it above his head and went off looking for the armory.
It took a little longer to find than he expected, there were more rooms to look in than there were in the game. Loki noted that there was a library and planned to start his exploration there in the morning. He also noted a storage room with what appeared to be apothecary supplies and what appeared to be a gym. Guess the dragonguard had to do something to stay in shape during the siege of the temple.
At last he found the door to the armory and walked inside. There were racks of katanas and dai-katanas, racks of shields, racks of bows, bins of arrows, and stands of armor. There must have been hundreds. Whatever the troop count of the dragonguard was, it must have been a small army. As he looked through the room and all the armaments within, Loki noticed a large wardrobe at the back corner of the room made of what appeared to be a beautifully stained cedar wood. Flipping the latch and opening the double doors on the front of the wardrobe, Loki stood in awe of what he found inside.
This set of armor made him think of some of the craftsmanship of the Japanese samurai from his own world. It was formed from dragon scales mounted over what appeared to be ebony chainmail to protect completely while providing maximum range of motion and being as lightweight as possible. The large scale in the center of the chest bore the Akaviri symbol of the dragonborn. The scales were highly polished, but darkened somehow and the backs were covered in a type of felt to prevent them from making noise by hitting each other. The inside of the armor was padded with a satin type covering to comfort the wearer and also soften blows.
I wonder if it's flame retardant as well?
The helmet was carved from a single piece of dragon bone, smoothed and darkened just like the scales, and also padded and covered in a felt material inside for comfort. The image of a dragon was carved over the top of the helmet with the neck and head forming the nose guard. A leather chin strap was also there to keep it on your head during a fight.
On a simple wooden stand in front of the armor was what Loki had come looking for. Ever so reverently, he reached down and took Dragonbane. As he drew the blade from the saya (sheath) electrical sparks crackled and jumped up and down the blade. The tsuba (hand guard), a coiled serpent, seemed to be made of bronze, so Loki assumed it was dwarven metal. The tsuka (hilt) was wrapped in leather with a bronze capped kashira (pommel). The blade felt lighter than steel, then he remembered it was made of quicksilver.
Loki felt like a kid at Christmas who had just gotten the new toy he had been asking for all year. Studying the samurai culture and history had been one of his favorite subjects growing up, and katanas were his all time favorite weapon ever made, so Dragonbane instantly became Loki's most prized possession EVER.
How many dragons have you slain? I hope I don't disappoint and lose before you slay another. Mirmulnir will be waiting for us soon.
He let out a heavy sigh, feeling the pressure of expectation and destiny without the benefit of 'quick save', then he slid the crackling blade back into the saya and placed it back on the stand. Loki stared at the Dragonborn armor for a long time, contemplating if he would be able to live up to this, before closing and latching the wardrobe.
Knowing what to do and when to do it is quite the advantage, but I'm still no athlete. Will I be strong enough to drive Dragonbane through a dragon's scales? Where do i even hit it to cause critical damage? I hope that library has some information on how I'm supposed to do this. Hey, if they prophesied all of this stuff to come, maybe they foresaw the last dragonborn being from another world and having absolutely no warrior training to start with and no idea what he's doing. One can only hope.
Loki rejoined his Nord companions in the living quarters where they were just getting the food off of the fire. What felt like hours Loki had been away was actually only about an hour and a half.
Find what you were looking for? Ralof asked.
"I did, in fact I found a whole lot more than I could have expected. I was looking for a special sword of the dragonborn called Dragonbane, but what I found was an entire complement of armor and weapons made for the dragonborn leader of the dragon guard. I plan to try the armor on tomorrow, but first I want to explore the temple library I found. Hopefully they have some information on how I'm supposed to kill one of these big, flying lizards. There's enough armor and weapons in there for us to rebuild the Blades into a small army. It's like they stocked a time capsule with everything we need to rebuild the Dragon Guard and prepare for the return of the dragons"
"There you go again with that 'Us' talk, we agreed to help take down Alduin for the good of all of Mundus, but after that we are still bound to our armies." Ralof said with a bit of a sneer.
"Yes, I know, your political armies led by your mortal lords to gain them power and control. Fighting over which master you wish to be a slave to. What I'm suggesting is that you stop fighting for the lords and start fighting for the people, for their right to survive, for their right to live in safety from those who only want to tell others how they can live. I'm not going to demand it of you, ever, but I want to bring peace and prosperity back to the people of Skyrim by eliminating everything that is threatening that, namely the dragons and the Thalmor; and I would like it if you two would be by my side to help me do that, as my Colonels or Legate or whatever you want to call that rank. I know there are a few Blades remaining out there. Delphine was apparently the acting grandmaster when they were disbanded. They will probably come back and join us as well, but I trust you two and you work so well together, I'd rather have you leading my Blades."
"That's a lot to think about. And Delphine was a Blade? I knew there was something that woman was hiding. She always seemed like she had a much deeper past than an innkeeper."
"I know, don't feel rushed or pressured. Like I said, it's an offer, and I would appreciate it if the two of you would consider it. And yeah, I don't think she's going to like me being the dragonborn very much."
Ralof looked over at Hadvar who was devouring a piece of venison to sate his hunger from spending the entire day on the road. "You've been quiet through this whole conversation Hadvar, what do you have to say about this?"
Hadvar looked Ralof in the eye and, with one of the most serious expressions Ralof had ever seen him make, told him: "I have served the empire loyally for years thinking that their support was in the best interests of the people of Skyrim. I followed their orders even when I did not understand the purpose those orders were given hoping that someone higher than me had given it enough thought to ensure that I was doing the right thing, but then, two days ago, I was ordered to carry out an execution of a bunch of 'traitors'. Among those traitors was a stranger who I later found out was both innocent of any crime, AND the dragonborn sent to stop the world's end; but also among them was my childhood best friend who, though I felt had betrayed our people, had only done what he felt was right for those people. If that dragon hadn't stopped me from following orders, I would have sent people to the block who didn't deserve to die. I may be deemed a deserter or a traitor for this, but I don't think I can take orders from the empire any longer. It just doesn't feel morally right anymore. I don't know if I am good enough to be a Legate, but I'll give this my best."
Loki could have sworn he saw Ralof get teary eyed for a second while Hadvar was talking, but surely it was just dust in the soldier's eyes, right?!
"Well, when you put it that way, you have a point about this war. Maybe we should take up a different fight instead, against the enemies of the people." Ralof finished his food and sat in thought for several moments.
Loki broke the long silence, "As I said before, don't rush to a decision. We have a few days here to prepare before we return to Whiterun to face destiny with the dragons. Get some sleep and think things through."
Despite the exhausting day of travel, Loki slept lightly through the night. The anticipation of discovery had him waiting for the dawn like a child awaits Christmas morning. He was up as soon as there was enough light in the chamber to see. He lit the fire and started brewing a tea with leaves he had bought from Lucan. Lucan told him they came from a khajiit caravan, but he couldn't even begin to pronounce the name of the plant. It smelled very potent though and Loki hoped it would give him the energy he was going to need for today. Hadvar and Ralof were not as willing to start the day without a proper breakfast so they stayed in the living chamber to cook while Loki took his tea and ventured down into the main atrium.
Entering the large chamber nearly took Loki's breath. Bethesda ain't got shit on this! Carved into the peak of the mountain, the temple was lit with skylights made of some sort of crystals. There were four of them around the room and each made of so many crystals that the light refraction filled the entire room easily. The skylight in front of the mural of Alduin's wall had the crystals set up in such a way that they amplified the light shining on the wall. The great table in the center of the room was carved right out of the rock of the mountain. It was connected at the end closest the mural to what appeared to be a type of stage and was extra wide with a walkway down the middle for servers or speakers.
Loki walked over and studied the mural for a few minutes, deciphering the events in the lore he knew, but there was much more. Looked like he was going to have to wait for Esbern to get here to explain the rest to him. Finishing off his tea, which he found to be very refreshing, Loki headed back for a refill and then off to the library.
The Library was amazing to say the least, rows of shelves filled with books of lore, magic, battle technique, apothecary information, and just about everything else the Akaviri could archive by the end of the first era. Loki began scanning over the books in the combat instructional section first to see if he could find something on dragon killing even though he really wanted to jump straight to the magic and enchanting.
OK, now where do I find 'How to Kill Dragons for Dummies'? If only it were so easy.
Scanning through the books and scrolls he found a few that appeared to have information relating to dragons so he placed them on a table to begin his reading list. He already had an armful of books and he hadn't even looked around the whole room yet.
Ralof and Hadvar joined him shortly, having finished their breakfast and curious to see what Loki had found that had him so excited. As they were browsing around the library looking for certain subjects Loki had told them to look for, Hadvar began examining a very exquisite pair of podiums in the back corner.
"Would you look at this craftsmanship, it's absolutely beautiful. That's a lot of work to put into something that just holds up a book." He said, running his hand over the gold edge gilding and examining the eye carved in the center.
Loki looked up from sipping his tea to see what Hadvar was going on about and nearly choked on the tea in his mouth. Covering his mouth to protect the scrolls in front of him he wiped his mouth, got up, and nearly ran to the podium Hadvar was examining.
"By the nine! Is this what I think it is?! I never expected to see one of these in Skyrim."
"What? What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost, what's got you so damn excited about a book rest?" Hadvar looked like he was ready to slap Loki upside the head to get him to snap out of his excitement and make him explain.
Looking the podiums over carefully, Loki placed his hands on one and could feel that there was much more to these fine library furnishings than simple book stands.
"These, my friends, are something that probably hasn't been seen in Tamriel since the days of the Mages Guild. Thank the gods this temple was sealed ages before the Thalmor destroyed everything. These are alters for spellcrafting and enchanting. The art of writing your own spells and turning them into enchantments seems to have been lost after the Oblivion Crisis, but this temple, this time capsule, has preserved it. With this, I can take the spells that I learn from the tomes I've bought and any that I find in here and make my own more powerful versions of them or even combinations of the different spells."
"Neat," said Ralof, "So how do you use it?"
Loki looked him square in the eyes, and with all confidence replied, "I have no idea."
Ralof laughed at Loki's absolute certain uncertainty. "Well, they won't do us much good then, will they?"
"Well," Loki thought for a second, then continued, "I know the Mages Guild used to use them, there must be a few mages old enough to remember the Mages Guild and how to spellcraft with one of these. There's been no Guild in Skyrim in the fourth era, but it was only 200 years ago, and the Thalmor didn't sack the Imperial City until around 25 years ago. The Archmage at the college of Winterhold is a Dunmer, their average lifespan is 1000 years; the court mage of Solitude is a vampire renowned for her grasp of magical concept, she might be old enough; perhaps Falion of Morthal, he knows things no other mages do. I know one other mage old enough to know how, but she isn't awake yet, and I'm not nearly ready to wake her up."
Ralof and Hadvar exchanged another confused look at the reference to the last mage, but both had learned by now to just shrug off the riddles in Loki's rambling words. It usually took too long to explain and they still wouldn't get it anyway.
"So we're going to have to find an instructor for these?" Hadvar said, then with sarcasm added: "Something your scrolls didn't bother to tell you in advance."
"Well, they taught me what they are and what they do, but no, they didn't teach me how to use them in person. Hell, I don't even know how to use your modern enchanting tables yet, but just wait. Once I get into something like this, I don't stop until I have achieved the zenith of its capabilities. I'm going to make enchantments that will make Ahzidal pale in comparison."
Taking a break from the library in midmorning, Loki showed his Nord companions through the gym and then the armory. Going over and opening the wardrobe, Loki picked up Dragonbane and then stood there admiring the Dragonborn armor on the display.
Hadvar was looking over the armor with awe. "This has got to be some of the finest armor I have ever seen. The Blades spared nothing when it came to equipping their men."
"It certainly is," agreed Ralof. He picked up a katana from the rack and drew it, examining the blade. "In my dreams alone have I imagined being so well armored in battle. These are strange swords though, that will take some getting used to."
"They're Akaviri katanas." Loki explained. "Unlike your broadswords and greatswords that are designed for bashing and chopping, katanas are designed for slashing, slicing the opponent like you would a steak. Both are effective stabbing blades, but where the broadsword needs a lot of strength to chop through the opponent much the same as a axe, the katana utilizes a lightweight curved blade to take advantage of speed and slashing motion to cut through the opponent with much less effort."
"They don't feel heavy enough to do any real damage"
"If you want one with more weight, perhaps you should try the Dai-katanas down at the other end of the rack. You'll have a longer reach too."
"I thought you said you didn't know much about melee combat."
"Well, when I was ten my mom put me in a karate class for two years and part of it was kendo, or fencing with these kinds of swords. I had to stop taking classes when we moved but I remember the basics of these. It's part of the reason I wanted so badly to come here first before I had to get into any real fighting."
"What's karate?" Hadvar interjected.
"It's a type of hand-to-hand self defense that is popular where I'm from. The classes are also a great way for parents to get their kids out of their hair for an hour or so a day so that's why my mom insisted on sending me. The rest of my knowledge about the design is just from spending hours reading about it."
Loki decided it was time to try on the armor, so Ralof and Hadvar assisted him in fitting it, then, stepping back to see the finished work, could barely believe the warrior image that stood before them. Loki's very non-athletic build was augmented quite well by the armor, making him look much broader than he actually was, the greaves and gauntlets made him look a bit more muscular, and the boots and helmet made him appear six inches (15.25 cm) taller.
"How well can you maneuver in it?" Hadvar asked him.
Loki flexed his body this way and that, moved his arms about in wide circles and arcs, kicked his legs back and forth a bit, then in one motion, hopped with both feet up onto the table and stood up.
"The motion is excellent and the weight is light enough I can jump and dodge. It's going to take some getting used to this little dragon sitting on my nose, but I really like it, and black is definitely my color."
After fitting Ralof and Hadvar with Blades armor and picking out weapons and shields for each of them, they placed the armor back on the stands and the three went back to the living chamber for lunch. Loki, having skipped breakfast, was very hungry even though, in all the excitement of the day, he still didn't realize it until he had eaten three helpings of the rabbit stew.
From there, Loki spent the rest of the day in the library looking through the magic and enchanting tomes. He also found a book on dragon language and words of power. It detailed how any word in the dragon language can potentially be a word of power if the one speaking it has understanding and meaning for that word.
This must be how Miraak made so many new shouts like taking dragon souls and such. What I wouldn't give to have him train me.
He wanted to go practice using the voice in the courtyard, but then a thought hit him.
If the greybeards hear me before I fight Mirmulnir, would they know and summon me early? Would I throw off the timeline? Shouting in a barrow is one thing, but up here on a mountain top they'd be sure to hear me. I think I better keep my mouth shut until after the fight, besides, I should do a lot better once I have the dragon's understanding of the language.
Loki learned to cast runes from one of the tomes in the library and then unbarred the door and went out to the front courtyard to get practice by casting several along the path coming into the temple and more around the door itself. After re-barring the door he cast three runes in front of it coming up the stairs, one of each type.
By the time the evening meal was prepared, Loki had made lots of discoveries and advanced his magical knowledge quite a bit, but there was still a long way to go and they wouldn't be able to live here long unless they were able to hunt. With this in mind, Loki decided to see just how good his speechcraft tree was really filled out and try to go negotiate a peace with the forsworn camp tomorrow. He hoped that having three men in ancient armor come out of an ancient temple, maybe the primitive locals would think them something supernatural or godly and be willing to talk. He had to try since the only way in and out of his new temple was through their camp.
Who knows, maybe they could even turn out to be good neighbors. Guess we'll find out tomorrow...