Loki stood on the platform in front of Alduin's wall and watched as Hadvar marched the new recruits into Sky Haven Temple. He had sent a courier from Solitude before they left to have Hadvar bring what recruits he had and leave Uthgerd in Whiterun in charge of recruiting efforts. Hadvar had around fifty recruits so far, which wasn't bad for the beginning of his Dragon Guard, in Loki's opinion. He greeted them all, then went back to the library and left Hadvar and Ralof to get the recruits fitted out with armor, weapons, and quarters.
Later that evening, Hadvar found Loki in the courtyard practicing his magic and shouts while the recruits were getting settled in.
"So how long are we staying here this time? And what's next on the agenda?"
"I'll be leaving for Riverwood in the morning, I want you and Ralof to get these recruits trained and ready while I track down the remaining people and items needed to take on Alduin."
"You mean you want to go alone? Hell No!"
"Hadvar, it will be ok. I have my armor and weapons, and my enchantments can protect me from any common bandits along the way. Plus, I have mastered most of my shouts. As long as I stay on the roads I should be fine. Besides, Delphine will be with me after I reach Riverwood. I'll be fine."
"I guess. I still don't like it, but I have to admit you know what you're doing." Hadvar sighed reluctantly.
Loki placed his hand on Hadvar's shoulder. "I appreciate the concern, my friend. I'll be fine. Now, give me a hand in the library. I want the Spellcrafting and the Enchantment alters placed into my Oblivion locker in case I need them while I'm travelling."
"You've figured out how to use them?" Hadvar asked.
"Well, I'm learning. The court mage in Solitude was most helpful."
With that, the two went off to get Loki packed for his journey.
The road was fairly uneventful for the most part. Loki had worn common clothes so as not to attract a lot of attention and kept his amulet chain tucked away from view. If at any point he suspected anyone was near, he would cast an invisibility spell until he determined whether the source of alarm was any threat, and any wild animals were quickly pacified by his Kyne's Peace shout. After making a slight detour on the plains to make good on a promise, he arrived in Whiterun just after dusk and made his way to Breezehome to get some rest.
When he awakened the following morning, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. As the room came into focus Loki realized someone was in the room. He snatched the covers up over his waist as he exclaimed, "What the Hell?!"
At the table, in the corner of the room, calmly sat Lydia eating a roll of bread and casually watching him.
"Good morning my Thane. It's good to see you again. If I had known you would be back last night I would have had your bed prepared and a meal."
"Um… how long have you been sitting there?" Loki asked with a very disturbed look on his face.
"I don't know, forty-five minutes, an hour maybe. I tried to rouse you for breakfast, but you were sleeping very deeply."
"Yeah, I was tired, It's a long walk from Sky Haven Temple. And watching people sleep is creepy, Lydia, even if you are their sworn protector. If you had startled me awake I might have shouted you through the wall. Let's not have that happen, OK?
Lydia's expression changed to that of a scolded child. In a very apologetic tone she said "I'm sorry if I offended you, Thane. It won't happen again."
"No, no, I'm not offended. I'm just jumpy when I wake up to find someone in the room when I was expecting to be alone. I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt you. I'm still getting used to having the power of the dragons at the sound of my voice."
"I understand my Thane. Would you care for something to break your fast now?"
"Sure, I guess. Just let me get dressed."
"Yes, my Thane." Lydia said, still sitting in the chair.
"Um… alone, please, Lydia."
"Oh… OH! Of course my Thane, forgive me, I wasn't thinking. I, um… I'll go set the table." Lydia blushed as she quickly left the room and closed the door.
Loki donned a nice robe, but nothing too fancy. He didn't really want to stand out today, just get a few things done before he headed on to Riverwood. After he finished eating he headed out to check on Lucia and give Ysolda the mammoth tusk he had promised her. That was the reason for the detour on the plains. Lucia was very excited to have her adopted father home, even if it was only for a short while. They spent the morning in the market so Loki could offload some of the loot he had acquired in his travels and buy a few odds and ends to make sure Lucia had everything she needed during his absences. He also let her know that her room was ready and she could move into Breezehome whenever she was ready.
They had lunch in the Bannered Mare and Uthgerd let him know how recruiting was going. She said it had been pretty good after the dragon attack on the watchtower, but had slowed down in the last few weeks.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it will pick back up again soon once I start hunting dragons and the stories get out." Loki told her reassuringly
After lunch he headed up to Dragonsreach to inform the Jarl of his current progress, check on the current political issues in Whiterun, and see if Farengar had some more soul gems he could buy. On his way back to the gate heading out to Riverwood Loki ran into a well-dressed Redguard with a snooty air about him.
"Do you get to the Cloud District very often?" He scoffed as he eyed Loki's casual robes, "Oh, what am I saying? Of course you don't."
Loki rolled his eyes in recognition. "Actually I just came from there. I'm Loki, THANE of Whiterun, and you must be Nazeem, the farmer the Jarl complains is stalking him. You do what, exactly? Advise the Jarl as to what vegetables he should eat for dinner? Save your pretentiousness for someone who didn't save the city from a dragon. Oh, and leave the Jarl alone. He already has too many boot lickers to deal with."
Nazeem's eyes grew wide at the obvious insult, but Loki just laughed and walked on by without giving him time to respond.
Lydia, Uthgerd, and Lucia saw him off at the stables and he took the carriage to Riverwood, arriving in time to greet a few of his friends who were having evening drinks at the Sleeping Giant before he went over and subtly handed the note to Delphine.
"I'm here to rent your attic room, or should i say your little basement hideout?"
At the mention of her secret room, Delphine got noticeably nervous. "You? You're the Dragonborn? Not exactly who I expected."
"So sorry to disappoint you, but I'm the one Akatosh chose."
As they closed the door and walked into the basement room Delphine continued her doubt. "How do I know that you are actually Dragonborn. I retrieved the horn, does that make me Dragonborn?"
"No it doesn't, though I am curious how you managed to open the triple gates without being able to Whirlwind Sprint. That's not really important though. I devoured Mirmulnir's soul and absorbed his power. You were there that day, you should know that already. By the way, where's my horn?"
"Oh, yeah, here." Delphine handed over the horn, seeming a little caught off guard by how Loki appeared to be completely ready for anything she asked before she asked it. "Don't you even want to know who I am or why I've sought you out?"
"I can probably answer those questions better than you can Deplhine. 'The Elder Scrolls' have revealed much to me."
"Is that so, then can you tell me where we need to go next?" Delphine lowered her brow and crossed her arms with doubtful suspicion.
"Get some rest, we leave for Kynesgrove at dawn."
Delphine was left speechless as Loki simply bowed and turned to leave the room.
The following morning Loki stepped out of his room wearing his Dragonscale armor with Dragonbane at his side. Again, Delphine's eyes went wide at the sight of the Akaviri craftsmanship. "Where did you get that?" She said in a tone that sounded like she was accusing him of robbing the graves of long dead Blades.
"You'll find out in due time, but know it was crafted specifically for me, as was this sword. Now, let's eat and get going."
After Breakfast they boarded the carriage that Loki had paid to wait the night and carry them to Kynesgrove. Even Pushing the horses hard, the carriage didn't arrive in Kynesgrove until midday the following day. There was no sign of any dragon's yet, but They wasted no time getting up to the old burial mound and getting prepared for what was coming next.
They made a hide on the edge of the clearing from which to watch the events unfold and assess the situation. Loki explained very clearly to Delphine that they needed to see what was happening before trying to jump into combat with the dragons. Delphine had a bow and a Blades katana while Loki had Dragonbane on his belt and his Lightning Rod staff on his back. He figured shock magic would be the best to take on Sahloknir since dragons are basically immune to fire and frost. Like Ralof, Delphine was puzzled by the strange looking staff, but her pride kept her from asking about it since she never wanted to let on that she didn't know about something. Being that she had lived the last few decades in such secrecy, the fact that Loki was a complete mystery to her while he seemingly knew everything about her was frustrating and unnerving her to no end.
Just before sundown, they saw him coming. Alduin soared down the edge of the mountains from the southwest passing between Bonestrewn Crest and Mzulft. He circled Kynesgrove twice before coming to a hover over the burial mound.
Delphine almost leapt out of the hide to attack but Loki grabbed her, pulling her down, and in a hushed tone told her "That's the dragon that destroyed Helgen, we can't take him ourselves. Even the legion got their asses handed to them by this dragon."
"What are we supposed to do? Just sit here and let him do whatever he wants?"
"You can watch, and maybe learn something useful to help us stop him in the future, or you can run out there and die and he will do whatever he wants anyway. Get it? Now stay quiet so I can hear him. I need to hear what he says."
Alduin began to speak and a power began to emanate from the mound.
"Sahloknir, ziil gro dovah ulse!" (Sahloknir, I bind your dragon spirit for eternity.)
Then he shouted and his thu'um shattered the stone lid of the burial mound. "Slen Tiid Vo!" (Flesh Time Undo).
The skeleton of Sahloknir climbed from the ancient burial mound, looked up at Alduin, and then began to regenerate his flesh and scales. Loki took special note of both the resurrection shout and the way Alduin first bound Sahloknir's spirit to his own will, basically making him a slave.
Loki whispered to Delphine, "Whatever happens, stay hidden until the black dragon is gone."
Delphine looked at him puzzled as he formed an orb of magicka in his hand. "And just what are you going to do?" she asked.
"Get a better view, stay put." Then he cast the spell and vanished.
Loki snuck up close enough he could actually feel the heat coming off of Sahloknir as the dragon's flesh 'unburned' back onto his bones. He had the Lightning Rod in his hands and lightning spells primed with both hands in case the dragons realized he was there and attacked, though he knew he stood little chance against Alduin at this point. He just hoped the events unfolded as they were supposed to.
"Alduin, thuri! Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?" (Alduin, my lord. Has the time come to restore our ancient dominion) Sahloknir asked once he was restored to his complete self.
"Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir." (Yes, Sahloknir, my champion.) Alduin replied to his newly resurrected underling. Then he turned to where Loki was standing and spoke as if he could see Loki all along.
"Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi." (So, you are the dragonborn? I see nothing of the dragon kind in you.) Then he began to address Loki in the common tongue.
"You do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah."
Loki dispelled his cloak and became visible again, then stared Alduin directly in the eyes for what seemed like an eternity. He considered replying to the arrogant dragon overlord in Dovahzul, but decided against it so as not to tip his hand and let the overly confident antagonist know he was facing a much more knowledgeable opponent.
"Sahloknir, krii daar joorre." (Sahloknir, kill these mortals) Alduin ordered Sahloknir before flying off in the direction from which he came. He obviously felt that dealing with Loki and Delphine himself was beneath him and should be left to a lesser Dovah.
Sahloknir turned to face Loki straight on and both moved to close the distance between them until they were standing within three meters of each other, both silently staring as if sizing up the other or waiting for the other to make the first move. Then Loki spoke.
"Sahloknir, we don't have to fight. Join me, stop Alduin from ending the world, if it ends you will end with it.
"Mortal fool. Alduin has returned to rule this world, not end it. He stopped doing that long ago."
Then Sahloknir turned to where Delphine was hiding and said "Hiding will not save you joorre."
As Delphine came out of where she was hidden, Loki continued: "Then you will not let this end without a fight?" He adjusted his grip on the Lightning Rod and prepared himself for what he knew would be the answer.
"I see that mortals have become arrogant while I slept. My lord Alduin requires your death, I am glad to oblige him." Sahloknir said as he raised up and began to unfurl his wings for the first time in ages.
Loki breathed deeply, then in a resigned tone said "So be it." and let forth an amplified dual-cast bolt through his staff directly into Sahloknir's chest.
The bolt knocked Sahloknir back into the burial mound and left him twitching for a couple of seconds, but by the time Loki got to the top of the mound the stunned dragon had recovered his orientation. Sahloknir turned his mouth to the sky and shouted "Wuld Nah Kest."
The dragon was instantly vaulted into the sky, spread his wings, and began to dive for a strafing run with a blast of frost breath.
Delphine ran up just behind Loki and loosed an arrow just as Sahloknir showered them with ice. Loki's amulets protected him from the harmful effects of the frost, but not the ache in the joints from the chill and the shiver that went down his body. Delphine, having no such protection, did not fare as well. She dropped to her knees shivering and starting to turn blue.
Loki fired two more bolts at the circling dragon, missing once, then hitting him in the tail. It was just enough to drive his circle back a little wider and give Loki time to grab two vials out of a pocket to give Delphine. One was a healing potion, the other was a potion to resist the cold. He had intended to give her that one before the fight, but he got a little sidetracked with all the excitement.
Sahloknir turned toward them and made another attack run, strafing them with fire this time. Loki threw up a ward over them and deflected most of the blast, then Delphine loosed an arrow at the dragon's rear after he had passed over them. The arrow managed to hit just right and stick between the scales just above his rear leg. This clearly irritated the dragon who winced, then turned for another attack. This time, as Loki blocked the frost breath attack with his ward, Sahloknir swiped his tail down and slammed both of them into the dirt.
Loki could feel his shoulder was dislocated and one of his knees felt as if it had been turned backward. He laid there in agonizing pain as his health regeneration charm quickly, though unfortunately not painlessly, healed him.
Just as he got back to his feet, he looked over to see Delphine face down on the ground. He couldn't see if she was still alive, and he wouldn't have time to. Sahloknir landed directly in front of him.
The Lightning Rod had been knocked from his hand when he got hit by the tail, so he began using his telekinesis to hurl large stones at the dragon from the broken stone lid. One hit him squarely in the head, while a smaller, sharp stone ripped through his wing.
"Then it its to be a real fight then, Good!" Sahloknir seemed to revel in the thought of actually having a bit of a challenge. "STRUN BAH QO!"
A storm welled up and lightning began to flash, but Loki reacted quickly. "LOK VAH KOOR!"
The skies cleared and Sahloknir seemed taken by surprise. He had clearly underestimated his opponent.
"YOL TOOR SHUL" the dragon shouted as flames erupted from his open maw, but Loki replied with "FIEM ZII GRON" and the fire passed through his ethereal body harmlessly.
Loki used his chance to close the distance and by the time the ethereal shout had worn off he was underneath Sahloknir's left wing with Dragonbane drawn and ready to slice the thin webbing of the wing. One quick slash and then Loki turned and shouted again, "WULD NAH KEST" and was clear before Sahloknir could grab him in his jaws.
He turned back again, held his sword vertically in front of him, and placed his left hand behind the tip of the blade to brace it. "WULD NAH KEST". This time his thu'um carried him down the right side of Sahloknir, completely severing his right wing.
The dragon roared so loud it almost sounded like a scream of agony. Since the wyvern type dragons use their wings to stand, Sahloknir fell sideways and flopped on the ground as blood poured from his missing limb.
"Last chance Sahloknir, join me or die. It won't be sleeping this time, I will devour your soul."
Sahloknir got still, then slowly turned his head toward the Dragonborn standing before him.
"Even if I wanted to, I could not turn on my master."
"The binding Alduin spoke. He bound you to him. But I take it you wouldn't join me even if you weren't bound, would you?"
"Of course not JOORRE! The mighty Sahloknir serve a joorre? I would rather die in battle. You insult me."
With that, Loki held out Dragonbane, opened his palm, and the sword went flying up high into the air. Sahloknir started to watch the sword rise, but quickly turned his focus back to Loki thinking it was just a distraction. As Sahloknir took in a large breath to make a shout for a final stand, Loki turned his palms down and dropped them hard in a sweeping motion. Just as Sahloknir began to utter his final words, Dragonbane came down like a javelin, piercing right through the top of the dragon's skull. Sahloknir's head slowly fell to the ground, and he was dead.
Loki ran over and pulled Delphine up and sat her against a large stone several meters away from the burial mound. She had been knocked unconscious in the attack, and had several broken bones and cuts, but she was still breathing. He summoned his best healing spell, but he really wished the Lightning Rod could amplify restoration spells too. Unfortunately he could only work with what he knew, and he was still learning the restoration school. Luckily he managed to patch her up enough to be able to drink another health potion, one of his special super-alchemy brews, and that fixed her right up.
Delphine looked over at the corpse of the dragon. "So is it truly dead?"
"Physically yes, but not completely, not yet."
"What do you mean?" she asked as he helped her to her feet.
Loki turned and started walking toward the body, "This is the part you've been waiting for." and as he reached out and pulled Dragonbane from Sahloknir's head, the dragon's body burst into flames.
After the blinding power transferred to Loki, Delphine looked absolutely amazed. "So it's true, you really are Dragonborn."
"Yes, yes I am. So what's next?"
Loki and Delphine talked for several minutes and she explained that she thought the Thalmor were behind it all, or at least would know who was. Loki thought about just skipping all of her nonsense, but first, he couldn't pass up a chance to screw with a Thalmor party, and second, he knew there were prisoners in the embassy he needed to free; so he let her go on and agreed to meet her back in riverwood after he took care of some other business. He had just defeated Sahloknir with very minimal help, he was starting to feel very confident in himself. Too confident, perhaps.
Who knows, he thought, I just might survive this after all.
After Delphine was gone, he opened a very wide door into his oblivion storage locker and gathered up all the bones and scales he could to sell. Better make profit where I can, Septims don't come from console commands here…
After he finished up, it was very late, so he decided to stay at the Braidwood Inn there in Kynesgrove for what remained of the night and head out in the morning. It was time to see what the College of Winterhold has to offer for him.