A/N: Here is the rejected first chapter I wrote for "Harry Potter and the Dragons of Skyrim", the final fic in my "Harry Potter in Tamriel" trilogy. Looking back on it, I'm not sure why I decided to reject it.
Despite the fact that the Dragonborn is female, there is absolutely no chance for this fic to turn into a Harry/Dragonborn ship fic. He will be her mentor and friend, and will ultimately be the sidekick/quest giver for the main quest storyline for this fic. Essentially, Harry is taking the place of Dumbledore and Jauffre in this fic. Harry will likely not get involved with the Civil War, however, as a vampire, he would play a huge role in the Dawnguard and possibly Dragonborn storylines. There is also the consequences he has to face having visited the Shivering Isles and becoming the new Sheogorath and the fact that he was once the Listener of the Black Hand of the Dark Brotherhood.
For those who are curious, the daedric writing spoke of the Blades, Knight of the Nine, the Black Hand (Dark Brotherhood), Order of the Dragon and his being Sheogorath.
The Title Chapter was a dual reference to Harry being a child of the night and Bethesda's other hit game series "FallOut".
Chapter One: The Nightkin
Freyja Snowsong was apprehensive.
And she had every reason to be, between the Civil War that was no closer to resolving itself since she arrived and the fact that Alduin the World Eater was wreaking havoc all over Skyrim. That didn't even count the fact that as the Dovakiin, or Dragonborn, only she and she alone had any chance at defeating the World Eater once and for all- something she STILL had no clue as to how to accomplish. She prayed to the Eight Divines for some sort of intervention, but they remained as silent as ever. She'd even prayed to Talos at his various shrines throughout Skyrim to no avail.
She looked at her other two companions, Delphine and Esbern, the two Bretons were among the last of the Blades in Skyrim, perhaps even in all of Tamriel. It amazed her how differently the discovery of Sky Haven Temple affected the both of them. Esbern seemed to gain a spring in his step, and almost seemed to visibly de-age as they made it passed the trapped corridors into the Temple itself. Whatever the aged man's role within the Blades may have been, it was evident that he was a scholar at heart with the way he mumbled at each and every single nook and cranny that he had attempted to examine in depth, much to Delphine's chagrin.
Delphine, on the other hand, seemed to become even more resolute.
It was apparent that she carried a great burden as the acting leader of a dying order, but as they entered the Temple, Freyja could tell that despite her frustration with her old comrade-in-arms, Delphine had also become strengthened by merely stepping foot within the old ruin. However, her empowerment took a much different form- one of strategy and tactics, the Blades hadn't had a central base of operations since the destruction of both Cloud Ruler Temple and Battlehorn Castle during the Great War. While Delphine and Esbern had both lost a great many friends during the Great War with the Aldmeri Dominion, Delphine seemed to take each loss more personally. While Esbern had been more than willing the wait out the Dominion to the end of his days, hidden deep within the sewers of Riften, Delphine had done everything she possibly could to fight and undermine the Thalmor whenever the opportunity arose. It was only due to the resurgence of dragons in Skyrim that she was willing to put aside her undying hatred of the Dominion, but Freyja could tell that she was greatly anticipating the day when dragons would no longer be the Blade's most pressing threat and hostilities with the Aldmeri could resume in earnest.
"This shouldn't be here…" Esbern idly noted.
"What?" asked Freyja unintelligibly as she'd hardly been paying attentions to the old man's mutterings. Esbern, however, ignored the inquiringly looks from both the Dragonborn and his fellow Blade, opting to reach into his pack for an old tome. Gently, he opened the aged book, and began to flip through pages. Freyja looked at the yellowed pages over his shoulder, but could not understand the language in which it was written. Esbern was definitely a consummate scholar, and was in his element- which meant that both Freyja and Delphine were out of their depths, at least until Esbern deemed it necessary to grace them with his superior knowledge.
"Odd…" Esbern noted under his breath.
Delphine sighed. "What's 'odd'?"
"The sarcophagus in front of what I assume to be Alduin's Wall… It shouldn't be here," Esbern explained. "There are no mentions of anyone of importance being interred within the temple."
"Perhaps it's some sort of guardian," Freyja suggested, having been in more than a few Ancient Nordic Barrows throughout the province, it wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence. "Or test."
"Perhaps…" mumbled Esbern, though he didn't sound convinced, as he approached the sarcophagus.
"Be careful," Delphine warned, as she drew her katana out of its sheath.
"Curious…"
"What's 'curious'?" asked Freyja.
"It appears that we are not the first to enter into this temple since it was originally sealed by Reman Cyrodiil II…" Esbern noted.
"Who was?" asked Delphine.
"I'm not… Could it be?" Esbern's tone went from curious to strangely hopeful. "Yes…"
"Could you try speaking in complete sentences?" a now thoroughly annoyed Delphine inquired.
Esbern cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Sorry… I was lost in the moment."
"We noticed," Freyja quipped with a smirk.
Esbern ignored her.
"Delphine… Take a look at this," Esbern gestured at a sigil on the face of the sarcophagus. The sigil itself meant nothing to Freyja, but obviously did to both members of the Blades. It was composed of a dragon curled around in a circle surrounding a blade superimposed on a diamond. It was surrounded by strange writing that Freyja couldn't make heads or tails of.
"By the Divines…" Delphine exclaimed as she peered at the sigil.
"I'd appreciate knowing what's going on without having to put either of you through a wall with 'Unrelenting Force'," demanded an exasperated Freyja.
"This sigil is one that is very important to the Blades of the Fourth Era. It was the personal sigil of the grandmaster of our order," Esbern explained. "These symbols etched around the symbol are daedric in origin, and are of a peculiar dialect typically found within the realm of Oblivion known as the Shivering Isles."
"Why?" asked Freyja.
Delphine shrugged. "No one rightly knows why, but many have long suspected it had something to do with his visit to the Shivering Isles during the Oblivion Crisis."
"What do they say?" inquired Freyja.
"Even I could never get an accurate translation," replied Esbern. "The symbols I can make out are 'dragon', 'blade', 'hand', 'nine' and 'Sheogorath'." He pointed to each as he recited them. "I can make guesses as to what they reference- 'dragon' and 'blade' are very telling, depicting his service to the Empire as a member of the Blades during the Oblivion Crisis and his induction into the Order of the Dragon, 'nine' is likely in reference to the Knights of the Nine, which he revived at the dawn of the Fourth Era, unfortunately, they were all but wiped out during the Great War against the Dominion. 'Hand' and 'Sheogorath', unfortunately, are still a mystery to me."
"You make it sound like you know him, but if he was around during the Oblivion Crisis, he'd likely be dead a long time ago," Freyja pointed out with a frown.
Delphine and Esbern shared an uneasy look.
"No one is certain when or how, but sometime after the Oblivion Crisis, our leader became a vampire. He'd been leading the Blades from the time his predecessor, Jauffre, the Grandmaster of the Blades during the Oblivion Crisis, stepped down," Delphine informed Freyja. "He was the only one who saw the Thalmor for the threat that they were at the end of the Oblivion Crisis and… And he was the only one to believe Esbern when he told everyone that dragons would one day return. You'd think that with everything he'd been right about over the last 200 years, someone would learn to listen to him."
There was disappointment in her tone; however, Esbern was quick to reassure her, by gently grasping her wrist. "We can do nothing but move forward."
"So… What do we do now?" asked Freyja.
"We awaken him. His aid in this conflict would be a great asset to us," Esbern responded to her inquiry. "Hmmm… Another blood seal, though it is not as elaborate as the one at the entrance. Delphine, if you could? You might want to step back, Dragonborn."
"What are you doing?"
"I'm preparing a specialized binding spell. Should he be awakened by the breaking of the seal, he may not entirely be himself," Esbern explained. "We last saw him not long after the Battle of the Red Ring, when he ordered the few of us Blades who fought and survived the Great War into hiding. It's very likely that he has been here since that time. Twenty five years is a long time to go without feeding. We'll be lucky if he hasn't been driven mad with hunger."
"Then why bother waking him?" Freyja asked Esbern.
It was Delphine who answered. "We owe him too much to let him continue to exist as a feral vampire. Ready Esbern?"
Esbern nodded and looked to Freyja. "Dragonborn?"
The nord woman nodded, as she drew her silver longsword.
For the first time Freyja could remember, she was actually grateful for having encountered the Silver Hand. Their weaponry of choice, while perfect for taking out werewolves, was also quite capable of crippling, if not outright killing, all manner of undead- including vampires, who are quite resistant to damage from conventional unenchanted weaponry.
Like Freyja had done at the entrance of the temple, Delphine used a dagger to slice open her palm over the sigil letting her blood drip onto it. The sigil began to glow and then simply vanished before the top of the sarcophagus split into two pieces. Then, without warning, the two halves of the lid of the sarcophagus were sent flying- right into Delphine and Esbern. Freyja moved into position to strike at the newly awakened vampire, but was caught off guard by the swiftness of his attack. Already, she could tell he was far more powerful than any she had faced before.
Immediately, Freyja was disarmed, and the vampire gripper her neck, lifting her off the ground. Her vision began to black out as she watched him open his mouth, revealing the elongated fangs his kind was known for. However, before she could so much as try to struggle out of his grip, she found herself being tossed aside carelessly right into Delphine, who was the first to recover.
"Damn it…" Delphine cursed, while Freyja struggled to regain her breath. However, a follow up attack never came.
Freyja looked to see if Esbern had been successful in casting his spell or if he was being made a meal of, only to find the vampire drinking from a potions bottle. However, the red substance in the flask did not look like the typical healing potion. The powerful black robed vampire sighed in contentment as he drained one flask and then another. In the brief struggle, his hood had been knocked off, revealing unruly lack hair. She watched in somewhat morbid fascination as his vampiric features reverted to something much more human-like, until you couldn't tell him apart from the average person. The only thing that still gave him away was his slightly glowing red eyes.
Esbern grunted as he sat up.
"Harry?"
"Esbern?" the vampire, Harry, replied with no small amount of amusement. "You've gotten old."
"Not all of us are blessed with the gift of eternal youth," Esbern pointed out as he stood- despite his body protesting such an action.
Harry shrugged. "I do so miss being able to get a tan." The vampire then glanced at the only other two people in the room and frowned. "Are there no others?"
"As far as we know," Delphine answered, "We're all that's left- at least in Skyrim."
"Luckily, we have already found the Dragonborn," Esbern cut in. Freyja felt uneasy as Harry's gaze shifted solely onto her.
"Then everything has come to pass," Harry stated as he looked to Esbern for clarification.
"Indeed," Esbern responded.
Harry then looked to Delphine, "What's the situation?"
"Not good. Alduin the World Eater is traipsing around Skyrim resurrecting dragons and Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl of Windhelm, is leading a rebellion against the Empire. Winterhold, the Pale and the Rift stand with him. General Tullius leads the Imperial forces from Solitude and is supporting Jarl Elisif to become the new High Queen. Supporting him are the Jarls of the Reach, Hjaalmarch and Falkreath."
"What about Whiterun Hold?"
"Jarl Balgruuf is still neutral, but it's only a matter of time before one side or the other forces his hand," Delphine replied. "Whiterun will likely be the deciding factor in the war, as both sides are stalemated at the current point in time. Until General Tullius arrived several months back, the Empire was on the verge of being pushed out of Skyrim. Since he took over the Imperial Army, he has really turned the war around for them. He even managed to capture Ulfric at one point."
Harry's eyes widened in shock, "What happened?"
"Helgen," Freyja spoke up sadly. "I had barely even arrived in Skyrim from Cyrodiil when I somehow got caught up in the Imperial ambush that captured Ulfric and was knocked out. Next thing I know, I was waking up in the same cart as the Jarl, a man named Ralof, and a horse thief, heading to our execution. I was literally about to get the axe when Alduin attacked, allowing myself and several Stormcloaks- including Ulfric- to escape."
"The Civil War has allowed the dragons to go unchecked, because everyone is too preoccupied fighting each other instead of standing against the dragons. Other than us and the Dragonborn, the only ones who have done anything against the dragons are the Companions," Delphine added. "But their efforts have been futile at best."
"And here you are," Harry stated. "Since you're here, I take it you realized you can't defeat Alduin by conventional means."
Freyja nodded. "Delphine shot him with several arrows and he was hit by several spells by imperial mages when he attacked Helgen, but nothing seemed to affect him. I even tried Shouting him out of the air, but even a full powered Unrelenting Force didn't do anything to him and I've killed giants with that Thu'um. Esbern thought that Alduin's Wall might hold the secret to defeating him."
"And he's correct," Harry confirmed, turning towards Esbern who was already studying the stone frieze wall. "Well?"
"This is incredible!" Esbern mumbled.
"Esbern…" Delphine said exasperatedly.
Harry merely smiled at the byplay, but Freyja noticed the pain behind it- as if the two of them brought back painful memories he felt were best long buried.
"Here it shows Alduin being defeated by a Shout," Esbern pointed out.
"But I already tried Shouting at him," Freyja reminded him.
Esbern shook his head. "This looks like a very specific Shout, one whose sole purpose was to defeat Alduin. You'll likely have to enlist the aid of the Greybeards to learn it."
Delphine huffed derisively in contempt, showing exactly what she thought of that idea, but was silenced by a look from Harry.
"It's a lost Shout created by the Ancient Nords when they rose up against their draconic oppressors. And even if the Greybeards knew it, they wouldn't be willing to teach it to anyone, not even the Dragonborn," Harry informed them. "Paarthurnax would be willing to teach it to you, Dragonborn, but he isn't even capable of understanding the concept of that Thu'um. It's an anathema to him."
Paarthurnax was, as Freyja was informed during her first trip to High Hrothgar, the leader of the Greybeards, the one who had completely mastered the 'Way of the Voice' set forth by Jorgen Windcaller. She couldn't begin to fathom why he alone would lack the capability to learn the Shout when she and the others had no such limitation. Another odd occurrence she noted was the fact that both Delphine and Esbern frowned at the mention of the leader of the Greybeards. Given her obvious dislike of the Grey Beards, it wasn't out of place for Delphine to show her disapproval of the man. Esbern, however, didn't seem to have anything against them, so for him to single Paarthurnax out was something she couldn't help but wonder about.
"Arngeir said that he was a master in The Way in the Voice," Freyja replied. "Why wouldn't he be able to teach it to me?"
"That's something you'll have to learn on your own," Harry told her. "You'll be faced with a choice one day- one uniquely suited to you- it's best if you looked at it with an unbiased eye."
"What aren't you telling me?"
"A great deal, but not all secrets are mine to share," Harry responded truthfully. "Paarthurnax is one of them."
Freyja frowned, but nodded. "So what's our next move?"
"Easy," Harry replied. "You meet with Paarthurnax. The shout in question is lost to time- but anyone who's studied the Thu'um, dragons and the Dragon War extensively will know of it. And while there is no known way you can learn the Shout, Paarthurnax will at least have an idea about how to go about teaching it to you."
"Despite the fact he can't learn it himself," Freyja said disbelievingly.
Harry nodded.
"But why would he help me if the rest of the Greybeards would be unwilling?" she asked curiously.
Harry was silent a moment before he began speaking, choosing his words wisely. "Because Paarthurnax will see the necessity in it, because he more than anyone else knows what Alduin is capable of. He will do so because he will be willing to choose what is right over what is easy, regardless of personal feelings or personal risk. He's been waiting for this day for a very long time."
"Paarthurnax… Is he… Is he like you?" Freyja asked uneasily.
Harry grinned, which served to unsettle Freyja slightly. "Paarthurnax is Paarthurnax." More seriously, he added. "Paarthurnax isn't a child of the night, but he shouldn't be taken lightly. He is probably older and wiser than anyone else in all of Tamriel, but you shouldn't completely trust him either. Deception is in his very nature. That said you can trust him to aid you in this, if nothing else."
"That really doesn't make any sense," Freyja complained.
"It will. Once you meet with the leader of the Greybeards, it will all be clear." Harry gently, but firmly told her.
Freyja sighed. "If you say so…"
"Look, Dragonborn, I hate secrets as much as you do, if not more," Harry said, "But sometimes they are a necessary evil, either by necessity or circumstance. This case happens to be a bit of both. Being a part of the Circle, you of all people should know."
Freyja looked startled. "How did you know?"
Both Delphine and Esbern both looked intrigued and confused. It was apparent that despite Harry's knowledge of the inner workings of the Companions, they were unaware of the secret of the Circle.
"You have a warrior's gait, everything in your stance screams seasoned fighter. Outside of the Blades, the only people I've ever seen that in are the soldiers of the Imperial Legion, members of the Fighter's Guild throughout the rest of Tamriel, House Redoran of Morrowind and the Companions of Skyrim. Seeing as we're in the Fatherland, the slightly feral look in your amber colored eyes and the fact that you smell like wet dog, it's not all that hard to put together," Harry explained.
"Is it that obvious?" asked Freyja uneasily.
"Only if you know what to look for," Harry assured the Dragonborn. She noticed the Delphine still looked confused, but Esbern, being the more scholarly one, had obviously put things together. The old man merely shrugged uncaringly and went back to studying Alduin's Wall. "Despite the common Nord's mistrust in magic, you'll still find the occasional guard that uses magic of some sort to enhance his senses- typically a potion or a specially crafted spirit. The odd guard might comment on the 'wet dog' smell, but it's highly unlikely they know WHY you smell the way you do. I can only detect it due to my superior senses being a vampire." As Harry said this, he tapped his nose.
"Ah, yes, that reminds me…" Esbern commented before opening his pack and reaching into it, digging around for something. Upon finding it, he pulled out what appeared to be a bundle of cloth, but he unraveled the tangle of cloth revealing a green wine bottle with a slightly charred label. "I pulled this from the ruins of Battlehorn Castle a while back- I remember how proud of your collection you were and this vintage in particular."
The elder looking man handled it carefully as he handed it off to the Grandmaster of the Blades. Harry looked startled, "Esbern… Thanks…"
"What is it?" asked Freyja.
"Shadowbanish Wine," Harry said fondly, "Likely the very last bottle in existence."
Delphine merely sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head. "I never understood that obsession of yours."
Harry shrugged and replied with a small smile. "There are worse things to obsess over." He then turned to Freyja. "So, are we clear on what you need to do?"
Freyja nodded. "I'm to try and find a way for the Grey Beards to allow me to meet with their leader, Paarthurnax."
Harry sighed in contentment. "It's nice to be on this side of that statement."
Freyja simply looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"
"Jauffre and Martin had me running all over Cyrodiil during the Oblivion Crisis," Harry remembered fondly. "It's nice to send someone else off to do the grunt work and be the 'big goddamned hero' for once."
"What are you going to be doing in the mean time?" Freyja asked him.
Harry shrugged once more. "Explore the outside world a bit, see things for myself. I think I've had enough of this place for a while. Will you two be okay on your own for a while?"
Esbern nodded as he continued to study the frieze wall, mumbling as he did so.
Delphine actually answered. "I have a few contacts that can bring supplies to us discreetly. I'd like to get started on fixing this place up so we can use it as a base of operations."
"Let me know if you need any septims. I have several caches of gold hidden throughout the province, provided they haven't been looted," Harry informed her. Delphine nodded as she took off to explore the temple.
"I guess I'm off…" Freyja said uneasily.
"Before you go… How's Kodlak?" Harry asked as they walked back towards the temple's entryway. "The last time I saw him, we ended up working together taking down a nest of trolls in the Reach, near Rorikstead, not long after he'd been inducted into The Circle."
Freyja looked uncomfortable. "He was killed by the Silver Hand several weeks ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Harry replied solemnly. "So who's the new Harbinger, Vilkas? Farkas was never one for thinking things through without resorting to fights or weapons."
"I was named his successor," Freyja informed him. Harry looked suitably impressed. "You know Vilkas and Farkas?"
"I knew their parents as well," Harry responded. "But that's another story for another time, preferably with the two of them present. Who knows, maybe I'll head off to Jorrvaskr and see them. It's been a long time."
"I'm sure they'll appreciate it," Freyja replied as she turned to leave for High Hrothgar.
"Just one more thing…" Harry said, stopping the Dovakiin. "What is your name? I doubt your parents named you 'Dragonborn'."
Both chuckled a bit at that.
"Freyja," the Dovakiin told the vampire. "Freyja Snowsong."
She then turned away from Harry to start her journey, missing the look of surprised recognition at her name.
-HP: DoS- -HP: DoS- -HP: DoS-
After Freyja departed, Harry set off immediately to find Delphine where the old armory taking stock of all the weapons stored within and determining which ones were still in remarkably serviceable condition, despite not having been used since the First Era.
"I figured I would be seeing you soon," she spoke as Harry entered, not even bothering to look at him.
"Is she…?" he let the question hang.
"I don't know, but somehow I doubt it's a coincidence," Delphine replied.
"What does Esbern think?" Harry asked.
"I haven't asked and he hasn't brought it up," Delphine answered. "I doubt he is even aware she has a name beyond 'Dragonborn'. I'd have gotten around to checking her out, but there hasn't been time. Ever since the attack on Helgen, I've been running blind, scrambling to catch up. It was a stroke of luck that we found evidence in the Thalmor Embassy that Esbern was still alive and hiding out in Riften. It was a damn miracle straight from the Divines themselves that we stumbled upon you here. Between Freyja, you and Esbern, I feel like we actually have a chance at making a difference for the first time since the White-Gold Concordat was signed."
"I'm sorry I haven't been around the last two decades or so," Harry apologized. "I couldn't hide from the Thalmor forever and I hoped that with me out of the picture the Thalmor might see the Blades as less of a threat and we might be able to recoup some of our number. Three plus one isn't exactly promising against Alduin or the Thalmor."
"Speaking of which, how did you get in here?" Delphine asked. This place was completely sealed with a blood seal that could only be broken by those possessing the dragon blood."
"A gift from a friend," Harry replied. "Before we left for the Imperial City after the Second Battle of Bruma, Martin gave me a vial of his blood, saying I would know when the time was right for me to use it. Finding this place confirmed what Jauffre and I always suspected about Uriel and Martin Septim being seers."
"How did you even know to find this place? We only knew about this place due to some old obscure tome Esbern managed to salvage from Cloud Ruler Temple before the Thalmor razed it," Delphine inquired. "You're not exactly the scholarly type."
Harry snorted. "You're one to talk." His expression turned serious. "Paarthurnax told me of this place. He'd kept as close an eye on events as he could, while waiting for Alduin to return. He was especially watchful of the dragon hunters from Akavir for obvious reasons. When I'd done all I felt I could, I opened up the temple with Martin's blood and had Arngeir use my blood to seal me within the sarcophagus- making it possible for either a member of the Blades or a vampire to unseal me when the time was right- or if things had gotten desperate. A mixture of mine, Arngeir and what was left of Martin's blood and fire from Paarthurnax was used to reseal the temple- changing the blood seal."
"What do you mean?" asked Delphine.
"When I opened the temple up all those years ago, anyone possessing the Dragon blood could open the temple, like I had with Martin's blood," Harry explained. "When the blood seal was reset, using the old seal as a base, the requirements became more selective. A person still had to be Dragonborn to reopen the temple, however, they also had to have the ability to use the Voice and have the support of the Greybeards and the Blades. Given our general differences, that was unlikely to ever happen unless the events foretold by the Dragon Prophecy came to pass."
"The return of Alduin the World Eater," Delphine concluded.
Harry nodded.
"That's why you sealed yourself in here, to fight Alduin," Delphine realized.
"Yes, but with our order practically wiped out, and almost no one left to protect people of Tamriel from the greater threats that threaten them, I wonder if it was the correct choice," Harry responded, his tone full of worry and doubt.