Beyond Death part 6

It wasn't until many hours later that Lydia woke Tarrion up. Serana woke up as well, and the three of them had a good meal that Lydia had prepared. Although Serana also grabbed a few bites from the venison that Lydia prepared, and also tired a bit of apple-cabbage stew, Tarrion could see that she preferred a different meal. But not to upset Lydia, Tarrion did not feed Serana.

Tarrion waited until the sun finally started to set, before he would continue their journey to find the final Elder Scroll, because he knew that Serana would feel uncomfortable in the sunlight. And they waited until the final rays of sunlight disappeared over the mountains, before they left Whiterun and grabbed the horses from the stables. They decided to take the northern road and approach Ivarstead from the north before they would climb the Seven Thousand Steps.

"Thank you." Serana said when they left HonningBrew Meadery behind them.

"For what?"

"For waiting until the night would fall, so I won't have to travel in daylight."

Tarrion smiled and nodded.

"I thought it would be better for the both of us to get as much rest as possible. We have been on the road for days on end now, and between saving a Moth Priest and traveling through the Soul Cairn, we hardly had any real rest. Also, the nights are much more quiet and peaceful."

"I'm just afraid we didn't leave soon enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Serana started. "I think your housecarl, Lydia, started to suspect what I am."

"Oh, it's too late for that. She already knows. But don't worry, I asked her to give you a change, and she promised me that she would."

"Really?" Serana seemed shocked by the fact that Lydia already knew that she was a Vampire. "But… how do you know she won't tell anyone else? The last thing I need is another group of people trying to kill me."

"Because I trust her." Tarrion said calmly. "I trust her as much as I trust you. She promised me to give you a change, and I am sure she will not try to kill you."

Serana still did not seem at ease, but for now it was enough for her. She trusted Tarrion to speak the truth, and he seemed calm, and that calmed her as well.

After a few hours, and a long and tiresome climb, they reached Ivarstead. They scaled the mountainous pathway to reach the Rift, and entered the town after the night had fallen.

"We will leave the horses here, and follow the pathway to High Hrothgar on foot."

"On foot?" Serana asked. "Why can't we use the horses?"

"Because the pathway is treacherous and uneven. It is not a path made for horses, but for pilgrimage to the monastery."

And so they left the horses at the Vilemyr Inn, and continued on foot. Tarrion had travelled the Seven Thousand Steps multiple times already, and he knew it would be a long and tiresome climb, but if they would be lucky it would be a peaceful climb.

"So… you have travelled… this path before?" Serana panted after they reached the first areas with snow. She turned around and saw the whole of the Rift lying below and Ivarstead was only a tiny town now. In the distance she could see the slight glimmering of a lake, but Tarrion could not see it, for he did not have Vampiric Sight.

"Yes, quite a few times by now." Tarrion said. "I still remember the first time I climbed these steps, when I was still a weak, and very ignorant, Dragonborn."

"How did that feel?"

Tarrion smiled. "Surreal… I have never seen myself as an amazing warrior, or a great and powerful warlord. I was summoned after I killed a Dragon near Whiterun. I absorbed its soul and a few moments later the skies thundered, and a loud cry could be heard, shouting; Do-Vah-Kiin. The Greybeards shouted to summon me. At first I thought that it was a reward for killing the Dragon. That they would 'bless' me, or something like that. Instead they told me of my true power, that as Dragonborn I could use the same powers that the Dragons could use, and that my destiny was something great. I later found out that it was my destiny to rid the World of Alduin. But here I meditated, learned the Words of Power that make up the Shouts. I contemplated on them, learned their meaning… and of course, how to use them."

"You say that these 'Greaybeards' called you Dovahkiin… what does that name mean?"

"Dovah, means 'Dragon'." Tarrion explained. "Kiin, means 'Born'. So it literally means Dragonborn, but it can also be seen as 'Born Dragon Hunter', although I don't agree with that meaning. I don't see the Dragons as enemies. I see them as creatures, just like the Khajiit, Agronians, Humans, Orcs and Elves that just want a place in this world. And just like others, they have a bad reputation, but under the right leadership, they can help make this world a better place."

"With 'others' you mean Vampires?" Serana asked and Tarrion nodded.

"At first I agreed with Isran. 'Vampires are bloodsucking fiends that need to be rooted out'. But after I met you I began to question that. You showed me that, despite that you are a Pure-Blooded Vampire, you are not evil. You are also capable of compassion, friendship… and love."

While they talked, the sky had begun to clear up and the stars appeared in the night's sky. The path went up and down, and they rested for a few moments in a small cave. When they continued, a small breeze had set up and after another long climb, the monastery of High Hrothgar appeared before them. The old, grey walls stood as strong as they had for centuries. A lights burned behind small windows, indicating that a few of the Greybeards were still awake.

'Good.' Tarrion thought to himself.

Tarrion led Serana over the few last steps before they reached the iron gates, engraved with large figurines and imagery, and Tarrion pushed them open.

They entered the main room with torches still burning bright, the large brazier filled with fire, and a few old pottery standing against a large stone. Tarrion saw one of the Greybeards just walking over a small elevated area that led to the courtyard. The old man was clad in grey robes and had a long, grey beard. Tarrion recognized him as Master Borri. The Greybeard looked up, and as soon as he saw Tarrion he made a respectful bow. Tarrion walked up to him and made a bow as well.

"Master Borri." he said. "My apologies to come at this hour, but I have to see Paarthurnax. It is important."

Master Borri looked from Tarrion to Serana, and then made a small gesture, and left.

"What is he doing?" Serana asked.

"He goes to wake Master Arngeir. He is the one that represents the Greybeards."

A few moments later Borri appeared with Arngeir behind him.

"Welcome again Dragonborn. To what do we owe the honour of your visit to High Hrothgar."

"Master." Tarrion said, and he made a small bow to Arngeir. "I have to speak to Paarthurnax. It is urgent."

"Why of course you can speak to him. You are Dragonborn, and you do not need our permission… so why do you ask this anyway?"

"Because I would like to bring my companion with me." Tarrion answered and he nodded at Serana.

Serana did not know what to do. She saw that the Greybeards were all old men, but she could also feel the power that they had. It was not as great as Tarrion's power, but great nonetheless. She felt that these 'old men', commanded respect, and she made a small, respectful bow.

"I am afraid I cannot allow that." Master Arngeir said and he shook his head. "We cannot allow any of the uninitiated to scale the sacred path to Paarthurnax. It cannot happen that others know of Paarthurnax."

"Others already do." Tarrion said calmly. "Some of the Blades already know of Paarthurnax, and their leader even told me to kill him. I refused because I trust Paarthurnax, and I trust Serana here. She will not tell the secret, for as long as she lives. And I think I have proven myself to be trustworthy, Master."

Arngeir sighed. His beard seemed to tremble, but it was not because of anger.

"…. You trust this woman?" he asked after some time. "You trust her with your life?"

"With my life."

"…Then very well. I will allow her to pass through, but you must be the one to open the way as you travel to Paarthurnax."

Tarrion made another bow, and so did Serana, and they passed through the doors that lead to the courtyard.

"Tarrion, what have you gotten me in to?" Serana asked, and Tarrion chuckled.

"Not to worry. As long as you don't tell what you have seen, nothing will happen."

"Yes, but… Who.. or what, is this Paarthurnax? Why is he on the peak, and not here in this monastery?"

"You will see soon enough…"

Serana was not satisfied with this answer, but Tarrion was occupied with the path. It was barred by mist and treacherous places where the wind blew with dangerous force. Tarrion shouted multiple times on the path to the peak of the mountain, and cleared the mist and wind, so that the two of them could pass through. Serana now looked out over Skyrim, from heights that she had never walked before. Even the biggest cities now seemed like small dots on a map and far to the north, she saw a massive statue. She knew not of what this statue was, but she had no time to look closer, because Tarrion had to move onward.

LOK VAH KOOR

Tarrion shouted one last time, and cleared the last portion of mist and they walked through the now open air. Behind them the mist closed and they walked over untouched snow. The world around them was white. Everything was covered with a layer of snow, and Serana's hair had become white from the icy air, and also Tarrion looked different with white hair.

A loud roar tore the silence apart and Serana felt herself grab her dagger. Tarrion had not made a move and simply walked forward, toward a large Word Wall. Serana looked around and saw a large Dragon appear from behind the highest peak.

"Tarrion! Look out!" she shouted, but Tarrion did not move.

"Calm yourself, Serana." he smirked. "You asked me who, or what, Paarthurnax was? Well, there he is."

Serana felt her jaw drop in awe as the large dragon approached. His scales were green and grey and he had a beard of spikes around his jaw. Two large horns came out of the back of his head, and enormous claws were attached to his wings. He looked at Serana and his roar almost sounded like a laugh, and after he circled around them he landed on the Word Wall. His teeth were bared in a smile and Tarrion walked up to the old Dragon and made a respectful bow.

"Greetings, Tarrion. It is good to see you again."

"Greetings, Old One." Tarrion said. "It has been a long time since I have been here."

"Hmm, indeed. And yet, you have grown in your suleyk, and have brought peace to the Dov. Something I once thought to be impossible. Have you come to meditate on the Rotmulaag?"

"No, not this time. I have come for the Elder Scroll that I left here."

"Hmm, of course. It is yours after all. But tell me Dovahkiin, who is your companion. I see that she is a Rovaan Vulon."

Serana still looked with her eyes wide open at Paarthurnax. It was clear that she was afraid, now that this Dragon was only a few metres away from her.

"A… what?"

"Hmm, krosis. The Dov do not have the word that the mortals have for your kind. I believe they call you… 'Vampires'. But we call your kind the Rovaan Vulon: Night Walkers. And there is no need to fear me. You are in the company of the Dovahkiin, and that means he must trust you. Would you have come here alone…. Then things would have been… hmm, different."

"I… I see."

Serana stayed close to Tarrion, but when he walked forward, towards the Word Wall, and toward the Dragon, she stayed behind. She saw that this Dragon was older and more powerful than her, and she was not entirely sure what to think of him.

Tarrion kneeled at the Word Wall and removed a thick layer of snow. Underneath lay a large box, engraved with runes and plated with steel and silver. He opened it and pulled the Elder Scroll out, wrapped in light cloth.

"Forgive my indulgence, Tarrion. But why do you need the Kel?"

But it seemed that Paarthurnax already saw why, before Tarrion even answered.

"Hmm, I see. There is a qostiid, a prophecy that you try to prevent."

Tarrion closed the box and covered it with snow, and it looked like there was nothing hidden there.

Paarthurnax looked at Serana when he talked about the prophecy, and he saw that she had a look of pain in her eyes, and she looked down.

"Hmm, krosis. I see that this prophecy is a matter close to you." Paarthurnax said to Serana. Tarrion walked back to her, and half expected her to ignore what Paarthurnax said, but surprisingly, she did not.

"Yes, it is." she said. "I… It is my father. He tries to… do something terrible, and we have to stop him. But…"

"You are not sure if you can?" Paarthurnax finished her sentence, and Serana nodded.

"This… prophecy is written on an Elder Scroll. And I have heard that prophecies always come true, no matter how hard you try to prevent it. I'm just…. I'm afraid we are too late, or that everything we do… will be for nothing."

"Hmmm, I understand." Paarthurnax said. "But you are wrong about prophecies. A qostiid, prophecy, does not say what 'will' happen, but only what 'may' happen. There was a prophecy that Alduin, my brother, could not be defeated. But that prophecy was stopped, by the man that stands next to you. You say that your bormah, your father, tries to do something terrible. And this prophecy says that it will happen, but only if nothing is done to stop it. Nothing is fixed in Time, and even we who ride the currents of Time, cannot see past its end. Even the river of Time, can change, flow fast or slow, and sometimes take a new course."

"But I am a Vampire…" Serana said, and the frustration was clear in her voice. "Vampires feed on the blood of others, and so do I. We are shunned by mortals for a reason… we earned that reputation… a legacy of murderers who feed on the living. I... I have killed more than I can count. I have a darker history than Tarrion knows…. I fear that I will become like my father… that it is somehow inevitable."

Tarrion looked at Serana. This was a side of her that he had not seen before. She sounded desperate and afraid.

"Hmmm, true." Paarthurnax slowly answered. "I sense in you that you passed through much darkness…. And yet I do not sense that darkness in you. You speak true that Vampires are shunned by the joor. And so are the dov. We are creatures of domination, like our father Akatosh made us. But I have overcome my evil nature through meditation, and finding a purpose in life. You have seen evil, and you are made into what you are, by evil. But what is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature?"

Serana said nothing, and Tarrion never seen her like this. He stood, nailed to the ground, not knowing what to say to her.

"Hmm, I see that you are still conflicted, Rovaan Vulon. But you also have a friend… more than a friend. Trust him. He has brought peace to the Dov, and I believe he can also bring peace to you."

And with those words, Paarthurnax spread his wings and flew away, leaving Tarrion and Serana behind on the Throat of the World.

For a few moments Tarrion was still nailed to the ground, unable to move. But as soon as he came to his senses, he grabbed Serana and wrapped his arms around her. It took her a few moments to realize where she was, and she hugged Tarrion back.

"Why haven't you told me of any of this before?"

"Because… I…. I thought you wouldn't understand. You are not like me. You are a hero… people love you, but…. I am a Vampire. A 'night walker', and people only want to kill me. You cannot understand what that is like…. And now I am also fighting against the ones that are like me. Vingalmo, Orthjolf, Fura…. They were my friends for countless years…."

"You are right….. I do not know how you must feel."

Tarrion could not say anything else, because he knew it would not help. He only held Serana tighter, and tried to express what he felt.

After a while the two let each other go. They said nothing as they returned to High Hrothgar, and it wasn't until they could see Ivarstead down below, that Serana finally said something.

"He was right."

"Who?"

"Paarthurnax. He was right when he said that I could trust you… I…. I'm glad you're here with me."

She grabbed his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. The two of them looked out over the Rift and Tarrion laid his head on hers.

"As am I."

-Fort Dawnguard-

The sun had just started to rise when Tarrion and Serana arrived at For Dawnguard. It had begun to rain when they passed Riften, and they were both soaked by the time they reached Dayspring Canyon. As they walked through the main gate to the fortress they saw that a few members were just waking up.

"Ah, they're back."

Agmaer looked up and saw how the two stroked the water from their faces.

"Any luck finding Elder Scrolls?"

Tarrion nodded. "Where is Dexion? We have both of the Scrolls, so he can finally read them."

Tarrion saw Agmaer's face change.

"Ah… right… about that…. You should talk to him."

"What is it?"

Agmaer shook his head and told him to speak to Dexion. Serana looked at Tarrion, but he shrugged, and they climbed the staircase to see the Moth Priest.

When they entered the old man's room, they found it to be dimly lit by only one candle and they saw Dexion sitting on the edge of his bed.

"We have found the other Scrolls, Dexion."

The Moth Priest did not turn around. "Ah, yes. Good, very good, but… I am afraid I cannot help you with that anymore?"

"What do you mean?" Serana asked.

"I am afraid I was careless before. I thought I could stop any effects the reading might have… but I couldn't."

The old man stood up and turned around. He still wore the same grey robes as before, and his beard was a little less dirty than when they saw him last. The only difference now was that he was wearing a blindfold. A dark grey piece of cloth was wrapped around his head, over his eyes.

"What happened?" Tarrion asked. "That blindfold you wear…. Are you…"

"Blind?" Dexion said and he sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid so. I cannot read the Scrolls for you anymore."

"What happened? What went wrong?" Serana asked.

"I'm afraid I was too eager in reading the Scroll, and I did not prepare enough. It is not the first time a Moth Priest has gone blind, and that makes it all the worse. I knew the consequences, but I thought I could negate the effect… but to no avail."

"Then what do we do now? We have to find another Moth Priest for the readings?"

Tarrion did not look forward to that. Finding Dexion had proven more difficult than he hoped, and the prospect of doing it all over again, was not a happy thought.

"No… there might be another way." Dexion said.

"What way?"

"It involves an old Moth Priest ritual, but it is not without danger. Going blind could be the least of your troubles."

"What do we have to do then? What is this ritual?" Serana asked.

"Scattered across Tamriel are secluded places known as Ancestor Glades. There you can find a specific type of Moth called Ancestor Moths, and rare trees known as Canticle trees. The ritual involves carefully removing a bit of bark from the tree, and allowing the Ancestor Moths to follow you. Once enough of the Moths are following, they will allow you to understand the Second Sight, that is needed to read the Scroll."

"… Wait. That is it?" Serana asked? "Just remove the bark and let the Moths follow you? That sounds a lot easier than anything we've done before."

"True. Every Moth Priest is taught this ritual, and since we are no warriors, it is indeed a rather simple one. But the danger lies in reading the Scroll. As I said that going blind is only a small effect that the Scrolls can have. There are also effects that are far more dangerous."

"Alright…" Tarrion said. "So we have to find one of these Ancestor Glades. Where are they, and what do we have to do once we get there? Is there anything we should know?... how to remove the bark? How many Moths need to follow?"

"Hmm….." Dexion thought. "I know of one Glade in Skyrim, to the south of the pine forest of Falkreath, a bit up into the mountains…. In keeping with tradition, there should be a draw knife in the Glade that you need to use to remove the bark from the Canticle tree. Then the Moths should follow you."

And so, not a few moments after the returned to Fort Dawnguard, they found out they had to leave again. But since the rain was still pouring down, and they were still soaked to the bone, they decided to stay a while in the fort. Serana refused to sit in the main hall around the fire, because none of the Dawnguard had shown her any respect, despite what she had done so far. Tarrion agreed with her that it was not fair, and they retired to Tarrion's room upstairs. It also had a small hearth, and the two of them talked for a long time.

The warm smell of the hearth made them both feel comfortable, and they sat, shoulder to shoulder, near the fire to warm their cold bones. And despite that their clothes were already dry, and the rain had stopped, they stayed. They ignored everything else, the one only paying attention to the other.

=End of Chapter=

=End of Arc=

=Author's Notes=

And now this arc is finally done. I'll be honest, I didn't think it would take me this long. I hoped I still have everybody's attention…. Because the story is finally progressing to the next arc. I think that will be the second-to-last arc for the Dawnguard Storyline, and after that I have absolutely no idea what happens. But I'm sure I'll figure something out.

Now for something more serious; I am, once again, in a dilemma. Stuff is happening again, and I need to make a decision and that will have some major effect on practically everything for me. I have no idea what these effects are, so only time will tell. I hope you will stay patient, while waiting for the next arc, and to give you a slight sneak-peak ahead: A little bird whispered in my ear that something passionate will happen.

Dragon Language:

Paar-thur-nax means: Ambition Overlord Cruelty

Lok Vah Koor: Sky Spring Summer (from the Clear Skies Shout)

Suleyk: Power

Dov: Dragons

Rotmulaag: Words of Power

Rovaan Vulon: Night Walkers (or wanderers)

Qostiid: Prophecy

Kel: Elder Scroll

Bormah: Father