Touching the Sky part 3
Serana guided the both of them through the dark passages and corridors of Darkfall Passage. The only light that Tarrion could see in these black hallways were strange flowers and some fungus. The fungus glowed with a slight, pale light, and was not enough for Tarrion to see where he was going. The flowers glowed with a blue light, but as soon as either of them would near these flowers, they would retract into the rock and stop glowing.
After a long while they found small signs that they were not alone. Serana stopped and held Tarrion back and pointed to something that Tarrion could not see.
"Watch out. There is a trap here."
She guided him carefully over the tripwire before they continued. Serana now had to keep her eyes forward and on the ground, because more traps were ahead, and they got trickier as they continued. At first they were only on the ground, but later also on the walls and even the ceiling on some points. It looked like the traps were made out of some strange claws, that looked like insect claws. Serana had not seen them before, but Tarrion had. He knew it meant that they were getting closer to a Falmer settlement.
"I start to feel bad for these initiates that had to go through this place." Tarrion said silently.
"How so?"
"They had to go through this place, not being able to see anything, and past all these Falmer? I thought enlightenment would be peaceful."
"Ha… maybe…. I guess that depends on which deity you worship."
"True enough… but this is Auriel, not a Daedra like Mehrunes Dagon…. You would think that this… 'path to enlightenment'… would at least be safe."
"True," Serana said. "but this…."
She stopped and held Tarrion back.
"Did you hear that?"
Tarrion listened if he could hear something, but he could not. He breathed deeply through his nose.
"No… but I can smell it."
A stinking smell of rot and slime had filled the cave and even Serana smelled it.
"We're getting closer to the Falmer." Tarrion said and he prepared himself. "Be ready. I cannot see them, so you might have to point them out for me."
Serana nodded and led Tarrion on, and after a few turns they came across a large cavern. They could hear a small waterfall and Tarrion saw the slight glow from many fungi spread out across the cavern. Large huts made out of the same material as the traps stood spread out, with small fires burning in them. Tarrion saw a shadow appear from one of the huts, and it turned to them. The shadow cried out and Serana fired an Ice-spear, which hit the Falmer square in the eye. Another five Falmer jumped out of their huts, and charged at Tarrion and Serana, who now fired Ice-spears and Fireballs. The cavern shook and rumbled under the power of the spells that the two of them fired at the onrushing Falmer, because more poured out of holes in the walls, and from hidden pathways, till the ground was black with their blood.
Tarrion could see the Falmer approaching, because in the light of the Fireballs and Incinerates he could see his next target. Serana still called out where the Falmer were, and impaled most of them with large Ice-spears.
After a few last Fireballs and Ice-spears the last of the Falmer dropped on the ground. Tarrion did not count how many lay dead on the ground, but he guessed there were more than fifteen.
"Done and done." Serana panted. "I guess that's the last of them."
"Ha." Tarrion laughed sarcastically. "Not likely. These damn things are like flies… no matter how many you kill. We will find more of them in a bit… no doubt about it."
"Then I think we should move… the entire cave now knows we're here."
"Agreed."
The two of them moved on and Tarrion followed Serana as best he could. The paths had become flatter and free of loose rocks. Walking had gotten easier for them both, and they now walked next to each other, Tarrion holding Serana's hand because he still could not see.
The path took a turn right, left, another left, up, down, across a small chasm with a large waterfall and then left again, until Tarrion no longer kept track. They encountered more small Falmer settlements, but these were abandoned, something that Tarrion did not trust. He had a feeling that the Falmer were waiting for them, laying in ambush.
But this turned out not to be true. After they left a last small settlement, the path curved around a large glowing rock, and for a moment Tarrion could see what was around him.
Small fungus grew on the walls, and even a bit of green moss was visible. On the ground, next to the glowing rock, Tarrion saw small crystals that reflected the light from the rock with a pale reflection. The ceiling was too high to see, but Tarrion thought it would be six metres above them. The ground was now no longer free of rocks, like it was not used often, and a moment later, they came across a dead end.
"Dead end?" Serana asked herself.
"Maybe we missed a pathway?"
"No I don't think so. We just…. Ah! I see it."
She turned around and walked to something Tarrion could not see.
"What is it?"
"Hmm… pull-chains and traps…. I think one of these levers will open a passageway."
"Can you see which lever to pull?"
"…. No…. but I think it is this one…. But be careful, whatever is on the other side of this… the Falmer wanted to keep it there."
Serana hesitated before she pulled the lever, but it turned out to be the right one. A deep rumble echoed through the cavern as a large part of the wall sunk into the ground.
Immediately a loud roar echoed through the caves and Tarrion turned around. The cave that had appeared behind the secret hallway was dimly lit by something that he could not see yet, but in the large opening now stood a large, black sabrecat. It roared again and jumped at Tarrion, who was able to duck just in time. It landed on the ground and clawed at Serana. She dodged away and fired an Ice-spear at the beast. It hit the sabrecat in one of the hind paws when Tarrion drew his sword and thrusted it through the beasts head. It roared again and fell limp to the ground.
"What kind of sabrecat is this?" Tarrion asked himself.
"No idea." Serana answered. "I've never seen one like this before either."
Tarrion pulled his sword out of the beasts head and cleaned it on its fur before he sheathed it.
"We should be careful, there might be more."
They passed through the passage and entered another large open cavern, and, not for the first or last time, they saw a breath-taking sight.
A vast cavern, deeper and higher than most they had seen thus far, was before them. Below a river flowed between a small beach and the high walls. Several natural rock formations formed a path that lead up and down, left and right. The entire area was lit by enormous mushrooms, some of them over twenty feet high, that glowed with a pale, blue light, yet it looked like the entire cavern bathed in a golden light.
While Serana and Tarrion walked down the pathways they saw a small structure at the other end with a blue figure next to it.
"There." Tarrion said, and he pointed at the structure. "I think that is the first wayshrine."
Serana was too occupied to notice it. She looked around and sighed in awe. Further below them they saw a strange type of deer walk around and drink from the river. The deer had the same black skin as the sabrecat they encountered, but now they also saw light stripes and spots on its back, and unless their eyes were mistaken, it looked like these stripes and spots glowed slightly.
"This place is beautiful." Serana whispered to herself.
Tarrion smiled and walked next to her, gently grabbing her hand as they followed the path further up.
Before they approached the spectral figure that was standing next to the wayshrine, because they saw that it was indeed a ghost, Serana turned around and looked out over the cavern.
"This is the kind of thing I've been wanting to see… it… it makes everything else worth it."
Tarrion walked up behind her and gave her a quick kiss on her head.
"Come on… I'm sure we will see other sights like this. We should keep moving."
"I know, but…. Yes, you're right."
Serana tore her gaze from the cavern and walked with Tarrion to the wayshrine. The ghostly prelate stood there motionless, but when Tarrion stood before him he moved and spoke.
"You have arrived at the Wayshrine of Illumination, initiate. Are you prepared to honour the Mantras of Auriel, and fill your vessel with His enlightenment?"
"Yes." Tarrion simply said.
"Then behold Auriel's gift my child. May it light your path as you seek tranquillity within the Inner Sanctum."
The prelate turned around and cast the same spell that Gelebor had cast. The small statue of the sun on top of the wayshrine glowed bright, and then the structure rose up from the ground.
Tarrion saw the same basin standing in the middle of it and he saw that it was filled with clear water. He entered the wayshrine and filled the ewer with some of the water, and another portal appeared on one of the walls.
"Alright…" he said. "That was one… four to go."
"Yes." Serana said as she walked up to him. "Let's hope that we won't have to walk through more dark caves."
"Well, Gelebor did say that the Chantry consisted out of more than caves. Let's hope that this was indeed the last one. I hate not being able to see where I'm going."
They walked through the portal and found themselves in a gloomy lit crevice. It was dark, but not so dark so that Tarrion could not see. They saw no glowing fungus on the walls, and the path was littered with small rocks.
"Dammit." Tarrion said. "It is another cave."
"No, I don't think so." Serana said and she walked ahead. "The air is… fresher here."
Tarrion followed her through the crevice and a bit later they stood in the open air. A small valley appeared before them and they saw more deer and sabrecats with black fur. The trees were tall and pale and a few ruined structures, made out of the same stone as the wayshrines, were scattered over the valley. As they descended down to the valley they saw a few young sabrecats run to a small cave.
The pat was not difficult to follow, for broken stones that indicated a once much travelled path were still visible. They walked under broken, stone arcs and past crumbling pillars, until a few moments later they saw another wayshrine in the distance.
"Let's see what this prelate has to say."
Tarrion nodded and walked up to the spectral elf that stood motionless, but raised his head as soon as Tarrion stood in front of him.
"You have arrived at the Wayshrine of Sight, initiate. Are you prepared to honour the mantras of Auriel, and fill your vessel with His enlightenment?"
"Yes." Tarrion answered.
"Then Auriel bless you child, and may He show you the path to enlightenment."
The prelate cast the small spell and the wayshrine rose from the ground, the same way as the one before this. Tarrion walked in and filled the ewer with a bit more water from the basin.
Tarrion expected another portal to open, but this time it did not happen. He walked back and asked the prelate where the next wayshrine was.
"Follow the path through that pass, my child. There you will find the next wayshrines."
And so the two companions followed the path a bit back and then up a mountain pass. Serana looked around and it was clear that she found the valley beautiful, but Tarrion was lost in thought. After a while Serana noticed this.
"Are you alright?"
Tarrion did not answer at first. He was so occupied with his thoughts he did not even hear Serana.
"Tarrion?" she asked and she grabbed his hand. "Are you alright?"
"Hmm?... oh, yes…. Sorry." he sighed. "I was… lost in thought."
"Clearly… but what were you thinking about?"
"I'm not sure…. It's just…. I find it… strange and frightening even, that Gelebor is willing to give us the Bow so easily."
"'Easily'?... We do have to go past all these wayshrines, ánd kill his brother. I don't call that easily. But as long as we can get this Vyrthur out of the sanctum, I think they'll be happy to hand it over."
"True… but did you notice how he did not ask any questions, as for what we want to do with the Bow? He must have noticed that you are a Vampire, and yet he promised to give us the Bow, no questions asked…. And that frightens me."
Serana had a confused frown on her face. "Why?"
"Well… what if one of Harkon's minions showed up… or Harkons himself?"
Serana's frown disappeared and she seemed to agree with Tarrion's concern, and she sighed.
"Yea…. You're right. I guess we're lucky that someone else did not show up."
"Others have showed up." Tarrion reminded her. "Gelebor already said that others have tried to claim the bow, 'so many times that I cannot imagine it another way'…. I think we are extremely lucky that no-one has succeeded thus far."
Serana remembered and she looked ahead, at the top of the mountain pass. It was a small pass and the mountains were not high, yet the slopes were covered with snow. As they climbed higher, they felt the air growing colder.
An unsettling sound was heard, and the two looked up. Several large Frostbite spiders climbed down from the rocky walls and charged at them.
"More spiders?!" Serana said. "I liked the ones at home better."
"I liked them as much as I like these!" Tarrion yelled as he incinerated one of the spiders.
The spiders were quickly disposed of, and green slime now covered the rocks around them. Tarrion incinerated a few, while Serana impaled others with Ice-Spears. A few fled, back to the holes whence they came, but they posed no threat. But when Tarrion turned around, he heard Serana yell.
"Watch out! Behind you!"
Tarrion turned around and saw a flash of black and teeth, as a large sabrecat jumped on him and missed his face by an inch. Through the power of the jump, Tarrion fell backwards with the beast on top of him, clawing and biting at him. Tarrion held him at bay with nothing but his hands, until he grabbed the beast by its maws. The sharp teeth sunk into his hands, but Tarrion did not let go, and with a powerful surge, he ripped the mouth open. The lower jaw was ripped from the head, and the sabrecat fell dead on the ground.
"Tarrion! Are you alright?"
Serana came running and laid her hands on his shoulders as Tarrion got up.
"Yes… ach!"
He gritted his teeth, and he felt his hands burn. Warm blood flowed out of the deep wounds, and he saw the deep cuts the teeth made. He couldn't move his left hand and his right hand was not much better.
"Ach!... can you… heal this?" Tarrion said as he felt his arms tremble.
Serana cast a small healing spell and Tarrion felt the pain dull a bit.
"I.. I'm sorry… I can't do much more." she stammered, but Tarrion shook his head. He cast a different, more powerful healing spell, and the wounds closed.
"Don't worry about me. I've survived worse than this."
Serana grabbed his hands and kissed them, and licked the blood from this fingers. Tarrion laughed.
"I am bleeding here, and you can only think about the fact that you're hungry?"
She smiled and sucked the last bit of blood from his hands.
"Would you pass an opportunity like this if you were me?"
"Probably not."
The snow around them had become red with blood from both Tarrion and the sabrecat. They left the beast lie there and continued to follow the pass.
After only a few moments, they reached the highest point and when the path descended again they saw a massive valley lie in front of them.
The valley was at least a mile wide, and half as long. They saw how the path descended and a small structure was at the end of the pass. They saw how the path lead upward toward a large frozen lake and, unless Tarrion was mistaken, he saw a Word Wall, in the middle of the lake. Not far from the lake, another small structure was build, and they saw it was another wayshrine. High mountains surrounded the valley and they saw how a large structure was built on the mountain side, to the far end of the valley.
"I think that is where we have to go." Serana said.
"I think so too, but I don't see a pathway to it."
"That must mean there is a different path to it. Possibly a cave of some sort."
"Oh, no. Not another cave…"
Together they descended the mountain and arrived at another wayshrine. As soon as Tarrion stood in front of the prelate, it started to speak.
"You've arrived at the Wayshrine of Learning, initiate. Are you prepared to honour the mantras of Auriel, and fill your vessel with His enlightenment?"
"Yes"
"Auriel bless you, child. For you are a step closer to the Inner Sanctum, and everlasting wisdom."
The prelate cast a small spell, the statue on top of the structure glowed brightly, and the wayshrine rose from the ground. Tarrion drew from the basin at the centre of it and two portals appeared in the walls.
"I don't think we have to use these portals."
Tarrion turned around and saw Serana gaze at the wayshrine next to the lake.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"The next wayshrine is over there. I think these portals can bring us back to the shrines we've already opened."
Tarrion nodded.
"Then let's go to the next one. After that one, we only have one left. And then we can finally enter the Inner Sanctum."
After a short walk and an even shorter climb they reached the fourth wayshrine, and the prelate tending to it, greeted them with the same words as the previous ones.
"You have arrived at the Wayshrine of Resolution, initiate. Are you prepared to honour the mantras of Auriel, and fill you vessel with His enlightenment?"
"Yes."
"May the enrichment of Auriel strengthen your resolve as you undertake you journey to the Inner Sanctum."
After Tarrion drew from the basin, he left with Serana and continued along the path to find the last Wayshrine.
"Wait… before we go… I want to go to the lake first."
Serana looked at him.
"Why?"
"I think I can see a Word Wall there. I can learn another word from a Shout there."
"What? How? Just by walking up to it?"
Tarrion smiled and explained.
"A Dragonborn can learn Words of Power from dragons, or from others who already know those Words. I've learned several Words of Power from the Greybeards. But I can also learn them from a Word Wall. In every Wall, there is a word embedded… infused almost. And I can learn it from there."
Serana nodded slowly, like she still not understood it entirely.
"Don't worry. It won't take long."
Tarrion followed a different path now that lead to the lake, and he saw that is was frozen solid. The ice was thick enough for him to walk on and he saw that there was indeed a word wall in the middle of the lake. Massive, frozen waterfalls once flowed into the lake, and from the lake down into the lower valley, but now it was all turned to ice. Serana stayed behind as Tarrion walked over the ice and finally reached the Wall and he heard the Word of Power echo through him.
Lah… Lah!... LAH.
As soon as Tarrion understood the meaning of it, he heard a loud rumble. He turned around and saw the ice crack, and suddenly it looked like the lake exploded. Tarrion saw it with his own eyes, and yet he had a hard time believing it. Two large Dragons appeared out of the lake and now flew in unison over Tarrion. With a combined breath of fire they unleashed an inferno that melted a part of a waterfall, and massive cracks appeared on the ice. Tarrion drew his sword and followed the twin Dragons as they turned around and flew straight at him, with their mouths wide open, and they roared like the thunder.
The battle between Tarrion and the twin Dragons was a fierce one. Serana helped as much as she could, but she did not have the power to fight a Dragon. But Tarrion did, and he shouted one of the Dragons out of the sky and drove his sword through its throat. The other now roared loud and dove through the ice and disappeared in the lake, only to reappear with a thundering sound, and a breath of fire. Tarrion blocked the stream of flames and cast a powerful Thunderbolt through the Dragon's wings. It roared in pain and landed on the lake. As Tarrion ran toward the downed beast, he grabbed his sword again. The dragon turned around and waited for Tarrion to be close enough. Tarrion ran straight at the Dragon, and right before it breathed fire, Tarrion let himself fall on his back and now slid toward the head of the beast. The Dragon did not expect this and with its neck stretched out, and its belly unprotected, Tarrion raised his sword and cut the Dragon open, from throat to tail. Black blood gushed out of the massive wound and the Dragon fell dead on the ground. Then both bodies incinerated and Tarrion felt himself grow stronger. He saw how the bones glowed in the light of the moon, and a draconic presence drew toward him. The echo of a cry was heard and then silence.
"By the blood…"
Tarrion turned around and saw Serana look at him with a face of awe. He smiled when he saw her.
"Yea… that was something, wasn't it?"
Serana did not say anything, but had a different expression on her face. One that was a combination of awe, and something that could only be described as love, or an uncontrollable lust. Tarrion chuckled again and walked up to her.
"Come on… let's find this last wayshrine."
He took her hand and led her from the lake, back to the path that would lead to the next, and last wayshrine. Serana still had her eyes on Tarrion, and felt something stir deep within her.
=End of Chapter=
=Author's Notes=
Now, finally this chapter is finished. Sorry it took me as long as it did, but I was busy playing Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. If you know the game, you know it is a very long one. But I'm done with it, and now I can go back to writing again.
But I think I will write a bit slower than before (let's hope not as slow as I did with this chapter), because I also want to focus a bit more on my book. It is long overdue, and I want to finish it.
At the same time I also want to wrap up this part of the story. With that I mean the Dawnguard Questline, because I also want to move on to the next parts of the romance, and the adventures after this. So I think I'll write one chapter a week, hopefully more, but we'll see.
Also, i just found out that i've been writing 'Gelebor' wrong this whole time. It is actually GelebRor. i forgot the R in the middle, but oh well. i'll just continue writing it like this.
Dragon Language Used
LAH: Magicka (From the Drain Vitality Shout)
PPS: I am Dutch (From the Netherlands) so if there are any mistakes with spelling/grammar, please let me know.