Lands Unknown part 7

Serana looked at Tarrion with her mouth hanging open. He looked at her with her eyes widened. Neither were sure though if they felt the same and Tarrion looked from Serana, to the queen and finally to Shazra.

"I'm sorry…. Did she say she wants to 'become a Dragon'?" he asked her.

Shazra nodded calmly…. Something that made Tarrion question her even more. "That is indeed what she said, master."

"And you're sure you translated it correctly? Maybe it means something different in your language… or culture. Maybe it is a metaphor for… something."

Shazra addressed Tarrion's concerns to the queen who shook her head, and Tarrion started to question what he heard more and more by the second.

"I did not say something I did not mean. It is our intention… or it was long ago.. to attain the capabilities of turning into Dragons."

"You're sure you do not mean a Dragonborn?"

The queen again shook her head and even chuckled at Tarrion's confusion. "A Dragonborn has not been seen in this world for a long time and it is said that even the Tsaesci may bow to a person of such power… a power that is greater than any Dragon. But a Dragonborn receives their powers from the Gods… and they do not bestow that power lightly. No… we strife to become Dragons ourselves. It was Tosh Raka, the great leader of which I spoke, who was the first to achieve that power. Under his rule we became strong and fearsome. We drove the Tsaesci from our lands and made them fear us. He gave us the tradition of spending our time and energy into becoming Dragons ourselves."

The queen sighed again before she continued. "But we squandered what he gave us. We forgot. We forgot what we were… what we could be. Where once we were strong, we now are weak. Where once we were united, we now are divided. Where once we were vigilant, we now no longer protect our own people. We need that strength again… the strength that Tosh Raka brought… we need it now more than ever."

She stopped talking for a few moments and looked at the two humans in front of her. Both were smaller than her… both had black hair… both looked at her with an expression of disbelief on their face.

"I'm sorry," Serana said as she scratched the back of her head. "I am sure that was important… but you are saying that someone among your people had the ability to turn into a Dragon? An actual Dragon? With scales, wings… fire breath… enormous in size… all of it?"

When the queen simply nodded, Serana softly shook her head. "I find that very hard to believe."

"We do not need your belief for us to know it to be true. We do not ask you to believe us… we only ask you to help us."

"Then what do you want us to do?" Tarrion asked, wanting to finally get to that question. "What is it that you want of us?"

"I will explain in a moment," the queen nodded and continued. "When Tosh Raka saw that others could not do what he could… turn themselves into Dragons, he was disappointed. He tried to teach us, but none succeeded. Eventually he left us… bringing only a few most loyal subjects with him. He left to the north, to the mountains. We believe that he is entombed there, along with the most loyal. We want to find that tomb… and bring back his body, so that we may remember our purpose. That we may remember to again begin anew the traditions of becoming Dragons. It is the only way to unite our people. To find the body of our Great Leader… and to bring him back. He does not belong in the cold mountains of the north…but here among his people."

She now looked directly at Tarrion and Serana and her gaze was both piercing and hopeful. "My request is that you find his Tomb, with Shazra as your guide, and bring back the remains of our Great Leader…. The Dragon Emperor Tosh Raka."

Tarrion had asked for time to decide what they would do. They now walked past the edges of the camp into the jungle to be alone for a while. Shazra was told to stay behind as Serana and Tarrion waited until they were out of earshot.

Serana sat down on one of the massive, moss-covered tree roots and took a deep breath. "Alright…. Let's ehh….. let us summarize this. They believe that they can turn themselves into Dragons. Not metaphorically or as a way of saying it…. but actually transform physically into Dragons. They say that one of their ancestors… this 'Tosh Raka'… actually succeeded in doing so and tried to teach the rest to do the same. When he saw that no-one could do the same… whatever that means… he left and entombed himself in the northern mountains where… according to these people… there are giant Snow-demons. And they want us to find the tomb and bring back his body so they can 'unite and start the tradition again to try and become Dragons themselves'."

Tarrion sat next to her and nodded. "A good summary."

"What is wrong with this continent?" Serana blurted out and Tarrion couldn't help but chuckle. "I mean… trying to become Dragons? You can't expect anyone to believe that you can transform like that."

"And yet…" Tarrion remarked. "we can both transform if we so choose. I transform into a wolf… you into a Vampire-Lord."

"That is different!" and Serana looked at Tarrion like she could not believe what he just said. "I am a Vampire… you are a Werewolf, so with us it makes sense. With us it came from Daedric Princes… willing or not…. But they believe that they can transform just by wishing it."

She looked at Tarrion and when she saw he started to worry she calmed herself. "I'm sorry… I know that many crazy things happen in this world. We have seen many crazy things in our lives… we are living examples of that craziness. I know that much of it may seem impossible when you think about it-…"

"Fighting Wolf-ghosts of dead harbingers… a crazed Thalmor who wants to take over the world through a large magical orb…. Someone trying to blot out the sun… dying and coming back to life…. A power-hungry Dragonborn from beyond the grave… unexplained storms."

He looked at Serana and laughed when she hung her head at how he summarized their lives. "We are indeed living examples of how crazy this world is sometimes. If these people believe they can transform into Dragons…. I say let them. We don't need to believe them… we just need them to help us."

"And the only way to do that is to find this Tomb in a land we have never been before. And judging by their stories about snow-demons we have no guide who has been there before."

"Then we should do a few things first," Tarrion said and he summed up. "Find out everything they know about this, so that we may narrow down our search. We need to make sure it is worth our time… that they can help us return to Tamriel and that they will hold up their end of the bargain. And lastly; if this tomb cannot be found because this Tosh Raka was killed by the snow-demons… or froze to death on a glacier… that they will still help us. We cannot guarantee that we can bring back anything."

Serana sighed and nodded. "We have little choice.. do we? Fine… let's see if this queen is willing to help us in return."

Back in the tent the queen waited for their answer.

"Will you accept our proposal?"

"Not yet," Tarrion shook his head and before the queen could react he continued. "We also have some requests. We first want to know if you can truly help us to go back to Tamriel. How do you plan on doing that?"

"Through the same way you came. We will build a ship… strong enough to withstand the open ocean. We will give you that ship so that you may return."

"A two-man crew cannot cross an ocean," Serana remarked correctly.

"Then we will give you a crew," the queen answered. "They will help you with the crossing and let you go ashore on Tamriel. After that, they will return to Akavir."

"We've gathered that the Tsaesci are stronger at sea. What will prevent them from sinking us again?"

"We will create a distraction… so that you may escape without being noticed by the Snakes."

"You are a queen in exile," Serana said and immediately saw that she hit a nerve. "How can you accomplish this while remaining here?"

The queen said a few words that Shazra did not translate, but both understood what she meant.

"I am in exile now, yes," the queen said harsly. "But after I bring back the remains of the Dragon Emperor Tosh Raka, I will be welcomed back. The king, my husband, will have to bow down to me. All the other kings and queens will have to pay homage to me… and then I will be able to help you. You have my word as queen."

"Forgive me for saying this," Tarrion said and he tried to make it sound like he meant it. "but your 'word' does not guarantee us anything. And what if we do not find anything? What if there is no tomb, and Tosh Raka died somewhere on a glacier.. frozen to death? What if he was killed by the snow-demons that live in those mountains?"

"That would not have happened. He was too powerful for any of the Kamal-…"

"But what if he wasn't?" Tarrion asked again. "We cannot bring something back if there isn't anything to bring back. This happened centuries ago as you said, and you do not know what happened after he left. So… I have to ask again; What if there is nothing to bring back? What if we cannot find anything? We are not from this land, and we cannot scour every corner and crevice in those mountains."

The queen opened and closed her mouth before she answered, seemingly struggling to find the right words or answer. Eventually she conceded. "Then we will help you still. If after one year, you still have not found the tomb… we will consider your efforts enough for us to help you return to Tamriel."

"One year?!" Serana blurted out in outrage. "You expect us to search for this tomb for an entire year?"

"And we will consider you allies," the queen interrupted her. "We cannot just give you a ship tomorrow anyway."

"But you can give us a ship on your own?"

"I will ask help from the other queens. They will support me, this I know. They want the same as me, and they will help whoever helps me."

She sighed and looked both of them in the eyes. "One year. I hope and pray that you succeed, but even if you don't…. either way, you will have your ship and your way back to Tamriel in one year."

The sun had reached her highest point and so did Serana's frustration. An hour ago they agreed to the queen's plans and terms, and although she too agreed… it wasn't wholeheartedly. She knew it was unlikely… no, impossible to cross the ocean on nothing but a raft, yet this absurd plan the queen had seemed even less appealing. To find a rumoured tomb in an unknown land seemed desperate enough… but to have that be in the middle of a land where snow-demons rested seemed even worse.

Thoughts endlessly echoed through her head and the more she thought about them, the more they plagued her. She stood at the edge of the camp and decided to look around, trying to find something to take her mind off of things.

In the tent she noticed how Tarrion was the only man there, yet she assumed that the queen preferred female advisors and guards. Yet now, as she looked around the camp she saw only female Ka Po Tun walking around. The only males that she could see were two, seemingly very young, children who were barely old enough to walk. This piqued her interest and she started walking around camp trying to see if this changed.

But after a while she determined that there were no males in the camp, other than the two children… and Tarrion.

She found Shazra sitting in front of their tent and asked her about this.

"I noticed that there are no males here. Why is that?"

Shazra stood up and even underneath all that fur, Serana could see a muscle pull I her face. "Because power-hungry men caused us to be in this position in the first place. They decided that they were more important than others and proceeded to ridicule anyone that was different, or did not have the same strength as them. You want to be noticed by the males? Show that you are strong, as they value nothing else anymore."

Despite that she sounded bitter, she also smirked a bit. "A few generations ago it was different. Under Tosh Raka, things were different. Any type of strength was valued and weaknesses were not ridiculed. Males and females valued each other…. But ever since the Kings of today saw that their power was greater than that of others… they did everything to keep that power. They treated their queens as trophies, nothing more… and the common folk started to do the same. The kings do… the common folk follow. The Tang Mo seem to be wiser than our kings in that regard, as they do not value one more than the other. And we decided to follow them in that."

"How?" Serana asked and Shazra smirked even more, almost deviantly.

"If we can bring back the remains of Tosh Raka, or even just find his tomb, we will have shown that we are stronger and more resourceful than the males. They did not believe in us when we suggested it, and so we left. We have become stronger out here, and every once in a while we see a patrol of soldiers. Mostly we let them be, but we sometimes take what we need from them."

"What do you mean?"

Shazra chuckled. "We have lived here in the wild for a long time… eight years before I was born, my mother joined the queen, along with many others. She was not married at that time… yet I was born while she was out here."
It didn't take much for Serana to connect the dots and understand what Shazra meant. "You just take a patrol captive and violate them?"

"You sound like you disagree," Shazra remarked and she looked sideways at Serana. "You have not experienced the life that we have under our males of today."

"Neither have you," was Serana's cold answer. "since you said you were born here. And do not presume to know what I have endured."

She left Shazra before she could throw a remark back, and tried to find Tarrion. She found him in their tent, eating dried fruit and meat from an animal neither of them knew. He seemed weakened, but she understood why. The long journeys they had so far through uncharted jungles were tough enough, but more than that she drained him of his blood every day. Although they were only small amounts to keep her fed, he still lost blood every day and it started to wear him down, especially with the little food he had been able to eat.

"Hey you," she said as she sat next to him.

"Hmm mhh," he answered with his mouth full.

"I still can't believe we actually agreed on finding that tomb."

"Me neither," he said after he swallowed. "but I hope you believe me if I say I did not do it gladly. I just want to leave Akavir as soon as possible, but I also want to do it safely. If finding this tomb gets us a ship and a crew within a year… I suggest we do it."

He took another large bite from the food and Serana silently watched him eat for a few moments. She felt a sense of shame come over her. To feed on him despite him hardly being able to feed himself. She saw how he clearly was hungry and she felt she was partly to blame for that.

"I'm sorry… you know that right?" she said eventually. "For feeding on you while you cannot regain your own strength."

"Shtoph fe-…" he started but swallowed and coughed. "Stop feeling sorry about that," he said with a smile. "Don't feel sorry for what you are… and I still give you my blood willingly." He placed his hand on her leg and smiled kindly at her. "I don't mind it. It also assures me you will never try to find someone else."

"As if anyone can compare to you," she chuckled and she sat closer to him. "Who else is as handsome as you? Who else is as wealthy as you? They don't matter most, I know, but they are two obvious things. And with all those titles…" she smirked seductively. "You are a Legate in the Imperial Army… with hundreds, if not more, men under you. You need a woman above you. And whenever you use those Shouts… I can feel the power that comes from them. That stirs something in me… especially when all that power is 'under me'."

They shared a long and deep kiss, but did not take it any further. The entrance to the tent could not be blocked, and the canvas would not prevent any sounds from escaping. Serana also decided it would be unwise to drain him any further.

After a few days it was time to set out on their journey. Tarrion had regained much of his strength and felt better than since they were taken by the Tang Mo. With enough food to last for a long while the three companions set out to the northeast. Shazra came with them, as a guide first, but also to translate in case they would meet others of the Ka Po Tun. They were given proper clothes and weapons.

All were clad in soft, flexible leather to protect themselves from the harsh jungles of Akavir. Each carried a backpack and a bedroll with more, thicker clothes for when they would reach the mountains and glaciers. Both Serana and Shazra carried two long knifes for defence, and Tarrion carried two swords, just like the others of the Ka Po Tun would carry. One was larger than the other yet both had a long, single-edged blade with a round crossbar. All wore hoods with masks and were dressed in the colours of the jungles, brown and green.

Shazra was given a map of Akavir on which a number of locations and landmarks were highlighted. They knew they would have to travel east for at least a month.. only to then head northeast and north for another three months. Only then would they reach the slopes of the mountains of Kamal and their search would begin. The endless jungles would make their journey slow, yet their other option was going through the lands of Tang Mo.

The map they had been given was the most accurate map of Akavir they had with them, yet Tang Mo seemed to be a blur. Tarrion saw that there were a few dozen islands on the map but the Ka Po Tun had explained to him that there were thousands. Some small, others large, and no-one had been able to create a reliable map of the land. The thick fog made it difficult, and some even claimed that the islands changed and moved about. This seemed hard to believe, even to the Tang Mo themselves, yet it would explain why no-one had been able to create a map of the land, despite spending considerable resources on such a menial task.

Both Tarrion and Serana had agreed it would be a more preferable route than the long journey around Tang Mo, but Shazra had advised them not to go through Tang Mo, since the thick fog would make it easy to get lost. Going around would provide a longer but safer route. Since she was their guide and claimed that she would have no idea how to get out of Tang Mo if they would get lost, they decided to heed her advice and take the long way round.

Their journey was slow and tiresome. The thick and unending jungle slowed their progress immensely. There were no clear roads on the route that they took, since they had to avoid them. The Kings would stop them immediately if they found out where they were and would search themselves if they would find out what they were planning to do. Thus they avoided the roads, much to Serana's annoyance.

Although the jouney was slow, they were in no shortage of food or water. Large plants would capture rainwater in their large, bowl-shaped leafs for weeks after a cloudburst. Animals were wary of hunters, but none could adapt to any of the companions, and Tarrion had learned to hunt from Aela herself. This made sure that neither Tarrion nor Shazra would go to sleep on an empty stomach. Serana would eat small meals to keep up appearance, but as soon as Shazra slept, she would take a few sips from Tarrion. In truth, Serana would be able to survive for days, if not a few weeks without feeding, yet they both agreed it would be best for her not to go hungry, and as Tarrion said years ago; "It would be better if I lose a bit of blood occasionally, than a lot in one go."

After almost two weeks they found one of the other queens. Shazra had pointed to a small dot on the map which pointed at the location of an ancient ruin where they might take shelter. Before they even came close to those ruins an ambush awaited them, but after Shazra explained everything to the warriors, they were lead as guests before the queen.

Serana quickly saw that the entire camp was again made up of women only and many of them looked at Tarrion with either suspicion or intrigue. The queen introduced herself as S'hirianasae Tal'Sharnia and she seemed younger than the previous queen and was versed in the Tamriellic language.

"So, we have finally made the first step into reclaiming our rightful place," she said after Shazra explained their mission. "This is good, and we will give any aid we can offer."

They stayed only for two days, until they had rested and resupplied. In that time Tarrion had advised the queen to join the others in a well-hidden, defendable location.

"If you want to be ready for when we return with the remains of Tosh Raka, you'll want to be part of it. Join the others and combine your strengths."

The queen heeded this advice and made plans to contact the other queens as well and have them join forces.

When Serana took him aside and asked him if he meant it he scoffed slightly. "Not really… but if we come back empty handed, we still need them to pool their recourses to get us a ship. If we come back after a year and still have to wait yet another year I might join you and build that raft."

After their stay they headed east for another two weeks, only to then head northeast and north. They knew that the same journey would have taken them only half the time if they had used the roads, yet they had little doubt that the other kings knew of their presence by now.

This was something that Tarrion had found strange. Ever since they had left the first city to meet with one of the queens, they had not heard anything from the kings. It would only make sense that the king of that city would send word to the others of their arrival on Akavir, yet it felt like this was ignored. This was something that troubled him and he did not know what to think of it. Maybe the kings were searching for them but couldn't find them, maybe their messages were intercepted or maybe something else was at play.

Although they made an effort to hide it, it was impossible for Shazra not to find out that Tarrion was a Werewolf. A few days after they set out Tarrion found himself to be taken by the full moon. Killing a few small animals Tarrion left Serana alone but did go after Shazra a few times. The next morning she was both furious and terrified.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" she shouted hysterically. "What are you?!"

"A Werewolf," Tarrion explained calmly and couldn't help himself when he smirked a bit at her hysteria. "It means that I have the Blood of the Wolf in me. I can transform into this when I want. But when the moon is full, I transform unwillingly and I cannot control my actions."

"So…. You'll kill anyone in your path?!"

"Not anyone," he calmly answered. "but everyone is in danger around me under a full moon."

"When you turn into a monster like that?"

"Careful, Shazra," Serana smirked. "You are speaking to your 'master'."

Shazra immediately closed her mouth when she realized that and seemed to be in conflict with herself for a few moments.

"Then I humbly ask for your forgiveness, master," and she kneeled in front of Tarrion. "I overstepped my bounds."

"No need to worry about it," Tarrion waved it away. "When it happens again, climb a tree. My hind legs aren't made for climbing trees when I'm like that, so it is easier to escape me that way. Or jump in the water… that will work too."

From that moment on Shazra preferred to walk behind Tarrion, where she could see him, and kept a safe distance. Although they told her there was nothing to worry about, she instinctively preferred to keep her distance and Serana guessed that there could be something about wolves that the Ka Po Tun do not like. She decided to leave it be and focus on the journey they still had before them, for they both knew it would be a long one.

The days slowly turned into weeks, and those into months until the jungles started to turn into pine forests. They could feel the slight elevation of the land and the ground became rockier with every passing hour.

After a while the trees gave way for and empty landscape, yet it was far from being lifeless. Untamed wilds lay in front of them with rocky hills spreading to the east and west and high mountains to the north. The land looked green and brown with thorny plants growing everywhere. Large animals which looked a bit like the cows of Skyrim, yet much larger, roamed the lands and seemed almost intrigued by their presence.

To the far east they saw a massive and seemingly unending land that would end in the sea, yet it was beyond even Serana's eyesight. The sun blocked her view, but even without it, it would seem impossible even for her to guess how far the sea was.

To the west they saw greener lands and a slight hint of the lands of the Tang Mo. A few small isles were visible before the mist swallowed the rest. It almost seemed as if the world ended there, just an endless sea of white fog that would hide one of the strangest lands on Akavir.

To the south, and behind them, they saw the endless forests and jungles that they had braved. Even further to the south west they saw that the forests ended there and turned into the hot, dry deserts that only wild animals would inhabit. Shazra had pointed out that there were a few cities that dotted the desert landscape, yet there were only few of the Ka Po Tun who chose to stay there. The heat and draught there was unforgiving and only the toughest creatures could survive there.

But they now looked to the north, where their next challenge lay. High mountains, some of the peaks higher than the Monahven itself, loomed over them. They seemed to be impossible to climb… an unending wall of rock and ice that hid one of the most dangerous races of Akavir; the Kamal, after which this land was named.

Shazra had explained a bit more about them, since she had seen them before. "Every year they come down from the mountains to raid us. Most of their attacks are aimed at the Tang Mo, and most of the time their forces are not armies. They seem to be more like raiding parties that test our defences. But sometimes their numbers swell and they bring an unnatural winter with them. The very ground freezes beneath their feet and their claws are colder than death. Some of them have horns on their head and they are tall. Taller than our tallest soldier. You might call them giants. They wear little armour, but they don't need to since the cold is their armour and the frost their weapon. Pray to your gods that we do not encounter them."

They put their warmer clothing on and donned their hoods and masks, preparing for the cold journey ahead. The journey into the mountains of Kamal; Snow Hell, as the name in the Tamriellic language was, where it seemed like Cold itself kept watch.

Yet they journeyed on, into the mountains and quickly reached the eternal snow. Mortals from the lands below willingly entered this frozen wasteland.

Something that had not been attempted in over three-hundred years.

=End of Chapter=

=Author's Notes=

And on to Kamal it is, to find the tomb of the Dragon Emperor Tosh Raka. I have so many ideas in this Arc that I cannot use them all, so I'll use the ones I like best.

This does mean it might get a little bit chaotic. I'll try my best to make sure that doesn't happen, but if it does… you know why at least :)

But that is it for this chapter. Stay tuned for the next one.