Chapter 15

Loredas, the 4th of Midyear, Year 202 of the 4th Era

The long summer days of Skyrim still felt strange to Daenerys. She knew the reason. It was the same on Nirn as it was on Planetos. The farther north one went, the longer the nights were in winter, and the shorter the days were in summer. However, the long nights of winter hadn't seemed so strange when she spent almost all her time inside the well-lit and warm halls of the College of Winterhold. Eighteen hours of daylight, on the other hand, felt wrong. Even after a full day marching, clearing out the vampire's nest of Haemar's Shame, and then making camp, it was still daylight outside her tent. Unfortunately, her day wasn't over either. While most of her followers were sleeping now, she still had a meeting with her small council.

Daenerys took her place at the head of the war table. There was no map on the table, not that maps of Skyrim that she had managed to obtain were of much use. The maps covered the major landmarks and roads, they lacked detail. All a map would have done was show that they were somewhere upon the Imperial road that ran from Helgen to Ivarstead. Most of her council looked tired as they took their seats. Lydia was annoying alert, but she had several hours of sleep in the back of a cart while the rest of them walked. Her handmaiden, Raina, served them all hot tea and left a pot on the table in case they wanted more.

Daenerys waited until her handmaiden limped outside before she convened her small council. "I know we're all tired. We'll let everyone sleep in tomorrow and make a late start. I did not want to camp near Haemar's Shame. Camilla, we can hear about the loot we recovered tomorrow. Let's deal with the obvious issue - Barbas."

The dog in question looked up from where he was laying on the floor of the tent. {Hey, are you talking about me?}

"Yes, Barbas. Just lay there and listen. I'm not going to relay your words." She paused a moment to regather her thoughts. "I've spoken with some of you briefly, and I'll explain now for everyone, but before I do what is the mood of the camp? What are people saying about Barbas?"

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Fultheim spoke up, "They know he's a daedra, a lesser daedra obviously since he looks like a dog, but still a daedra. People don't gossip when I'm around, but I overheard some of them talking about it. They don't like it, but they aren't sure what to think, because you're you. Some of them would jump off a cliff if you told them they'd grow wings before they hit bottom."

"I probably heard more than the rest of you," said Camilla. "I guess I'm not as scary as the rest of you, so people are more likely to talk to me. There were people who heard your side of the conversation with... the Daedric Prince of Wishes. Jon Battle-born, Olfina Grey-mane, some others. I don't know who talked, but rumor has it you made a deal with Clavicus Vile and got Barbas in return."

Daenerys nod. "That's actually not far from the truth. How do they feel about that?"

Camilla frowned. "Uncomfortable. Plenty of people saw Barbas fight. Rumor has it that nothing hurts him. While they like the idea of having a powerful daedra on our side, a daedra is still a daedra and can't be trusted. Plus Clavicus Vile is a known cheat. They're afraid he'll turn on us."

Barbas stood and gave a low growl. {My master doesn't cheat! If mortals are too stupid to pay attention to important details, that's their problem.}

Daenerys stood and slammed her hand on the table. "Barbas! You will not threaten any of my followers. You are sworn to protect them. Your master has a deservedly bad reputation with men and mer."

{Well, yes, but he's not a cheat.}

"Don't push me, Barbas. You're strong but no stronger than a mortal dog your size. I know you still get hurt. Both I and my followers can attack you, but you cannot fight back without breaking your word." She inhaled deeply, ready to Shout Iiz. She had planned to treat Barbas with the carrot and not the stick, but she would not allow him to threaten her followers either. If Barbas was stronger than he let on, or if their deal wasn't binding things might be about to get ugly.

{You... you... you tricked me! You magnificent bitch! You. Tricked. Me.} Barbas made that strange hacking bark that he used for laughter. Either that or he was choking on a bone. {Fine, fine, I'll be a good doggie.} He lay back down on the floor of the tent.

Daenerys sighed as the tension left her. This wasn't going to turn into a fight. However, she wasn't going to leave it there either. "Not good enough, either of you. Camilla, he took offense that you called his master a cheat. Clavicus Vile is a trickster and a reprobate, but not a cheat. Would you please rephrase? And then I want the two of you to shake hands."

Camilla had turned pale, but she nodded her agreement. "Barbas, I'm sorry that I called your master a cheat." She looked over at Daenerys and then continued. "He is only a trickster." Very hesitantly she held out her hand.

Barbas looked at her without getting up.

"Barbas!" Daenerys put steel into her words. "She apologized. She is under my protection and your oath."

{Fine. Fine. I won't scare your minions.} He got up and put his paw in hers. {Apology accepted.} After they shook he went back and lay down on the floor.

"Daenerys sat back down in her seat. "So… that was awkward, but at least it proved what I was about to share. Yes, I made a deal, but I made it with Barbas, not with Clavicus Vile. Barbas is sworn to follow me and aid both me and my followers until either Alduin is defeated or I die. He is not invulnerable. He merely heals very fast. That means he can be hurt. He can also be muzzled or thrown in a cage and rendered helpless."

Barbas lifted his head up. {Did you have to share that with them?}

Daenerys looked at Barbas. "Yes, Barbas. I did have to share that with them. You made it necessary by threatening Camilla. She is loyal and trustworthy and did not deserve your threats."

{Yeah, yeah.} He closed his eyes. {Still can't believe you tricked me. At least you're a worthy temporary master.}

Daenerys nodded her approval, not for his lack of apology, but that Barbas was already considering her a 'temporary master'. That was a good start. "Now then, we will not be advertising his weaknesses, but you can share that he is sworn to protect all of us until Alduin is killed. That should hopefully calm down the worst of the rumors. I know it will take time, but as people see him fighting for us, I hope they'll at least accept him."

Faralda nodded. "Most likely they will because you are the Dragonborn. It's not like you're the only famous hero who ever made a deal with a daedra. History is full of such stories, the Hero of Kvatch, the Vestige, the Nerevarine, and many others. Although many of them ended badly."

Daenerys nodded. "I intend to win. If that means taking some risks or using unsavory means, then so be it. If there are no other questions, we can call it a night."

"I have one bit of other business. I'm having trouble with two of the four you swore in at Helgen. Timo and Marja keep sneaking off. I don't think I have to draw you a picture as to why. You said they couldn't father or bear children. I'm not the purity watch. I not going to keep them from screwing."

Daenerys forced herself to keep a neutral face as she absorbed this latest problem. "I don't expect you to do so, Fultheim. Send them to me. I'll make it clear to them that their oath requires Marja to drink Dibella's Tears if she conceives." And now she was forcing women to end pregnancies, but it wasn't the same as the whole Battle-born fiasco. Marja had sworn an oath. "Camilla, dock both their wages until they can pay for a bottle. And pick up some bottles to add to our potion stories. She isn't the only woman following my banner. We'll likely need some eventually."

"Yes, my liege," agreed Camilla. She still looked a little shaken.

"Great, now if there is no other business, let's all get some rest."

.oOo.

The road after leaving Haemar's Shame was to the east, downhill and peaceful. They encountered nothing more dangerous than a few brave merchants daring the passes. They traveled in small groups. Most of them eschewed carts and traveled with a loaded down mule or two. A few daring ones traveled with a single cart usually loaded down with Black-briar mead. They were all thrilled to learn of the existence of the Dragonguard, but none of them were eager to linger very long. Daenerys continued to work on creating a spell based on Fus, Ro and Yol while walking, but she also spent time playing fetch with Barbas. Unfortunately, Barbas also liked to share stories about his master. Every story he shared just confirmed that making a deal with Clavicus Vile was foolish in the extreme, and Barbas seemed to have a never-ending supply of stories.

{So, one time Vile and I were in the Imperial City.} Barbas tail wagged as he walked and talked beside her. "Nice place. Well, it was back then before the Aldmeri Dominion redecorated with siege engines. Fun people, too. Everyone trying to climb over everyone else to get to the top, and there was this noble, Cassius Cenaeus, or as Vile called him C.C. Now, C.C. he was already a wealthy man, but he wanted more. Clavicus promised to grant him wealth beyond his wildest dreams. Now, he had to do something for my master first, of course.}

Daenerys nodded. "Of course, it wouldn't be a deal otherwise." She'd learned that much. Clavicus Vile loved making deals and they usually required a sacrifice of some sort.

{Exactly! So Clavicus told C.C. to go to his shrine at midnight and there would be a figure in a red hood praying at his shrine. All C.C. had to do was kill the stranger and wealth beyond his wildest dreams would be his.}

"Let me guess, the hooded figure was a loved one?"

{Yeah, his wife! Have I told you this one before?}

"No, you haven't told me about C.C. before. It was just a lucky guess," she replied. Although there wasn't much guesswork to it. Setting someone up to unknowingly kill one of their loved ones was one of Clavicus Vile's favorite ploys. "So, he killed her?"

{Ran her through with his sword! And guess what Clavicus Vile gave him for that?}

"Wealth beyond his wildest dreams?" She played it straight, knowing that Vile would, of course, twist it.

{Yes and no! See, there is nothing beyond the wildest dreams of mortals, so nothing is what he got! Then he pulled back the hood and realized he killed his wife. You've heard of falling on your sword? C.C actually did it!}

"Charming. I think I'll meditate now, Barbas."

Barbas stopped talking and left her to her thoughts, but rather than meditate she kept thinking of Barbas and Clavicus Vile. The Daedric Prince of Wishes was well-named. The glee he took in lives destroyed was truly vile. She had been so smug when she thought she had forged her own deal with Barbas instead of his master, but she already regretted her bargain. If Barbas truly had no power except being immune to harm, the best thing for Nirn would be to throw the dog in the darkest pit she could find and leave him there. That way Clavicus Vile might never regain his power. Instead, she had made a deal for an unkillable dog that committed her to return the axe. That would give the daedric prince enough power to have 'a bit of fun'. It had seemed a fair bargain at the time, but with every story she regretted her choice more. Perhaps that was even what Barbas wanted, to rile her up so much that she would retrieve the axe just to be rid of him. Yet, there were times when he acted like a normal dog, and he was keeping his end of the bargain. Barbas never slept, but he would lay down in her tent at night keeping watch while she slept, and he loved to play fetch. When he stopped talking it was easy to think of him as just a dog.

Daenerys took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Second-guessing her decision was pointless. Barbas had agreed to fight for her until she defeated Alduin, who was by all accounts a god. If she somehow managed that and lived through it, then she could worry about Barbas.

She took another breath and focused on her Words and the spell she was attempting to create. Yol, Fire, with Fus, Force, and Ro, Balance. It felt right. It should let her throw a blast of fire with spin on it that would be more accurate and go farther than her Firebolt spell. She could visualize it, a spiraling spear of fire-

"Dragon!"

The shout snapped her out of her meditation even as someone blew a horn. She looked in the sky and spotted him. He'd seen them. He was closing fast, but far enough away that they had a little bit of time to prepare. "Empty Center Formation!" she yelled as loud as she could over the cries of alarm and anticipation.

The drivers of the two carts ahead of her whipped their oxen and sent them surging forward before pulling them to a halt. Her people started running all over the place, but it was an organized chaos. Melee fighters rushed a short distance off the road before falling to the ground and covering themselves with their shields. Non-combatants and archers grabbed shields from the carts before making their own run for shelter. She spotted Olfina Grey-mane and Jon Battleborn working together to help her lame handmaiden, Raina, to safely shelter beneath shields before they hid side-by-side. Her archers still scrambled about. They were supposed to not just drop but find a place where they could fire from cover. However, there was little cover to be found in this barren mountain pass. Only a few stunted trees and hardy shrubs poked out of the scree of stones that lined the roads. Faralda had found a boulder half her size but it was better than nothing. She saw Jenassa directing another archer to shelter behind a bush that barely came to his waist before she went to the ground and covered herself with her shield. Daenerys didn't see Elolir. Ull and Aela were up ahead somewhere scouting. She checked behind to see that the drivers behind had already blocked the wheels of their wagons and abandoned their carts and oxen.

Daenerys strode forward and stood in the middle of the open space created as the two lead carts pulled their oxen to a sudden halt. Their drivers scrambled out fearfully and blocked the wheels before they dashed away and took cover on the ground. As the dragon closed Daenerys took a quick look around. She was standing at the center of the kill zone. The lead and trailing carts held her two ballistae, both should be knocked and ready now. The two middle carts and all the oxen were bait. There hadn't been enough warning to even attempt to unload their supplies and loot on the middle carts. They would have to salvage what they could after the fight. Her archers were hidden as best they could be for the terrain. Even the ones she could see were crouched low and frozen motionless. The dragon wouldn't pay much attention to them compared to the oxen stamping, stomping and pulling at their harnesses. Best of all the dragon was lining up to come at them straight up the road. He was coming in fast, but this was the best approach for her ballistae to score a hit.

"Strafing run from the east! Archers ready!"

{And we're just going to stand here and take it?} asked Barbas.

She glanced over to Barbas and shrugged. "I'm going to Shout. You don't have to stay."

"Are you sure you're not a Nord?"

"No, I'm a Targaryen." She stood taller as she reminded herself of that. "Our words are Fire and Blood. We don't run from dragons. We ride them into battle."

The dragon flared his wings as he pulled out of his dive late. He must have almost brushed the ground as he pulled up. He rose back to tree level. He shouted, "Yol-Toor-Shul," as he strafed the road.

Daenerys stood her ground as both carts in front of her exploded into pieces. She saw arrows from both sides, but she didn't let them distract her. As the fireball raced at her she shouted a single word. "Iiz!"

Dragonfire enveloped her and she was blasted back rolling across the cobblestone road and slamming into something. She briefly channeled healing magic and forced herself to her feet. She had been thrown into one of the oxen behind her. The cow wasn't quite dead, but its legs were broken. She reached for a magicka potion in her beltpouch and found that her beltpouch was missing - no potions then. She looked about. The rearmost cart had survived, and the ballistae crew were scrambling back into the cart, so they still had one working ballistae.

Barbas walked up to her his tail between his legs. His skin was burnt and raw, but as he returned to her side the burns healed and his fur coat grew back out. {Woo, that was fun. When we're done here, how about we jump in a volcano for an encore?}

"Hush. We're not close to done." The dragon was now circling in the sky just above easy arrow range. She walked away from the dying cow and out into the road. She saw a shield move on the ground and Sofija peeked out. Daenerys snapped her fingers at her housecarl and shook her head. Now was not the time for the melee fighters to betray their position. Why was the dragon just circling? Had one of the ballistae bolts struck true? Or had Iiz actually worked? She knew the Shout was less effective on larger creatures, but she had hoped that the freezing Shout would impair a dragon's wings, maybe even enough for it to crash.

She took a deep breath and yelled at the dragon. "Daar. Joriin. Dii!" These people mine. Another deep breath. "Bovul. Daar. Staad!" Flee. This. Place!

The rumble in the sky was the sound of a dragon laughing and not thunder. "Krumah mal kiir. Daar. Staad. Dii!" Kneel little child. This. Place. Mine!"

This place mine. The same words she had instinctively used to challenge Mir-Mul-Nir and claim his territory as hers. This dragon was surprisingly offering her a chance to yield. Not that she could or would. She screamed her defiance at him. "Neh!" Never!

The dragon dove again, wings folded up against his side and plummeting like a stone, if stones were the size of a small hill.

{Are you sure you aren't the Nordborn? Because sensible people know not to piss off the flying murderbeasts.}

She ignored Barbas, but his snarky commentary steadied her for some reason. "Strafing run from the west!" she called as she braced herself to face the dragon.

In front of her, the cart holding her last ballistae jettisoned his cover so it could spin around and face the south. Daenerys knew the dragon would likely spot the movement and thus the ballistae, but she could do nothing to stop it. At least the ballistae would have a straight shot.

The dragon flared his wings diving low and this time as it pulled up it also did a barrel roll spinning about his axis before it breathed fire, and her final ballistae was destroyed by dragonfire. She hadn't seen the ballistae fire. They held their shot too long and they died. She recognized that even as she braced herself. Just before dragonflame reached her she Shouted, "Iiz" again. This time she was only on the edge of the flames. She staggered back but kept her feet as the dragon swept on past her.

A glance back at the trailing ballistae showed that it was nothing but kindling. Weeks of effort and training men, and both her ballistae destroyed in just two passes by a dragon. She had known it was a gamble but had thought it one worth taking. At least one crew was dead, perhaps both crews, and she had nothing to show for it. She knew some of her archers at least had fired arrows during each pass. Faralda had attacked as well, but her plan for creating a kill zone wasn't working. She pushed those thoughts away. Stopping to count the cost in the middle of a battle was a foolish distraction. She had to adapt as best she could. The dragon was already coming back for another pass and this time it was heading to the north side.

"Strafing run to the north! Shelter north!" She watched with approval as Faralada, Jenassa, and other archers on the north side took shelter under their shields.

Daenerys watched as the dragon took another pass, this time breathing fire near where her people were hidden. The dragon aimed among the broken rocks where her archers hid and all she could do was hope that the tower shields would provide shelter for them. A few archers behind her fired at them as the dragon passed, but he was moving fast. She could have gotten off an Ice Spike, but the dragon was moving too fast. She decided to save her magicka for a better opportunity.

The dragon continued well past where her forces were camped before it came around again. She cursed as she recognized what he was doing. This dragon was smart. He was trying to take out all her forces from the air. He'd seen her archers attack, so he was going after them. Hopefully, he hadn't spotted her warriors hiding under their shields alongside the road. He probably knew he missed some archers, but he would expect at most a few survivors who couldn't effectively fight back. He was wrong. Most of her forces were melee fighters hidden close to the road, and her archers and Faralda weren't dead. At least she hoped they weren't.

"Strafing run to the south! Shelter all. Shelter ALL!"

{You know we're next.}

"I know Barbas. I'm counting on it." And counting on the tower shields to have worked. She watched as the dragon made his past to the south and breathed fire on the slopes. He was off, not even that close to some shields she saw, so at some of her archers would survive. "Barbas, run circles around me."

{What? Running in circles? That's your plan?}

She reached down and gave Barbas a rub on the head. "Yes. You can whine like you're scared, and you want me to leave."

{I do want you to leave! This is stupid.}

"You promised, Barbas. This is not even Alduin, and this isn't stupid. It's a trap and we're staying. We're the bait." She watched as the dragon started climbing back into the sky. "He's started his run. He's got a pattern. He'll climb high, dive to the ground, pull up, then strike. He's hit everyone else, and he knows we can take dragon breath. He might hover and flame us again, but I bet he comes in to land."

{And we stand here?}

"Yes, Barbas. We stand." She watched as he began his dive. "Prepare for landing!"

Wings folded the dragon dropped, falling, falling from the sky gathering speed. He seemed sure to crash into the ground, but he flared his wings at the last moment. He shot back up triumphant.

For a moment she thought that she had guessed wrong and he was going to hover and breathe fire, but he was just breaking his momentum. He shifted his wings to bleed speed and glided in. He landed on the remains of a supply wagon with enough force to shake the ground and reduce the cart to kindling. He advanced slowly, clearly drawing out the moment. Each step he took was deliberate as if he had all the time in the world.

She lifted her mace. The wolf inside her wanted to answer the challenge and charge the dragon, but her job wasn't to engage the dragon herself. Her job was to keep his attention focused on her. "Fire and Blood!" she screamed, uttering the words of her house as a war cry, as Sofija had done before her. "Attack!"

Like the fallen dead answering the call of the Night King, her soldiers hiding beneath their shields rose from where they were hidden. They screamed their defiance and charged. Suddenly it was not just her and Barbas along against a dragon, but dozens of her followers surrounding it. The soldiers that Fultheim had trained charged with their spears. Lydia charged forth from one side with shield and axe. Salim Bashir swung his curved Redguard sword. In a streak of light two powerful Ice Spears slammed into the dragon. From somewhere on the other side of the dragon she heard Sofija echoing her cry, "Fire and Blood!"

The dragon fought back buffeting the attackers with his wings as it whirled around trying to clear space with his tail. It struck out on all sides with teeth and claws. Then crouched to launch himself in the air.

Realizing that it was about to escape Daenerys reached inside for her magicka and Shouted, "Iiz."

Whether it was her Shout or some other damage, the leap that should have propelled the dragon into the air failed. Instead, he made an awkward hop and came crashing back down onto the ground catching himself on his forelegs. His eyes locked onto Daenerys, and he surged ahead simply bowling over Salim Bashir who was trampled beneath. He snapped out at her with his teeth.

Daenerys raised her shield and blocked the blow, but the impact still knocked off her feet and onto her back. She rolled to her knees trying to get back to her feet. Fultheim and Barbas charged past her, getting in the dragon's face and buying her time. As she regained her feet, she noticed the dragon was rearing his neck to breathe. She launched herself at Fultheim from behind an attempt to knock him to the ground and cover him.

The dragon breathed. Barbas yelped. Fultheim screamed. The fire bothered her not at all, but the blast threw her up into the air and she came down spinning and tumbling. She didn't release her shield in time, and as she rolled across the cobblestone road something in her shoulder gave way. When she finally bumped to a stop she released her shield. The world was spinning around her, but she pushed herself up with her right hand. She'd lost her mace, her shield arm wasn't working, and the world was still spinning, but she stood.

In front of her the dragon was dying. Not of one mortal blow, but of dozens of cuts. His wings were in tatters. His reactions were slowing, but he wasn't quite dead. Fultheim was dead. Her vertigo settled as she focused on his corpse. The burns were bad enough. She could see bone poking through his flesh, but even worse his head was caved in. No amount of magic could cure him. Dead was dead.

A rage lit in her belly and she grabbed her mace and charged the dragon. Salim Bashir and Lydia blocked her path, but she found an opening and smacked it with her mace. It didn't even notice with all his wounds, but the dragon died soon after. He just collapsed to the ground. She could feel his soul flicker and weaken.

Instinctively, she Inhaled and his soul caught fire. The dragon began to burn from the inside, his flesh glowing and flaking away revealing his bones as she breathed in his soul. Lok-Nos-Dov. Sky-Strike-Dragon, or The Dragon who Strikes from the Sky. Lok-Nos-Dov. His Words were his pride, his joy his being, his all. To fall from the open sky, to embrace the pull of Mundus, to pull out and the last moment and strike…

Daenerys looked around. She was standing in a warm pile of ash. Her shoulder didn't hurt. Her armor was loose in places. No doubt some of the straps had burned, but at least she wasn't naked. Everyone was kneeling again. At least those that hadn't died. Fultheim still lay where he'd fallen. As she looked around, she realized that she'd lost many more. She'd lost both ballistae crews with their weapons. How many others? Most of them had lived. She started mentally taking inventory of who was alive: Sofija, Faralda, Camilla, both her servants, Salim Bashir, the Companions. They were all kneeling with their heads bowed, even Gaius Paulinus and the rest of the Imperials. The only one who looked at her was Sofija, but even her eyes almost glowed with hero worship.

"Rise! Stand! This is not just my victory. This victory belongs to all of us. The dragon Lok-Nos-Dov is dead. Give praise to the Nine! Victory!"

Slowly they all stood and cheered.

She forced a smile as they all crowded around her cheering. If she hadn't been wearing armor, they probably would have hoisted her into the air. Really, it was a victory. Her forces deserved to celebrate, but Fultheim was gone, as were many others. She couldn't afford costly victories like this. Somehow, someway she had to do better.