Chapter 17
Middas, the 10th of Midyear, Year 202 of the 4th Era
Fasendil readily agreed to let the Dragonguard purchase a modest amount of supplies from his Quartermaster. He couldn't offer her a siege engineer because he didn't have one under his command. However, he did agree to match Legate Cipius and loan her six men on detached duty. One of them was an underofficer, Marcus Verres. The other five were all Nords, perhaps because Fasendil had called for volunteers. While this pushed her closer to the Empire politically, Daenerys couldn't turn down experienced troops after her losses in the pass. If the Stormcloaks didn't like it, they could lend her troops to balance the numbers. With their supplies refreshed the three-day journey to Ivarstead was much more pleasant. They encountered a few frostbite spiders and her scouts killed a bear, but otherwise the journey was uneventful.
Ivarstead stood on the western shore of Lake Geir and occupied a strategic location. The Rift was cut-off from the rest of Tamriel by mountains on all sides. Only a few passes and roads led in and out. Lake Geir was shallow and placid and connected by the Treva River to the slightly larger Lake Honrich. That provided an easy water route for trade goods from Riften to Ivarstead. Imperial roads led both north and west from Ivarstead connecting the Rift to the rest of Skyrim. That alone should have made Ivarstead a major trade hub. In addition to the trade routes, Ivarstead had natural deposits of both marble and clay, and it boasted a lumber mill. By all rights Ivarstead should have been a major trading city. However, her scouts reported that Ivarstead was little more than an overgrown town. It lacked a wall or any kind of fortification. There were a few sentries posted in the trees, but they were lookouts for dragon attacks and armed with horns instead of weapons. Her scouts also reported that several buildings were recently burned down.
Despite the reports from her scouts of burned buildings, Daenerys was taken aback by the welcome the Dragonguard received. The bridge leading to Ivarstead was decked with flowers and the entire town had turned out to meet her. Men and women lined the streets. Children ran around banging metal pans with spoons. Realizing what was happening, she dropped back to the end of the procession and mounted Nightwind. If Ivarstead was going to open its arms to her, she may as well give them the pageantry they desired. The cheering grew louder once she crossed the bridge. She waved at the people as she passed, and they all went down on their knees.
What she took to be the headman of the town was waiting at the crossroads of the town. He was a bald Nord who had the look of a warrior that had gone soft. His age was about right to be a veteran of the Great War. He stood atop a wagon along with a few other men and women who were probably the elders of the village. Her men parted going to either side of the road making way for her to ride between them. She stayed mounted so she could address the man standing in the cart on more equal footing.
He bowed deeply as she pulled her horse to a halt in front of him. "Lady Daenerys Targaryen, I am Wilhelm, the headman of Ivarstead. I'm also the Innkeep. Ivarstead welcomes the Dragonborn. We have heard of your defeat of the dragon, and we have prepared a feast for you and our men. I further declare that the 10th of Midyear will henceforth be a holiday in Ivarstead and we will call it Deliverance Day because on this day the Dragonborn who delivered us from the dragon came to Ivarstead."
Daenerys bowed while remaining seated on her horse. "Thank you, Headman Wilhelm. I am honored to be among such good and honest people, but it wasn't I alone who defeated the dragon. I founded the Dragonguard to defend Skyrim against the dragon scourge. We lost eight good men in the fight against the dragon, Lok-Nos-Dov. I ask but one thing of Ivarstead. You learn their names and their stories. When you celebrate this day in years to come, you don't just speak my name, but the names of the eight men who died to deliver you from the dragon."
The headman went down to one knee. "So shall it be, Lady Targaryen."
.oOo.
Daenerys and her small council dined with the headman and the town elders. The elders were too in awe of her to ask many questions, so instead she asked them questions about the Greybeards, High Hrothgar, and Shroud Hearth Barrow which was located inside the town of Ivarstead. Despite the town being built at the base of the 7000 Steps leading to High Hrothgar, they knew nothing about the Greybeards that she hadn't already heard. They had little to say about Shroud Hearth Barrow except that it was haunted. Wilhelm did share a story of how a mage named Wyndelius had ventured into the barrow about a year ago. That night they had heard screams. The mage was never seen alive again, but many claimed to have seen his ghost haunting the barrow.
Daenerys was able to satisfy her curiosity as to why Ivarstead was more of an overgrown village than a proper town. Not surprisingly the dragon was the most recent cause of the town's problems. Lok-Nos-Dov had attacked many smaller settlements nearby and hit Ivarstead twice. A few months back it had raided their livestock, killed two families, but done little damage. Three weeks ago it had returned and attacked Ivarstead itself. Many people had died, and many more had fled to Riften. However, Ivarstead's troubles went back further than the dragon, and the elders of Ivarstead were only too glad to talk about problems.
After listening to their complaints in no particular order, Daenerys thought she had a pretty good picture of the problems facing Ivarstead and the Rift and general. The main issue was simple geography. The Rift was surrounded by mountains on all sides. Only four trade roads led in or out, and they all passed through the steep mountains. Even with the Imperial roads, they required a lot of climbing, had poor forage for oxen and cattle, and were closed in winter due to snow. They were also plagued by bandits. Some trade still flowed along the roads, but most of it was in luxury goods which only attracted more bandits. While the isolation was bad enough, Riften guards were also corrupt. They were apt to demand fees and tariffs of questionable legality from traders or even civilians going about their business. They turned a blind eye to the Thieves' Guild who also took their cut. The elders cynically informed her that it was cheaper to pay the protection money that the Thieves' Guild demanded rather than have their goods and gold stolen. The only exception seemed to be the Black-Briar Meadery which somehow managed to be highly successful and profitable.
The local bard, Lynly Star-Sung, tried to sing The Dragonborn Comes, but she had even less talent than Sven at the Sleeping Giant Inn. After the second verse Jon Battle-born strode out, ripped the lute from her hands, and showed her how the song was meant to be sung. Daenerys had heard him play before, but hearing his song played badly apparently stirred his fire. He sang with a passion that had everyone listening spellbound. Daenerys found herself swept up as well, but she didn't applaud as the song was written about her. While she admired Jon's skill, applauding herself was just unseemly.
When the song was over the people started demanding that 'the bard' tell them about the dragon. Jon looked to her and waited for her nod of permission before telling the story. He proceeded to tell the story in dramatic fashion. Naturally, he cast her as the hero of the piece, saying how she stood bold and unafraid in the center of the road refusing to bow or even step aside for Loknosdov, the Dragon who Strikes from the Sky. However, she wasn't the only hero. Perhaps taking his cue from her asking that Ivarstead remember the Dragonguard who had fallen, he spoke of the men who had died. He started with the ballistae crews. He explained that their orders were to take one shot at a distance and then dive to safety if the dragon was coming for them. However, none of them had left their posts. They had stood firm and waited until they had their shots lined up. Jon claimed they punched holes in the dragon's wings. Daenerys hadn't seen that happen, and she had been watching, but it was possible. Ballistae bolts traveled so fast they were hard to see. Regardless of the truth, it made their deaths less futile in the retelling. When it came to Fultheim Jon waxed poetic. Jon styled him as the Last of the Blades having come out from hiding in order to build the Dragonguard. He spoke of how Fultheim died protecting the Dragonborn while she regained her feet after being blasted back by dragonfire. Finally, he described her, Lady Daenerys Targaryen, the Unburnt, Dragonborn. Jon spoke of her like one of the Nord heroes out of their sagas, determined, steadfast, and unwavering. He made her failed trap sound like a brilliant plan. The people of Ivarstead listened raptly not even touching their food.
Daenerys herself felt swept up in the tale. This was just like back on Essos where they called her Mhysa and the Breaker of Chains. She could feel their adoration wrapping around her like golden chains. She wanted to embrace it, the way she had embraced the adoration of the freed slaves of Yunkai. She wanted to deny it. She hadn't defeated the dragon alone. That was why she had emphasized the heroism of those who had died in that battle. The practical part of her wanted to use this. Fame could be a weapon against her enemies. No doubt some young men and women of Ivarstead would ask to join the Dragonborn.
When Jon's tale was done, she bowed graciously as the people of Ivarstead chanted her name. She knew that if she asked it, the town would be hers. In another life she had craved this adoration. Viserys had claimed it was their due. He had told her how the people of Westeros cried out for their true rulers. That had been a lie. The people of Westeros hadn't loved her, but the people of Ivarstead did. They shouted her name cheering their savior. A part of her bathed in the adoration, but it didn't really mean anything. She knew she couldn't stay here. She didn't belong here. She was too big for this small town. She also had a new destiny now and it wasn't a throne. It was Alduin, the World-Eater.
.oOo.
Her priority the next morning was having her troops start construction of a ballista. Her men had built the two ballistae under the guidance of one of Jarl Balgruuf's siege engineers and Daenerys hoped they would be able to recreate one on their own. Unfortunately, Fultheim had been the one who had overseen the construction. Daenerys wasn't sure her men would be able to manage without him. However, they had salvaged the iron plates and fittings. Since Ivarstead had a lumber mill, she at least wanted to try.
Once construction of the ballistae was underway, she gathered her forces and assaulted Shroud Hearth Barrow. While the Dragonguard had grown in size, she limited the assault to twenty men. Even that many was overkill because in the narrow confines of a barrow it was often difficult to fight more than two abreast. They encountered a few traps and what at first appeared to be the ghost of the Dunmer mage Wyndelius. However, after they killed the 'ghost', he turned out to be an alchemist who was using a potion to pretend to be ghost just to keep everyone away. He had been living in the barrow ever since trying to reach the treasure. However, he had never been able to breach the Nord puzzle lock door because he didn't have the dragon claw key. Ironically, the headman of the village, Wilhelm had the key the entire time. He hadn't even known that it was a key. He gladly handed it over when Daenerys reported back to him that they were stuck at the puzzle lock door without the dragon claw key.
On their return to Shroud Heath Barrow, they found an extensive warren behind the puzzle lock door. Daenerys led her men through a familiar assortment of draugr and traps. The traps proved to be much more dangerous than the draugr. After the third time that she had to heal one of her men, she had Barbas take the lead. Despite his complaints no one besides Barbas was hurt exploring the remainder of the tomb. The final chamber had multiple sarcophagi and a draugr lord, but they didn't leave their burial crypts until after she had a dozen of her men in the room. While the draugr lord was dangerous, he and the rest of the dragur were very much outnumbered, and they were all dispatched quickly.
At the back of the main chamber stood a Word Wall. Daenerys walked toward it hearing the chanting grow louder as a word began to glow. She breathed in realizing for the first time that she was Inhaling the Word the same as she did when she absorbed the Words of a dragon.
Kaan
The Word settled into her soul. Kaan was Nature, the raw untamed wild. Kaan was the wild beasts from mouse to lion. Kaan was the wild lands: the woods, the dells, and the plains, all the wild places untouched by man and mer. Kaan encompassed the wild untamed might of wind, rain and storm. Yet there was even more to the Word. Kaan wasn't just the existence of the wild. Kaan was the voice, the spirit, the personification of Nature. Kaan was the essence of nature given divine form. Kaan was the god, no, the goddess of nature. Kaan meant Kynareth or Kyne as the Nords called her. Daenerys exhaled and released the word as a Shout. "Kaan!"
As Kaan shook the chamber, Daenerys scented the green smell of growing plants, she heard the rustle of beasts in the darkness, and she felt the stir of wind on her skin. Daenerys also sensed the attention of a presence that was both far away and yet all around. For a moment that immense weight of that presence was focused on her. Hardly daring to breathe Daenerys curtseyed low in respect for the goddess that she had unwittingly invoked. She heard what might have been the rustle of wind, but it felt like a nod of acknowledgment. Daenerys looked around. The Word was still active, and she was aware that even in this chamber of draugr and death, life was all around her. Bats rested on the ceiling, rodents hid in the room from noise and disruption of the fight, and fish swam in the water.
Her followers knelt all around her. Daenerys could barely feel their presence. Men and mer were not of nature, but Aela and Elolir both had a wildness to them that echoed from her invocation of Kyne. Daenerys considered chastising her followers. She could understand them kneeling after she Inhaled the dragons, but she didn't need them kneeling every time she Shouted a Word. However, Kaan, had a bit more to it than most Words. Even she had recognized the presence, or at least the attention, of a goddess. She couldn't fault her followers for kneeling when she had drawn the gaze of a goddess upon them all. She bowed her own head out of respect and waited as the presence slowly faded.
One the last lingering trace of the presence faded, Daenerys lifted her head. "Kyne, we thank you for your presence and your blessing this day." There was no reply, not that she had really expected one, but she hadn't been certain. "Everyone, please rise. We still have much to do."
.oOo.
The presence of a Word Wall in Shroud Hearth Barrow was fortuitous. In theory the Greybeards would test anyone who climbed the 7000 Steps to High Hrothgar to see if they had the talent to pursue the Way of the Voice. However, she doubted the Greybeards would appreciate her marching the entire Dragonguard up to their monastery. The Word Wall gave her the opportunity to test all her troops and see if any reacted to the word Kaan.
She organized the Dragonguard and had them all come down one at a time to visit the Word Wall. She made sure they didn't know what was supposed to happen so none could fake their test. She spoke to each one after they visited the wall to see what reactions they had. It didn't surprise her that Sofija could once again feel a vibration or that Ull could hear a low chant. That was consistent with every Word Wall they had visited before. Faralda was clearly disappointed that she could feel nothing from the Word Wall, but Daenerys wasn't entirely surprised by that result. Daenerys didn't know if it was because Faralda had been touched by Yol-Toor-Shul when Mir-Mul-Nir breathed fire upon her outside Whiterun, or if Faralda simply had a knack for fire, or if it was something else entirely. Hopefully, the Greybeards would have answers. Her hunch about Jon Battle-born's knack for Dovhazul proved to be a good one as Jon could also hear a faint chant. That Olfina Grey-mane could also hear the chant was interesting. Did the potential to be a tongue run more strongly in nobles than commoners? Vignar Grey-mane could neither hear nor feel a thing, which didn't seem to bother him at all. No one else in the Dragonguard was able to hear the chant either, but two of them could feel a vibration: Steinarr, one of the men that Fultheim had recruited, and Bjalfi, one of the Nords that Fasendil had assigned to her on detached duty.
While she was down in the barrow watching all the Dragonguard file past, some of her followers had apparently gossiped about the Word Wall test to some of the people of Ivarstead. Daenerys was surprised when a good number of them suddenly wanted to visit the Word Wall as well. People were strange. If what she heard was true, the journey up the 7000 steps could be completed in less than a day from Ivarstead. These people had lived their entire lives at the base of the 7000 Steps with High Hrothgar only a day's journey above them, but apparently few of them had ever made the journey. However, she showed up and suddenly half the town wanted to be tested to see if they might be able to learn the Way of the Voice. Most of them felt nothing, but three of them could feel a vibration.
.oOo.
Before climbing the 7000 Steps Daenerys saw Torvar, Jenassa, and Vignar Greymane off on a mission. Riften had an unsavory reputation and not just for the Thieves' Guild. It was also known for bribery and corruption. She wanted to scout it out before the arrival of the Dragonguard. She hoped her scouts might be able to make contact with the Thieves' Guild, but that wasn't likely. However, even if they didn't succeed in that mission, they should at least be able to learn about the recent events, gossip, and what Riften thought of the Dragonguard. She wanted to be as prepared as possible before she ventured into the snake's den.
After her scouts were set off to Riften, they began the journey up the 7000 Steps. She had decided to limit her party only to those she suspected had some talent. Ull, Jon Battle-born, and Olfina Grey-mane because they could hear a chant. Sofija, Faralda, Steinarr, and Bjalfi because they could feel a vibration. Only one of the three townsfolk of Ivarstead who felt the vibration had chosen to come along, Karita.
Karita was a huntress and carried herself with sturdy confidence. Her hair was brown, and her skin was tanned. She had sharp features that hinted at some mer ancestry, but her ears were round. She had the sturdy frame of a Nord woman. She openly wore an amulet of Talos about her neck and claimed to make the pilgrimage up to High Hrothgar at least every few years. While the Greybeards cultivated some plants in the summer months, the people of Ivarstead often brought them gifts of preserved meats and fish. Daenerys was glad to have a guide along and had her walk beside her along the path.
The 7000 Steps was not a staircase that led straight up the mountain. The path wandered back and forth like a snake. Most of the path was a dirt trail with stone steps only appearing in places where the climb was steeper. The stones were well-worn and in some places. In other places the stairs were half-buried in dirt and debris. That really wasn't all that surprising. High Hrothgar and the 7000 Steps had been built in the 1st Era which made them thousands of years old. Daenerys found the climb surprisingly easy. Probably because she had decided to wear leather instead of her skysteel armor. Actually, none of her party wore heavy armor. It wasn't because of the weight of the armor. After several weeks of marching in heavy armor, she had grown accustomed to the weight. It was because the air would grow colder as they climbed. Any kind of heavy armor required padding, but metal grew scalding hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. Each environment required different padding under the armor. Rather than try to adjust to the change in temperature from the base of the mountain to the peak, they all simply dressed in leathers and carried heavy cloaks in their packs to don as the air cooled.
Despite her attempts to draw Karita into a conversation, the huntress had little to say. She did point out several shrines along the way and encouraged everyone to stop and meditate at them. Daenerys led by example by kneeling first at each shrine. She knew that she was in many ways a religious figure to the Nords. Even though she didn't worship the Nine Divines, honoring this tradition was important. Especially when the Dragonguard believed she made a deal with Clavicus Vile for Barbas. It wouldn't hurt her to make a show of being pious despite her own lack of faith.
Each shrine held a little inscription telling a story. The story started with dragons ruling the world, then came men who were subjugated by the dragons. The story was familiar. She had looked up Nord legends after being hailed as the Dragonborn by Aranea Ienith. However, the fourth shrine was interesting.
Kyne called on Paarthurnax, who pitied Man
Together they taught Men to use the Voice
Then Dragon War raged, Dragon against Tongue
Paar-Thur-Nax, Ambition-Overlord-Cruelty. That was a dragon name! She restrained herself from asking questions until they left the shrine and returned to climbing. "That was an interesting inscription. In the stories I've read, Kyne gave the Shout directly to men. I didn't know that there was a dragon involved."
Jon Battle-born was the one to answer. "That's because it is not a very popular part of the story. People like their stories to be simple. Good versus evil. Men versus dragons. In the full story, some of the dragons rebelled against Alduin and sided with men. Paarthurnax being the most prominent. The oldest stories say he helped teach men to Shout."
"So, what happened to Paar-Thur-Nax?"
"Died in the war, I suppose," said Jon. "He's only mentioned for his role in teaching men to Shout. After that he disappears from the story. I imagine that Alduin wasn't too happy with him."
"No, I don't imagine he was." Although Daenerys couldn't help but remember her dreams of meeting an ancient and scarred dragon atop a mountain. As they climbed higher, she grew more and more certain that a dragon nested atop the Throat of the World, very old, very powerful, but was it Al-Du-In or Paar-Thur-Nax?
There were no surprises at the other shrines. They merely told the story that she already knew. Men banded together to defeat Al-Du-In, though they died by thousands. The Nords built an Empire based on swords and Shouting. Jurgen Windcaller convinced most of the Tongues to turn away from using the Way of the Voice in warfare and to instead pursue a quiet life of meditation. That the Voice should only be used in time of True Need. It gave her something to think about, besides the view of the Rift from atop the mountain. It was a clear day and she could see for leagues. Not that their journey was entirely peaceful. They were attacked by frostbite spiders and troll, but those were easily dispatched.
Daenerys could almost feel the anticipation rising with each step up the mountain. Once again she was following the red comet, trusting it as a sign from the gods that she was walking a destined path. However, this time she was acting on more than faith. The Greybeards were known to be the masters of the Thu'um, and Tiber Septim himself had once walked this path. Even before the comet appeared, she had already planned to visit High Hrothgar. Now she had more reasons: to master Shouting herself, to gain the support of Tongues, and to fulfill her promise to Faralda.
Her mentor was quiet during the climb. She hadn't said much after being unable to feel the word Kaan in Shroud Hearth Barrow, but clearly it was a bad sign for Faralda's dreams. Sofija had felt a vibration at every Word Wall. While her mentor maintained her outward calm, Daenerys knew her well enough to see past her facade. She knew her mentor was hurting inside, even if the only outward sign of her upset was the massive overkill when Faralda threw fire at the frostbite spider and the frost troll that dared to attack them.
Daenerys felt surprised when they spotted High Hrothgar. She had been picturing it at the summit of the mountain, although no one had told her that. While the monastery was far above Ivarstead, there was still a long way to go to the top of the mountain. She couldn't even see the peak. It was hidden by clouds above them. In hindsight it made sense. The Greybeards grew food, so the monastery had to be located below the snowline. The Greybeards would also have to be close to the trees. They would need a source of lumber to survive the winters. It was only a few days shy of the summer solstice, but there was still a noticeable chill to thin air. She raised in Essos and had never grown used to being cold. Just the thought of winters on this mountain made her shiver.
High Hrothgar was a formidable building that looked more like a fortress than a monastery. It was built out of the same grey stone as the mountain. Instead of small bricks cemented in place, it was constructed from mammoth blocks too large to be lifted by a single man. This place had been built either with the assistance of magic or with many men and beasts working together. Given that it was the home of the Greybeards masters of the Thu'um, Daenerys would bet on magic. While she didn't know any Shouts that would allow her to easily move heavy blocks of stone, that didn't mean that such Shouts couldn't exist. There were no guards standing outside, just normal-sized steps leading up to massive doors.
Everyone stood back as she walked up to the doors and deliberately knocked, once, twice, three times. No answer. She waited for a bit and then counted thirty more breaths. Still nothing. She tried the door. Despite being massive the door swung open easily on oiled hinges. She stepped inside.
Daenerys expected to see a great hall inside. Most Nord structures were built around a central great hall even those that didn't fill them full of tables for feasting. The entry chamber of High Hrothgar was different. It rose three stories upward. Long and narrow hallways stretched out to their left and right leading to the wings of the building. In front of them, staircases led up to a second level, but there was no central firepit or fireplace. The entrance hall was just an oversized connecting space, and it was also messy. Pots were stacked up in a haphazard pile near the stairs. Boxes and bags lined the walls. It reminded her of some of the unused classrooms at the College of Winterhold where various bits of clutter had been tossed for lack of a place to put it. Torches were lit, so someone must be present, but it was eerily quiet.
From different entrances cloaked figures arrived. First one, then another, then a third and finally a fourth joined them. They walked at a languid pace, seemingly in no hurry, or perhaps that was the best they could manage because they were all old. They were also aptly named. All four of them had grey beards. They wore identical cloaks, of a dark grey richly embroidered in intricate patterns of silver thread. The four old men took up positions in a semicircle facing her. All Nords. No apprentices. No women. Was this all the Greybeards or only their leaders?
Daenerys stepped forward to meet them. "I am Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Dragonborn and I have come to High Hrothgar to learn the Way of the Voice."
One of the Greybeards strode forward. The only thing that really distinguished him from the other three was that he tied his beard in a single knot. "So... a Dragonborn appears, at this moment in the turning of an age. We will see if you truly have the gift. Show us, Lady Targaryen. Let us taste of your Voice."