Chapter 33
Fire and Flames
The dragon shouted and Bishop covered her, pulling her to the ground as the flames washed over them. He cried out painfully and she screamed. She realized she was not alone in her screaming though as people in the ballroom shrieked in terror, glass shattering and the sounds of more dragon fire raging into the building.
Bishop fell against her, wincing painfully and she saw that his entire arm and shoulder had been badly burned, his clothes smoldering with embers. The dragon cocked its head at her curiously and then another landed on the balustrade behind them, and spoke in dragon's tongue to his fellow, "Dar los fin dovahkiin?"
"Fin vahdin nid span," the other replied.
Rona wanted nothing more than to understand what the hell these things were saying. She should have brought her book, she should have studied it every single day.
Then the other spoke again, "Krii pah fin joor."
She knew krii meant kill and she screamed, covering Bishop. Eira and Jillian shattered into being on either side of her and Jillian broke into a vicious song.
(The song is Silver Moonlight by Within Temptation)
"Turn around open your eyes. Can't move on the fear is tying you down. Open your eyes. It's all right - HOOO!"
"Eira!"
"Ni los Jillian!"
Each dragon cried at the sight of them and the women shouted, "FUS RO DAH!" casting both dragons back.
Eira touched Rona's shoulder and tipped her face to hers, smiling, a knowing look on her face before she kissed her, right on the lips. Rona stared into her bright green eyes, shocked, and felt her mouth tingle, as though words were tracing her lips and coiling over her tongue.
Bishop breathed with clenched teeth, "The hell?"
Then Eira looked at him and caressed his face and kissed his cheek, his wound healing in an instant.
She was giving them a second chance, an opportunity to fight back. They stood together and the women turned back to stare down their winged enemies. Bishop said, "Would have preferred one on the lips but I'll take it!" He knelt down and slid his dagger from his boot and the two of them ran into the ballroom.
It was a chaotic mess, three other dragons were violently attacking and killing guests that ran by them, their bodies half inside and half outside through the windows. One of them was hissing, trying to force itself through the glass. Rona saw Roxlin leaning over Magrob's badly burned body on the dance floor, trying desperately to drag him away with her. Charissa and Marco were staring down the face of another dragon as it stomped over the landing, cracking the pillars with its sweeping tail. Marco looked around and yanked a sword from a suit of armor nearby.
Then another crash to Bishop's and Rona's right as a dragon burst through a glass window. She cast a ward to protect against its flames, but it shattered quickly, she needed a weapon!
Bishop spun his dagger in hand staring the beast down and Rona pulled a sword from a nearby suit of armor, just as Marco had done. She aimed and swiftly threw it, spinning it straight into its neck where it stuck and sunk in deep. It howled and hissed, pounding its massive body against the walls cracking them. Rona grabbed Bishop's arm, pulling him as they ran together. She saw two more swords mounted to a shield against the wall and grabbed them.
She hadn't used dual blades in a long time and spun them in her hands swiftly to try and get familiar with it. Bishop ran by her and reached behind a burning curtain pulling his bow and quiver out from behind it. He was always prepared, always ready for an attack. She should have thought ahead like him.
She shouted at him, pointing, "Help Marco and Charissa! I'm going to get Magrob and Roxie!"
He obeyed and started firing arrows into the soft spots on the dragon bearing down on the two of them.
Rona ripped her dress at the seams, allowing for freer movement and rushed to Roxlin's side. She was hysterical, screaming for her beloved to wake up. Rona threw her hands on the orc's chest and summoned every ounce of healing power she had in her body, casting it over him, making his burns heal. He groaned and only opened one eye because the other had been severely burned.
Bishop came up behind them and Rona felt the soul of a dragon sucking into her. They'd killed one of them at least. Though three others were bearing down on them. Bishop and Marco helped Magrob to his feet and they turned to the stairs. Rona shouted, "FO KRAH DIIN!" blasting ice into the face of a dragon that was clambering down a pillar, aiming for them. It hissed at her shout and they hurried up the steps. Bishop lobbing arrows into the creature's face.
They burst outside and were horrified. Ten, maybe fifteen, other dragons, at least, were circling the palace high above, roaring and crying out, speaking to one another and... she understood them.
"[Kill the Dragonborn! Alduin has commanded it! Leave no mortal alive!]"
"[She has summoned Eira and Jillian!]"
"[Rend them asunder!]"
"RONA!" Bishop called to her and she snapped back and ran with them. They took cover below an enormous overhang the Blue Palace provided, laying Magrob down while Roxlin cried over him. He would be alright if they could get him to Serlas.
Rona shouted, "Where're the twins!?"
"I don't know, I didn't see them," Charissa breathed, a pained look on her face.
Rona looked out at the screaming crowds of people, far ahead of them over the hill, as a dragon landed on the path in front of them and made to shout at them all. She saw something glinting before of the creature, a sparkling sword. Casavir was in front of them all risking his life to protect them. Buildings dangerously burning all around them, the entire city was ablaze from the look of it.
She had to help. She was the goddamned Dragonborn, she had to do this!
(Recommended song A Thousand Deaths by Globus)
Rona shouted back at them, "STAY HERE!" And sprinted off down the path, spinning her swords. Her hair had come undone and she grabbed a bundle of it cutting it off short. She couldn't afford any mistakes now. She ripped at her dress more and tore the sleeves off, running into the fray.
"SU GRAH DUN!" she shouted to speed up her movements. She kicked off the ground, leaping over the terrified crowd and landed gracefully beside Casavir, surprising him as she swung her swords swiftly in motion with him. The dragon hissed at them as their blades nicked its face. She shouted at the beast, "KRII LUN!" Sapping it's life force and making it throw its head back to roar painfully. They both sunk their blades into its neck, digging them deep and then ripping them free as blood sprayed at their feet.
Rona turned to the crowd and pointed with a sword towards the path, "Go! Take cover!"
The people fled in terror as the dragon soul washed over her and Bishop joined them, bow in hand, she looked right at him, giving him orders, "Get up high! Shoot them down!"
"Rona - shit!" She'd already run off without him, heading for the crenellations where most of the dragons were circling. Jillian and Eira appeared on either side of her, they would guide her, they would help her to save them all.
Bishop roared, "FUCK! That damned woman is going to get herself killed!"
Then Casavir shoved him just as another dragon swept down the path, spraying flames right where they were standing. He looked at Bishop and said, "My marksmanship isn't very good, but if I can find a bow I'll help you bring these bastards down!"
Bishop's face contorted angrily, "Damn it. Damn it, fine! Follow me!"
The two of them chased after the Dragonborn and watched amazed as she leapt and twisted and turned with grace, swiping at three dragons bearing down on her. Rona, Jillian and Eira each working together to combine their shouts as they roared in the face of these vicious monsters casting fire and ice at them.
Rona ran with a speed and fury that he'd never seen from her before. She was more motivated now than ever to kill these dragons. She bound on toe, leaping off a wall and spinning gracefully through the air, landed on the face of one of them as it snapped its jaws at Eira. She slammed both blades into its skull and ran across its head and back tearing its flesh apart before leaping from its writhing tail and landing perfectly on her toe, spinning back and casting the blood from her blades with a swipe through the air. The dragon roared its last breath and collapsed, its soul entering her before she hurried along again towards the crenellations.
"Goddamn," Bishop whispered. She was fucking sexy when she was pissed, looking wild, covered in ash and blood with tangled hair and a gorgeous ripped dress. Something about it just turned him on so much. Then he scowled down at the rise in his trousers and grumbled, "Not now."
"I never taught her that," Casavir said as he too watched in awe of her.
"Come on! We've got to bring these fuckers down!" They followed her towards the open courtyard then ran up the stairs leading to the walls where they could provide better range support.
Bishop barked, "Where the fuck are all the goddamned guards!?"
They found weapons and shields scattered about and even a lone boot on the ground. Clearly the guards had abandoned the city. With twenty or more dragons soaring overhead, who could really blame them?
Casavir grabbed a bow and a quiver and stood by Bishop, they took aim at the dragons on the ground that were fighting the three Dragonborn women. The women broke into a furious song, singing loudly, music washing over the city as they used the power of their voices to cast back the dragon attack.
(The song is A Demon's Fate by Within Temptation)
"You'll burn this time
Seeing the violence
It's feeding my mind
No one is saving you
How can you find
A heaven in this hell?
Leave it behind
Hearing your silence
It screams our goodbye
Cannot believe it's an eye for an eye
Life is gone to waste
Angels have faith
I don't want to be a part of his sin
I don't want to get lost in his world
I'm not playing this game
When the shadows remain in the light of day
On the wings of darkness he'll retaliate
He'll be falling from grace
Till the end of all his days
From the ashes of hate
It's a cruel demon's fate
On the wings of darkness
He's returned to stay
There will be no escape
'Cause he's fallen far from grace"
Two dragons flew down on the two men, landing on either side of the walkway. Bishop and Casavir stood back to back. Bishop held his bow out, nocking an arrow as Casavir drew his sword and laughed, shouting over the roars and the song, "Never thought I'd die with my back to you!"
"I don't plan on dying today, do you!?" Bishop barked at him and snarled as he fired an arrow straight into the eye of the beast before him.
Casavir ran forward, swiping at the snapping jaws of his foe and used his shield to block its attack. Then he heard Bishop cry out over the roar of, "YOL TOR SHUL!"
His shirt had caught fire and he tore it off growling, "Fucking hate these damn clothes!" Casavir came back around, swinging his blade against the snout of the dragon bearing down on Bishop. It roared furiously and Bishop turned, firing an arrow at the other coming up behind them.
Both dragons collapsed and turned to bone their souls whisking away from their bodies. Bishop grunted and fell back against a wall, his leg had been caught in the cross fire, his flesh was sizzling, burned badly. Casavir knelt beside him and pressed a glowing hand to the wound, healing it as best he could.
Bishop let his head fall back against the stone as he looked up at the dragon menace. It seemed like there were just as many as before, if not more. Where were they coming from? He thought of the dragons he heard earlier that morning. They were looking for her.
Casavir looked up too and said, "This is a planned assault. They're trying to kill Rona. They want to kill the Dragonborn."
Bishop swallowed hard, realizing that he was right. He pushed himself up and looked over the low wall where Rona still fought, expertly with everything she had. But then she faltered slightly, her shoulders heaving in exhaustion. The dragons were wearing her down, she couldn't keep this up much longer. She may have had the soul of a dragon but she still only had the body of a very petite woman.
Then he saw a crackling electric bolt shatter across the ground, striking the dragon attacking her. Serlas stood by, a new stave in hand with the bosmer twins casting furious magic at the beasts. He roared in Aldmeri, casting incredible spells while the twins provided him cover with their wards.
It was all for naught however when a dragon swooped in and hissed viciously at them. Bishop nocked an arrow, Casavir joining him, trying to distract the creature. Their arrows pierced its flesh but its gaze would not tear away from the elves and then the dragon swept its tail hard over them. Serlas took the brunt of it, while it missed the bosmer girl completely and it only caught the bosmer man by his arm, snapping it.
Serlas hit the wall hard and crumpled in a heap. Bishop looked back to Rona who was watching the scene unfold in terror. She roared, shouting every which way as the Dragonborn women joined her, trying to get to her father, but more dragons landed, blocking her path, she turned and ran, and then kicked off a wall, trying to leap over them all to get to her father.
Another caught her mid air, crashing against her and she plummeted to the ground. Bishop and Casavir both cried out for her and launched as many arrows as they could, trying to make their way over to her, but the way was blocked again by another dragon.
Rona sucked in a breath and clenched her teeth in agony as Eira and Jillian stood by her, protecting her. Everything hurt, her body and her heart. She had to get to her father, he couldn't be dead. She had to protect him but she couldn't move.
All of the dragons landed then, some on the ground, others on the walls high above them. They all seemed to stop their furious attack for but a moment as a low roar rumbled through the skies. The fires flickering all around them as the city crumbled to ruins.
They stared at her, some hissing, others growling deeply. And then he appeared from the rising smoke, eyes as red as the fires of Oblivion, scales as black as The Void. He landed on one of the high walls above them, between all of his kin. She knew him from Helgen, from the burial mound and from her dreams. Jillian was hell bent on destroying this fiend. Alduin the World Eater stared down at her, cackling viciously and then his voice roared low as he spoke to them.
"[My brothers, my champions, welcome. Today is the day that we reclaim our place as lords of the world. As masters of mortals. Today, I shall consume the soul of maiden of dragon flame and end the existence of female dragonborn for eternity. No longer will we cower in fear against these weak, mortal beings.]"
Then he looked at her and she at him as he addressed her, "[False Dragonborn... I do not recognize you as dragon.]"
He growled low, his eyes narrowing as he spoke in Cyrodillic then, "You do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah."
Eira shouted up at him in perfect dragon's tongue, a smirk on her face, "[Do you fear us Alduin? You must - so much so that you would send thirty of your elite just to take us down. Can you not fight your own battles? Why should they follow you as you cower behind their wings?]"
The dragons murmured to one another and Alduin snarled, "[SILENCE! Eira," he growled her name low, "You were the only mortal worth respecting. Even Miraak was a disgrace. You could have had true power - you could have stood by my side for eternity if you hadn't betrayed us. Tell me, where is Paarthurnax? I would gladly rip his throat from his neck.]"
Her eyes sparkled as she just smiled up at the beast.
Rona realized she was becoming light headed, listening to them speak. There was no way they could take down all of them. She needed help, she needed to be stronger, to be louder. The sound of a choir rang in the distance as a man appeared before her. Another Dragonborn, his long black hair caressed his shoulders and his grey pointed ears poked through, he glanced back at her with shining red eyes.
(The song is Louder Then Words by Les Friction)
The women stood on either side of him, Eira holding her shining rapier in hand and Jillian taking stance with her greatsword.
The spirits of Dragonborn of yore poured in, surrounding them all, mostly men and some women. They came down the stairs filling the open space as the dragons hissed and snapped at their ethereal bodies to no avail.
The dunmer Dragonborn sang his brutal, powerful song. It was a song about the Red Mountain, the day it exploded and unleashed its wrath over Morrowind. That was the power they needed to defeat these creatures, the power of an eruption.
"There are survivors
They're coming home
They float in darkness
They're not alone
Now here they come
Now hear they come
Now they will be received
No one could outrun the crash
It was all reduced to rubble
And then again to ash
To the blinding burning light
It's no use to fight
There's no one out there"
As the song grew louder and more powerful, the more real the Dragonborn became, changing from spirits to physical beings.
"There was no signal from where you were
All failed contact, no life disturbed
Hovering above, hovering above, gravity's lure"
And then they drew their weapons and turned on the dragons, striking and lashing out. A raging battle stampeding all around her. Flames of fire and breaths of frost warmed and cooled her skin as their shouts passed over her. She couldn't tear her eyes from the battle unfolding.
"We have the force to fight
We have the blinding light
We have the will to win
Forever we'll defend
Knocking out the sun
With a runaway transmission
A force that can't be heard
Coming in louder than words
(x2)
We have the force to fight
We have the blinding light
A war is more than heard
Coming in louder than words
(x2)"
Theyall shouted into the faces of the dragons, roaring,
"Louder!
Louder! (Louder, Louder!)
Louder! (Louder, Louder!)
Louder! (Louder!)
Louder! (Louder!)
Louder! (Louder!)
Louder! (Louder!)
Louder! (Louder!)
Louder! (Louder than words!)
Louder! (Stronger!)
Louder! (Louder!)
Louder! (Louder than words!)"
The dragons withdrew, unable to fight against the fury of so many Dragonborn all here to protect her, to save her. Darkness claimed her then and she let it wash over her.