Chapter 74
The Children of the Sun
They stepped into the Sleeping Giant and were immediately greeted by Delphine who was impatiently sweeping the floors. Orgnar looked just as agitated as she was probably barking out orders and giving him an all around hard time as she tried to find busywork to settle her nerves.
Rona was still feeling just as anxious herself, though the passing day helped a bit to calm her, she couldn't stop dwelling on the things that needed to be done. Esbern had tried to talk to her on the way back around Helgen, mumbling in awe about getting to see for himself quite a few of the Maidens of Dragon Flame the night before but she didn't reply. When she felt so awful she often withdrew into herself, refusing to talk. She just couldn't. She needed more time to try and process the feelings.
"Welcome to the Sleeping Giant," Delphine said quickly and mindlessly before she looked up from the chair she was sweeping under and gasped, "Esbern!"
"Delphine!" he replied with just as much elation. They greeted one another embracing and clapping each other on the shoulders. He smiled, looking emotional and said, "I...it's good to see you. It's been...a long time."
Delphine returned his smile, brows knit together and said, "It's good to see you, too, Esbern. It's been too long, old friend. Too long. Well, then. You made it, safe and sound."
Bishop cleared his throat loudly and Delphine looked over at the two of them and chuckled, "And thanks to the both of you. Really, thank you."
"So does this mean we get free drinks for life? Because that would be the ideal compensation for something like this," Bishop grinned.
Delphine said with a laugh, "I don't know about that, but I'll definitely find a way to repay you both. Come on. I have a place where we can talk. Orgnar, hold down the bar for a minute, will you?"
Orgnar gave a grunt of assent and the group headed down into the hidden room. Serlas was poring over the book Annals of the Dragonguard and stroking his beard thoughtfully. The minute Esbern saw him he gasped loudly and Rona quickly said, "Esbern, please, meet my ata - my father, Serlas."
Serlas looked up and said, "Ah! Velvyn, Bishop I am relieved to see you both well." He stepped around the table and held out a hand to Esbern and said, "And you must be Esbern. It is an honor to make your acquaintance. I hear you are quite the scholar on dragon lore. I'd be ecstatic if you'd allow me to pick your mind over some of these texts."
Esbern's fears melted from his face and he smiled and shook Serlas' hand in friendly greeting, "The pleasure is all mine. The father of the Dragonborn?" He looked at Rona, "I suppose I should have realized it, half altmer are you?"
She gave a weak smile, "Half altmer, half nord."
"Curious... Just the same as Taanil Storm-Ire. Do you have great skill with magic then?"
Bishop snorted loudly and Rona blushed, "Er... not really. I'm great with healing and fire magic but everything else..."
"I see," Esbern paused a moment, taking in his surroundings and looking over the titles of the books on the shelves. He glanced down at the one on the table and gaped at it practically shouting, "You have it! Annals of the Dragonguard! I can't believe it! But how!?"
"I borrowed it out of the Imperial Library nearly ten months ago," Serlas said.
Esbern stared at him thunderstruck, "That cannot be possible. This is one of several books which the mages in the Imperial Kingdom guard so closely. It is the only one in existence, no copies have ever been made!"
"Hm," Serlas nodded, "Yes, I did have some difficulty convincing the librarian to loan this and the other out to me. But being the Arch-Mage of the Mage's Guild tends to have its advantages."
Esbern looked Serlas over with a newfound reverence, "You are the Arch-Mage?"
"Formerly," Serlas clarified.
"Yes of course," Esbern seemed to be recalling something, "I'd heard of you, Master Thoraminh, the renowned destruction mage who served the Empire through the Oblivion Crisis! That is you!?" He turned back to Rona looking more wide-eyed than ever, "He is your father!?"
Rona almost laughed and said, "Yes, my ata."
"I... well I have so many things I must ask you," Esbern turned back to Serlas and the two of them began chattering away like old friends and scholars, delving into a great deal of history and discussing the Oblivion Crisis, the Great War, dragon lore and everything in between.
Bishop stared at them, brow raised and leaned over to Rona, "I never thought we'd find someone just like your father and then... to stick them in the same room together?"
She chuckled, "It's very..."
"Weird," he finished for her. Then he nudged her laughing slightly, "Hey, picture it if we got these two together with old Arngeir. Could you imagine?"
She could imagine it, three old men clucking away like chickens, chattering on endlessly about ancient history and their knowledge of anything and everything.
Even Delphine looked a bit dumbfounded by the two men's enthusiasm when she finally cleared her throat loudly and said, "Well! I'm very glad to see you both getting along so well, but we have other matters to attend to." She motioned to Rona, "Dragonborn, remember?"
"Oh yes of course!" Esbern shouted, remembering himself and his purpose for being there, "So tell me, what have you all discovered?"
Serlas flipped open the book on the table and said, "I was reviewing this text, trying to understand just where the location of Sky Haven Temple is. I cannot decipher it though. It is the location of Alduin's Wall and I believe it would be our next best lead."
Esbern took the book and skimmed over it, almost giddy with excitement as he touched the pages of a book which only Imperial mages and scholars had access to for hundreds of years. He took some time to read it over, everyone waited patiently for him to finish when finally he said, "I need a map."
Delphine pulled her map of Skyrim out from between several books on the shelf and unfolded it on the table. Esbern loomed over it, concentrating hard and traced a finger around an area to the west of Skyrim.
"Right here," he said, "Sky Haven Temple, constructed around one of the main Akaviri military camps in the Reach, during their conquest of Skyrim... So this is where they built Alduin's Wall, to set down in stone all their accumulated dragon lore. A hedge against the forgetfulness of centuries. A wise and foresighted policy, in the event. Despite the far-reaching fame of Alduin's Wall at the time - one of the wonders of the ancient world - its location was lost. Yes, it must be here." He prod his finger in one spot on the map.
Rona asked then, "What exactly is on Alduin's Wall?"
He looked over at her, "Alduin's Wall was where the ancient Blades recorded all they knew of Alduin and his return. Part history, part prophecy. Its location has been lost for centuries, but we've found it again. Not lost, you see, just forgotten."
"Do you think Alduin's Wall will have the secret to Dragonrend? Or perhaps the Elder Scrolls even?"
"Possibly," Esbern sounded unsure, "there's no guarantee, of course."
"Sky Haven Temple it is, then," Delphine said as she went over to her trunk and started pulling out her armor, "I knew you'd have something for us, Esbern. I know that area of the Reach, it's near what's now known as Karthspire, the Karth River canyon. We should get moving. It's at least a day and a half trip there."
"Oh, you're coming with this time?" Bishop asked mockingly, raising a brow.
Delphine smiled at him, "Absolutely. I wouldn't miss seeing this for myself. I'll meet you all upstairs. Get something to eat and prepare yourselves for the journey."
They all left her, heading back up the stairs. Orgnar served them all fresh meat pies that he'd just pulled out of the oven and everyone ate quickly. Once again Rona couldn't stomach much of hers, still feeling queasy and anxious about everything. It was a combination of anticipation and her worst fears muddling together. On the one hand they were getting that much closer to finding the Elder Scroll but on the other the sooner she learned Dragonrend the sooner she'd have to face Alduin and she didn't feel ready at all.
She pushed her food away, not even half eaten and hurried out of the inn. Serlas looked after her but Bishop said, "I'll check on her."
She ran around to the side of the inn where the horses were and leaned her back against the wall. She felt so weak still. She hadn't learned any new shouts since Arcwind Point, she hadn't practiced her magic much at all, save for her fire and she hadn't even had an opportunity to really stop and practice her shouts like Bishop suggested. She knew she was up to par with her sword fighting, but expected that even that could be improved upon.
Bishop came over to her and leaned an arm against the wall, "How you feeling?"
"Awful," she said honestly.
"We still have time Ladyship."
"We have no idea how much time we have left, Bishop," she said agitated, not even looking at him, just staring at the ground, "Alduin has access to Sovngarde. He's consuming the souls of the dead and growing stronger. He's got his Generals watching me and testing me. I haven't learned any new shouts, I'm still god awful with magic," she looked into his eyes, showing the distress in her own, "You know I don't even know how to use conjuration? I tried once... completely obliterated my professor's desk and humiliated myself in front of my entire class," she sunk to the ground then, putting her head in her hands, "I'm not ready. I'm not strong enough. There's still so much I don't know."
He sank down and sat beside her, "You don't have to fight alone Rona. We're here too. I've got your back, your father's got all the magic you'll ever need, we have the Companions at our side, and Tullius promised you the entire Legion."
Her face scrunched up as she took a breath and shook her head and she shouted, "NO! I won't! I won't risk anyone else's life! This is my fight. I won't let anyone die because of me!" She looked back into his eyes, her own filled with tears as she held them back and whispered, "I won't let you die for me Bishop." She let out a sob and he reached in, pulling her into a tight embrace, letting her cry against his chest.
"I'm not gonna die, Rona," he tried assuring her. "Besides," he said, "This isn't just your fight. We're talking about the end of the world and if I have anything to say about it, I'm not going down without a fight. I'm pretty sure everyone else on Nirn feels the same way. So stop thinking that you have to do this alone."
She wanted to protest, to argue, to tell him no, no absolutely not! But instead she just cried it out. She felt pathetic. The Dragonborn weeping away like a damsel in distress, right into the arms of the man who loved her most and who she wanted nothing more than to protect and save and spend the rest of her life with in peace.
She felt a lot better after crying. It alleviated her stress somewhat, giving it a physical outlet and releasing it from her body. As she pulled away, wiping at her reddened eyes with the palms of her hands Bishop just smiled at her, lifting her chin and kissing her sweetly and gently. She wanted to go be alone with him, spend the day in his arms, cuddling, kissing, touching. But they had things to do, such pressing things which were made more apparent when they heard Delphine at the door of the inn calling back to Orgnar, "This is it. Orgnar, the inn is yours. I'm probably never coming back here."
"Well, now," he replied, "That's something to think about."
"Take care of yourself, Orgnar. Goodbye."
"Yeah...sure. You, too, Delphine. You be safe."
Rona turned her face away as Delphine, Serlas and Esbern came around. They all looked concerned at the sight of her reddened face but thankfully Bishop had the sense to say, "You three go on ahead, we'll catch up in a minute on Misty."
Esbern climbed up on Ember and pulled Delphine up behind him while Serlas took Whiskey and said to them, "We're cutting through the river here and we're going to stop by the farm to drop off some important documents. I will also be reinforcing the blood seal," he pulled out two toothpicks and said, "If you could prick yourselves with these."
Bishop stood and took them, pricking his finger and passing it back to Serlas who dropped it into a metal container. Bishop knelt down and pricked Rona's finger with the other as she continued to fervently look away from them all, embarrassed to be seen like that.
Serlas took her blood stained toothpick, dropping it into the container and followed the other two over the bridge as they headed back through the thin forested area by the river.
Rona took a deep breath, letting her tears dry and Karnwyr appeared, stalking up out of the river, he was soaking wet and started shaking himself off right there next to them.
"Augh!" Bishop grumbled throwing his hands out, "Really Karnwyr?"
Rona smiled a little as she got spattered with cold droplets of water and then the wolf immediately buried his wet head into her open hands, nuzzling her.
The wolf gave a low whine, his tongue lolling happily from his mouth. Bishop pat the wolf on the back and said, "See? Even Karnwyr's trying to cheer you up. You know, he's not afraid of dragons anymore. I don't know what happened to the old boy, but he'll fight with you too," Bishop stood up and held a hand out to her, "Come on Lightfoot. Let's go learn that shout."
She smiled up at him and took his hand.
They stopped by the farm briefly, watching as Serlas finished reinforcing the blood seal. He added both Delphine's and Esbern's blood to the mix as well so that they'd be free to come and go as needed. Illia was in good spirits and happy to see them all. Her garden had grown immensely. The farm was flourishing with tall stalks of plant life, flowers, alchemical ingredients and plenty of butterflies and other bugs. Karnwyr even managed to chase off a few rabbits that were chewing up the plants.
She was a bit disappointed to see them leave so quickly but they were insistent on moving on. Serlas promised her that they would return soon and he made sure to stow away the precious Akaviri records inside the alchemy lab in a magically hidden safe in the wall.
They rode along the entire day. Rona and Bishop were fairly quiet, mostly just listening to the endless chatter between Esbern and Serlas as the two men shared their thoughts on a variety of historical subject matter, though mostly sticking to dragon lore as Serlas tried to learn all he could from the man. They stopped at a place very close to Glenmoril Coven. The sun had already set and they decided to make camp for the evening and continue their journey in the morning.
Bishop wandered off with Karnwyr to do a little hunting and probably secure the perimeter while Serlas and Esbern pored over the notes inside the very large tome, The Maiden of Dragon Flame. Unfortunately since Serlas didn't speak the language in the slightest he couldn't help translate any of it and Esbern seemed reluctant to bother Rona with his nagging questions about the mysteries within the book since she'd been so withdrawn since the night before.
She was sitting by the fire, prodding it with a stick when Delphine came over and sat down beside her. She gave Rona a warm smile and said, "Those two," she glanced at the two chattering old men, "If I didn't know any better I'd say they were twins with the way they're getting along."
Rona smiled feebly, "Yeah. You should meet Arngeir, he's the same way. Just can't stop talking history."
"I bet," Delphine said. Then she leaned over looking into Rona's face and said, "Getting worried?"
"Already there," she replied.
"It must be tough for you. You're so young, what are you, early twenties?"
"Twenty five... I'll be twenty six in a few months."
Delphine crooned, "Oh you're still just a baby!"
Rona laughed under her breath, "I feel like one. Wish I knew why they picked me."
"Who?"
"The gods, or Akatosh or whoever. I mean really... why did they pick me?"
Delphine leaned back on her hands, kicking her legs out, "Who knows? But I stand by what I said before. I think they were right to choose you, woman of action and all that."
"Sometimes I wonder if it's because of my lineage. My mother being a nord and my ata is an altmer, then the Dominion comes in trying to take over Skyrim and the nords hate the elves and," she sighed, "I'm the literal embodiment of two races that despise each other in one person. My parents didn't even like each other."
Delphine chuckled, "Really?"
Rona smirked and blushed a little, "I'm the product of a very drunk one night stand."
Delphine grinned saying more loudly, "Really?"
"Yup. My mother was just as racist as the Stormcloaks too. She hated the elves, even used slurs like knife ear right in front of me."
"Did she ever refer to you by those slurs?"
Rona thought for a moment and said, "No, she didn't. But she always made it clear how much she couldn't stand the elves. I think she loved me in her own strange way, but I don't know. Not like it matters now, she's dead and gone. Gods," Rona laughed, "if she was here though and knew I was Dragonborn, she'd probably actually be proud of me. Maybe even envious."
"Do you think you can do it?" Delphine asked suddenly, "Do you think you can defeat Alduin?"
Rona stared hard into the fire, "I don't know. I've fought him before, almost died each time too. I just need more time to train. I need to go back to High Hrothgar and finish learning my shouts or something."
"There's still time for that," Delphine said.
Rona looked over at her, brows knit together, "How can you be so sure?"
"Well... I think we'd feel it if the world were about to end. But so far, each day has come and gone just the same as the last and we're still here. You shouldn't fret about it so much. If the gods aren't intervening then you needn't be worried. When they do start getting involved... hmph," she smirked, "then that's cause for concern."
Rona looked uncertain but Delphine gave her an encouraging pat on the back and stood up saying, "Get some sleep Rona. We'll be at Sky Haven Temple tomorrow and I have a feeling the answers we're looking for are there."
The next morning they all got up at dawn and packed up their camp, heading out on the road again. Rona had never been to the Reach and found the landscape to be quite different from the rest of Skyrim with steep, jagged cliff faces, narrow roads, deep canyons and rough rivers. The scenery was beautiful but almost looked angry and rushed in a way. Even the plant life was more wild looking, the way it grew, sticking up in cracks right in the middle of the road and wound up and down the sides of the mountains and through the rivers, doing whatever it pleased. There were also plenty of sabre cats to watch out for, many more than she'd seen before, but she and Bishop were quick to pick them off with their bows before they became too much of a threat.
A half a day went by and it was around noon when they came up close to an Altar of Dibella. Bishop said, "Ah Dibella, my favorite of the nine divines."
"She's probably still mad at you for desecrating her temple," Rona said pointedly.
His face fell, "Damn, I forgot all about that. Maybe I should leave an offering in apology."
Rona laughed at him, raising a brow, "You? Leave an offering of worship?"
He grinned back at her and said, "Hey, if there's any divine I'd want to worship, it'd be her."
Rona rolled her eyes and Bishop was looking back at her, glad to see she'd cheered up a bit when his face fell and he hissed urgently, "Off the road! Everyone off the road now!"
The others looked back only to see a procession of twenty or more wild looking men and women clad in animal skins, covered in war paint and armed with some very dangerous looking weapons strapped to their hips and backs. The most notable thing about them, however, was that they were all riding elk.
Rona clung to Bishop as he quickly pulled Misty off the path and they ran up into a thicket behind the Shrine. They had nowhere to run to with an enormous mountain blocking their way and a rough river on the other side of the road.
Delphine hopped off of Ember and drew her sword, Esbern conjured up a large stone atronach, Serlas summoned crackling electrical magic into his hands and Karnwyr raised hackle, sensing everyone's trepidation. Bishop drew his bow and aimed defensively for the man leading the procession.
Rona got a good look at the man as he came up close. He was incredibly handsome and built strong and lean like Bishop. He had white-blonde hair, pale skin and thin, sharp scars over his eye and the corner of his mouth. His eyes were a bright blue, set against the dark war paint splashed on them, which had been allowed to drip down his cheeks. He wore some very revealing furs which barely covered his chest and waist. There were a variety of bizarre objects attached to his hips, most notably animal bones and what appeared to be a human skull. He also had a jagged looking sword hilted to his side.
He looked like a wild man, yet he held himself with the air of a noble, like a proud king leading his people. His sharp eyes were firmly set on them as well and he stared them all down with a hidden viciousness underneath his calm exterior. He brought the procession to a halt and Bishop spoke dangerously, "Keep moving forsworn. Got nothing to see here."
When the man spoke, Rona was surprised. His voice was soft and gentle, yet powerful and forceful all the same, "What a strange assemblage of people to find at the Shrine of the Dibella. Two nords, a breton, an altmer -," his eyes scanned over Rona then as she remained unarmed, holding Bishop's waist and staring curiously at them all and he finished, "and a beauty."
"Cael," a short haired woman next to him urged, "We don't have time for this. Either we kill them or we move on."
"In a moment Robin," he waved his hand dismissing her and the woman threw her head back sighing exasperated. He said again, in a calm voice, "I entreat you to turn back if you are traveling west. There are dragons nearby and it would grieve me to see such a beautiful woman be killed by them."
Rona did not reply, she just looked on at this strange man and his stranger group of people, studying him as he studied her. Though she saw a trace of desire cross his eyes as he gazed back into hers.
He smiled a little and bowed his head slightly then began moving their procession along once more. As the group of twenty warriors slowly passed by on their elk, they continued to keep steady eyes on Bishop, Rona and the rest of them.
The minute they were out of sight Bishop took a breath and lowered his bow then he looked back at her and barked irritably, "Why didn't you draw Rona? Those were forsworn!"
She looked up at him and asked, "What's a forsworn?"
Delphine laughed with disbelief and Bishop gaped at her and said, "You're kidding right?" She just shrugged and he groaned into a hand, "Wow... well, I guess we've never visited the Reach before. Still it's hard to believe you've never even heard of them."
Serlas said, "They do not teach about the wild Reachmen in Cyrodiil," then he explained to Rona, "The forsworn are a mix of bretons and nords. They have been engaged in a centuries-old rebellion and bitter power struggle with the nords for control of the province's western-most hold, or what they believe to be their homeland. Many of them have given up their hearts to the hagravens in order to become more powerful and dangerous. They are quite savage."
"Oh," Rona said.
"Yeah, oh," Bishop retorted, "Next time, draw your weapons and be ready to shout. These are the kinds of freaks that would happily chop you into pieces and use your body parts for some bloody ritual."
"He said there are dragons ahead," Rona noted, ignoring Bishop's disturbing imagery, "Do you think they were going to fight them?"
"It's a possibility," Delphine said, "There are many forsworn tribes living in the hills all around here. They might be going to aid a sister tribe."
"Maybe we can ask them?" Rona suggested.
Bishop snorted loudly, "I don't think so, Princess."
"He didn't seem so bad," Rona argued, "Maybe we could help them."
He scowled at her, "Don't tell me that you're falling for that creep's honey-coated words. He's just trying to lure you in and do gods know what to you. You heard that freak - you saw him - he couldn't take his eyes off of you. If you think for one second I'm going to let you go off and have one of your 'friend making' little chats with one of those savages, you are sorely mistaken."
Bishop was serious and getting angry. It made her feel naive listening to him chew her out like that. It didn't help her mood much either when her father added, "I must agree with Bishop, velvyn. I know they seemed like kind people, just passing through, but the forsworn are extremely dangerous."
Even Delphine agreed, "Best we avoid them altogether. We should wait a bit longer and let them get further up the road before we move on. Don't want them to think we're following them."
Rona clammed up then, withdrawing even more into herself and was left feeling like a small child being scolded by the adults. She felt stupid which only served to make her more irritated and resentful. She wanted this damn journey to just be over already.
They waited around for a half hour or so before moving on again. Bishop noticed Rona was giving him the cold shoulder when he asked her if she wanted a bite of the apple he'd started munching on. She turned her head away from him, looking sour and he rolled his eyes and said, "I know what I'm talking about here, Ladyship. But go ahead and sulk if you prefer."
She didn't like being treated like a little girl, as though he knew everything that was best for her and that was that. Her anger was really festering inside her. She wanted to lash out, to fight something, but held back.
They trot along the path for another hour or so before they came up to a bridge and found quite a few saddled elk left nearby. They also noticed the large group of forsworn way ahead, across the bridge having a conversation with what appeared to be another tribe of forsworn.
"Damn it," Delphine muttered, "That's the path to Karthspire."
"It's also where the entrance to Sky Haven Temple is located," Esbern said.
Rona wanted to hear what the forsworn were talking about, but with the roaring river nearby and the softness of their leader's voice, there would be no chance to hear a word.
"I still think we should help them," she said.
Bishop growled back at her, "Enough Rona! I already told you, it's suicide."
She shouted back, "If they're having trouble with dragons we can help them! Then maybe they'll let us pass through."
"I say we just gut them all right here, right now," Bishop said drawing his sword.
Rona scoffed at him and then they heard the low roars of multiple dragons carry over the mountains. The shouting of the forsworn leaders could be heard too.
The one called Cael bellowed, "Prepare yourselves brothers! We battle for Karth River Canyon today!"
The forsworn from both tribes drew their bows and ran ahead over the ridge.
"This is perfect," Delphine said, "With the dragons distracting them, we can just slip right in through the entrance."
"That's a good idea," Bishop said. Then he pointed over at an area covered in small trees and plenty of brush, "Let's leave the horses there."
They hid the horses under the cover of the brambles and foliage and Bishop told Karnwyr to stay with them because he feared for the wolf's safety amidst so many forsworn and dragons. The wolf sat obediently and didn't follow when they left him. They drew their weapons, Bishop and Rona both using their bows while Serlas readied his destruction magic and Esbern brought to life another stone atronach. Delphine held her sword in hand as they ran across the bridge and went up and over the low hill. They were greeted by a horrific scene of a small tribal village set ablaze and covered in ice in parts while three dragons flew along, focusing their attention on incinerating and picking off the villagers.
Rona was horrified as she watched entire families with small children running and screaming for their lives. But Bishop grabbed her arm, pulling her up a steep hill with the others like it didn't even matter.
"This is it!" She heard Esbern say because she absolutely could not tear her eyes from the scene. "Let's head in and be wary, I'm sure there are forsworn inside, seeking cover from the dragons."
Rona's heart was pounding in her chest. She couldn't leave them. Savages or not, she couldn't stand by and watch children and babies be killed like that.
Bishop grabbed her arm again but she stood firmly rooted to the spot. He urged her, "Come on Ladyship! We're nearly there!"
"NO!" She roared the word and a woman exploded into being beside her.
Bishop leapt back and shouted, "Forsworn!?"
The woman, who was indeed dressed in forsworn furs stood at nearly the same height as Rona. She was petite and wild looking, with bright white hair, tied back on her head so that the ends pointed upright and a pair of long bangs caressed the sides of her pretty face. She had large green eyes, like Rona's or even Eira's, tan skin and two very sharp canine incisors that stood out along her crooked grin. She had a necklace made of dragon teeth and her weapon was a roughly made spear, the point was an entire dragon's claw which was held to the ornate wooden shaft with a tightly wound leather binding.
Bishop jut his sword at her and she hissed at him, like a cat, while still grinning madly.
Esbern whispered, "The second Maiden of Dragon Flame... Kitaere of the Sun."
Bishop looked back over at Esbern and barked, "What!? She was a forsworn!?"
Esbern confirmed it, "Yes, of course she was."
"What do you mean of course she was!?" He snarled back, then he shook his head and said, "Whatever! Come on Rona, let's go!"
"NO!" She shouted again, "I'm not just going to leave these people to die!"
"Velvyn...please, you mustn't," Serlas pleaded with her.
"Ata!" she shouted, pointing down at the burning village, "There are children and babies being murdered down there! I won't stand for this!"
(The song is Children of the Sun by Thomas Bergersen)
The sound of speedy music burst in, echoing all around the canyon. Kitaere looked at her, wildly grinning and then turned swiftly and ran forward, leaping right off the cliff, lithe and cat-like. Rona turned away from them all as they shouted after her, joining the Dragonborn woman and leaping off after her. Kitaere started singing quickly and loudly,
"Fighting and running from
Turning from who we really are
Cannot suppress
So let's find the one we have shaped so far
Flying too close to the sun
As if we're invincible
Cannot dictate
Dominate the earth that we're living on."
Rona had her bow in hand and looked up at the three beasts. One was up on a tall hill, getting pelted with fireballs by a hagraven and a group with bows. Another was far off to her left at the end of a wooden walkway over the river, roaring flames at a group of forsworn defenders. Some were engulfed by the fire while others leapt out of the way just in time.
Then she saw the forsworn from earlier, the man called Cael, he was straight ahead of her, facing down a dragon which was blasting ice at him and two of his comrades. Kitaere seemed to be aiming for him, so she joined the wild woman, taking her lead and sprint swiftly alongside her.
Cael was with the young woman from earlier, Robin, she and another long haired man were firing arrows into the dragon's hide. They leapt to the sides as it blast frost at them. Cael was about to take the brunt of the shout when Rona and Kitaere somersaulted forward, getting leverage and they both cried, "YOL TOOR SHUL!" Blasting fire straight into the cloud of ice. The combination of their shouts washed over the dragon and it roared, flying backwards in the air.
Rona and Kitaere landed in front of the man and stood defensively, watching and waiting for the dragon to make another move. It shook its head and shouted, "DOVAHKIIN!"
Kitaere hissed at it and then looked left and right as the other two dragons heard what was spoken.
Rona shouted against the beast of ice once more, "YOL TOOR SHUL!" And it roared as it was engulfed in flames that licked at its cold body. She spun on her toe and ran grabbing the arm of the very stunned looking forsworn man and dragged him along with her, "COME ON!" She bellowed back at him. He didn't hesitate then and ran with her as all three dragons swooped down on them. One of them smashed right into the wooden walkway, breaking it. The floor beneath their feet splintered and cracked and they both fell right into the water below.
They came up for air, only to be met with the face of one of the angry beasts as it opened its maw and made to shout fire. Cael grabbed Rona's arm, dragging her underwater with him as the flames blast against the surface. She felt the skin on her back starting to burn as the water was instantly heated to boiling temperatures. She endured though as Cael pulled her along through the undertow into a cooler portion of the river and they came up on the other side, no longer hidden under the walkway.
A dragon was flying high above looking right down at them and roared Marked For Death at them. Rona made to shield Cael from the shout when the golden fire within her burst forth all around them, incinerating the purplish shout right of the air. The dragon looked on at her bewildered and then Kitaere spun out of nowhere and slammed her spear right into the beast's vicious and snarling face.
She clung desperately on as it hissed and roared, lashing about. Then she scrambled up the monster's roaring face and grasped its horn and reached for her spear, yanking it free and then buried it into the forehead of the monster repeatedly. It gave one last cry and splashed down into the water, dead. Kitaere leapt off of it as it burned up and ran off somewhere again singing, "We are, we are! We are the children of the sun!"
Bishop was at the edge of the river shouting, "RONA!" She turned and swam over to the bank while Cael followed her. Bishop pulled her up out of the water, yanking her very close to him as he glared hatefully at Cael.
(Recommended Song when the first finishes He Who Brings The Night by Two Steps From Hell)
Serlas came up behind them then and started firing crackling electrical magic against the frost dragon that was swooping down on them all. Bishop let her go and started firing arrows into the creature's wings and Rona shouted, "STRUN!" The sky clouded over and it began to rain heavily while lightning bolted through the sky. It lashed against some trees and tall structures and then a bolt shuddered down through the clouds and struck the dragon in front of them, only adding to the power of Serlas' electrical destruction magic. The dragon roared its last and crumpled, falling out of the sky. It's soul washed over her and the third came down on them, suddenly, alarmingly and snatched her up right off the ground.
Rona screamed as Bishop and Serlas looked on horrified crying out for her. Rona twisted in its grasp and shouted at its belly, "YOL!" But she could only get the one word out as it clamped down on her, tighter, squeezing the breath right out of her. The shout, unfortunately did not harm it, because it was a dragon of fire.
It hissed a laugh and she couldn't get a breath in, her vision started to fade and then she saw a jagged sword spinning swiftly through the air. It missed her head by inches and shunted deep into the belly of the beast. The dragon roared in pain and released her, she took a deep breath and whispered the incantation needed to slow her fall. As she slowly floated down she got her bearings and looked over at the dragon, which was absolutely livid now and swept around in a circle, aiming for her.
She was ready to kill the damn thing already, so she drew both her swords and, still slowly descending, waited for the right moment. As it flew in, opening its jaws, ready to snap them on her, she shouted, "WULD NAH KEST!" The shout gave her a burst of leverage and she somersaulted through the air, and slammed her blades right into the back of the dragon. She dug them in deeply, angrily and kicked off its back, running down the length of its body, dragging the swords with her and tearing its flesh apart. She leapt off the dragon, spinning through the air again and shouted correctly this time, "FO KRAH DIIN!" The ice breath smashed into its body sending it plummeting out of the air.
Rona slowed her descent again, allowing herself to fall steadily down as she watched the dragon crash into the mountain beyond where it tumbled down the cliff face right into the river. She landed softly on the wooden walkway and Kitaere ran over to her, standing by her side as they looked out at the creature. It burned up and its soul washed over her.
(Background Music The Mystic or Nature's Altar by Peter Gundry)
Rona sighed, breathing deeply and wiped the sweat from her brow. She noticed a smear of blood on her hands. She was nicked and cut in places and her back felt like it was still burning from the boiling water.
She turned around then only to be staring down the point of a sword and at least a dozen arrows trained on her. Kitaere hissed at the forsworn, snapping her teeth together like an animal as she moved her body cat-like, as though she wanted to pounce at them.
The person holding the sword was an older man. He had long peppery hair and thick dark eyebrows and his face was covered partially by a blue hand print - war paint. He studied her and the wild woman next to her and said, "Drop your weapons."
Rona let her swords fall and clatter on the wooden landing and raised her hands, though Kitaere wouldn't move, still holding her spear and eyeing them all predatorily. Rona noticed that Bishop and the others were all on the ground, bound and being held like prisoners. Bishop was glaring up at the group of forsworn aiming their weapons at them all while Delphine, Serlas and Esbern stared over at her.
Then Rona saw Cael making his way through the crowd of tribesmen and women. He needn't push his way through, however, as people stepped aside, bowing their heads to him while he passed with his comrade Robin and the long haired man close at his heels.
He stood beside the older man and said softly, "Chief Dreylas, might I be so bold as to suggest that you do not harm the Dragonborn? Taking into account that she just saved all of our lives and risked her own to do so?"
The Chief pointed his sword at Kitaere then and said, "And what of this strange woman? She appears to be one of our own, if I'm not mistaken, yet she will not disarm."
Cael studied the lithe woman, who was now smiling very warmly back at him, as though she knew him.
Rona said, "She is Kitaere of the Sun... an ancient Dragonborn."
The Chief looked at her confounded and said, "Impossible."
Rona glanced over at the woman, who stood proudly, her eyes glittering as the sky still crackled with lightning and rain pelted them all. Rona took a breath and willed the woman away. Kitaere began to fade, like a ghost, though she kept her eyes locked with Cael's until she vanished entirely.
Cael then looked over at Rona and gave a small smile and turned back to the Chief, "It would seem that the Dragonborn speaks the truth, surely such honesty should be rewarded with some small kindness?"
Chief Dreylas frowned at Rona, but lowered his sword all the same. He looked to Cael and said, "Chief Cael, I am entrusting her and her companions to you. Should any of them attack our own, we will not hesitate to tear them apart."
Chief Dreylas left them then, calling on others from his tribe to check on the wounded and collect the dead.
Cael addressed Rona then, "So... you are the Dragonborn. I must admit I am very surprised."
She sighed, "Everyone always is."
He smiled gently at her and said, "I have heard of your beauty, but the fact that you are speaking to me also shows your compassion. If I had known I would have introduced myself sooner," he bowed his head and said, "I am Cael, but like you, I am known by other names. The Raven of the Reach, Chieftain of the Rudahan tribe."
She blushed at the forwardness of his compliments and awkwardly ran a hand through her hair wet hair, "You can just call me Rona."
He seemed pleased by her reaction to his words and boldly said, "So I made the Dragonborn blush," he chuckled, "Is there another who can say the same perhaps? Wait! Don't answer that. Let me live in the illusion."
Rona hadn't felt this flustered by another man's flirting since she met Bishop, but Cael was so different with it, using tender but daring words to flatter her. She hated to admit it, but she was feeling quite attracted to this savage, yet soft-spoken wild man. She shook it off though, remembering Bishop, her father, Delphine and Esbern all being held prisoner by these people.
She looked over at them all and met Bishop's eyes. His face held a mixture of anger and confusion and she said quickly to Cael, "Please, uh... Chief Cael? My companions, could you release them?"
Cael looked over at them all and said, "Yes, that can be arranged," he turned to his long haired companion and said, "Anu, see to it that the prisoners are released and unharmed. They are under the protection of the Rudahan tribe."
"You got it Chief Cael," Anu said rather casually for someone addressing his superior.
The woman, Robin, looked rather annoyed by the entire situation, while she stood there with her arms crossed and frowned harshly at Rona. She wondered if the woman was his lover. She'd be pretty annoyed too if her lover were flirting with someone else right in front of them... then she held back an internal groan realizing she was standing there flirting with Cael while Bishop sat by helplessly watching it happen.
She knelt down and picked up her swords and sheathed them then made to move, to walk around Cael and go to the others when he stopped her, "May I ask you something Rona?"
She raised her brows at the sound of her name without a title. She rarely heard it come out of the mouths of others, who were not very close to her, without some sort of appellative attached to it.
"Yes, you may," she replied.
"Why did you fight with us today? It is unusual for an outsider to care for the plight of the forsworn and I must admit, even I struggle to believe that it is due to your unending compassion."
"I'm not one to stand by and watch children and infants get killed by dragons or anything else for that matter," she said truthfully, "So, I did what I felt was right and I intervened. It helps that I knew I could actually stop them too," she smiled at him.
His blue eyes flickered with approval, whether it was because of her answer or her smile, she wasn't sure. She started walking around him then and hurried down the stairs and towards the bank of the river where Anu was finishing freeing Delphine from her bonds. Bishop stood by, rubbing his wrists where the rope had been tied too tightly around him.
He looked over at her, with hurt in his eyes and said stiffly, "You alright?"
She averted her eyes shamefully and said, "Yeah, I'm," she winced, feeling the stinging pain in her back and muttered, "I'm fine."
Serlas went right over to her, looking absolutely distressed as he ran glowing hands over her wounds, healing her. He didn't say a word about her running off and battling three dragons though. Maybe he realized that scolding her for doing so made no difference or maybe he'd finally accepted that this was her fate, to be forced to face down and battle dragons for the rest of her life until they were all dead and gone once again.
She continued to feel the stinging in her back, but ignored it. She didn't want to admit, or to show them just how injured she really was.
Delphine looked warily around at all the tribesmen and women that were watching them nearby and afar. She whispered, "Sooo... we can't exactly sneak in anymore. Is there any chance you convinced these erm," she tread carefully around her words, "nice folks to let us explore the cave?"
Rona groaned, realizing she'd forgotten all about why they were there in the first place. She turned back and saw Cael approaching them as he hilted his bloodied sword to his hip. She gleaned that it was the same sword that had come flying through the sky and into the body of the dragon that almost killed her. Cael had saved her life...
"Dragonborn, if you like, I can escort you and your companions out of Karth River. I must apologize for rushing you off, but my fellow, Chief Dreylas, while he is grateful for what you have done here today, he remains distrustful of outsiders and overprotective of his people."
"Actually," Rona said, "We came here because there is a task I must fulfill inside that cave," she pointed up at the cave in the distance.
Cael looked back at it and then turned his head again, placing his thumb and forefinger over his chin thoughtfully. He met her gaze once more with his piercing one and said, "Unfortunately Karth River is not my land so I cannot make the decision to allow you within."
"It's extremely important," Rona said adamantly, "We have to get inside so that I might better defeat the dragon menace."
Cael smiled at her, flirtatiously and asked, "Better than you did today?"
She blushed again and pressed her lips together, hating herself for feeling even remotely attracted to this man. "Yes. It's very important, please," she implored.
"I will see what I can do for you Dragonborn. Give me a moment to speak with my fellow Chieftain," he turned away again, walking up the hills towards the other Chieftain.
"Let's hope they let us pass," Delphine said, "If they don't though, Rona, you know what you'll have to do."
Rona looked back at them all, brows knit together, but none of them hardly looked at her. She could sense everyone's disappointment in her actions, but she felt so strongly about what she did and why... still, if the forsworn didn't let them pass she would be forced to fight them all, which would completely contradict what she just finished doing, which was saving them.
It wasn't long before Cael returned, with both Robin and Anu at his side. He was smiling warmly and said, "Chieftain Dreylas has given you all permission to pass through the cave, provided we escort you."
Delphine sighed with relief and Rona did the same. She noticed Bishop's scowl, which had been etched on his face for a while now, only deepen more. He didn't like this situation one bit, but held his tongue considering their current company.
"Come, allow me to guide you on your journey Rona," Cael said, still smiling and flirting. He started up the slope and the rest of them followed.
They were so damn close to the place, so close to finding Alduin's Wall and hopefully the location of the Elder Scroll, or maybe even the shout itself. But Rona still felt uneasy. Not just because the likely end of her journey was drawing near, but because once again her relationship with Bishop was met with a very big bump in the road. She could only hope he would control himself in the presence of the forsworn Chief and his two companions. She started to worry, however, when she saw Bishop glaring vengefully at Cael's back with a look that wanted to kill.