A/N: Hope that everyone is doing well in these strange times! Here is chapter 1 of The Silver Dragon. As I mentioned in the prologue, I will let you know when I use dialogue from either Oblivion or Skyrim. Some of the dialogue in this chapter is lifted from the game but after this dialogue will be less exact, and more of taking inspiration from the games. Anyway, your feedback is always appreciated. Let me know what you all think and I hope that your holiday weekend goes well!
*Disclaimer*
*As always, I own only my OCs. The main plots and recognizable characters are from the brilliant minds of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls franchise writers.*
*Dialogue for Uriel is lifted from the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion*
Chapter I: Two Times in Imperial Custody is Lucky, right?
Lumi groaned, eyes straining to see in the weak light. She was lying on a slab of stone in a dark alcove. A nearly rotted table and chair sat in a corner and the floor was dirty stone that would have made her cringe just a year before. On the floor by the table was what appeared to be a small pile of bones, along with a humanoid skull. I think I might still cringe. A small and filthy window allowed just enough light to see the cell across from her own, where a figure with red eyes was watching her.
"Oooh, aren't you a fair lass. Your skin is so pale, so pure. And your body is so...strong. I would guess you were a Nord but I've never seen one so short." The figure revealed itself to be a strangely gleeful dark elf leant against the cell's door, leering at her. Lumi's head was pounding and she had no idea where in Oblivion she was, only that she could stand to be farther from her new neighbor.
"I bet you think you're pretty tough, huh? I bet you can swing a sword and everything. Well, it doesn't matter! Not in here. It does no good to fight. But don't worry. The guards always treat the pretty ones nice. Right 'til the end. Oh, that's right. You're going to die in here, little Nord!" The dark elf really was not helping her to not freak out. Seriously, does he just get off on being an asshole? But he mentioned guards so she must be in a prison. There were several questions that Lumi wanted answers for and something told her that the majority of those answers would not be coming anytime soon. At least she could remember everything before waking up in a random prison. Being arrested by Imperials for unintentionally smuggling moon sugar over the border, almost getting her head chopped off by said Imperials, finding out she was the Last Dragonborn and defeating Alduin. It would've been far more annoying if she had memory loss somehow.
Examining herself, Lumi noted that she no longer was dressed in her leather armor. Instead, the Nord woman found herself in familiar roughspun clothing, much like what the Imperials had stuffed her into after arresting her. Even though the leather armor had been nearly destroyed by her fight with Alduin she was still sad to see it go. Without the leather, she felt vulnerable and exposed. Her weapons were gone too. The familiar weight of her ebony bow and short swords was gone, along with the daggers she kept hidden in her clothes. The only things she found on her person were the journal that she had started keeping after finding out she was dragonborn and her Amulet of Akatosh. Well if I die and someone finds my corpse, they'll at least get an interesting story out of it, I suppose.
The pounding of armored feet drew Lumi out of her thoughts and she couldn't help but stare as people wearing Blades armor burst into the cell, surrounding an older man in a richly made robe. The leader of the group, an angry looking Imperial woman, said something about why there was a prisoner in the cell but all Lumi could do was stare at the old man. There was something about him, a familiarity that she desperately tried to cling to. They had never met before but she knew him, like she knew the different dovah and her family. His blue eyes were sharp with grief as he observed her. She could see the light of recognition in his eyes as he swept past his guard.
"You… I've seen you…You are the one from my dreams…Then the stars were right and this is the day. Gods give me strength." Lumi had no idea what he had seen but the expression on his face told her it could be nothing good.
"Who are you?" How do I know you. She asked, watching his expression shift into faint amusement and wonder.
"I am your emperor, Uriel Septim. By the grace of the Gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler. You are a citizen of Tamriel, and you, too shall serve her in your own way." Uriel Septim…the father of the last Septim Emperor. There was no way this could be true but she could see no lie in the man's face. He believed in his identity with everything he was. I know him. The woman from earlier, a real Blade, her mind supplied, pushed forward, demanding that she stay back as, with the press of a stone, the slab she was on earlier sunk back to reveal a small passageway. Uriel insisted she join them and Lumi was certainly in no hurry to refuse. She glanced back at the smarmy dark elf from earlier, amused to see him watching with his jaw slack and eyes wide with surprise. Unable to resist, the Nord woman smirked and raised her finger in a universal gesture of fuck off.
For once, Lumi was grateful for her lack of height. The taller of the Blades, a young Redguard that introduced himself as Baurus, was forced to duck down through the shorter passageways while she was able to walk fairly comfortably. The Blades kept her at swords length from their charge, refusing to compromise in their task of protecting the Emperor. A task that is doomed to failure. She remembered reading about the Oblivion Crisis as a child. Uriel Septim and his trueborn sons were the first casualties of the era-defining event. They all fell on the same day from assassins sent by the Mythic Dawn. Not much else was said on the specifics of their deaths, only that every Septim but the youngest son was killed. She watched the back of the Emperor mournfully. Barely fifteen minutes in his company and she knew she would miss him dearly. The man just had a quality about him that made following him easy. It was a dangerous skill and if it were anyone else she might have been concerned about how quickly she wanted to try and save him. He is meant to die today. There is nothing I can do. I am unarmed and don't know the terrain. But as much as she told herself that she still yearned to be able to do something to change his fate.
The group entered a large chamber with only one way through. Every instinct in the dragonborn was screaming that this was a trap. Over the years she had learned to listen to that instinct. Sensing her hesitation, the Emperor stayed back, ordering the Blades to investigate the room. As soon as the group of three reached the center of the room it exploded into chaos. People in dark red and black armor charged the Blades. Lumi felt a chill race up her spine as the scent of daedric weapons filled the air. They reeked of blood and rust, seemingly pulling the light from the room, leaving nothing but darkness and evil. In a matter of seconds, it was over. All of the assassins lay dead but among them was also the fierce Imperial woman, Captain Renault.
Baurus, his blade running scarlet, rushed to the Emperor's side. "Are you alright, Sire? We're clear for now." The blood on the man's armor was disgusting and nothing Lumi hadn't seen before but by the look on Uriel's face, it troubled him greatly.
"Captain Renault?" He asked quietly. Baurus looked away, grief and shame radiating off of him in waves. Lumi empathized, understanding the feeling of blaming yourself for a comrade's death. It was awful and nothing anyone said would truly be able to help the man until he allowed himself to be forgiven. And if he is anything like me, that could be a long time.
"She's dead. I'm sorry, Sire, but we have to keep moving." The news seemed to steal part of the Emperor's life force, as he visibly folded in on himself. No one spoke as he processed what had happened, straightening with a determined glint in his eyes. He walked to Captain Renault's body, crouching down to gently close the woman's eyes. Blood soaked into the man's fine robes as he murmured something too low to hear before grabbing the woman's katana and a steel shortsword from a nearby assassin. Giving the katana to Baurus, Uriel turned to Lumi, pushing the shortsword into her arms.
"Take this, and with it guard your Emperor." The look on his face left no room for arguments and the Nord was secretly glad of having a weapon. The attack had reminded the woman that the Emperor was not the only one that could die on their journey to safety. She tried to ignore how Captain Renault's blood dripped from edges of the Emperor's robe. The elder of the two remaining Blades, a Breton named Glenroy, however, looked extremely displeased.
"Sire, I do not think this woman should be allowed to accompany us. She may not be an assassin but she was in that cell for a reason. We cannot trust her with your safety!" Honestly the man's concerns were completely warranted. They had no idea who she was and if she were in their position Lumi knew that she would not want someone she did not know protecting the Emperor. But still, she needed to get out of this place and help however she could… Moving to face the Glenroy, Lumi gathered herself to her full height and tried to radiate as much authority and sincerity as she could before speaking.
"I know that you have no reason to trust me but believe me in this. I do not want to see the Emperor harmed. The Septims are Tamriel's greatest defense against the threat of Mehrunes Dagon." At mention of the Daedric Prince of Destruction the older man's impassiveness seemed to falter and he looked at her carefully. He's listening to me. Pushing forward, Lumi continued, refusing to break eye contact with the Blade for even a second. "If you do not believe me to be a loyal subject of the Empire, then believe me as someone who does not want to see Oblivion unleased on Nirn. I would do my best to see the Septims delivered safely from harm."
Glenroy's look of conflict was hidden as the Emperor stepped forward, gently touching Lumi's arm. "They cannot understand why I trust you. They've not seen what I've seen." He appeared frustrated for a moment, running his free hand through his hair. "How can I explain? Listen. You know the Nine? How They guide our fates with an invisible hand?" At mention of the Nine, Lumi felt something in her perk up. "The Nine guide and protect us." Especially Akatosh. Bormahu protected those with dragonblood, gave them gifts to defend themselves and others from evil. He would not abandon them. Bormahu would not abandon her. Seeing the understanding in her eyes, the Emperor continued."I've served the Nine all my days, and I chart my course by the cycles of the heavens. The skies are marked with numberless sparks, each a fire, and every one a sign. I know these stars well, and I wonder... which sign marked your birth? The signs I read show the end of my path. My death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."
Her sign. She had not given thought to it in years, other than the occasional joke over a glass of mead. It had always seemed ironic to her, considering how very unlike it she was overall. With a snort, she replied. "The Lady."
The Emperor briefly smiled at her reaction before growing serious once more. "Today the Lady shall fortify you in your quest for glory."
Feeling suddenly desperate, Lumi blurted out. "Can you see my fate?" Can you see yours? The Emperor looked down at her in a way that reminded her keenly of her father. It was a look of comfort and peace, and it helped calm her anxious heart, if only a little.
"My dreams grant me no opinions of success. Their compass ventures not beyond the doors of death. But in your face, I behold the sun's companion. The dawn of Akatosh's bright glory may banish the coming darkness. With such hope, and with the promise of your aid, my heart must be satisfied." Well that was not very helpful. It was decidedly cryptic and she had heard the weary way in which the Emperor spoke. He knows he doesn't make it out of this. He knows.
"Aren't you afraid to die?" Lumi knew that she was. It wasn't even worry over what came after. She was entirely afraid of the process. Because contrary to popular belief, even though she ran into literal fire for a living it did not mean that she enjoyed it.
"No trophies of my triumphs precede me. But I have lived well, and my ghost shall rest easy. Men are but flesh and blood. They know their doom, but not the hour. In this I am blessed to see the hour of my death... To face my apportioned fate, then fall." The Emperor intoned solemnly. Talos preserve them, the man had to live with the knowledge of when he would die. As calm as he seemed, Lumi felt more respect for him. She would have gone crazy under the burden of such dark knowledge.
Needing to know one last thing, Lumi looked the Emperor in the eyes. "Where are we going?" His face said everything and his words crushed the last bit of hope she felt in somehow saving him.
"I go to my grave. A tongue shriller than all the music calls me. You shall follow me yet for a while, then we must part." He looked down at her with a gentle smile and it struck Lumi like a hammer just how tired the man looked. Standing before her was someone that was ready to join his sons in whatever afterlife they'd been delivered to. There was little fight left in him and even though she understood, it broke her heart.
Everyone quietly moved forward, no one having the courage to speak after hearing the Emperor speak so calmly of his death. The stones passed in a blur as they raced through the system of tunnels. No one tried to stop them and it left a growing pit of worry in Lumi's chest. Her instincts were practically screaming at her that they were walking into a trap again and yet there was nothing to be done but move forward. Eventually the group reached another open room, with an entrance to a smaller room and an old gateway in it. Glenroy rushed to the gate and tried to open it. The pit in her chest grew when the gate would not give. Desperation made the movements of the two Blades sharp and frantic. Glenroy looked at her and she recognized the hopelessness in his gaze. They both knew the futility of looking for an exit. The Emperor knew too. The elder Blade drew his katana, scanning the area for the inevitable threat.
"Protect the Emperor." He commanded Lumi. Looking around, the Nord woman led the Emperor into the smaller room, unsheathing her blade.
A hand on her shoulder made Lumi face the Emperor. "My guards are strong and true, but even the might of the Blades cannot stand against the power that rises to destroy us. The Prince of Destruction awakes, born anew in blood and fire. These cutthroats are but his mortal pawns. Take my Amulet. Give it to Jauffre. I have a secret son, and Jauffre alone knows where to find him. Find the last of my blood, and close shut the marble jaws of Oblivion." His speech left her reeling. This was it. The Emperor was about to die and they both knew it. The pit in her chest continued to grow and she had to choke back the sob that threatened to leave her.
"So, this is it." She said hollowly. There was no question.
The man nodded, "For me, it ends here. You are our only hope to stem the blood tide. Give me your hand." Lumi did as he asked and watched as he gently laid the Amulet of Kings in her grasp. She almost gasped at the warmth that flowed from the red gem. It was like the gem was alive, pulsing gently in her grasp. The Emperor missed none of her reaction, just nodding at her questioning eyes. "It startled me at first too. Only the dragonborn can feel its heat and hear its heart." Of course, he knew. She recognized the dragonblood in him the moment they met. He must have felt the same. "Stand true, my friend. May your heart be your guide and the gods grant you strength." Before she could say anything in response, a stone panel opened and another assassin leapt through, stabbing the Emperor in the back. With the death of the Emperor, the dark pit in her chest finally broke free and she shouted.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!" The assassin didn't have time to react before he was a charred husk on the ground. She collapsed, emotionally drained and wanting more than anything to wake up back at High Hrothgar, Arngeir reprimanding her in his teasing way for sleeping in. But she was below a prison in Cyrodiil and the Emperor, an innocent man, was dead, his killer lying prone only a few feet away.
Seconds later, though they felt like a miniature eternity, Baurus ran in alone, more blood covering his armor and face. "What was that noise, where is the Emperor?" Wordlessly, Lumi gestured to the bodies of the Emperor and the assassin. Baurus let out a mournful howl as he rushed to the Emperor's body. She was numb as she watched Baurus clutch the Emperor. Glenroy had not returned. We're the only two left.
She had to get to Jauffre immediately. Even though she was dragonborn, Lumi did not believe that she would be able to light the dragonfires. It had to be a Septim. I have a secret son. Martin Septim, a priest of Akatosh. His choice in Aedra to worship would have been ironic to her in any other circumstance. At the moment however, all that she could feel returning to her numbed heart was the late urgency of Uriel. The amulet grew warmer in her hand, pulsing as if in agreement. Pushing herself up, Lumi wondered not for the first time that day why she had been sent back. The Emperor had still died. Martin would still die. How could she change anything, she was just one person. One Dragonborn, a voice that was eerily similar to Paarthurnax seemed to rumble in her head. Baurus' panicked cries brought Lumi out of her musing.
"The amulet, where is it?" Holding up her hand, the Nord reassured the Redguard that it had not been stolen.
"It's here. We need to take it to Jauffre." The confusion on Baurus' face was evident at her news.
"Jauffre? Why did the Emperor want the amulet taken to him?" Pushing aside her growing restlessness, Lumi did her best to explain.
"Before he died, the Emperor said that he has a secret son. Only Jauffre knows where he is." The hope on Baurus' face matched the one slowly growing in her chest.
"Jauffre is at Weynon Priory, he is the leader of the Blades. If the Emperor trusted anyone with such information it would have been him. However, I can't go with you. Someone needs to guard the Emperor until help arrives, but I can give you some supplies and a map." Baurus sighed, looking much older than he had at the start of their journey.
The last Blade was true to his word and within a few minutes, Baurus had handed her a knapsack, packed with as much as he could spare. As she was tightening the straps of the pack to better fit her smaller shoulders, Baurus left to go into the larger room where she knew that Glenroy's body lay, along with whoever had been foolish enough to attack them. A pang of grief hit her when she thought about the snappish Blade. He had just been doing his job. A job that he signed onto knowing the risks. But who truly expects to die like this? Baurus returned just as she had adjusted her short sword's makeshift sheath. In his hand were Glenroy and Captain Renault's katanas. He stared at them for a moment, his gaze hollow, before shaking his head and handing them to her.
"Please give these to Jauffre, he'll know what to do with them." From listening to Delphine, Lumi knew exactly how much trust Baurus was placing in her. A Blade's katana was made specially for them, never to be used by another as long as the owner was alive. When possible the Blade was interred with their katana and if it wasn't possible then the Akaviri blade would be locked away. She forced her shock at the trust he was placing in her down. Giving the Blade a nod, Lumi carefully packed the swords behind her knapsack and against her back.
"That noise I heard, what happened to the assassin. I don't know how or why but you used a dragon shout, didn't you?" Baurus asked, looking directly at her. She nodded, not sure how to explain the oddity of her situation to the man. He seemed to understand her problem, clasping her shoulder with his hand.
"How you came to possess such a gift, I do not need to know, but the Emperor trusted you, and so do I. Please protect his heir. If we do not see this through then all of Nirn will fall to the Daedra."
The Nord's eyes hardened as she stared at the Blade.
"I will use all of my resources to protect the last Septim. If I can, I will teach him to shout so that he can protect himself better and I will not leave his side unless absolutely necessary." Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Baurus turned around and bent down to the Emperor's side. She watched as he gently closed the elderly man's unseeing blue eyes.
Squaring her shoulders and tucking the amulet deeply into her pocket, Lumi spared a moment to grasp her own Amulet of Akatosh, sending a prayer up to the divine. Please, I don't know why you have sent me here, but allow me to help, to save just one of the Septims. With a sigh, the Nord took one last look at Baurus. He was standing by the body of the Emperor, katana drawn and raised, ready to defend the corpse of his leader to the death. I hope that our paths may cross once more.
Lumi set off down the path towards the exit. The sewers were disgusting. Every other turn was home to skeevers or goblins and Lumi was beyond happy to see the glowing light of the tunnel's exit after what felt like hours wading through substances that left her skin crawling. Taking a last glace back at the sewer she used the key Baurus had given her to unlock the final door between her and freedom. With a little more force than was strictly necessary, Lumi flung open the gate and dashed for the waters of a nearby lake, barely taking the time to remove her knapsack before jumping in and scrubbing her skin furiously. The water felt amazing as she scrubbed off the filth of the sewer and the last few hours.
Blood, dirt, and other, rather unmentionable substances, fell off of her into the water and as she breathed in the clean air, Lumi felt just a little bit of peace return to her soul. She imagined stretching out invisible wings and had to resist the urge to groan as the wind ruffled her hair. The sun shone in the sky as she left the water and pulled her knapsack back on. She had had her moment, now it was time to get to Weynon Priory.