AN: Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long. Thanksgiving, Finals. Crazy times. Anyways, I hope you all had good times lately. Anyways, hope you guys like this. Please leave reviews so I can tell if I'm going down the right track, thanks.

Jul

Lucius

I clenched and unlenched my fist, enjoying the feel of my complete soul back in my body. The empty, burning purple of the Soul Cairn lit up above me like a dead flame. Serana and I stood before a huge castle, an angry, ancient, starving, cruel Vampire glared at me from across an invisible barrier in a castle at the heart of the realm of Oblivion. I laughed nervously and looked over at the stunned Serana. "So... why is it that whenever I meet a woman's parents they always hate me?" I asked, half-joking. It wasn't getting off to a great start with Valerica – the woman seemed to hate me just by virtue of me being there. Her starving, angry eyes and clear 'Vampires are Superior' attitude wasn't helping. How was it that this woman, so much like her husband and so unlike her daughter, wasn't working with Harkon?

"And who is this..." the woman struggled for words, obviously thinking 'fool' or 'mongrel mortal' was a tad harsh for someone that her daughter had lowered herself to working with. "Mongrel mortal?" Ouch. Or not.

"I'm – wow, it's rare to have to introduce myself," I said with a sheepish grin. I pulled one clawed hand up and pulled my hood down, smiling nonthreateningly. "I'm... a Dragonborn and a member of the Dawnguard."

At that, Valerica's eyes widened with rage. "You would dare travel with such a man!?" she snapped at her daughter. Valerica dashed towards me, only to slam into the invisible barrier that was keeping her locked within her castle. She bared her fangs and hissed at me, her eyes turning an even darker shade of red. "He would kill us all for nothing."

My face soured, but I held my tongue. Valerica seemed important to Serana, and thus I didn't want to offend the women with a snappy remark. Instead I growled and contented myself with the truth. "I only want to keep her safe," I snapped.

"Oh, yes, coming from one who would murder my king for trade, or perhaps sport, my belief that your intentions are noble is hardly sure. Serana has sacrificed everything to prevent Harkon from completing the Prophecy, and I will not have all that work undone by some yokel mortal!"

"I'm here to stop Harkon!" I growled. "Give me the Elder Scroll and I'll leave."

Valerica laughed, a dry and condescending noise. I glanced at Serana, who shrugged and shook her head. "You really believe I'd have the audacity and selfishness to place my own daughter in that tomb for the protection of an Elder Scroll alone? Hah! The Scrolls are merely a means to an end. The key to the Tyranny of the Sun is Serana herself!"

"The... what?" Serana asked. "The Tyranny of the Sun?"

Valerica sighed and glanced at her daughter. "When we fled, I took two elder Scrolls. The one Serana had speaks of Auriel's ancient weapon. The Light, Auriel's Bow. The one that I have with me declares – and this is dumbed down for your simple human mind to understand – that the 'Blood of Coldharbour's Daughter will blind the eye of the Dragon."

I palled and looked at Serana. "He's going to try and kill you."

"Dammit," Serana hissed. "Not just me. He has the Elf and then Lamae Bal – "

"What?" Valerica asked, her voice hollow. She snarled and slammed her fist into the barrier, screaming in rage. "Lamae Bal has awoken again?" she asked, her voice hollow. She breathed out, terrified. "I... Fine, you say you want to help? These Scrolls. There are three that must be read together. Dragon. Blood. Sun. Together they contain the information on how to find the Bow and use it to destroy the Sun's light forever... as my husband desires."

"So... keeping it with you is the safest place?" Serana said, placing her hand across from her mother's on the invisible barrier.

Valerica was silent for a while. Then she looked up at me. "Can I trust you, mortal?" she finally asked, pleading in her gaze.

I glanced at the ground, then back up at the woman. "I couldn't hurt Serana if I tried. I love her," I said, drawing a surprised gasp from both women. I stared into Valerica's eyes.

"You do," she muttered. She coughed once and straightened up, her haughty demeanor back. "Unfortunately for me, you two need the Scroll. Not only do the Scrolls tell of how to destroy the sun, they tell of the opposite as well. Lamae Bal would cast Oblivion, Aetherius, and Nirn into chaos for her revenge on Molag Bal. The Scrolls contain many truths, and often opposite ones. The Tyranny of the Sun is diametrically opposite to the Majesty of the Daughter. The Scrolls, if you gather all three and read them, could have a means of actually killing Lamae Bal. The only way."

I was silent, stunned. "So there is a way?" Serana asked, her voice filled with a shadow of hope. "But she's..."

"You've met her? Yes, terrifying. Everything intelligent in your mind is shut off, frozen. You wish to run, or bow, or die."

"Not me," I piped up, drawing an interested look from Valerica. "If I get the tools, I can kill her."

Valerica considered it for a moment, biting her lip. Finally: "There are four guardsmen who power this wall. Kill them and return here. But beware the dragon Durnehviir – my jailer hunts all on this plane, and even Dragonborn may not be able to defeat a dragon with an already enslaved soul."

Dovah

Durnehviir

The dragon shrieked, summoning the blackened souls of the Bonemen, Mistmen, and Wrathmen from the grave-yard like arena of the castle. Durnehviir had been alerted to the existence of intruders in the Soul Cairn almost immediately after they had entered the Plane of Oblivion, though he had not paid them any attention until the death of the first Keeper. Few were the Mundane – be they Mortal or otherwise – who could face the might of the strongest Undead in the Cairn. Fewer still who could topple all their number. That was the moment that he knew one of his own kind had entered the Soul Cairn. One of the Jokaar.

And here he was, the Mortal who had taken the life of the King of Dragons. A feat beyond what he could have guessed any Dragonborn, even that great Emperor of Old, would have been capable of. The Undead fell before the Dragonborn and his Dawnbreaker, slaying them in scores as the Magick in the weapon was unleashed. It was a sight to behold, really, the Fury of one chosen by his father, by Akatosh himself to stand against his first, greatest children.

He was even capable enough, it seemed, to destroy Durnehviir himself. It had come as quite the surprise when his his blood suddenly began to turn to ash in his already decrepit body. His skin slowly melting from the haggard remains of his bones and the Magick in his gut dissipating into nothingness. It probably was what the other Dov would perceive as the pain of death. And yet this was not death. Durnehviir, even as he died, could feel his bones and skin reforming across the roads of the Plane. That was an odd sensation, feeling half-dead flesh half-stitching itself back together in the half-living facsimile of existence to which Durnehviir had accustomed himself over the past millennia.

And yet he felt more alive than he had since before his own birth. A worthy adversary – a Dov. The soul of a Dragon and the heart of a Man – a good one, if his conversations with the Vampire woman and her daughter were to be believed. Yes, he would be an excellent ally to have.

"Greetings, Qahnaarin," Durnehviir muttered as he landed outside the castle. The Dragonborn's hand flew to his blade, but the weapon did not sing free. "Ah, peace, brother. I do not wish to fight he who slayed my eldest brother. Yes, news of his defeat can traverse to even here, Qahnaarin."

The Dragonborn let his hand drift slowly away from his weapon. "Hello. I am Lucius. What do you want?"

"Ah, Lucius Atmoran. Indeed. I believe there is a way we can aid each other," the dragon replied, smiling inwardly – smiling outwardly tended to frighten people as he was, first off, a dragon and, secondly, perpetually melting. "I wish to see the skies of home once more. Breath the air Vus for a moment more."

"So leave," the Vampire woman beside him suggested. She had an Elder Scroll hanging over her shoulder.

"Alas, Sosnaak, I cannot," the dragon replied, genuine sadness in his voice. "I am as much a prisoner here as your mother. I can no longer live on Vus, how connected I have become to this... ausul. This hell. Call me, Dovahkiin, and you will have my fangs at your side."

Lucius smiled sadly. "You're a slave here, eh?" he asked. After a momentary pause, the human nodded. "Zu'u alun lost weyt fah fron zii. It would be my honor, Gein Zuwuth."

Fahiil

Thera

Harkon met me outside of his large room in the castle, hand out and awaiting the Elder Scroll. As I approached, however, his smile began to sour into an intense scowl. "The Scroll has been moved," I told him as I neared. His eyebrow raised in anticipation of the answer. "And as much as I would love to attack the Dawnguard head on, right now, there are too many threats at hand a the moment."

"Well, I suppose the universe is against us at the moment, then," Harkon snarled. "Your Moth Priest has gone blind."

I laughed dryly. Of course he had – we now had no Scrolls and no way to read them. Harkon motioned with his hand and the milky white gaze of Dexion was soon linked with mine. "I am sorry, madam," he said, truly saddened. The Thrall wished only to do my bidding, and now he was useless.

"Well, I suppose we should kill him," Harkon said, beginning to draw his blade.

"Wait!" the Moth Priest said, laughing nervously. He raised his hands towards the Vampire King. "I am not of of no use, Madam. I know of a way that you can read the Scrolls."

"Well, then, you should speak before we kill you," I suggested with a growl.

The Priest sighed happily. "Of course, Madam," he said with a bow. "There is an ancient glade in Skyrim. A place where the Magicks that we priests use to read the Scrolls was originally learned by Man. Reading an Elder Scroll without both training and preparation is incredibly dangerous, though the gods sometimes consent for others to use them."

"Go on," Harkon said, echoing my own thoughts.

"Of course, Master," the Priest said. "I was about to."

I smiled. He may have been a moronic human, but he was delightfully snarky to Harkon. "Please do, then," I growled.

"The Glade is the place where the Ancestor Moths for whom my order is named live. If you can attract enough of the insects, their Magick may allow you to read the Scrolls and hear the prophecies within the Scrolls," Evicus stated.

"May?" I asked.

"Well, that or you'll die. The gods are unforgiving when you try to reach above your station," the Priest muttered.

I shook my head and laughed. "Of course they are. I would expect nothing less," I said sardonically. "Though you are a lowly human – I'd expect the gods to declare you and your kind unworthy."

"Right you are, Madam," the Priest said with a flourish and bow.

I smiled. "Well, this presents a very useful tactic for us, Lord Harkon," I suggested, giddy with anticipation. "If the Dawnguard – specifically that fool Lucius – have one Elder Scroll, I would not be surprised if he had more. Perhaps something even better."

"Ah, I enjoy how you think, Thera," Harkon said. It made my skin crawl with disgust when one as lowly as him said my name. "We trade the useless Priest for the Scrolls. Even if the Dawnguard do not wish to go through with the trade, Lucius is just weak enough that he would go against their wishes to save Evicus. A clever idea."

"And we can kill him with an ambush at the Glade – killing, to say, two birds with one stone. Three even, if we could reclaim your daughter," I said, grinning. "And then the Dawnguard would be weak – weak enough to exterminate perhaps."

Harkon smiled, his fangs gleaming in the dull fire light. "I'll send a messenger straightaway." He turned away. "Good work."

Jul

Lucius

I stood with Isran, Florentius, and Serana outside Fort Dawnguard, awaiting the Nord the scouts said was wandering our way. My blade was drawn. I smiled as I noticed it no longer sang for Serana's blood, quenched as it was on the lives – un-lives of the many Vampires and other undead that I had gone through the process of ending recently.

"Hold, Stranger!" Isran shouted. With the growth of both the Dawnguard and our Vampiric enemies, we could be less trusting than usual. Anyone could be a Thrall or a Vampire sent to kill us. "State your business!"

The Nord man smiled manically. "You have been summoned," he said with a grin. I grew uneasy and looked over at Serana. She nodded. Thrall. "For a trade."

"Whatever it is, Thrall, we don't want it," Serana shouted.

Isran raised his hand. "Tell us," he growled simply.

The Thrall smiled. "You have the Scrolls. We have the Priest. You will be at the Glade in the Jerall Mountains in three days time. You know the trade." With that, he drew his blade and turned it around. I rushed forward, trying to stop him, but was only gifted with a huge splash of blood across my face for my troubles.

"No!" I shouted. I slammed my foot into the rocky outcropping and screamed in pain as my toe snapped. A moment of healing Magick later and it was fixed. I looked up at Isran. I couldn't let anyone die if I could save them.

"Florentius?"

"He's blind. And we would have no Scrolls if we traded," Florentius said. "Though he is also still a Moth Priest, and I am confident in Lucius' abilities to reclaim the Scrolls after the trade."

"No. He's a Thrall if they have him. Doubly useless, a blind slave. No deal," the man said.

"They'll kill him!" I snapped up at the man. He turned angrily back to me. "We have to save him! The – The Scrolls are useless without him anyways!"

"Their use, right now, is in not being in the Vampires' hands. Lucius, our job is protecting Mortals from Vampires, not -"

"He is a mortal," I growled. There was a long pause as Isran stared me down.

"And saving him could end in the deaths of thousands more. I won't risk this," Isran explained. I simmered, glaring up at him. Serana caught my eye and nodded. Isran be damned, we'd save that Moth Priest and bring the Scrolls back doing it.

"Isran," Florentius muttered.

"This is my last say," the man snapped, silencing all opposition as he walked up to the castle. Florentius looked down to me, cautioning against what Serana and I were going to do. Arkay had already told him? If only the gods were so open with me.

Of course, Florentius still looked like he honestly hoped I would go through with the trade. "Serana," I stated simply. She nodded and went off to collect the Scrolls. A few of the guards would have killer headaches for the next few days and would likely not be happy to see either Serana or me for some time, but they'd be alive. And so would the Moth Priest. I looked up at the sky. "We're on our way."