There you go, the last chapter, last proper chapter that is. I plan on coming back and working on this again at some point but for now I just want to get it out there. I did write it out fully before but I lost the only copy I had, so I had to work from scratch and restart it. But this is it for now.
Chapter XXIII
A New Order
A horn sounds from one of the ships as they drop anchor near the island, there's distant shouts as they begin to lower row boats into the choppy water, the legion soldiers climb into them and prepare the oars. Vannius stands watching them as they work as quickly as they can, no doubt they want to know whats actually happening at the mysterious island based castle. He makes a quick note of the weapons their ships have, catapults and ballista, these must be some of the most well equipped ships the empire has in Skyrim. Isran stands next to him, also staring out at the ships. His face still holds the deep frown as he watches them, a real army who will be able to do what he hasn't. He grumbles something inaudible under his breath. Serana walks over to stand next to Vannius, he glances at her before he carries on watching the ships, he can see the hope in her eyes, its reserved but its there. He watches the boats start to make their way towards the shore, it's still going to be a difficult day but at least with the legion they will stand a chance at actually taking the castle. The boats slowly come to a stop as they reach the shallows, the soldiers jump out the side and start to drag them onto the beach. The majority of the them are wearing the cheaper and easier to make leather armour that they started using during the war. He didn't realise how dire the Empire was really doing, gone are the days of steel armour and heavy infantry, these men, boys really, are a pale shadow of the Empire he fought against all those years ago at Stonehold.
Their leader climbs out of one of the boats, along with Celann and a couple of the other Dawnguard men Isran sent to Solitude. His armour looks to be where the Empire put all of their money, a finely polished steel chest plate with gold and silver inlays, fine leather and steel covering his shoulders and forearms, thighs and ankles, even red silk with golden thread lining it underneath. He walks straight to Isran, a steel crested helmet under his arm. He comes to a stop in front of the Dawnguard leader, standing perfectly straight with one hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist. "General Tullius." Isran grunts in response while the general looks around at the men assembled on the beach, the modest encampment next to the old, partially destroyed tower. "Not much of a siege." He mumbles as he glances at the castle over Isran's shoulder.
There's a long silence as Isran glares at Tullius who completely ignores him and still eyes the castle as he tries to work out the best way to attack it, his gaze comes to a long stop on the portcullis. Vannius stands watching the two of them. "We met them in battle." Isran tells him, breaking the silence, the general breaks his gaze from the castle and looks at Isran. "But we didn't have the men to take the castle." He adds as he looks back at the Dawnguard scattered around the beach.
"We were hoping you would." Vannius tells him, breaking their tense silence, Serana looks at him sharply. "An Imperial legion." He grumbles as he looks at the army setting up on the beach. "Not much of one." He mutters to himself. Tullius stares at him, an eyebrow raised slightly. Vannius points at the ships. "You've got a catapult and ballista, it should be no problem for you." He says as he looks at the general.
Tullius hums to himself and walks around them to approach the castle. "The catapult and ballista should make short work of the gate house." He tells them, hands clasped behind his back as he looks up at the castle. "Use the battering ram to break through the gate and then we can storm the keep." He puts his hand on Isran's shoulder and starts to lead him down the beach. "How many have you lost?" He questions the Redguard.
"I need to talk to you." Serana says before Vannius has a chance to listen to Isran's reply. He nods to her as she leads him away and towards the broken tower. "My father will defend the castle to the last." She tells him as they reach the tower, they walk around to the far side, out of the view of the men on the beach. "He'll fight tooth and nail to hold this island." She leans against the wall and rings her hands slightly. "We need to get that bow, reverse whatever it is that he's done." She looks up towards the corrupted sun, the sky is turning red around the sun, the sun itself going black in the centre. "You told me to leave as soon as possible."
"I did." Vannius answers, leaning against the wall next to her. "Isran and the rest of the dawnguard came here to kill every single vampire they find." He tells her, he gazes off into the distance, at the ships, she turns to look at him. "It doesn't matter that none of this, getting here and knowing what Harkon had planned wouldn't have been possible without you." He turns to look at her, look her in the eyes as he says the next bit, he needs her to know. "Isran will never think of you as anything but a vampire." He points towards the castle and leans closer to her. "As soon as Harkon is dealt with." He says. "Leave." She doesn't say anything just continues to look into his eyes, he slowly drops his arm back to his side. He knows she'll stay to the end, she's a good person, she has honour and she values it, she might be the only truly good person he has ever met or will ever meet. But good people do stupid things for honour and they die because of them, he doesn't want her to be a good person or a person with honour, at the minute he just wants her to survive today. "Please."
She nods.
The ballista shoots a huge bolt at the portcullis, it hits the iron grating and dents it inwards, getting lodged between the bars. The second ballista shoots another bolt, this one going straight into the grating, the legionaries quickly run towards it with hammers to batter then further in. "Keep the rope slack!" The Imperial captain shouts on the ship, He walks over to edge of the deck and leans against the railing at the side. "Ready the catapult!" He shouts out, turning to face the catapult crew. "Aim for the gatehouse!" He orders, turning back to the castle and leaning against the railing. Another soldier walks over with a war horn in his hand, he looks at the man with the war horn and lifts his arm. The catapult is loaded quickly, the crew standing by. The captain drops his arm and the crew release the catapult, watching the payload fly towards the gate house. It hits the top of the portcullis, breaking the stonework and making the portcullis loosen from its housing. The captain turns to the soldier next to him. "Now." He orders, the soldier lifts the war horn and blows loudly. "Prepare the catapult for another shot!" He shouts.
the soldiers grab the ropes and get ready into position. "Heave!" One of the legate shouts, the soldiers begin to pull on the ropes, the portcullis pulling away from the gatehouse slightly. "Heave!" He orders again and the soldiers pull harder on the ropes.
Tullius stands in front of the amassed legion men, who stand at the ready with their shields and spears. Vannius stands with them, longsword in his hand, Serana and the Dawnguard stand off to the side. "Whatever we find in there!" The general shouts as he walks in front of their ranks. "We will kill!" He adds, still shouting. "We will take this castle and end their tyranny!" The men cheer loudly around them, hitting the base of their spear shafts on the ground as they do. A second projectile slams into the gatehouse and the portcullis is pulled away by the soldiers as they pull the ropes again in unison. It hits the ground with a sharp crash, scraping along the ground as the soldiers carry on pulling the ropes. "Forward!" Tullius shouts, holding his sword out, tip of the blade pointed at the castle.
They advance with the battering ram as they enter the gatehouse, ready the ram to break into the keep. The main force start to make they way up, the rain pelts down around them, the muddy island quickly becoming waterlogged as they advance. Vannius stands slightly behind the shield wall, his sword held up and ready. They begin to move into the gatehouse, shields ready. The battering ram hits the wooden gates and they shake slightly. One of the legion soldiers drops to the floor as an arrow hits him in the side of the neck. They quickly raise their shields as arrows start to rain down on them from the sides of the gatehouse, Vannius ducks down between the men as it happens. More men start to fall as the arrows come from every direction, the battering ram is lifted and slams into the gates again, the soldiers trying their hardest to protect the men holding it.
"Archers!" One of the soldiers shout on the beach. "On the Walls!"
General Tullius moves back to the encampment at the bottom of the beach, the second in command, one of the many Legates in the imperial legion rushes to get the archers in formation. "Nock!" He shouts as they line up. Harkon's archers on the top of the walls loose their arrows at the men on the beach, slaughtering them as they are torn apart by the arrows. "Draw!" He orders, as he grips his shield, ready to raise it at a moments notice. "Loose!" He shouts finally, the arrows fly up into the air towards the top of the wall, many fall short and hit their own men but a few of them find their targets.
More of the soldiers rush into the already cramped gatehouse, shields and spears ready for the gates to be breached. More arrows cut through the men in the small stone building, ripping apart their cheap leather armour and slaughtering them in droves. The battering ram slams into the gates again, shaking them violently, dust falling from the stones above them. One of the men in front of Vannius is hit with an arrow, blood spraying from his neck as an arrow tears through the flesh. Vannius closes his eyes as the blood hits him in the face, grabs the tall wooden shield and lifts it up in front of him, two arrows slam into the shield, the heads going straight through at the close distance they're being shot from. One of the other men holding the battering ram falls to the ground as an arrow hits him in the shoulder, the arrow head going straight through his shoulder. One of the other men drops as an arrow hits him in the stomach.
"Cover the ram!" One of the soldiers shouts as he pushes towards the battering ram, his shield held up to defend them from the onslaught of arrows.
"Nock!" The thrall on top of the wall orders Harkon's archers. "Draw!" He looks at the legion soldiers below them, at the base of the wall. "Loose!" The arrows easily tear into the ranks, a lot of the legionaries falling into the blood soaked mud as arrows tear into their bodies. Serana stands near the back of the small army with the Dawnguard, Vannius is somewhere in the front lines, he could already be dead, she thinks. She closes her eyes slightly at the screams of the injured and dying soldiers lay in the mud, arrows littering their bodies. Isran holds one of the Dawnguard's round shields up to his chest, axe held tightly in his right hand.
"Take cover!" One of the legionaries cries out, arrows hitting everyone around him, they hold their shields up and try to get closer to the castle walls. The imperial archers shoot their own arrows back but the walls are too high, the archers too far away. A war horn blows loudly, an attempt to signal the ships for help. An arrow flies down and lands in the mud just in front of Isran's foot. The battering ram slams into the gates again, finally smashing them inwards, they swing open and the legion soldiers rush into the keep, shields ready to form a wall as the defenders shoot more arrows at them, they don't have as much look though as the legion's shield walls stop them in their tracks. "Charge the keep!" Some orders, running up to the gatehouse, the Dawnguard follow, Serana stays close to Isran as they advance.
The legion push into the keep, shields in a wall formation, spears forward to keep the defenders from getting too close. Arrows clatter against them, most of them going through the shields but stopping before they injure the bearer. The thralls charge them, their own shields held in front of them most of them don't have shields though. They crash into each other, hooking the imperial shields with axes and their own spears. pulling them away and creating a hole in their formation. They break through and the fighting starts properly, Vannius parries a strike with his sword, hitting out with the pommel at the attacker who drops back into the crowd. The legion throw their spears forward to halt the thrall's charge, a lot of them hit the ground screaming but they keep charging. They hit the shields hard and the imperial advance stops in its tracks. There's shouting from every direction, screams from the front line.
Serana and the Dawnguard move through the gate house, she looks around at the arrow littered bodies of the imperial soldiers, looking for any sign of Vannius. He's not here, that means he might still be alive. She looks up at the fighting in the keep, she can't really tell who's winning but it's one of the loudest things she's ever heard, the crack of steel on steel, the shouts and the screams. The stench of blood is overwhelming. Vannius swings his sword in a tight arch, cutting open a man's throat, the blood spills out down his own chest and he drops to his knees, hands trying to stop the bleeding as he coughs and splutters. One of the vampires shouts something in a language he doesn't know before slamming a mace down into the top of a soldiers head, there's a sickening crack and blood spills from under his thin leather helmet. Vannius tries to work his way over to the vampire but stops short when he hears the word loose being shouted out. He immediately ducks down as arrows fly into the legion, the sound loud in the cramped stone corridor.
Serana ducks behind Isran as the arrows begin to find their targets, a few clatter off his shield but most hit the men ahead of them. Isran looks furious as he stares ahead at the slaughter in front of them, the chaos of the battle. "Dawnguard!" He shouts out, hitting his axe against his shield. "Charge!" They give a short war cry before pushing through the ranks to reach the front line. Vannius hears the shouting behind him but he pays it no mind as he finally reaches the vampire and grabs his shoulder, thrusting his sword into his stomach. He clenches his teeth at the pain and Vannius pushes his back and off his sword. A man pushes his spear forward, hitting one of the thralls in the chest and pushing his back into the crowd behind him, Vannius blocks an attack but the man sinks back into the defensive line before he can counter it, he swings his sword at someone else, tearing his stomach open. Isran reaches the front and immediately raises his shield to block an attack, swinging his axe down into someone's shoulder before he kicks him back and swings the blade into another man's neck, severing the head from the body.
Serana tries to get up to the front but the crowds too thick for her to push through, she can barely see but the fighting looks to be getting more and more violet on the front. Arrows fly out, not in a volley anymore just wherever they can find an open target. She prepares her ice spears in her left hand, sending them forward at the defenders, she hits a few of them before trying to focus on the archers. One of them hits a man in the face, the spear stabbing through his mouth and through the back of his keeps a solid grip on her arming sword but keeps away from the front line, the legion soldiers and Harkon's men hack each other to bits as the two forces just push uselessly against each other. The screams fill the air, she saw these men on the beach, young men who can barely be called men, proud to serve the legion and fight for the empire, Skyrim's heading for a civil war and the men who survive today will only die tomorrow in another battle. An arrow flies past Vannius face as he ducks back, falling into one of the soldiers behind him, he's immediately pushed back to his feet and brings his sword up to block a strike, the mace hits his sword and the force from the strike makes his arms shake slightly with the shock. Before he can quite work it all out in his head his hand flies into the man's face and he falls down.
"Spears!" Someone shouts, the legion throws a volley of spears straight into the defensive line, quickly breaking their wall. "Forward!" The same man shouts. "Charge!" The soldiers waste no time and quickly smash into the break in their formation, quickly breaking the line and forcing them to retreat. Vannius moves to the side slightly and lets the majority push through and passed him. This is it now, the legion should manage to go straight through but his fight isn't over yet. He waits to they push through completely before his walks into the main hall. there's small groups fighting all over the castle, the legion routing out the occupants. Serana walks behind him.
"Vannius!" She calls as she walks towards him, sword tucked back into her belt, he has blood all over him but she can smell it's not his, his sword held lazily at his side. She walks around the bodies and grabs his upper arm, the mail hard below her fingers. "My father will most likely be in the chapel."
He puts his hand on her shoulder and squeezes slightly. "Lead the way." He tells her. "We'll end this now." She starts to head towards the back of the keep, Vannius following close behind, someone charges them from the side but Vannius parries the strike and runs his sword along the man's stomach, pulling it away and swinging it into his neck. He turns back to Serana as she reaches a heavy set of doors.
They walk into the chapel, the room dark with candles littered around to light it up but there's not enough to make a huge difference. Harkon kneels in front of an altar, blood pouring from the top and into a wide trough below it, flowing into the groves cut into the stone below their feet. He has his sword drawn and has the tip of the blade against the floor, the base of the blade against his forehead and the hilt locked in both hands. "I would ask Molag Bal for his favour in battle." He announces to Serana and Vannius. "But now I know that the prophecy wasn't of his design." He turns his head to look at them. "I've been following the ideals of a turbulent fool." He spits, he turns back around and looks up at the altar. "And in doing so, I've become the fool."
Serana walks towards him but Vannius' hand on her arm stops her from getting too close. "Its not too late, father." She pulls away from Vannius and takes a few more wary steps towards her father. "It doesn't have to end in more bloodshed."
He scoffs loudly the noise harsh in the almost silent chapel. "Of course it does." He holds his gaze on the altar. "You're not that naive or optimistic." He breaks his gaze away and looks at his daughter. "So do not pretend you are." He tells her, she looks him dead the eye, a silent plea to do as she says. "mortal." He says without look from his daughter's gaze. "If I put my sword down, tell my men to lay down their arms and walk out of this room to surrender." He looks at Vannius. "Will this end without bloodshed?"
"No."
Harkon nods at Vannius' answer. "Will they execute me and all of my men?" He asks and then looks back to Serana. "And my daughter?"
"Yes."
He stands up and holds his sword out to the side. "Then there is only one course of action." He looks at his daughter. "I do not wish to kill you, you could've succeeded me, but you must die in order to end the tyranny of the sun." He looks at Vannius. "I hope your new order..." He looks back to his daughter. "Can show restraint."
"So do I." Harkon lunges forward, moving completely by Serana and straight at Vannius. He raises his longsword in order to parry the vampire's strike, he lets Harkon's sword go by him and quickly goes in for a slash, following it up with a thrust before Harkon can get his guard back up properly. He pulls his sword back and hits Vannius' sword down towards the ground. He goes to swing his sword at Vannius who can't bring his sword back up in time. Serana blocks the attack with her arming sword and Harkon quickly moves around Vannius' back and pushes him forward, he stumbles slightly before turning around to face the vampire. Serana attacks but her slash isn't as well honed as Harkon's or Vannius' and he easily blocks the swing, batting her sword to the side. She casts her ice spears at Harkon who backs away out of the way of them, Vannius grips his sword and moves around the side to attack him. He goes in for a thrust but Harkon parries the attack and pushes his hilt into Vannius' should and grabs his arm at the same time, he lifts him off the ground as he turns quickly, throwing Vannius into the alter. The stone breaks as he hits it, landing hard on the ground.
Serana keeps on the offensive against Harkon. "You've betrayed me." Harkon tells her as he rushes forward, his sword swinging in a graceful arch towards her, she blocks it and takes a few steps back. "Betrayed your own kind." She quickly casts lighting at him, hitting the blade of his sword and making him drop it, it clatters to the ground.
"I've betrayed no one." She answers, swinging her sword at him, he grabs her wrist and before she can cast another spell he grabs her other wrist. "That man has done more for me then you ever have." They push away from each other and Harkon grabs his sword. "I'm here because its the right thing to do." She tries to stab him but he parries the attack and hits the back of her legs with the flat of his sword.
"He takes the money of people who would kill you." He tells her pointing at Vannius as he gets back to his feet, lifting his longsword off the ground. "Not because of what you have done, but because of what, who you are." He tells her, walking to the side.
Vannius steps to the side, ready to strike Harkon. "You've become a tool for another man's revenge." He steps forward swinging the sword at Harkon, he blocks the swing and they lock sword, stepping around each other as they both try and find an opening. "Find the bow!" He calls to Serana, she nods and rushes to find the bow. Harkon kicks Vannius in the stomach before he turns to follow after her, Vannius grabs his should, he twists around and brings his sword up towards Vannius face, he manages to block the blade but has to step back to defend himself. Serana rifles through the top part of the chapel before her hand lands on the bow, she picks it up and turns to face Vannius and her father as they carry on fighting. Her hand strays to her arming sword, but she stops. Looks down at the bow, she has the quiver of sunhallowed arrows. She turns away from them both and leaves the chapel, making her war through the keep as the fighting still rages on.
Harkon thrusts his sword at Vannius, his armour stops the blade from stabbing into him but he stumbles back from the impact. Harkon swings his sword at him again, Vannius blocking it but before he can register it properly Harkon is swinging again, too fast to keep his defence up. He misses one too many though as Harkon's sword slashes into Vannius' right knee, blood immediately spilling out of the gash. His leg gives way and he grabs Harkon's shoulder to keep himself up right, he takes his chance though and thrusts his sword into Harkon's chest. He stumbles back and falls to the ground as his hands go to the longsword in his chest. Vannius falls down, gripping his wounded leg.
Serana casts her lightning at a man's back, making him scream in pain as the lightning burns into his flesh. She rushes towards the entrance, the gates are still wide open, bodies all over the floor, arrows littering a lot of them. She looks back at the fighting, its clear that the battle is going in the Dawnguard's and Empire's favour but Harkon's forces are still fighting for every inch. She shakes her head and heads out of the keep.
Harkon hits the ground hard, the tip of Vannius' sword hitting the stone. "You still failed." Harkon rasps out, groaning as he struggles to speak with the sword in his chest. "I can die, but my species will live on." He coughs out, he lifts his head to look at Vannius before he lets it drop back to the ground. Blood runs out of his mouth. "I've saved them all." His hands drop from the blade as he turns to dust.
Vannius drags himself to lean against the wall, staring out of the window. He lets his head fall back against the wall, blood pooling around his leg. The chapel doors swing open and Isran rushes in, he spots Vannius and the pile of dust. Vannius looks at him. "Harkon's dead." He groans. Isran looks at him. "I don't know where Serana is."
Isran walks over to him slowly. "The keep is ours." He tells the other man, crouching down next to him. "The battle is won." He puts his hand on Vannius' shoulder. "I'll get you some help." He tells him as he stands back up and leaves the chapel.
He thought he was saving his species, doing the right thing. Did Serana find the bow, will she be able to get out of the castle before Isran starts rounding up all of the vampires he can find. The chapel window lights up slightly with sunlight. Vannius looks at it properly as the entire sky lights up, the darkness quickly disappearing as the light spreads across the sky. Serana must've found the bow. She must've reversed the effects of the tyranny of the sun, reversed Harkon's doing. He closes his eyes, darkness quickly over taking him.
I hope you enjoyed that, not my best work but I'm happy with it for now. There will be an epilogue, that'll be up soon as the majority of it is already written. Thanks to everyone who's actually read this and put up with the long as fuck gaps between new chapters, I'll try to work on that.