Location: Throat of the World
15th of Rain's Hand
4:30pm
"You hangin' in there, Vigilance?" Kayleigh asked over the howling of the snowy wind, kneeling down to pat him.
Vigilance barked in assurance.
"Alright, pup. Let's go. Looks like we're almost there." Kayleigh took a few more steps upward the mountain. It was snowing slightly, but cold was no issue to Kayleigh. 'Clear Skies' was the Shout the Greybeards taught to her before she came up here. It was used to blow mists for a short while, but bow them away nonetheless. "Ugh!" The cold mist prevented her from proceeding any further. "Lok… VAH KOOR!" She shouted and the wind disappeared like smoke.
Kayleigh and Vigilance hiked on upward, until she spotted a broken Word Wall. They were obviously on the very top of this mountain, but there was no one is sight. "Guess we should check out this Word Wall." The two began to walk towards the Word Wall, when suddenly a shadowy figure flew over her. She looked up and almost staggered back in shock, but kept her footing. "OH SWEET TALOS!"
A yellow dragon flew around the Throat of the World, roaring.
Kayleigh pulled out her Dragonbane from its holster and waited for the worse. Just as she was about to fire a Firebolt spell at it, the dragon lowered onto the ground and landed firmly on its feet. "Joor (Mortal)…" It growled at Kayleigh and did not do anything at all. It continued to stare at her with its icy blue eyes.
Confused, Kayleigh refused to sheath her weapon. Vigilance, still unsure, continued to bark at the big yellow dragon. She held a hand over his head, signaling him to quiet down, and he did. She took a few unhurried steps towards the dragon.
"Drem Yol Lok! Greetings, wunduniik. I am Paarthurnax." It spoke for the first time.
Kayleigh gaped.
"Who are you? What brings you to my strunmah? My mountain?" It questioned.
"…" She was unable to stop widening her green eyes at the creature. "You're… a dragon?"
Paarthurnax nodded once. "I am as my father Akatosh made me. As are you, Dovahkiin."
"…" She still stood there, rooted to the snow-infested ground, staring at Paarthurnax. "A dragon… a… dragon!"
"I can understand if this comes as a… shock to you, Joor (Mortal)." He said. "But you must tell me: why are you here? Why are you intruding on my meditation?"
"Uh, well," Okay. The leader of the Greybeards is a dragon. Best not to piss it off. "I apologize for disturbing you. Krosis." She added. "First, let me introduce myself. My name is Kayleigh Leanne. And the reason why I'm here is because I need to learn that Dragonrend Shout. The Greybeards said you teach it to me. Can you?"
"Hmmm." He growled softly. "Drem, Joor (Mortal). Patience. At the first meeting of two of the Dov (Dragon kind), there are formalities which must be observed."
"Alright then." She acknowledged that. "I apologize. Please, go on."
"Thank you. Now," Paarthurnax started out. "By long tradition, the elder speaks first." He had his body face the broken Word Wall. "I want you to hear my Thu'um. Feel it in your bones and match it, if you are Dovahkiin!" So saying, he sprayed fire at the Word Wall, shouting "Yol… Toor SHUL!" and Kayleigh made out a word engraved onto it: 'Fire'.
"It calls to you. Go ahead."
Kayleigh, as if hesitant, strolled over to the broken Word Wall. She realized that the surface had been covered with a thick layer of snow, but the dragon words were engraved on the stone wall perfectly. Just like all the other words of power, she immediately learned the word, feeling it in her very soul.
"Come." She spun around to face him. "I present you my understanding of 'Yol'. Comprehend Fire as the Dov (Dragon kind) do."
Kayleigh felt the knowledge run through her with ease. Within a few seconds, she had learned a new Shout.
"Now, show me what you can do." He said. "Greet me not as mortal, but as Dovah!"
"Wait, seriously? Are you sure?" She was concerned, unsure of what the Shout could do to an old dragon like himself.
"You need not worry. I can take it." He assured.
"You asked for it." She took a deep breath. "YOL!"
The ball of fire hit Paarthurnax, but he surprisingly remained unscathed. Guess she shouldn't be surprised. "Aaaah… YES! Sossedov los mul! The Dragon Blood runs strong in you, Joor (Mortal). It is long since I had the pleasure of speech with one of my own kind."
"You seem unharmed. Thank Talos." She heaved a sigh of relief.
"So, Dovahkiin, you have made your way to me. Not an easy task, even for one with the Dragon Blood." He confessed, though very impressed with Kayleigh. "You seek to learn the Dragonrend Shout?"
"Yep. You heard me the first time. I need to defeat Alduin, so I need to learn that Shout." She said. "I can't learn it from the Greybeards. They said you might know."
"Ah, but krosis. Sorrowfully, no. It cannot be known to me." He said apologetically.
"So the Greybeards don't know the Shout because it's dangerous. And you don't know it because...?" She left the statement open for him to complete.
"The Shout was created by your kind – joorre – mortals, to use against us dragons. Our hadrimme, our minds cannot even comprehend its concepts."
"Ohhhhh… that explains it. You're a dragon: you can't use a Shout created for dragons." She buried her face in her hands in a melancholic manner. "Great… now what do I do?"
"Drem (Patience), Dovahkiin." He said to her in a comforting voice. "You wish to learn this Shout… to defeat Alduin, hmm?"
"That's right. That dragon is wreaking havoc on Skyrim and this world. I like this world! I don't want it to end just because of some big black-winged lizard who says it's his 'destiny'! This is Skyrim, and she's my home. This is our world, and I won't see it end."
"Hmm… Pruzah, Dovahkiin. I am enthralled. It is as good a reason as any." He then glanced up at Skyrim's breath-taking skies. "Some would say that all things must end, so that the next can come to pass." He looked at her again. "Perhaps this world is simply the Egg of the next kalpa? Lein vokiin? Would you stop the next world from being born?"
This dragon's full of riddles. At least he's easy to understand. If I need to get what I need, I will have to play his game. But I have to tell the truth. "No… no I can't." She answered. "I can only do so much for this world, the one we are currently living in. I'm doing my best, but that's all I can do… which is why the next world would have to take care of itself."
"Paaz, Dovahkiin. A fair answer. You continue to impress me." He said. "Ro fus (Balance, force)… maybe you only balance the forces that work to quicken the end of this world. Even we who ride the current of Time cannot see past Time's end. Wuldsetiid los tahrodiis. Those who try to hasten the End, may delay it. Those who work to delay the End, may bring it closer."
Can't really see how this is helping me, but he has a point.
"But you have indulged my weakness for speech long enough. Krosis. It had been long, since I held tinvaak with a stranger. I simply gave in to the temptation to prolong our speech. Now I will answer your question." He apologized sincerely.
Kayleigh couldn't help but giggle. "It's quite alright, Paarthurnax, if I may call you that."
"Of course you may, Dovahkiin."
"You know, if you love talking so much, why live alone on a mountain?" She asked.
"Evenaar bahlok (Extinguish hunger): There are many hungers it is better to delay than to feed." He explained. "Now, let me answer your question: Do you know why I live here, at the peak of the Monahven? What you name… Throat of the World?"
"Ummm… you said you were going to answer my question…"
"Drem, Dovahkiin. All in good time."
"Ummm… because Dragons love mountains?" She tried her luck.
Paarthurnax gave what sounded like a low chuckle, amused by her answer. "True, but few can remember that this was the very spot where Alduin was defeated by the ancient Tongues. Well… Viik nuz ni kron (Defeated but not conquered). If he was, you would not be here today, seeking to defeat him."
"Defeated… but… not conquered…" She mumbled to herself. Her grasp of the Dragon language was limited, having learnt a bit of it from Draugrs and other Dragons. Arngeir taught her a little as well, but overall, she needed helpd
"The Nords of those days, my friends, Gormlaith, Felldir and Hakon, they were the first humans I taught the Thu'um too, they used the Dragonrend Shout to cripple Alduin. But that… was not enough."
"Then what? What defeated him?" She was eager to find out.
"It was the Kel – the Elder Scroll. They used it… to case him adrift on the currents of Time."