Clash of Dragons

by RiddleofStrider

"Why are you here, Solas?" "To warn you. A storm is coming, can you not feel it in the air? Even the spirits of the Fade are trembling. They hide themselves away and speak only in whispers. The blood of the dragon is rising in the east, they say. The Dragonborn comes to Thedas, and he is bringing fury with him."

9. In the Beginning

Chapter9 In the Beginning

"It has been too long since the world has known true change. The mortal races have forgotten their Maker, and his wrath. They must be made to remember, you must do this."

"I have slaughtered men and gods, and all Tamriel bows to me. The last vestiges of the old orders are dying out. I have made the world in a new image, there is nothing left to conquer."

"There is always something left to conquer."

"Yokuda is long since swallowed by the sea, and Akivir is a dead land. There is nothing."

"Where did Parthunax and his followers flee to when you demanded fealty of the Dovah? They did not become ethereal, nor did they cross the Veil. They yet live, in a land far beyond where mighty Yokuda once stood. A land steeped in magic and forged by sword, and spear, and the iron fists of warrior kings. It is there you must go."

"I gave Parthunax my word I would let him go in peace."

"And let him go in peace, you did. Your oath is fulfilled."

"How will I find this land that has so long remained hidden?"

"A host of mages and wizards attends you, and the blood of dragons flows in your veins. Turn their eyes to the west. When they find the dragons, they will find your new world."

"To cross the Eltheric and subdue an unknown continent, my life will be spent long before this is accomplished."

"Have you so little faith in the Maker? The people of Tamriel are as a sword in your hand, as you are a sword in the hand of the Maker."

"I know my Maker, he is chaos and the void."

"He is will and deed. He will preserve your life, so long as you bring his will and deed to the mortal races. And as the long years pass, so will your power grow. You will walk in the footsteps of Talos, and surpass him, and ascend even unto godhood."

"So long as I bring war and fire unto innocents who are not my enemies?"

"Innocence is life's greatest illusion. War and fire are your agents of change, it must be so."

"For the pleasure of the Maker?"

"For the salvation of your soul. You know well the price of the power granted you by the Daedric Princes, and they will come to collect. Only ascension can save you from them, and you can only achieve this by following the path the Maker lays before you. Tell me, sweet child, is not your soul of more worth to you than all the lives in all the world? Will you so readily endure eternity in Oblivion so that they may live in comfort but one more day?"

"No, dear mother, I fear for my soul in the hands of the Daedra. I will bring fire and sword and the will of the Maker to all corners of the world, even unto its sundering. In my voice they will hear the music of life."

"And what is the music of life?"

"Silence, my mother."