When my vision cleared I stood in the dark, surrounded by falling snow. Paarthurnax rested on a rock outcropping , gazing down at me. We were atop High Hrothgar, then.
I quickly realized that we weren't alone.
Sitting all around me in a circle were dragons. I turned slowly, warily, watching them. It was hard to tell their exact numbers in the darkness, but there were at least ten of them, and I thought I saw more. I felt the eyes of every single one of them on me. Then, as one, every single dragon gathered there spoke.
"Alduin mahlaan."
One by one the dragons leapt into the sky, soaring in a spiral above me. Jets of flame shot out in the darkness. I stared up at them, stunned. What was going on?
"Sahrot thur qahnaraan. Dovahkiin los ok dovahkriid. Thu'umii los nahlot. Mu los vomir."
"So, it is done," Paarthurnax said, his voice solemn. "Alduin dilon. The Eldest is no more. He who came before all others, and has always been."
"You don't sound very happy about it," I said, looking up at him.
The dragon sighed. "Happy? No, I am not happy. Zeymahi lost ont du'ul Bormahu. Alduin was once the crown of our father Akatosh's creation. You did what was necessary. Alduin had flown far from the path of right action in his pahlok – the arrogance of his power. But I cannot celebrate his fall. Zu'u tiiraaz ahst ok mah. He was my brother once. This world will never be the same."
"I'm sorry for what happened, but I did what I had to do."
"Indeed. You saw more clearly than I – certainly more clearly than Alduin. Rok funta koraav. Perhaps now you have some insight into the forces that shape the vennesetiid… the currents of Time. Perhaps you begin to see the world as a dovah."
He shook his massive head and went on, "But I forget myself. Krosis. So los mid fahdon. Melancholy is an easy trap for a dovah to fall into. You have won a mighty victory. Sharot krongrah – one that will echo through all the ages of this world for those who have eyes to see. Savor your triumph, Dovahkiin. This is not the last of what you will write upon the currents of Time."
The dragons still circled overhead, roaring fire into the night sky. Paarthurnax and I gazed up at them. The old dragon chuckled.
"Goraan! I feel younger than I have in many and age," he said. "Many of the dovahhe are now scattered across Keizaal. Without Alduin's lordship, they may yet bow to the vahzen… rightness of my Thu'um. But willing or no, they will hear it! Fare thee well, Dovahkiin!"
With that, he leapt into the air to join the others. After a few minutes they all dispersed, flying away into the darkness, and I was left to stand alone on the mountaintop.
I brushed the few loose strands of hair that blew across my face back behind my ear and crossed my arms. Snow still fell around me and I shivered a little. What I would do now, the gods only knew. I had to make my way back down the mountain first, at least. After that…
A sudden roar rent the silence and a dragon landed behind me. I turned around to see a red dragon watching me through the darkness. Odahviing.
"Pruzah wundunne wah Wuth Gein. I wish the old one luck in his… quest," he said with a harsh snort.
I raised an eyebrow. "You don't approve?"
"I doubt many will wish to exchange Alduin's lordship for the tyranny of Paarthurnax's "Way of the Voice." As for myself, you've proven your mastery twice over. Thuri, Dovahkiin. I gladly acknowledge the power of your Thu'um."
"And what of the others?" I asked him quietly. "What do they think about me? About all this?"
"Hmm. It is… difficult to say." He considered it for a moment. "To many of the dov you are now a hun – a hero. You freed us from Alduin's tyranny. You defeated him, and some of the dov may acknowledge your inhus – your mastery – now, as I do. Others may value their new freedom too highly to bend. Nunon tiid fen fun."
That caught me off guard. Me?
"Call me when you have need," Odahviing told me, "and I will come if I can."
I nodded, feeling a little numb, and the dragon flew away. I heard him roar again, then he was gone as well.
As I stood there, alone again, I contemplated what he'd just told me. I was a hero now, not just to the mortal people of Skyrim, but to the dragons as well. It hadn't ended in disaster this time. No one was dead but Alduin. I'd saved everyone. I'd done that. And I was still in one piece. Still, the voice of my shade echoed in my head. The fire, the death that she'd wielded in her hands, was inevitable. And I had it now. The power in my blood had awakened, just like she'd said. I unfolded my arms and stared down at my hands.
Maybe she was right. Maybe the fire was an inevitability. But Paarthurnax had said that it was also a choice: what I would burn and what I would save. In the end, it was my decision. I'd chosen to save my mother, the dragons, the world.
Flicking my wrists, I stared down at the flames that instantly roared to life in the palms of my hands. A slow smile touched my lips.
A/N: I'd like to thank everyone reading this for sticking with this story, and this series, for so long. It really means a lot that you like this.
I have three more books planned for The Dragonblood Saga. The next book, Night's Bane, should be out soon.
