Samuel and Sofie, the adult children of Eriah Quintence and Farkas of the Companions, reached High Hrothgar. Both were dressed in armor, Samuel in steel and Sofie in leather. At Samuel's hip was his trusty sword while Sofie sported a bow. Their mother had gone to Sovngarde, reunited with their father, a week ago. The siblings had then departed Solitude after the funeral to carry out their mother's final request. Samuel had Eriah's Elven Warhammer on his back and tucked into Sofie's satchel was the letter for the Greybeards, asking permission for them to ascend to the summit. "I can't believe we're about to meet a dragon, Samuel. I'm nervous," Sofie said. "Mother would never knowingly send us into danger if she could help it. Take courage," Samuel said, taking the lead up the stairs to the doors of the ancient building. They got into the building and shook the snow off. They ventured further in and were approached by one of the Greybeards. Remembering that their voices were so powerful, they had to take a vow of silence, Samuel had his sister pull the letter out and hand it to him. "We are Samuel and Sofie, son and daughter of Eriah Quintence, the Dragonborn. She asked us to come here. We bear a gift for your master," Samuel said.
He handed the Greybeard the letter and the old man read it. He looked at the two and then nodded. He led the way to the back of the monastery and outside again into the snowy air as the blizzard raged. He pointed them to the path leading to the summit and left them there. The two started for the stairs leading to the path when the air shook with a strong Voice. "LOK VAH KOOR!" came the Shout, startling the two into ducking down. The blizzard cleared within seconds, revealing a blue sky. "Was that...," Sofie asked. "Aye. That was a Shout. It wasn't often we heard Mother use the Thu'um. I believe that was the Clear Skies Shout," Samuel replied. Both had learned some Dovahzul from Eriah but neither really picked it up as well as she would've liked. They knew enough to know which Shouts she used when they had fought together before Sofie joined the Bard's College and Samuel joined the guard. Standing up straight, the two made their way up to the summit.
Upon reaching it, the siblings saw what appeared to be a large white statue of a dragon perched on the Word Wall. Cautiously approaching it, it suddenly spoke. "Welcome to the Throat of the World, kiir do faal Dovahkiin," came the voice. The statue started to move, which startled Samuel into drawing his sword and Sofie to notch an arrow. The white dragon merely chuckled as he beheld them. "What did I tell you, Paarthurnax? The Dovahkiin didn't tell them to expect a dragon," came another voice, a little higher up. Sofie and Samuel whirled around and looked up at the top of the mountain a yard or two higher than the summit. Perched there was a red dragon and he seemed to be watching them with a look in his eye that said he found their reaction hysterical. The red dragon took flight and came to land on the summit, blocking the way down. The siblings stood back to back, with Samuel facing the white dragon and Sofie facing the red one. "You may be right, Odahviing, but I think otherwise. Faal Dovahkiin fun Zu'u rek neh vonun faal vahzen do niin," the white said to his fellow dovah.
"She did tell us. We were...just surprised, was all," Samuel said. Paarthurnax gave a chuckle that sounded grandfatherly. "So...the Dovahkiin has gone to Sovngarde and now her children deign to pay this old dovah a visit," he said. "We came because she asked us to," Sofie said, lowering her bow and putting her arrow away. Odahviing snorted. "Indeed, joor. We see the proof on the back of your zeymah," he said. Samuel sheathed his sword and pulled the warhammer from his back. He and his sister approached Paathurnax on the Word Wall and went down on one knee, holding it out to him. "Master Paarthurnax, as per the wishes of Eriah Quintence, we offer this hammer to you as a memento," the young man said. "This joor has manners. Neh mindol Zu'u koraav sul joorre qiilaan mu nust ont drey," Odahviing chuckled. The white dragon just kept his eyes on the siblings before swinging his head to face the open area behind them. "I think there is one more dovah who should be here to accept this gift on the behalf of our mutual friend and ally," he said.
The siblings looked up at him before seeing he was getting ready to Shout. "DUR NEH VIIR!" the white dragon Shouted. Samuel and Sofie scrambled to their feet as a violet portal opened. Another dragon, this one undead, appeared and roared. "At last you've called me, Dovahkiin. I've languished long in the Soul Cairn waiting for your summons," he said before taking notice that he was facing two other dragons and two mortals. He saw Eriah's warhammer in the hands of the male and he looked to Paarthurnax. "Fun Zu'u," he growled at the white dragon. "The Dovahkiin has departed the mortal world, Durnehviir. These mortals are her children, here at her last request to offer her weapon to us as a memorial," Paarthurnax explained. Durnehviir's face noticeably softened as he looked upon Samuel and Sofie. "I see. The last time the Qahnaarin summoned me to fly the skies of Keizaal and aid her in battle was twenty-five mortal years ago. After that, I waited and waited but she never called me again. I knew even then that her Voice grew weaker with each Shout the older she got," the undead dragon said.
Samuel and Sofie looked at each other, hardly believing they were in the presence of dragons. Dragons their mother had befriended. She held Paarthurnax in high regard as her mentor and regaled them with stories of Odahviing and Durnehviir coming to her aid in battle. Even beyond meeting them, just the fact they were speaking to these legends was amazing. "Will you accept the warhammer?" Samuel asked Paarthurnax. "We accept the gift of the Dovahkiin's weapon and we will carry her memory with us until the ending of the world," the white dragon replied. Sofie looked at Durnehviir as her brother leaned the weapon against the Word Wall. "You can only remain in this world for a short time. I'm afraid we brought nothing for you to take back to the Soul Cairn," she said. "Knowing you mortals, this will eat at you unless you do something," the undead dragon said. He looked up at the sky in thought. "Learn to Shout my name and summon me back from time to time. I miss flying in the skies of Keizaal. If you are unable to, then merely bring me some other token of your monah...your mother so that I may take it back with me to the Soul Cairn. I'll have to depend on Paarthurnax to let me out from time to time," he said after a bit.
"We can do that. Find something else, I mean. I'm not sure either us has the fortitude or desire to learn how to use the Thu'um," Samuel said. "That will have to suffice. I thank you all the same," Durnehviir said. His time ran out and with a roar, he dissolved back into the Soul Cairn. Odahviing looked to the sky himself. "What are you thinking about?" Sofie asked him. "You mortals are fleeting. Your lives are but a blink of an eye to the dov. Yet, the Dovahkiin was different. Mortal but still of the dov. It is odd for me to admit this but the world seems emptier without her. We've fought side by side many times and she earned my respect when she defeated Alduin in Sovngarde. It will take some getting used to now that she is gone," the red dragon said. He looked down at the siblings. "Even though you have no desire to learn the Thu'um, at least learn to Shout my name. It would honor me to fight alongside the kiir of the Dovahkiin. It would honor Durnehviir as well," the red dragon said. "Neither of us are adventurers, though," Sofie said. Odahviing chuckled as he nibbled on an itch. "Maybe not now but one never knows when the call to adventure will come. The Dovahkiin herself never dreamed she was destined to defeat Alduin and yet, she embraced it all the same. She told me once that as a young girl, she wasn't particularly adventurous herself. Ask yourselves this: are you satisfied with the lives you are living?" he asked.
Brother and sister looked at each other before Paarthurnax spoke. "Whatever road you choose to walk, I at least welcome you as my friends. You are free to visit this strunmah, this mountain if ever you need counsel. It was in this capacity that I aided the Dovahkiin. So, too, will I aid you if you ever have need," he said. Samuel and Sofie bowed. "Thank you, Master," Samuel said. Odahviing shifted away from the path that led down and the two siblings started to leave. Sofie paused and told her brother to go on ahead. She went back to the Word Wall. "Paarthurnax, Mother told me that when she defeated Alduin, she didn't take his soul. She said it was if his soul was beyond even her. Is he...really gone for good?" she asked. "Ah. A good question. As you likely know, the dov are the children of Akatosh. Alduin's role as the World-Eater was to tear down the world so a new one would take its place. As Firstborn of Akatosh, he was truly immortal. It is unknown to even me exactly what his final fate was upon his defeat in Sovngarde. Perhaps Akatosh intervened to take his soul upon his defeat because he still has a destiny to fulfill. Perhaps the Dovahkiin's mortality made his soul too much carry. All I know is that Alduin will return when this world's time has come to its end. I could not tell you when that will be nor should you concern yourself too much with it. It could be tomorrow, a hundred years from now, even a thousand years from now. Content yourself knowing that Nirn will endure for a while yet and it is likely that you will have gone to Sovngarde by that time as well. If you find yourself worrying about it, you know where to find me. I will teach you to meditate so that your worries won't trouble you so," he explained. Sofie nodded and started heading down to catch up with her brother.
Odahviing drew closer to the Word Wall. "How thoughtful of you, Paarthurnax. They are neither Dovahkiin, of her blood, nor followers of the Way of the Voice. I never imagined you opening up your strunmah to them and offering them council should they need it," he said to his fellow dovah. "They may not be of her blood but they are still her kin. The Dovahkiin was a good friend to me. I intend to honor her memory by sharing my wisdom with her children. What will you do now, zeymah?" Paarthurnax asked. "I fly west. I intend to stick close to Solitude so that when the call to adventure comes to those mortals...and it will come...I intend on being there and being their ally. That is how I choose to honor the Dovahkiin," Odahviing replied. He lifted off into the air and hovered there for a moment. "Erei ruz mu grind," he said before flying off in the direction of Solitude. "Erei ruz mu grind," Paarthurnax said before turning his eyes to the skies. "Faas ni fah hin fron, Dovahkiin. Zu'u fen aak niin rul nust paar nii," he thought as he began his daily meditation. Even then, he still battled his inherent nature to dominate and destroy. It was a constant struggle, one he would gladly face. Eriah had told the Blades that he had atoned for his past sins many times over with all he did in the past to right his wrongs. That further strengthened his resolve not to regress back to what he once was.
Dovahzul
kiir do faal Dovahkiin: children of the Dragonborn
Faal Dovahkiin fun Zu'u rek neh vonun faal vahzen do niin: The Dragonborn told me she never hid the truth from them.
Neh mindol Zu'u koraav sul joorre qiilaan mu nust ont drey: Never thought I see the day mortals bow (to) us as they once did
Fun Zu'u: Tell me.
Erei ruz mu grind: Until we next meet.
Faas ni fah hin fron, Dovahkiin. Zu'u fen aak niin rul nust paar nii: Fear not for your kin, Dragonborn. I will guide them if they desire it.