Chapter 2
The Visit
4E 184, 2nd Morning Star...0200
Diana rolled over in her bed. She had slept soundly for a little while, but now she was half-awake, and uncomfortable. For some reason, unbeknownst to her, the room had suddenly grown stiflingly hot. She rolled over onto her back, and noticed through her closed eyelids, a bright light, brighter than daylight. She slowly opened her eyes, and squinted at the glare, and noted that both the heat and the light were emanating from a pulsing ball of energy that had somehow appeared in the middle of her room.
Thinking that she was merely dreaming, Diana sat up in bed and stared into the light, which somewhat dimmed as she watched. The light became almost fluid-like as it began to transform its shape. Before long, the metamorphosis was complete, and although she couldn't believe her eyes, there before her stood a dragon.
At that moment, Diana was so frightened, she thought she was going to pee in her bed. She watched the dragon, as each of its scales changed from white light, into a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors. The moving, changing colors were dizzying, and hurt her eyes almost as much as the bright, white-hot light before. She focused on one of the dragon's scales, and noted that it would progress through a myriad of every color imaginable, before she could even blink an eye. She moved on to the next scale and noticed the same thing, except that it was never the same color at the same time as the scale next to it.
The dragon gazed upon Diana. Its eyes were not reptilian at all, as she would have imagined, but instead were more human, except for their color. No, she had definitely never seen human eyes of that color before. The sclera were a bright, yellow gold, while the irises were a darker, almost metallic gold. The only part of the dragon's eyes that seemed normal, were the circular, black pupils.
With a deep, rumbling voice, like thunder, the dragon spoke, "Hail Diana, daughter of Marcus. Have you never beheld our like before?"
Oh no, she thought. That thunderous voice was bound to wake up her father. If she survived this encounter, how would she ever be able to explain the presence of a dragon in her bedroom. Wait, did the dragon just speak? She knew from ancient lore and legends that dragons had apparently communicated with each other through a language of their own, but this one had just spoken to her in her own language, and called her by name as well.
"How did he know my name, and the name of my father?" she asked herself silently.
She sniffed the air. What was that smell? It was warm, sweet, and ... delicious? She thought she was going crazy, or maybe she really was dreaming, but it was the aroma of her favorite delicacy. A boiled cream treat.
She climbed out of bed, and before she had taken two steps, she had traced the source of the essence to the dragon. With a warm chuckle, the dragon spoke again, "Fear not, oh chosen one, for you are highly favored."
The panic Diana had initially experienced, was beginning to subside. After all, how could she ever be afraid of anything that smelled so delectable? The dragon's scent was now overpowering. She inhaled deeply, and as much as she loved boiled cream treats, that fragrance was never this euphoric. It was overwhelming her olfactory senses, and with that, she now knew the dragon's identity, as clearly as if he had spoken his name.
The being standing before Diana, was none other than the chief deity of the Nine Divines. It was the god, Akatosh himself, and upon that realization, she immediately dropped to her knees, and bowed her head down to the floor.
"Your intelligence and senses do you credit, as you now know our name." rumbled Akatosh. "Further proof that you are indeed the chosen one. We hold many forms, and many names in countless civilizations, on countless worlds. We adopted this appearance at this place and time to more easily aid your recognition."
That was the second time he had referred to her as the chosen one. What did he mean by that? Diana had a feeling that was what this visit was all about, and that she would find the answers to her questions soon enough, so she remained silent.
The god continued, "We have known of your spirit and presence since long before you were born. We have watched you grow every day, since entering this world, with much interest, admiration, and pride, but a new day is dawning. A day in which you will play a principle role."
A long silence ensued between them, as Diana was afraid to speak, but she was dying to ask questions. She suddenly realized that the dragon god was waiting for her to say something. Keeping her head low to the floor, she humbly ventured forth, "What would you have of me my lord?"
If the dragon could have elicited a smile in his voice, Diana thought she heard him do so, as he affectionately replied. "It is your destiny to be the mother of our child, the Last Dragonborn of prophecy."
Diana slowly shook her head from side to side on the floor. Yes, this was definitely a dream, and possibly a nightmare at that. How could she physically have sex with a dragon, and then give birth to the offspring? Not possible. As horrifying visions of the ordeal flashed through her mind's eye, she confirmed to herself that such an experience would probably kill her, if not by the sexual intercourse, then definitely from the birth itself. The fear began to creep back into the pit of her stomach.
"Again, oh chosen one, fear not." Akatosh said reassuringly. "For no harm will come unto you."
Diana took a deep breath, gulped, and haltingly asked, "But why me, my lord?"
The dragon nodded his head in understanding. "More to the point, why not you? Why does the sun rise and set? Why does the rain come and go? It is the course of events of all things to pass. You are not aware of it now, but your fate has been foretold. Just as our child's destiny is to be the Last Dragonborn. Rise and behold our child."
Diana lifted her head, and slowly got to her feet. A portal appeared against the far wall of her bedroom. No, not a portal. It was more like a window into time. Through the window she observed visions of Nirn flash before her eyes. Wars, heroes, rulers, some tyrants, some inept, a few great and good. The visions suddenly slowed to almost a stop, and she saw herself, very clearly pregnant, walking down a snow covered street. Judging by her age, it wasn't too far in the future.
The vision blurred, only to be replaced by another. A nude woman in labor was laying on a bed of furs, with her legs spread and screaming. Between her legs, knelt a handsome hulk of a man with long blonde hair, a beard of the same color, and ice blue eyes. He was coaching the woman and telling her to push. Reaching between her legs, he pulled out a bloody, newborn baby, and immediately held it up by its ankles and slapped it firmly on the buttocks. The child squalled as it inhaled its first breath of air, while the man gently wiped it clean with a towel. He then wrapped the baby in a soft fur, and handed it to the exhausted mother. Upon seeing the mother's face, cooing to her newborn, Diana recognized herself.
The vision blurred, and was replaced. A young pre-teen girl with long blonde hair was running through snow covered streets. She appeared to be rather large for her age, and was wearing hide pants, boots, and shirt. Suddenly, a group of three boys, all a couple of years older than the girl, blocked her path. Despite their older age, they were not much taller than her. The one in the middle, a red-haired, freckle-faced boy, stepped forward and gave the girl a rough shove. Caught off balance, she fell to the snow packed ground as her antagonist laughed and his two friends snickered.
"Run home to your Imperial momma little girl!" said the boy, standing over her threateningly. "You two don't belong here!"
The girl leapt to her feet, and decked the boy with a round-house swing. Then she let loose a blood curdling cry in the direction of the three boys. The two left standing, immediately turned tail and ran, while the red-headed boy on the ground scrambled up on all four limbs, and after finally managing to get to his feet, hastily ran after his two friends.
The vision blurred again, and was replaced. The same girl lay in what appeared to be a tent. She was missing her pants, her hide shirt was torn and ripped, and she had clearly been beaten as she was covered in blood. Who knew what else had been done to her. She croaked through dry, puffy, broken lips, "Ma...Da."
Again, the vision blurred, and again it was replaced. A tall, large, muscular, beautiful young woman, with long blonde hair, and dressed in ragged clothing, was kneeling on the ground with her head on a chopping block. The headsman had raised his axe, and was about to bring it down on the young woman's neck, when a large and terrifying black dragon swooped into the town from above. The dragon landed on a nearby parapet with a roar, breathing fire at the ground below. Those who were not instantly killed, scrambled for safety, including the young woman.
The vision blurred, and was replaced. A battle was taking place between a group of soldiers and another dragon. The same young blonde woman, this time dressed in ill-fitting armor and hefting a large two-handed war-hammer, was running toward the dragon's flank. The dragon, busy with the soldiers in front of it, was oblivious to her presence. She stopped and shouted something loud and unintelligible at it. As the dragon was momentarily stunned by the force of the woman's shout, she leapt on its back, quickly ran up the length of its neck, raised her hammer, and brought it down on its skull, with a sickening crunch. The dragon collapsed, lifeless beneath her.
Once again, the vision blurred, and shifted again. A female warrior dressed in well-fitted ebony armor, was flying somewhere high above Nirn, on the back of a dragon. The warrior's face was covered by her helmet, but Diana knew from the long blonde tresses hanging beneath the helmet, that it was the same young woman she had seen in the previous visions. The warrior and dragon sailed off into the distant sky together, and the vision faded. The window into time went dark, and disappeared from the wall.
Diana turned to Akatosh, pointing at the place on the wall where the window had been. "That was my daughter?" she asked, incredulous.
The god nodded his head a single time in affirmation.
"But she doesn't look anything like me." Diana replied. "And I could eat boiled cream treats from now till the end of time, and I still would never get that big!"
The dragon heaved a hefty sigh. "Not all children resemble their parentage. Her appearance will be due to the fact that she will bear the hidden mark of the Dragonborn. After all, she will be a child of Akatosh."
"Are you saying that she will be Aedric?"
Again, the dragon god nodded his head.
Diana was deeply saddened by some of what she had seen. "From what I saw, she is going to endure a great deal of trouble and pain."
"She must." responded Akatosh. "In order to become the person she is destined to be, and to save Nirn from the world-eater, she must be tempered by fire."
"Wait! Save Nirn? What are you talking about?"
The god bowed his head, reflectively. "It will be her burden and purpose to destroy the world-eater, Alduin, the black dragon you saw in the vision."
"I saw her kill a dragon." quipped Diana. "That shouldn't be difficult."
The dragon god sighed again. "Alduin is no ordinary dragon. He is one of my sons. He is evil, and he intends to destroy this world, and is more than capable of doing so."
"You just called him one of your sons. Does that make them brother and sister?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes."
"Then why don't you kill him, and leave my daughter alone?" Diana responded. "Better yet, if you would kill him, I wouldn't even have to give birth to her."
"Nirn must stand on its own merits, and be protected by those who dwell within this world." replied the dragon. "By fathering our child, we will ensure that Nirn will survive, as foretold in prophecy."
Diana still could not believe this was happening, and as the conversation continued, she began to think more and more that this was all just a dream. "You've given me a lot to think about." she said. "Do I have a choice?"
"There is always a choice." Akatosh spoke softly. "But deep in your heart, you know what that choice must be."
Diana hung her head in defeat, dejected by what life and the gods had thrown at her.
"Be not discouraged little one." consoled the god. "Your destiny is to merely raise and nurture her during her formative childhood. Your time together will be short, for she will be taken from you while still a child."
"And how am I not supposed to be discouraged by all of that?" she retorted.
"She is foreordained to follow a different path than you." answered the dragon god. "Love her, and care for her while you have her. You will be highly honored and sainted in Aetherius."
"And how am I supposed to deal with my father, when he finds out I'm pregnant?" queried Diana.
"When the time comes, you must leave him." acknowledged the dragon. "You must journey to the north, toward Bruma, and find the hunter Darkest-Night. He will care for you, and act as the child's surrogate father."
By now Diana was all talked out. She had no more questions or resistance to offer. She just wanted this dream to end, so she could return to a restful and peaceful sleep. She almost smirked at the pregnant silence between her and Akatosh, and the play on words in her head.
"Now are you prepared to receive our blessing?" questioned the god.
"Yes, my lord." Diana assented.
With that, the dragon quickly transformed into a narrow beam of brilliant white light. As the beam began to radiate warmth, it moved toward her and entered her mouth. As she took in all of the light, the warmth spread throughout her whole body. She had never felt so peaceful and relaxed. She closed her eyes, and everything faded to black, as she drifted back to sleep.
Coming up next: Realization. Reviews are welcome.