Skyrim is the property of Bethesda Softworks. Welcome to the penultimate chapter. Back in 2012 when I first began picking at Ieago's adventures on my iPad, I had no idea I'd let this manuscript expand well above 100,000 words. Deciding to publish here is one of the best decisions I've made in furthering my hobby. Some claim fan fiction is a poor exercise for aspiring writers. I disagree. Re-reading after posting and hearing from you readers has done so much to clean up my work and I'm a better writer for it. I encourage you all to do this.
Instead of my usual habit of thanking those who faved, followed, and reviewed at the top of each new chapter, I'll save that for the last chapter to make room for this:
The biggest face-palm moment I had while writing Ieago's adventures was the discovery that a good friend I'd been estranged from for more than a decade has spent the entirety of my writing this story living inside a 5-minute walk from my house. I had no idea until I moved out of that area. FluteAdagio (I never use real names online), if you're reading this I'm thrilled that you're back in my life. And because you said you'd like it, I'm going to work on the Dark Brotherhood's quest line.
But that won't be for a while yet. That story deserves to be good and Ieago needs to finish his battle with Alduin.
I looked out over the mist-filled valley from my elevated position. Great statues stood out from the fog, lining paths to the hall in the distance. Clear voices singing of battle teased my ears. My heart leapt at its first taste of Sovngarde. The blessed valley was everything every legend tells us it should be and more. I loved it! I wanted to explore every path and fight everyone I met until the sun sank low. Then I would drink and whore with them in the distant hall until the sun rose. Then I would do it again and again and I wanted nothing more.
From the ridges of the far off mountains Alduin soared above the valley. His roar silenced the music and it never returned. Even as I gazed at the black stain of his form in the sky of Paradise, he swooped down into the mist and came up with something screaming in his teeth. The spell Sovngarde cast over me was broken forever. In an instant I conceived an ambivalence for that valley. Even years later, I find it hard to recall ever loving that place. It makes my Nord friends sad, but it is was it is: I hope I never return to Sovngarde.
I got a grip on my sword and strode down the foggy path.
A pale figure approached me out of the dense fog of the valley. Only when the shade came within arm's length could I recognize a face. "Hjornskar," I breathed. "It has been weeks since the Battle of Whiterun! Why are you not in the distant hall?
"Shor's Hall, yes," the ghost nodded, sounding confused and tired. "I saw it fair when I first walked this long-sought path. The pain of our contest vanished and a vision beckoned. But quenched was hope by this shrouding mist. My mind was darkened. And so I wander blindly."
This man humiliated me in front of armies. I thought my revenge upon him in the ensuing battle too swift. I never thought I would think on Hjornskar Head-Smasher again without hatred. But there in the mists, I could not help but take pity on this lost soul.
"Stay close to me. I will take you to the Hall of Valor," I offered.
"I will try to hold to your hopeful purpose," the shade replied, "Quickly, before this fog once more ensnares me in the World-Eater's net!"
We had gone but a few paces on the trail before I heard Hjornskar stop behind me. When I turned to look for him he said, "Hurry! Before Alduin your life devours! Bring word to Shor's Hall of our hard fate! Farewell Dragonborn!" There was not a whisper of sound as the poor man was snatched up in Alduin's maw.
I pressed on in the mist until I came to a rocky hill. I saw a figure with a familiar hooked nose and military bearing crouching beneath a fallen column.
Kodlak gave me a weak smile at my coming, "When I woke from cold death my doom was lifted - there was Shor's Hall: my heart's desire. But now I wander weary and lost. Now Alduin hunts me as we once hunted our prey - a bitter payment for many bloody deeds."
I put my hand on my predecessor's shoulder. "Kodlak, there is no stain on your deeds in whatever form. And I did not cheat a daedric prince to see you checked by a pretender. I will finish my quest to secure the afterlife you've earned."
Before I could walk away, I felt compelled to tell him.
"The Companions are involved in the Civil War now," I whispered to Kodlak.
He sighed and shook his head.
"Such disasters always happen when one serves two masters," Kodlak answered. "I cannot fault you for defending your Jarl, but this will be a bloodbath for the Companions. They will need you to be strong for them during the war and even stronger afterwards."
There was no sense in apologizing, so without another word I pressed on.
Further on I discovered a man slightly younger than I. He was sitting on a rock and staring vacantly at the ground. He did not look up until I was close. His greeting was peculiar.
"I faced him fearlessly - my fate inescapable, but my honor is unstained. Can Ulfric say the same?" The shade said to me.
"The Lady Elisif bears your torch," I told him.
He looked back down to the ground and appeared to shrink. His voice became faint and distant as King Torygg recalled his last moments.
"When Ulfric sent me here with savage Shout, my sole regret was Elisif, left forlorn and weeping," He whispered.
"Shall I carry a message to her?"
He shook his head, "Only my love."
I bowed my obedience to Skyrim's late king and turned back to the path.
I came at last out of the clinging mist before a bridge made from the spine of a whale. The guard was a giant of a man, clad in a steel belt and brandishing a great war-axe. Tsun, the shield-bearer of Shor himself and the guard of the Hall of Valor blocked my path.
"What brings you, wayfarer grim, to wander here, in Sovngarde, souls-end, Shor's gift to honored dead?" The giant challenged me.
The strange prose of Sovngarde is infectious,"On Kyne's sacred mountain, I brought Alduin low. I peruse him here to bring about his lasting end," I replied.
The towering demigod nodded sagely, "A fateful errand. No few have chafed to face the Worm since he first set his soul-snare at the threshold of Sovngarde. But Shor has restrained our wrathful onslaught. Perhaps deep-counselled, your doom he foresaw."
"May I enter? There may be some among the Dead who would aid me."
"No shade are you, as usually here passes, but living, you dare cross the land of the dead. But living or dead, by Shor's ancient decree, none may enter who I do not deem worthy by the Warrior's Test." He set the haft of his axe on the ground and rested his hands on its head. "By what deeds to you request the right of entry?"
I couldn't believe my ears. "Time presses. Is this really necessary?" I asked.
"If you are indeed worthy of Shor's Hall, you will have no trouble with the Warrior's Test. Now who are you to ask entry to the Great Hall?"
I drew my sword and planted my feet. I spoke in the voice of a champion calling out his opposite before armies, "I am Sir Ieago Decre; the Son of Arlo of Kvatch, a ranger of Colovia and Auxiliary of the Imperial Legion; Knight-Brother of the Holy Order of the Nine; a Thane of Whiterun, the Reach, and the Rift; Harbinger of the Companions of Ysgramor; Dovahkiin, who the Greybeards call Yismir: Dragon of the North!" I took a breath, settled into a fighting stance, and spoke again, "Now stop wasting my time! The souls of my friends are in peril!"
'Stop wasting my time' is not the correct thing to say to a motivated killer with an axe taller than you are. The second half of the so-called Warrior's Test is a fight with the man who has sparred with the greatest warriors in history, against every weapon yet conceived by the mortal races. In two minutes I was covered in my own blood, waiting for the fatal stroke to fall. "Wuld!" I shouted at the last second before Tsun's axe connected with my skull. The first word of Whirlwind Sprint drove the tip of my blade through Tsun's sternum. The impact bounced me backwards, but the sword stayed in. The colossal man looked down at the hilt of the weapon lodged in his body for a second. He twisted to look down over his shoulder at the blade sticking out his back. He reached down and pulled it out like it was a trifling splinter before reversing the grip and handing my weapon back to me. Without the Greybeards' lessons, I would still be at Sovngarde's doorstep.
"You have fought well. I find you worthy. It has been long since one of the living has entered here. May Shor's favor follow you and your errand," Tsun said with a solemn voice.
Our wounds closed as he spoke. My armor repaired itself and the stains of blood lifted from my clothing as I strode over the colossal bone bridge and stood at the towering doors of the Hall of Valor. The tall door in front of me swung inward with the lightest push and I found myself in a crowded, gleaming hall. Imagine a marble-lined hall with the atmosphere of Jorrvaskr. Only it doesn't smell like body odor and rotting leather; and is large and high-ceilinged enough to encompass the whole of that earthly hall. My first thought was, "Aela is right. She would hate this."
I confess to feeling nothing for that mighty hall. All it offered was an eternity inside; gorging yourself into stupidity, getting drunk; getting in fights; and bragging of deeds long past like Vignar on his bad days. For myself, I hope for the endless woods, gardens, villages, and plains that are the realm of Akatosh. I don't want to be stagnant for eternity.
It was in the middle of these apathic reflections that a familiar-looking face in ancient armor came up to me. The ornately decorated haft of Wuuthraad allowed me to properly greet Ysgramor. "Welcome Dragonborn!" The Harbinger of Us All said warmly, "Our door has stood empty since Alduin fist set his soul-snare here. But by Shor's command we sheathed our blades and ventured not into the vale's dark mist. But three await your word to loose their fury upon the perilous foe: Gormlaith the fearless, glad-hearted in battle; Hakon the valiant, heavy-handed warrior; Felldir the Old, far-seeing and grim."
I strode up to the three I saw in my vision weeks ago on the mountain. Felldir spoke for his friends. "Alduin's mist is more than his snare. Its shadowy gloom is his shield and his cloak. But our four voices, our valor combined, we can blast the mist and bring him to battle."
"Let's kill him then," I said.
They drew their weapons as one and ran for the door, millennia of frustration fueling impatience for battle. I pulled my Thieves' Guild hood low over my face and stalked after them; checking the buckles over my dragon scale armor; and giving the red diamond on my shoulder a tap for luck along the way. In minutes we stood at the edge of the mist
"Clear Skies!" Gormlaith Golden-Hilt commanded us. "As one! For Skyrim, for Shor, for Sovngarde's freedom!"
"Lok! Vah! Korr!" We belted out together. The mists receded instantly.
"Ven! Mul! Riik!" Alduin's Thu'um boomed in the thick fog he summoned and the ground shook beneath our feet.
Three times we needed to shout before Alduin despaired and appeared for battle. "You are persistent Dovahkiin. A fine slave you would have made!" He taunted from above the looming statues.
Fear came into me unbidden and I freely confess my cowardice. As the World-Eater bore down on me I knelt and looked away, unwilling to face his onset.
He dove with the speed at the end of a whip. His body made a tearing sound in the air as he flew over my head. A clap like thunder followed in his wake.
A powerful hand gripped me and dragged me to my feet and my duty. "Get up Imperial bastard! The endless wait is over! Alduin's doom is nigh!" Hakon bellowed at me above the ringing in my ears.
In the twilight of Atherius I spotted my enemy and shouted again, "Joor zah frul!"
Instantly my allies did the same. Alduin came down among us, his landing cutting a deep trench in the earth. Dragonrend kept him pinned to the ground, but he fought on ferociously. Time and time again we rushed Alduin to be battered back by wings and tail, or withdrew for fear of his teeth.
Dragonrend ran its course while the four of us were close. The worm flailed, batting us aside like toys before taking to the air again. His serpentine tail smacked me in the chest, I felt ribs give and a sensation like fire erupted though my body.
I picked myself up to discover I had been knocked far from my allies. Alduin whirled high above and dove down on me again. He sped up, his distant black form growing large. A ragged collar of white vapor appeared around his glowing eyes and back-in-black mouth. My courage held this time and I Shouted again, triggering a fresh explosion of pain in my chest.
The full force of Dragonrend struck him mere feet before he could pull out of his dive and snatch me in his jaws. Alduin's inert body smashed into the earth behind me with enough force to shake creation all the way to the world of the living.
I charged into his dreadful form, roaring in my pain, rage, and fear. I ducked beneath his teeth only to cut myself on his countless spines. A flailing foot knocked me over as he squirmed to right himself and take off again. The tons of his slender form turned with the speed of a serpent to roll over me. I barely had the wherewithal to keep my sword in one hand and grab at razor-sharp scales with another. The edges of the black scales cut through my gauntlet, itself made from the fine scales of the lesser dragon Mirmulnir, and deep into my fingers. Nerves burned and veins popped. I commanded my fingers to let go, but there was no response before Alduin acted again. His thrashing somehow dragged me above his prone form. I pulled hard on the scale in my ruined left hand and drove my sword down into the coal-black flesh beneath.
Alduin writhed and bellowed beneath me in pain, rage, and disappointment; but his voice held no power. I was thrown from his body as my wounds drained my strength. He burned and shattered, leaving my weapon lodged in the husk of his ruin. In the sudden silence, I stepped forward and placed my booted foot on his ribs. I had to pull with all my remaining might to extract the precious blade.
Alduin ruined that weapon. Even as I stood over Alduin's broken husk, the steel of the Nordic blade corroded black and dissolved. I hope whoever left the weapon at that shrine can forgive me for taking it. I hope they can derive some just pride in having owned the sword that became Alduin's Bane. So far as I know, the hilt is still lying in the grass and flowers of the meadows of Sovngarde.
A flawless autumn day dawned clear and bright in the narrow valley. "This was a mighty deed!" Tsun called as he stepped away from his post at the foot of Shor's bridge. I looked down to find one of Alduin's uncountable barbs sticking out of my forearm. Blood soaked through the many tears in my cuirass. I pulled the black spine out and wanted to vomit. The world swam and the lights sparkled at the corners of my vision. "The doom of Alduin encompassed at last," Tsun went on, seemingly oblivious to my wounds. "We will sing of this deed forever. But your fate lies elsewhere. When you are ready to leave, bid me so and I will send you home."
I did not linger long. I was feeling weaker by the second as blood wept from the many lesions that Alduin dealt and Sovngarde's magic refused to heal. I spent only enough time to see Kodlak reach his eternal rest and speak with some of the dead who had followed us from the hall to watch the battle. Most were people who I had known in life; among them my Grand Master from my days in the Knights of the Nine. The Orc was gracious enough to assure me of the safety of our relics and of the survival of Aeric and Jesten, my two closest friends and comrades from those days.
"I'm ready. Send me home," I gasped to Tsun, barely able to raise my head to the sentinel's eyes.
The giant nodded gravely, "Go from Sovngarde with a rich boon from Shor: Hun Kaal Zoor, a Shout to call heroes from Sovngarde in your hours of need. All hail the Dragonborn! Praise him with great praise!"
The crowd around us took up the chant as Tsun used a Shout now lost to me to send me away from Sovngarde.