Chapter 13: Wayshrines. Dragons, and Vyrther.
Talis and her companions exited Darkfall Passage after filling the ewer with water from the first wayshrine. Ran up the stone path and saw the outdoors. She and Tymvir each took a much needed breath of fresh Skyrim air. After all, the passage was crawling with Falmer and Chaurus, Tymvir's own personal fear. They had entered the Forgotten Vale.
Serana looked around the scenery. "It's like a whole other world out here."
"It does." Talis responded. "Come on. We've got four more of these things to visit."
During their visits to the wayshrines, they were attacked by the native creatures; Vale Saber Cats, Frost Giants, and much to Talis' dismay, more Frostbite Spiders, including a Giant one.
As they were on their way to the third one, Talis began to sense something. They crossed a mountain road and made their way to the top of the frozen waterfalls. That's when she saw it.
"A Word Wall? What's it doing all the way out here?" Talis said.
"Is it just me, or is the ice extremely thin around here?" Serana said.
Talis approached the wall and absorbed the Word of Power. Haas- meaning Health, the final word for Drain Vitality. "I was wondering where the final word was." Talis said. Before joining the Dawnguard, she found the first word in her travels training her Thu'um while the second one was found when she and Tymvir met Serana.
Tymvir brushed some snow off of the ice and jumped back. His eyes widened. "Talis! Serana! Get back!"
The ice was broken from the inside, two Dragons emerging from the holes they created. They were red, and looked completely different from the other Dragons Talis has faced. They roared.
"Zu'u los Naaslaarum! Rodraan fah hin dinok!" The first dragon, Naaslaarum said. It gave its name and told Talis to prepare for her death.
"Zu'u los Voslaarum! Storn neben iizus lom!" Voslaarum said. He told the group to sink beneath the icy water.
The crew once again readied themselves. "JOOR ZAH FRUL!" Talis shouted at the first dragon. Like clockwork, Naaslaarum was forced to come down. Talis hacked and slashed at him, getting Dragon blood over her armor. While she was dealing with him, Serana and Tymvir kept Voslaarum busy. As Dragonrend began to wear off, Talis shouted again. Naaslaarum was forced back down again. Talis jumped toward the Revered Dragon, putting all her strength in the slash, killing the Dragon.
"Tymvir, Serana, you doing alright?" Talis called out to them.
"We're fine!" Tymvir said. He and Serana charged as soon as Voslaarum landed. Talis joined in, shouting Dragonrend to keep Voslaarum down. As they slashed and cast spells upon him, they took down the second dragon. The bodies burned away as Talis absorbed both of their souls.
"Well, since this area seems wide enough…DUR NEH VIIR!" Talis shouted.
Durnehviir appeared once again. "Dovahkiin Talis, you have kept your side of the bargain, now let me fulfill mine. Feel the last word of Soul Tearing within yourself: 'Zol' - the unlife that results when a soul is imprisoned in dead flesh. Call upon me anytime you require my aid." Durnehviir roared as he flew into the skies of Tamriel, ready to get a feel for the sky before he returned to the Soul Cairn. Talis smiled as Durnehviir left.
They continued their way toward the wayshrines, defeating more and more Falmer they came across. They filled the ewer with water at every shrine they visited. After fighting their way through a giant Falmer camp, they came across the final one.
Tymvir drew the water. "And this makes number five. According to Gelebor, we should be able to get into the Inner Sanctum."
Talis took a few steps out of the shrine. She saw a giant structure matching the architecture of the wayshrines. It was gigantic. "I'm assuming that's the Inner Sanctum."
"We're so close." Serana said.
"Then why are we standing around here for?!" Talis said. She began to run toward the bridge leading to the Sanctum.
"Hey, wait up!" Tymvir said, carrying the ewer. "You need the ewer to get into the Sanctum!" He ran after the Dragonborn heroine.
Serana sighed out loud before smiling. She ran after her Nordic friends.
After the others caught up with her, Talis stopped at the other side of the bridge. Tymvir was fine, but Serana was breathing heavily. "Wow Serana. You need some more exercise."
"Well excuse me. I'm sorry that I've been stuck in a tomb for the past 4000 years." Serana said, looking up at the Nords. The three of them began to laugh. "Ok, my personal health aside, let's gets inside." Serana looked around. "This place must be ancient."
The three of them walked in front of a statue of what they assumed was Auri-El. "So this is how the Snow Elves view Akatosh." Talis eyed the statue. "Not that much akin to his Dragon appearance." They walked to the basin on top of a stairwell behind the statue.
Tymvir poured out the ewer. The water flowed from the basin and into crevices in the floor. The crevices then met in a hole in the shape of the sun above the wayshrines. They saw a green light shine from the hole, heard a few clicks, and saw the lock on the door, also shaped like the sun, begin to move and unlock it.
Inside they saw a group of frozen Falmer and Chaurus around a shrine of Auri-El. "And I thought the Soul Cairn was creepy." Serana said.
Tymvir made a point to say away from the Chaurus. "Talis, I completely understand your fear of Frostbite Spiders. Now can we please get a move on from this area?"
They continued down a hallway, and found themselves in a cave, covered in ice. The triad of Nords found themselves in a large room, once again surrounded by frozen Falmer and Chaurus. Surrounded by ice spikes piercing through the ground, sitting on a white, intricately carved throne was a Snow Elf, who looked a lot like Gelebor, only he had long hair. He even had the same set of Armor on.
"Hey, Snow Elf." Talis called out. "I'm assuming you're Vyther?"
"You speak to him." Vyther said. "I know you've come to claim Auri-El's Bow. Did you really think that you can?" The Snow Elf began to laugh. "You've done exactly what I've wanted you to do, and brought your fetching companion to me."
"Is he talking about me?" Serana asked.
"Well, I must admit, you are very attractive." Tymvir said. He saw Talis glaring at him. "I'm just making a generalization. You're very attractive as well."
Talis stopped the glaring. "Aw, fine." She turned back to Vyrther. "Look, we have to kill you."
"I know. Gelebor sent you, didn't he? You aren't the first to make it here." Vyrther said. The frozen enemies began to move. "But I'm certain you'll be the last."
The creatures moved in to attack. Talis drew Dovkaalkrine, striking down the frozen Chaurus. Tymvir and Serana were fighting the Falmer. Vyrther summoned an Ancient Frost Atronach, but Talis slashed through it.
"An impressive display, but you've done nothing but hasten your deaths!" Vyrther yelled out.
The ground below them and the ceiling above began to shake. "Cave in!" Tymvir called out. He pushed Talis to the side as parts of the ceiling began to fall on them. After a few moments of stillness, Tymvir pushed the rubble on top of them off with his shield. He held up Talis in his arms. "Talis, are you ok?"
"I'm fine." Talis said. She stood up, brushing some of the dirt off. She looked over at Serana, herself pushing some rubble away. "Serana, are you ok?"
"Hey, Vampire, remember? I'll be fine. C'mon. We can do this and get the bow." Serana said. She looked up at the sky, now that the ceiling was gone. They now stood at a sixth wayshrine, on a balcony overlooking the Forgotten Vale. Vyrther was waiting for them. "Enough Vyrther! Give us the bow!" Serana yelled out.
"You're greatly outnumbered." Tymvir said.
Vyrhter glared at the Dawnguard team. "How dare you. I was the Arch-Curate of Auri-El, girl. I had the ears of a god!"
"Until the betrayed corrupted you. Yes, yes we heard the sad story from Gelebor." Serana told him.
Now that Talis got closer to him, she noticed something: Gelebor and Vyrther had different eye colors. "Serana, I don't think it was the Falmer."
Tymvir and Serana took a better look at Vyrther. It clicked in them. "That explains it. Vyrther, you're not one of the Betrayed. You… you're a…" Tymvir began to say.
"A Vampire." Serana finished, surprised. "I don't understand. Auri-El should have protected you."
"The moment I was infected by one of my own Initiates, Auri-El turned his back on me. I swore I'd have my revenge, no matter what the cost." Vyrther said.
"You'd take revenge…on a god?" Serana asked, trying to comprehend Vyrther's logic.
""Auri-El himself may have been beyond my reach, but his influence on our world wasn't. All I needed was the blood of a vampire and his own weapon, Auri-El's Bow." Vyrther explained.
Everything was clear now. "It was you. You created the Tyranny of the Sun." Tymvir said. "It was all a trap to lead one of Coldharbor's daughters here!"
"And all you need to complete it is Serana's blood." Talis said. She tightened her grip on Dovkaalkrine's hilt. Serana began to walk toward the Falmer Vampire. "Serana?"
She grabbed Vyrhter by the neck and lifted him up. "You were waiting... all this time for someone with my blood to come along. Well, too bad for you... I intend on keeping it. Let's see if your blood has any power to it!"
Vyrther broke free of Serana grip and two Forst Atronochs appeared.
"I'll deal with these! You two deal with Vyrther!" Tymvir called out. He charged at the Frost Atronochs, ready for battle.
Talis and Serana got into their fighting stances. Vyrther began to cast various ice spells on himself. "Two Nords, one who's a Werewolf and the other is a Vampire: and Vyrther is using ice magic." Talis said. "He has got to be the dumbest opponent I've ever faced."
"Yeah, we're the worst possible opponents for him." Serana said. She cast shock spells against him, until she backed away for Talis to get into the fray.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!" Talis shouted as Vyrther was engulfed in flames. As he screamed for mercy, Talis charged forward, impaling him with Dovkaalkrine, and just for good measure, decapitated him. As the head flew over the balcony, Talis could see the shocked expression on his face. Talis looked down at the lifeless and headless body. "You know, I know about a guy in Morthal who can actually cure Vampirism. Too bad you never thought about finding a cure."
The final wayshrine opened up. Gelebor stepped through the Darkfall Passage portal. As everyone sheathed their weaponry, he spoke. "So, the deed has been done. The restoration of this wayshrine means that Vyrthur must be dead and the Betrayed no longer have control over him."
The three looked at each other, wondering who should tell him. Tymvir spoke up. "Actually, it wasn't the Betrayed's fault."
Gelebor seemed surprised by this sentence. "What do you mean?" He quickly asked, desperate for an answer.
"Vyrhter was a Vampire." Talis said. "Apparently, one of his initiates infected him. He was the one controlling the Betrayed."
"A vampire? I see. That would explain much. Deep inside, it brings me joy that the Betrayed weren't to blame for what happened here." Gelebor said, confusing the others. "Then that means there's still hope that they might one day shed their hatred and learn to believe in Auri-El once again. It's been a long time since I felt that way and it's been long overdue. My thanks, to all of you."
"You're welcome." Talis said. "Now can we have the bow?"
"You risked everything to get Auri-El's Bow, and in turn, you've restored the Chantry. I can't think of a more deserving champion to carry it than you. If you wish to learn more about the bow, or obtain Sunhallowed Arrows for it, I'd be more than happy to help. You've but to ask." Gelebor took the bow from the wayshrine and placed it in Talis' arms. "And here: Sunhallowed Elven Arrows." He gave her a Silver Elven quiver with white tipped Elven arrows. "They allow you to unlock the power of the bow."
Talis took them and looked at Serana. "Auri-El's Bow…It's not as shiny as I was expecting."
"Very funny Serana." Talis said.
"Hey, I just said it wasn't what I was expecting, it's still beautiful." Serana told Talis.
There was an awkward silence between the three companions. "Serana, you know what comes next." Tymvir said.
"I know. Its…time to face my father." Serana said. "It won't be easy, but we don't have much of a choice. This has to end, here and now." Determination was in Serana's tone.
Talis nodded in agreement. "Let's head back to the Dawngaurd. Let them know our final battle is here." Talis turned to the rising sun. "Serana, put up your hood and get in the wayshrine." She took one of the Sunhallowed Arrows and walked onto the balcony where Vyrther's body was still lying. She aimed the bow at the sun.
"Talis, what are you doing?" Tymvir asked, taking Serana into the wayshrine with Gelebor.
"Testing the bow out." Talis said as she let the arrow loose. The arrow flew into the sky, and a moment later, rays of light rained down around the area. "And sending Harkon a message."