The Heart of a Daedra revived

By The Grey Knight

Chapter 18:

"Well Dragonborn, I understand you sent for me."

Sjern spun around and, sure enough, standing there in the middle of High Hrothgar courtyard, was Jar'mey, the Hero of Kvatch and saviour of Cyrodil. Nodding solemnly, Sjern walked over to powerful Orc and extended his hand for the Champion to shake.

"It is truly an honour that you grace us with your presence esteemed Champion." Sjern said, as he shook the Cyrodilian hero's hand. "Long have I hoped that I might get the chance to speak with you."

His face hidden by the Helm of the Crusader, Sjern couldn't say much about the Champion's reaction to this, however when the Orc spoke, his tone was almost cheerful.

"It is an equal honour to meet another of Tamriel's great heroes. Do not deny Dragonborn, you have saved Skyrim, and indeed Tamriel far more times than I have. I only stopped Umaril, Jyggalag and Mehrunes Dagon. You however, defeated Alduin, Miraak, Lord Harkon, Queen Potema and now you finally achieve equal peace in this land. Truly I am the lesser of two heroes here."

Sjern couldn't believe it. This great warrior, vanquisher of three almighty quests, two of which were actual Daedric Princes, believed himself a lesser to Sjern. Just as he was about to deny these claims, Jar'mey cut across him.

"On to business however. Your….. associates here" indicating Ralof and Rikke "tell me you are in need of a High King. Before I make up my mind, I would like to know a few little things. Firstly, why choose me Dragonborn?"

Sjern shook his head, expelling the previous conversation from his mind.

"You are an obvious choice, Champion. You have over two centuries of experience in dealing with major affairs. Furthermore, we need a High King who is wise, militarily sound, stable and willing to enter the fray alongside his men. I have heard enough tales of you Champion to know you far surpass these requirements."

Sjern's answer seemed to appease Jar'mey but he still had questions.

"Secondly, how have you come to know of this great threat Dragonborn?"

Sjern sighed and got straight into the story of how he and his friends had denied the followers of Dagon the Razor and thwarted their plans. He also spoke of his own witnessing of the prophecy. When Sjern went back and spoke of the fight with Sunclaw, he noticed the Champion tense up.

"Sunclaw? That unholy, sick minded, vampiric beast?" Jar'mey asked, his voice getting gruffer as he spoke.

Sjern nodded.

"Blast her to Oblivion! By the Nine Dragonborn, our task may well be more difficult than I imagined. The prophecy you mentioned witnessing will soon come to pass Dragonborn, but you were wrong. The four objects of which you speak, the Great Welkynd Stone, the Great Sigil Stone, the Daedric Artifact and the Blood of a Divine are all what they need to enter a Realm of Paradise. It is there that they will carry out the true ritual. It is there that they will use three far more powerful ingredients to open the pathway for the Secluded One to be freed from his imprisonment. I know nothing of the Secluded One, Dragonborn but I know that if we do not stop his return, Tamriel is finished."

Sjern was amazed at how much the Orc knew.

'A High King with this knowledge would surely rule well during a time of war would he not?' Sjern thought.

"You spoke of three more powerful ingredients, Champion. Have we any idea of what they are?"

Jar'mey sighed deeply. "Aye lad. Three ingredients thought to be nigh on impossible to achieve. The first, while still rare, is the easiest. The blood of a True Hero of Tamriel. I myself was ambushed in their quest for this ingredient. The second, the blood of a Dwemer. Crafty little buggers they were. They knew the importance of their Race, and instead of risking it, they took one for all of Tamriel and either hid in complete seclusion, or committed suicide. Finally, the third ingredient is the Weapon of a God. Now I know what it is that you are thinking, why can't they claim the Sword of Talos? There's a simple answer lad. It's lost to the ages. The last living person to know of its location was Talos himself and no one, not even his most devout followers, can even imagine where he left it. But if it was to be found, there will be no stopping them from releasing the Secluded One.

I vowed long ago that I would never accept a position of power due to my immortality. It seems that in order to save my world, I must break this vow. To answer your request of me Dragonborn. Yes, I will assume the role of High King. I will do my very best to lead this great land to victory and glory against the Daedric threat. I only request that you give me three days to contact an old friend of mine from Cyrodil."

Sjern saw no reason why he couldn't contact his friend but still he wondered over who this friend could be. The Champion was well over two hundred years old, surely all of his friends were dead. Nevertheless, Sjern had succeeded in his first promise. He had secured a High King for Skyrim, one both Stormcloaks and Imperials could unite under. Now all that was left to do was deal with the Thalmor threat.

"This should be fun!" Sjern said aloud, as he signalled for Serana, Infernus, Shadowfang and Knight Zacharias to come on over.

Ok, short chapter I know but I'm getting a bit of mental block so I needed to just sit down and write out this stuff quickly. I can almost promise that the next chapter will have some action in it and I hope to bring back someone we met before.

I just want to let you guys know that the submission request for OC's is still up. I'd like to thank Romancehowler (AGAIN!) for their submission and regardless of how the vote turns out if there's any more, I will definitely be using this OC as a major villain either before or during the War.

Thanks once again for reading guys, if you enjoyed a simple "good job" or "not bad" review always helps morale . Talos guide you all. Peace!