The Heart of a Daedra
By The Grey Knight
Chapter 25:
The trip to Morthal on the carriage was quiet and uneventful. It was not until the small town came into sight that Sjern could see what was going on. Several of the houses, including the Jarl's Longhouse, were ablaze and three figures were fending off the entire town guard with ease. Sjern ordered the carriage driver to stop the carriage and return to Solitude immediately, paying him extra for the trip. Drawing his Daedric War Axe and readying a Chain Lightning spell, he cautiously made his way towards the town, his friends in close tow. As he got closer, he could hear the shouts of the guardsmen who were trying to defend their homes.
"By the gods I'll see you dead for what you've done!"
"Back vile creature! Back!"
While they clearly outnumbered the three attackers, it was clear that the guards were nowhere near as skilled as the vampires. Rather than go for a quiet kill, Sjern chose to divert the vampires' attention by hoisting himself onto a roof of one of the burning houses. Just as he expected, two of the vampires immediately spotted him and hissed loudly. The captain of the Morthal guard cheered loudly and ordered his men to fall back and allow the Dragonborn to handle this. All three vampires locked their eyes on Sjern, who smirked, knowing his friends were lying in wait for an ambush. From the corner of his eye however, he saw a solitary figure calmly make his way over to the front of the house that Sjern was standing on.
'Zacharias, of course!' Sjern berated himself, knowing of the Knight's refusal to take on any opponent dishonourably. Instead of challenging the Knight's decision, Sjern simply addressed the vampires.
"Tell me, can vampires merely prey on the innocent or do you have a little fight in you for a tougher opponent?"
To his surprise, the vampires began to laugh. One of them waved their hand at one of the houses of Morthal and a second later, two figures, one walking and one being dragged, came into view. Sjern couldn't make out the slumped figure's appearance until one of the vampires lit a Drain Health spell. Kneeling at the feet of the four vampires, her hair matted with blood, several bruises and lumps protruding from her face and her nose looking as if it had been stomped on many times, was Serana. When she opened her eyes however, Sjern did not see her usual red eyes but a bright green, beautiful and yet full of pain. Not one to lose his temper when it was clear that that was what the vampires wanted, Sjern simply grunted and calmly raised his left hand, charging the Chain Lightning spell.
"I'm going to count to three, vampire, and if my friend is not released and allowed safe passage out of this town, I will turn you all to ash!"
The vampires remained still.
"One!"
The one who had charged the Drain Health spell deactivated it.
"Two!"
The four vampires looked at one another uneasily.
"Three!"
Being a man of his word, Sjern fired the Chain Lightning spell. Unbeknownst to the vampires, Sjern had had Master training specifically in the control of this spell. Rather than spreading sporadically, the spell followed Sjern's hand from target to target, paralysing two of the four and simply burning a hole right through the others' chests. Leaping through the air, Sjern raised his War Axe and brought it down on the head of the nearest vampire, embedding the sharp edge of the weapon into its skull. When he turned to face the final vampire, he was blinded by a flash of silver light. Once he regained his sight, he saw Infernus standing over a pile of ash.
"Couldn't resist, sorry."
Paying him no heed, Sjern rushed over to Serana, who had fallen on her side and was breathing heavily. Concentrating hard, Sjern readied his most powerful healing spell.
"Come on Serana, don't you dare leave me again!" He roared, casting the spell on her. Although she was clearly mortal once more, the healing spell appeared to have no effect.
Readying it again, feeling his magicka reserves deplete rapidly, Sjern cast it on his friend once more.
"Come on Serana! Come on!"
Still nothing appeared to have changed.
Using the last dregs of his magicka reserves, Sjern cast the spell for the third time.
"Come on! Come on! Don't do this to me Serana! Not again!"
Reaching into his bag, he fumbled around for an Ultimate Potion of Magicka. Popping the cork, he downed it in one and felt his reserves replenish instantly.
"Come on Serana! Come on!" He howled again, casting the spell on his friend.
His three friends who had come with him simply looked on helplessly, as the Dragonborn tried again and again to heal his best friend's grievous wounds. Just as Infernus was about to drag Sjern away, Serana gave a cough and opened her eyes.
"S-Sjern?" She whispered laboriously. "I- I'm sorry Sjern. I should never have left you like that." She coughed violently once more.
Sjern shook his head, readying the healing spell once more. Casting it, he replied
"Don't be my friend. You simply wanted to follow your own path and I am proud of you for doing so."
Finally, the healing spell seemed to have an effect on her. Her bruises faded slightly and the lumps on her head shrank. Now completely drained of magicka, Sjern did the next best thing. Scooping Serana up in his strong arms, he informed the others that he would take her to the Jarl's Longhouse where she could rest. He had barely taken a step when a heavy blow struck the back of his head, knocking him off balance. Dropping to one knee, he looked around for what had struck him. Shadowfang quickly answered his silent question.
"My sister! Dragonborn, run!"
Looking up, he saw the silhouette of a large creature glide down towards him. Rising to his feet, turning his back to the approaching creature and hunching over Serana, Sjern roared in pain as Sunclaw's razor sharp claws dug deep into his back. Shaking his head to clear the pain, he saw her land a few metres away from him and approach slowly, her hips swaying confidently.
"Dragonborn." She said menacingly. "Who would have thought that I'd be seeing you here? It seems fate has a cruel sense of humour doesn't it? I'll tell you what. Seeing as your time has not come yet, I will give you and your friends the chance to leave here in one piece. Leave the traitor on the ground and walk away. I can't really say any fairer than that, can I?"
Sjern couldn't believe what he was hearing.
'This vampire is more deluded than the rest if she thinks I'm leaving Serana behind.'
Setting her down gently, Sjern drew his War Axe and stood in front of her, shielding her from Sunclaw.
"You really don't know me do you? The day I leave any friend behind to save myself, is the day I throw myself from the peak of the Throat of the World. If you want Serana you're going to have to take her from me!"
Sunclaw merely smiled and flexed her arm. An arm which reflected the moonlight.
'By the Nine, she has a metal arm!' Sjern thought.
Hearing soft footsteps behind him, he looked back and saw Shadowfang and Knight Zacharias standing there, ready for a fight. Knowing what was coming, Sjern merely gripped his War Axe tighter and waited. He glared at Sunclaw, who had begun taking steps towards them, moving slowly, as a Sabre Cat stalking an Elk would. Her eyes were fixed on Sjern, a mistake she was about to pay for. With her attention set on Sjern, she didn't hear Infernus drop silently behind her, draw back his Blades' Sword and thrust it through her spinal cord.
Shrieking loud enough to awaken the Draugr of Bleak Falls Barrow, Sunclaw dropped to her knees and hunched over. Planting his foot on her back, Infernus kicked her off of his blade and sheathed his weapon. Giving Sjern a thumbs up, the Pyromancer never saw Sunclaw twitch, nor did he see her wings begin to beat. Quick as a flash, she was back to her feet, her metal arm latching itself to Infernus' neck.
"Thought you could down me that easily did you? I am more than you think I am, Breton! Now Sjern, I will repeat my offer. Leave the girl behind, walk away and don't look back or I squeeze his neck to the size of a blade of grass!"
To everyone's surprise, Infernus simply laughed aloud. Though she had him by the neck, she had left his hands unbound, allowing him to cast one of the single most powerful Destruction spells Sjern had ever seen. As he cast it, the Breton dissipated in a flash of silver flame, reappearing at Sjern's side.
"It seems that once again, vampiric scum such as yourself has underestimated the power of flame. Trying to catch me is a fool's errand. You would catch smoke in your hands quicker!"
Infernus' jibes seemed to really tick Sunclaw off, as she roared and lunged at him, arms outstretched. She never made it all the way however, as Shadowfang, in her Werecat form, tackled her mid-air and sunk her teeth into her sister's throat. Just as Sunclaw lifted her arm to counter, Knight Zacharias, moving faster than Sjern had seen him move before, swung his sword, hacking her arm of flesh and blood clean off. Shadowfang struck again, sinking her teeth into one of her sister's wings, tearing it in half. Grabbing her sister and lifting her high in her powerful arms, Shadowfang threw her into the abandoned house. Seizing his opportunity, Infernus threw a fireball at the wooden floor, setting the area around the vampire ablaze. With her wing damaged, she could not fly away and with the flames rising, she would have to risk severe burns in order to try escape. Sjern however had other ideas, sprinting around to the back of the house, where the vampire was contemplating escape. Waiting patiently, Sjern waited for her to leap through the flames before Shouting.
"FUS RO DAH!"
The Unrelenting Force Shout tossed her back through the flames, out onto the streets of Morthal. His Shout had been so powerful, that the had extinguished the flames, allowing Sjern safe passage through the abandoned house. An extremely wounded Sunclaw was now surrounded by four very powerful beings. With only one arm and one wing functioning properly, the odds were stacked heavily against her. Rather than make a rash move, she turned her attention to the building behind her. Firing an Ice Spike at it, she knocked the balcony supports out, tossing a great deal of dust up in air. Beating her one good wing, she spread the dust over the Sjern, Zacharias, Shadowfang and Infernus and, using it as a cover, sprinted away from Morthal, quicker than a frightened hare.
Sjern grunted, seeing her now disfigured form escape but made no attempt to chase. For now, they had won. He had more pressing matters to deal with, Serana's well-being.
"Thank you friends, I doubt I could have held her off myself." Sjern said to the others, who waved off his gratitude.
"It was a bit of fun." Infernus replied, rubbing his hands together. "So, when's round three?"
Well it's certainly been a while my friends! Don't worry I'm not dead… yet. I've just been on hiatus whilst my exams were going on. Now though, I'm back and I hope to keep at this story for a good while. I'd like to first apologise to Romancehowler for making her villainous Sunclaw look like a helpless kitten but she was ambushed and was against three more experienced past foes and a very powerful knight who can kick ass for hours on end. I hope to have the chapter up in the next day or two and hopefully the one after that up soon after. Thanks to anyone who has stuck by this story and thank you to everyone who has read this chapter too. Love you all guys! Talos guide you! Peace!