Cearbhail: Another new chapter of the Shoutmen. Hope you enjoy it.

Bloodstain's journal, entry 5, 3 Morningstar (06:12)

The Thalmor skeever had some interesting things to say to me. The research into black soul gems, the disappearance of Shoutmen, the continued cliché of how I will die because I'm getting myself in deeper than I can afford, blah blah blah. Well, it doesn't matter what he thinks anymore, he's nothing more than a giant stain of the wall where Madanach now sits. Madanach has become the new Jarl of Markarth, the first Jarl we've had in…about 100 years in fact. Sure, you can consider Jarl Stormcloak as the only remaining Jarl, but with no city to govern…how can he truly be a Jarl? No, he's just the only surviving heir to his family's throne and one of us as well. Since he can Shout, he's a Shoutman. With me, Madanach, and the mysterious Summoner, that makes at least four.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that, didn't I? My new favorite Thalmor toy had something to say about her. Apparently, I'm not the only one looking for her. She's on the list of those who need to die as well. I'm on my way to find her. She's held up in some deserted Orc stronghold (if she's still alive). My Thalmor toy didn't tell me anything else about her, no matter how hard I pulled the string in his back. I accidentally broke it and I had to throw the toy away.

Anyway, once I find the Summoner, or whatever's left of her, I have to send a letter back to Madanach, telling him to be ready for war. He's preparing his town right now for war, as well as cleaning it up for the new residents. I bet it will look a lot better soon enough with the Reachmen back in charge. They are no longer Forsworn, but Reachmen. And Reachman is now their Shouting leader.

Bloodstain…

…

The ground felt cold underneath my feet. Snow was up to my knees and barely shifted as I continued to clamber through the thick frozen layer of snow. I wish I knew a Shout that would help with this, but since the skies were clear, there was nothing I could do.

I looked ahead, seeing the rotten wooden spikes barely rising out of the giant wall of snow. With no Orcs to care for their home, the snow just kept building and building until the entire town was frozen under snow. It was a sad thing, all this lost culture. It was like delving into a Dwemer ruin, seeing what they built, their armor, yet…no trace of them. I expected to find the same here; nothing but old Orcish armor and swords, maybe some skeletons as well.

I walked up to the rotten staves of wood just barely jettisoning out of the ground, glancing down at them. 100 years ago, this used to be the top of their protective walls, standing over 20 feet tall, archers standing over edge, looking down at anyone approaching. This was one of the first strongholds to be attacked. Whatever Orcs that did not die were captured and turned into the first breed of Shouters, the Thalmor Inquisitors. The High Elves thought it was an interesting experiment, using the blood of the Dovahkiin to create more Dragonborns. Their first experiments were failures, but when they heard that the College of Winterhold had already done the same and found a workable serum…you can guess what happened. The Thalmor feared more Nords learning how to Shout, and with the rise of dragons and Blades, it led to war. Everyone saw it coming eventually, but when it came, it came down like a virus.

No, seriously, it came down as a virus. The Thalmor had created a biological weapon that targeted humans. The first place hit was Dawnstar, to cut a straight path to Windhelm. Once Windhelm was destroyed, we had lost all hope. But the airborne virus could not survive in our cold temperatures for too long and died off. It was only good for a day or two. After that, the Thalmor resigned to releasing their new Orc Shouters on the Holds. The Great Purge of Skyrim had started. The Companions fought at their best, but they ended up as fur capes for the Inquisitors. Then the Jarls were killed in front of their people. The Inquisitors just walked up to them and Shouted everyone apart. It was amazing that anyone survived.

The only reason we did was because the first Shoutman, the Seer, had started fighting back. She and her team of Dragonborns forced the Thalmor to fall back a little at a time, drawing the war into a quiet standstill again. Since the Thalmor still had the Inquisitors on their side, they thought that they would win. Then…the Inquisitors started dying off. Their blood was no longer staying contained within their bodies and they started getting sick, bleeding out the eyes. With the Inquisitors dead, the Thalmor acted fast. They killed the King of Skyrim, the Queen as well. The strongest wizards marched up to Solitude, killing the Crimson Blades, the newest guild of crystal shamans. Then…they killed the Seer. She had only enough time to get the rest of her team, the Shoutmen, out of the palace before she died. The Thalmor took over Skyrim, the Shoutmen went underground, and everything went silent for a few years. Then…we ended up where I was standing now…still in this silent rut, waiting for the Thalmor to finish us off. Well…it was beginning.

I shook my head as I stepped over the wooden barrier. A clean sheet of ice caught my foot, making me lose my grip on the ground. I was suddenly pulled off my feet, landing hard on my back, and sliding down the very steep incline to the ground. I landed on a soft patch of frozen snow, my breath forced out of my lungs as I hit the ground. I stood up, shaking my head and brushing snow off my hat. I looked up at the sheet of ice that I had slid down. I could see the outlines of the wooden staves still shooting up into the air. The wind had blown all that snow up against the wooden poles on the other side, but not this one. I was now in a giant hole, just barely covered in snow at all. I could see everything that had once been here.

I could see the bloodstained snow and ice. Orcs had blue blood, unlike the rest of us, who had red blood. Well…high and dark elves both had purple blood. I looked around at the frozen bodies hidden underneath the thick sheet of ice covering. I could see the swords still sticking up, clenched in the hands of the Orcs, whose faces were contorted in an expression of sheer anger and war. I bent down to look at their faces. I had never seen an Orc before and I always wondered what they looked like. They were extinct, as far as I knew. Dark green heads, almost gray, lockjaw with fangs sticking up, making them look slightly intimidating and imposing. I would say that they were huge, but they looked no bigger than I did. I heard stories that Orcs were huge imposing barbarians that specialized in mercenary work as brute force. Looking down at the bodies I saw here, I didn't see that. I saw skinny arms but were complemented by sharp eyes and long pointy nails.

"Got a fetish for frozen Orc women?"

I looked up from the frozen body to see someone dressed in a dark blue cloak with a large shawl pulled over the head, hiding the face from me. The person stood near the old forge, standing over the rack of frozen weapons.

I rose from my crouch, taking my hat off, scratching the top of my masked head. "That's a woman? I find that hard to believe." I said as I glanced back down at what I thought was a man. If that was a woman, I could barely imagine just how imposing the men looked.

I looked back up at the masked figure standing near the weapons rack. I placed my hat back on my head and said, "I'm sure I do not need to tell you who I am or what I want."

The hooded figure nodded and grabbed their cloak. I could see two hands sticking out. With a flick of the wrists, two portals quickly opened, shooting two Daedric longswords out. The hooded summoner grabbed the summoned swords and started running over to me. I had only enough time to reach into my jacket and pull out my dagger before the hooded figure was in my face, slashing at me.

I jumped back, barely evading the dual slash. I brought my dagger into a backhand stance and said, "Summoner, I'm not here to hurt you. It's me, Bloodstain."

The figure slashed again, almost catching me by the ear as I ducked my head away. "I don't know who you've been talking to, but the Summoner is dead." She spun around me, slashing with her two swords at my back. "And I've never heard of Bloodstain." I could feel my crystal armor catch the slashes.

I turned around, catching one of her blades with my knife. I spun the sword around, pinning it against my armored arm, and yanked it away from her. I brought the opposite arm against her throat and slammed her. I heard her gargle for a second before stepping back, grabbing her own throat. I took this time to lower down and sweep her. I caught one foot and her other slipped on some loose ice. She was taken off her feet while I was spinning back around to face her. When she landed on her back, I was already spinning on top of her, pinning both arms down, and settling myself on top, keeping her down on the ice.

"FUS!" I breathed lightly, enough magicka enforced that a slight breeze threw the cloak off her head. Looking down at me was a young woman with black hair and hazel eyes. I was stunned for a second…it looked a lot like the Seer from the dreams I had. The only difference was that this woman was a little older and did not have white eyes. Her eyes were darker and were not glazed over.

She looked very defensively at me, struggling to break my hold on her arms. She finally exhaled in defeat and looked up at me, her eyes burning into me. "Well?" She said, shrugging. "Are you going to get off me or get off on me?"

Her question stuck in my head for a second, making me think exactly what she was asking. Then, it became clear what she thought I was thinking, so I shook my head. "Neither. You're dangerous and I have you pinned. Now…where's the Summoner?"

"She's dead, like I said. Now…let me go." She started struggling.

"I don't believe you. I found a Thalmor encoded message saying that they found her. Now…if I don't get to her first, more will come and kill her. Do you want that?" I said, pulling her back. I leaned down, saying, "I'm a Shoutman and I'm taking Skyrim back. I need as much help as I can get. The Summoner is a very strong Shoutman and I need her help."

The girl rolled her eyes and groaned. "She's DEAD. Did you not hear me the first six times I said it? She was old; she passed away three months ago." She shook her head and said, "Think about it, ice-brain. The war started 100 years ago. It was only three years before they made it to Solitude. Summoner was only a year old at that time. Then Solitude was taken, the first Shoutman was killed, the rest retreating away with her in a cradle. That means…she is at least 96 years old today. She passed away from old age."

I nodded. "Ok, I get that. So, who are you?" I had a good idea of who she was and I sure hoped I was right.

"I'm her granddaughter. I am the new Summoner now." She said, smiling, turning her head away.

I nodded to her and said, "Ok, if I get up, are you going to attack me?" She shook her head so I quickly let go of her hands, waiting for her to lash out. I rose from her and she pushed herself out from underneath me.

She finally stood up and brushed the snow off her cloak. She looked over at me, trying to look through my mask, I know. She finally smiled and said, "So? You're really a Shoutman?"

I nodded. "Where are your parents?"

"Dead. Thalmor found them." She responded.

"Brothers or sisters?" I asked her.

"I was the only one. Grandma took care of me my whole life." Summoner said, rubbing her arm. She smiled at me, giving me something of a toothy grin. "And I was beginning to get a little worried about what I was going to do. I mean…I can't live here forever." She gestured around the old stronghold.

I sighed as I looked at her. "I can see that you do know how to summon weapons, probably armor as well, but can you Shout? Also, what else can you summon?"

She crossed her arms and said, "Shout? I'm not Dragonborn. And as for summoning: I can summon anything. I can summon atronachs as well as manifesting undead creatures. I can create armor on myself, you, some wandering dog, or I can get rid of an enemy's weapon and armor. I was taught everything from my grandmother."

"Everything but Shouting, it appears." I replied. I looked at her and said, "However, you are the Summoner's granddaughter, so I can't just leave you here." I waved for her to follow me. "Follow me. I'll brief you on what we're doing and why you're Dragonborn."

I started walking away and the girl started following behind me. "So, you think I have dragon blood then?"

I nodded as we came up to the sheer wall of ice. "Yes. It started off a just one exposed case of dragon blood, belonging to the original Dovahkiin, the one who killed Alduin. The wizards at the College of Winterhold managed to isolate that dragon blood gene, the thing that allowed someone to be Dragonborn. Then they found a way to get that gene to attach to very specific gene holders. Once the dragon blood was attached, it was found to be passed down genetically. Sure, it grew weaker and weaker with each generation but that was because it became a dormant gene."

I Shouted my Fire Breath at the sheet of ice, melting it down. I reached at Summoner to take my hand. She walked up to me and took my hand. "Ok, so I have dragon blood, but it's just too weak for me to use."

"BO…SU!" I shouted into my other hand as I pushed off the ground, throwing us both over the wooden staves. I landed gently on the ground with Summoner squeezing as tightly as she could onto me. I looked over at her, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"How? That was at least 20 feet!" She screamed over my ear, making me cringe back.

I sighed and pushed her off of me. "Easy. Learn dragon words, learn to project them into a Thu'um. I know the whole language. I know familiar shouts and unknown ones. The ones I just shouted were 'bo' and 'su'. Bo means fly, su means air. So, using those words and jumping allows me to fly through the air easier, making this 20 foot leap easy." I nodded to the giant field of snow in front of us. I could see the still rising overhead of us. "We need to head east to Solitude. There we will find the Aldmeri Dominion and end this war once and for all."

Summoner jogged to catch up to me. She grabbed my arm and pulled herself close. "How far is it?"

I sighed and looked at her. She was freezing, I could tell. I groaned as I pulled off my overcoat and tossed it to her. "Put that on, it will keep you warm."

She looked at me. "What about you?"

I motioned down to my armor. "Enchanted armor. Keeps me warm. Has elements of sunstone inside it." I looked over at her and said, "I never finished my explanation. Dragon blood becomes dormant and weaker with each generation, but that's only because it's not used. Once you learn how to project your dragon voice, your blood will flow as strongly as any Dragonborn's."

She nodded as she slid my overcoat over her shoulders. "Ok, I get it. So, when are you going to teach me?"

I pointed out towards Solitude. "On the way to Solitude. We have a two day journey ahead of us. If we want to survive, you'll have to be able to Shout once we get there. I will need you to summon a familiar to send a letter to Jarl Madanach in Markarth."

She nodded. "Sure, once you write it."

I reached over to her and reached inside my coat. I could see her face blush as I did so. It made me smile a bit. I guess she was a little put off by just how close I was getting to her. I finally found my quill and a piece of paper from my journal.

Madanach,

I have a lot of interesting things to say. I found the Summoner's granddaughter and we're heading to Solitude. Begin prepping your troops and meet us up there. See if you can distract them or something. I will be there in two days' time. This letter was written on the 3rd of Morningstar, just in case it does not make it to you right away.

Bloodstain…

…

I closed the letter and handed it over to Summoner, who took my letter. She waved her hand around, creating a small orb of dark purple magic. She threw the ball, which hit the ground and lit up into a giant swirling portal. A second later a spectral wolf jumped out through the portal. She handed the note to the wolf and said, "Ok, Nebula. Take this note and deliver it to Jarl Madanach in Markarth. Now, go!"

The wolf nodded and took off, sprinting away. I turned around and started walking. We had only two days until our final assault on Solitude. If everything went well we would take Solitude in a day's time, but as with anything, I doubted that we would take the city any time soon. I bet that something would get in our way.

Cearbhail: So, who wants to speculate on what is going to happen next? I can assure everyone that it will either meet your expectations as to what you already know what happens in the Shoutmen during the final battle, or you will be disappointed by what will not happen if I choose to not go that route.