Cearbhail: Ok, new chapter. Been a while, but I could not think of what to do with this chapter. so, enjoy.

Bloodstain's journal, entry 6. 5 Morningstar 4e323,

The past two days have passed rather quickly but also very slowly in an unfamiliar way. I have never taken to having a female presence around and now that I have one following me, asking me questions every few minutes, I cannot help but feel a little unfocussed and distracted from my original mission. It has not been too distracting that I stopped going towards Solitude, but it has been enough to keep me from going straight there. Visits to caravans, and smaller farming settlements have costs us some time. It was worth it in the end, though. The Summoner's face is well known, so we had to change it a bit. Alteration magic and a haircut do that just fine. Now she has elf ears and shorter pixie hair that's been dyed red instead of her black hair. Also, we altered her eyes from strong hazel to a soft icy blue. From what I learned from Vivian (Summoner's true name) she spent every minute hiding. Well, since she was five at least. There was a time when her parents believed that they could live in the open or at least out in the open without worrying about dying. A year later, they were killed. Both of them, in separate towns, on the same day.

I know I can be paranoid, but this was before the after-purge. When I say after-purge I am referring to the current killing spree of Shoutmen. Since the original Summoner was a powerful Shoutman, it could be that any offspring were seen as immediate threats…but her old comrades were all just as strong and yet they were left to dwell in their broken sorrow, only being attacked when they retaliated to the Thalmor. So, why was it so important that her family members had to be killed immediately? I do not know, but I can assume Vivian is in the same boat. She is the last of her family legacy, so I have to keep her safe. Any vials of the original dragon blood serum have been destroyed by the Thalmor. That means that the Shoutmen are all that's left of Shouters. Well, unless you forget about Graybeards, who for whatever reason have escaped any Thalmor punishment.

The reason for keeping her safe after realizing that we're all that's left of dragon blood is simple. It's because we are all that's left of any dragon blood. Dragons have long been extinct and Dragonborns are not created anymore, only born. If I die, my blood will not pass onto anyone else and there will never be a Shouter like me. Of course, my blood is bad so I guess my passing is inconsequential anyway. But Summoner's blood still flows deep, even if she doesn't use it. I have been training her in the way of the Thu'um…what I know of it at least.

Anyway, we're only a few miles away from Solitude and I expect resistance upon getting near.

Bloodstain…

…

Too close. That was the thought that kept going through my head as Summoner and I pressed up against each other, mostly to keep warm. The sudden blizzard had come out of nowhere, but now was a perfect time to teach her a new Thu'um. We were only hours away from Solitude and once we got there, she needed to be combat ready. Sure, she could swing a sword and summon Daedric elementals to fight alongside her, but there was nothing more powerful than a giant fireball or a solid force-field that came straight from the mouth.

Vivian pushed herself closer to me, wrapping her arms tighter as she tried to keep warm. I was very aware that both of us could use magic to keep ourselves warm, but neither of us was willing to expose ourselves to the Thalmor that lived so closely by. If one magic-sensing elf whiffed us, we would be sought and killed. The great race of mankind no longer is allowed to practice magic. Like I said earlier, it was the elves' decision. First, they took away the only god that was made from a man: Talos. When they claimed the ability to take our faith, they took our nation. When they took our nation, they took our rights. Once they had that, they stripped us of every piece of armor, weapon, and made sure that magic was forbidden among anyone who wasn't an elf.

It is true that some of us escaped that ruling: those of us being the Graybeards and the remaining Shoutmen. Half the reason we didn't fight the Aldmeri Dominion was because that any magic we used was monitored by some floating orb that the Thalmor collected from Aldmer agents in the Psijic monks. Even if we did everything right and escaped unnoticed, we would find out the next day that the entire region was punished because of the outlawed magic. Since the magic caster could not be found, we learned the hard way that elves did not care who they punished; all they wanted was quiet acceptance of their rule. Too bad humans are anything but quiet when it comes to be ruled over.

Vivian pulled me closer. I could feel her skin shivering uncontrollably. I groaned to myself as I looked around the cave. It was empty and big enough for us to at least bunker down for a minute. I had to do something at least before we froze to death. Normally, this weather wouldn't bother me. It didn't bother, but what did bother me was the fact that this woman could not handle this cold. She practically lived in the cold frozen-over Orc stronghold. So, why was she cold now? Maybe her shivering state was induced by exhaustion and slight fear over what was going to happen. I made no attempt to hide what was going to happen when we marched into Solitude. She knew that we were most likely going to die.

My thoughts drifted over to Madanach. I hoped that he was ready for this battle. More importantly, I hoped that he arrived as soon as we did. I wanted all of us to storm the gate at the same time, hopefully in time to catch the Thalmor with their pants down.

Vivian finally pushed me away as she wrapped up in my overcoat. She reached up for her new ears and rubbed them. "Why did we have to take my hair off?" She asked as she started rubbing her ears with a very light fire magic.

"Even if we dyed your hair and reshaped your ears…if your hair was the same length, your facial features would have made you more recognizable. Cutting your hair to a smaller cut makes you look very different. Not to mention it allows your new elf ears point out. You can cast magic, but you must remember that we could not change your skin tone very much. You're a Bosmer…so your magic relies around using Illusion."

She seemed to understand and she nodded. "Ok, but Bosmer also know some Destruction as well. Can I please light a fire?"

I nodded as I reached up to take off my mask. "Sure. We're hiding out here for a while anyway. Before we can move, we must hear from Madanach first. I'm not walking into the biggest Thalmor trap in Skyrim without an army behind me." I slowly slid my mask off, almost happy to have it off for the first time in over a week. Vivian not only didn't have a mask or a costume, but she had a name that she shared with me. It was only fair that I shared some of my information as well.

Her eyes locked onto mine and I saw her smile. "Wow…didn't know that your mask could come off."

I nodded as I placed the mask down. I looked at it for a couple minutes before I sighed. "I will admit; it has served as a second face for so long that it comes with its own life when I put it on. The Aldmeri Dominion cannot find me if they don't know what I look like. That is the key behind the Shoutmen surviving as long as we have. The only thing that has kept me alive this long is that I never stop moving and I never act inside my own town."

Vivian took her eyes off me long enough to bunch a pile of sticks together. She started casting a fire spell over the sticks and looked back up at me. "So, does your new face have a new name? Or do I still call you 'Bloodstain'?"

I shook my head. "My name is Claus Antigonus Motierre."

Vivian sat there for a couple seconds, processing my name. "You're an Imperial. You're name…it's Imperial, right?"

I nodded. "You are correct, although my last name is from my Breton side." I shrugged it away and almost found my heart racing. Why am I talking about myself? I never share my personal information with anyone.

She nodded as she smiled. "I remember that some Imperial names have a meaning. Does yours?"

Again, I found myself nodding. "Yes, Claus means 'Victory of the People'. Antigonus means 'Opposite of my ancestors'." I walked up to the pit of fire that was now starting to crackle to life and sat down next to Vivian. "My mother…she wanted me to be a great Shoutman. She wanted me to be the victory that the people were looking for. She also told me about my Breton family's past history with assassins. I was going to be the one who was the opposite of that family, to redeem the family's name. That is why I need to fix this war. I owe it to her for naming me such a statement."

Vivian sat quietly by the fire, warming her hands as she did so. "Is it really that bad? This whole thing, I mean. I…have only heard about it, I've never actually seen it."

I found myself laughing despite how bad my thoughts were twisting. Was it bad? If they lined everyone up and started chopping off our heads…I think we'd be better off right now. I looked over at her face, seeing her bright blue eyes scanning mine for answers. So, I nodded. "I just burned a whole city to the ground…I returned it to ashes. And yet…I know the city is better off." I shook my head as I looked away. "It was a great city to. A city that was built by the great Dwemer race. A city full of ancient technology and artifacts that led to great discoveries. And…I blew it up to make it pure again. All because some elves don't care about the past anymore, they only care about what they can get and what they can profit from."

I looked over at Vivian, who looked shocked at my statement. Then, she nodded and looked down at the fire. "So…Shouting. How is it done?"

I pointed down at the fire. "Same as how you lit that fire. You used magic; Shouting is just another form of magic. It is a primitive magic that takes dragon blood to achieve. My blood is not strong enough to create Shouts, even with all my training. Well…I guess I can Shout, but…I need to use my hand to do it. Most Shouters don't need hands to pull off a legitimate Shout, but I do. Even with both my hands, my Shouts are subpar and slower to regenerate."

"So…how do I do it?" She asked.

I tried to answer, but then…I couldn't think of a word to come up with. I had some experience, but my Shouts weren't real, so learning from me was like…well…learning how to breathe air with lungs from a fish. "Well, I know one thing. You must first know the word you wish to speak and then you must project that word with all the feeling that you can muster. You have to know the word, what it means, what you want it to represent. Yol means 'fire'. So when you speak it, you must feel that word and what it means. You must want fire to fly out of your mouth. It will take you a lot of practice, especially since we can't get you a dragon soul to unlock it easier."

Vivian nodded. "Ok, I get it. So…what are we waiting for?"

I was about to answer right before I heard someone enter the cave. I looked at the entrance to see a hawk sitting near the entrance. It pushed forward, flapping its wings long enough to stride over to us. It stopped by me and offered it foot to me. I looked down and saw a note wrapped up along its leg. I smiled as I looked down and untied the note from the hawk.

Bloodstain,

I have received your letter late evening of 3rd Morningstar. I've had enough time to ready my troops. You cannot imagine the change of the city since you've left. We just got it all cleaned up and temporary campgrounds outside, while most of our new citizens live down inside the Dwemer ruins. The slaves have become our new civilians. They've already started new shops and everything we need to have a functioning city once again.

Thought you'd just like to know. Anyway, we're already up near Solitude. After reading this message, write me a note, attach it to Silverbeak's leg, and send her off. She'll return to me and while she is doing that, I want you and your new friend to begin marching to Solitude. Once I receive the note, I'll begin my attack. Hope to see you both soon,

Forsworn, the Shoutmen.

…

I wrote the note telling Madanach that I understood our coordinated movements. I attached the note to the hawk's leg. The hawk waited for a second before it took off, flying out the cave. I looked over at Vivian and said, "Summoner. It's time to put on your new costume."

She only sighed before she said, "So…I changed my appearance so that I can still wear a costume? How will dressing up in a Shoutman costume be better than hiding with my current form? Won't the Thalmor figure out that I'm me? It's not like there is just a new Shoutman elf out of the blue."

I smiled. "You forget that the Summoner they're looking for is dead. If we kept you looking like you…they would have figured it out anyway. You're safer with a new face. But, if you only show up as your current form, people will suspect why you're with me…A Shoutman. If you're a Shoutman, there is no doubt why you're with me, even if you are a Bosmer. It's all just a failsafe to keep your identity hidden. I don't know why your face is so special…but I'm not going to risk it."

Vivian's eyes widened at me mentioning her face. She looked away. "Oh? Well, I don't know why I'm so important."

I stopped for a second, giving her a good long look. I could tell that there was something that she wasn't telling me. I took my mask and slid it over my head, becoming Bloodstain again. I felt a sudden warm and coldness settle over me. It felt good to have my face back.

"I can tell you're hiding something from me, but it's not my problem if you want to keep it hidden. The Thalmor will find you if we don't end this war today. So…we have a lot to teach you and very little time to teach you with."

Cearbhail: So, who wants to guess who Vivian really is? well, you'll find out next chapter.