Cearbhail: Amazing chapter. Loved writing it. I wish all my chapters in this book were written so well, but I guess since I'm coming up on the end, I don't have to hold any secrets anymore. So, enjoy and please me know what you've thought of the story so far (it's not done yet, still one official chapter left, and one teaser for a sequel), and please let me know what you think of the end.

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Bloodstain's journal, entry 7. 5 Morningstar 4e323.

Evening; cold, dark. A blizzard has settled over Solitude, a blizzard that muffled our movements, disguised our forms, and has hidden us from the watch towers. The watchers look down at us, but they don't see us. We are invisible, at least until we attack.

The Summoner finally has a worthy instructor: Madanach. He shared all his knowledge of his Shouts with her and she is finally able to Shout like the rest of us. Put aside the fact that Summoner can also summon armor and weapons wherever she wants…now she can blast fire and ice out her mouth. Her mastery of Shouting has come very quickly, making me think that she's an original Dragonborn, not one the fabricated ones like myself and Madanach. If my hunch were correct, she would have been a direct heir to the original Dragonborn. That would be the only way her blood could respond so directly to Shouts and sharing knowledge. The fabricated blood of us lesser Dragon-blooded is harder to work with since it's a design pulled from the source. For Summoner to progress so quickly, she has to be an original. I don't see any other way.

Tonight's the night. No matter what happens, today is the day that the world as we know it ends. Whether it is for the better or worse. Whether Skyrim comes back to the Nords or falls completely to the Dominion. We're all that's left, we're the last voice. If our Shouts die off, there will be on one left to Shout. It's a sobering feeling. To know that no matter what happens, it will reshape life as we know it. Our battle has been long coming to a close and this is the end. Tonight…we might have a new High King. Tomorrow, Cyrodiil might have a new Emperor. Elsweyr a Mane, Black Marsh a King or Queen. We don't know, but we will find out. For anyone who finds this journal, remember the 5 days of Morningstar…of how the Reach came back to power and Skyrim came back to the Nords. This is the voice of the Shoutmen…

Bloodstain, Summoner, and Reachman.

…

The thick cloud of snow concealed every inch of our bodies. If the wind was any less violent, you could probably hear us shouting to the sky, willing it to snow harder. We had been setting this storm up for an hour, constantly refueling the sky with our rage. The wind cried out in our misery, the sky shedding our tears. This fight was for Skyrim and now Skyrim was supplying us with cover, concealment, and a distraction.

I turned to look at Summoner and Reachman. They stood ready. Reachman still wore his Forsworn armor, as much a symbol as it was ritualistic. Summoner dressed in her new blood-red combat robes. It was designed to fit with any armor she could summon, while still appearing as a tactically advanced robe. Her hood was pulled up over her head with a fox mask that I had designed to hide her face. It was not because I did not want her recognized, but because foxes were crafty and so was she.

And finally, there was me. Dressed in my black crystal armor, the last known crystal armor ever designed. Right before Solitude fell, the Crimson Blades destroyed any crystal weapons and any crystal armor that they had designed. It was a small effort to hinder the Aldmeri Dominion from seizing any more technology. They already had all the Dwemer tech they could ever need, but they would never figure out crystal resonance. So, the Crimson Blades hid away all of their blueprints, fleeing with their messengers, moving their operations to hidden ruins inside Elsweyr and Black Marsh. The last known armor was sent to the Shoutmen and it was passed down to me from my father. I kept the armor hidden behind my trench coat. No one ever knew that I wore it.

Behind the three of us was a massive army. The drunk men I talked to when I announced that I was taking back Skyrim had been busy. Apparently, my words did not fall on deaf ears. They went from town to town and rallied to fight back. The men and women of each town banded together and got rid of their elven overlords. Whether or not they killed every elf in their town, I did not know, but each town was now free. Every town had a new Jarl, the leader of their resistance, the leader who stayed quiet and operated in the dark. I never knew I wasn't the only one fighting back. I never knew that so many people like myself wanted this country to be free again. I thought everyone had given up, that I alone was the only one, but I wasn't. The army of three hundred behind me proved me wrong. And with that army, we were now ready.

Reachman looked back at my army and patted me on the shoulder. "Bloodstain…" He started…blinking back tears, nodding with joy. "What you've done here…" He finished with a pat on my arm and turned back to Solitude. "Not only did you fight for Skyrim by yourself in the dark …but now you've brought Skyrim her hope again." He looked back at me. "If only the royal clan were here to see this now. Imagine if Seer herself could see this moment. The moment we break down our doors and take Skyrim back."

I smirked under my mask. "If Seer could see this, I would weep. I'm stained with blood." I turned back to see my army. The drunken man that I had shown my face to was now standing in the front of his army, his pitchfork resting comfortably against his shoulder. I nodded to him. "How has your life been since you started your purge?"

The man patted the sword clipped to his side. "My son now knows how to forge weapons and armor. It's not pretty, but we're recovering. Trading has opened up again and we're freeing all the slaves around Skyrim. It's almost like this nightmare is almost over."

"So, you have your hope again. Has your bubble popped?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No…it's not our bubble that's been popped…it's the Thalmor's. They lived each day thinking that they owned us, that we would just accept our fate. They forgot what happened when the Wild Elves controlled Cyrodiil, what man is capable of when push comes to shove." He looked back at the men and women formed up behind him. "Everyone here has realized what needs to be done. We need to get our lives back; to live the way we want, not the way elves dictate."

I nodded to him. This guy, his face was cleanly shaven, his clothes new and unstained. He looked much different than when I first met him. The army that lined up behind him wore shoddy armor that looked like it was made from a child playing with thin metal. I can understand that we have not remembered how to do something that's been outlawed and that we will have to rebuild and reteach what we took centuries to perfect, but with some help and some well-kept smithies, we can become what we always were. The best craftsmen of Tamriel.

I sighed to myself. I don't know why I kept putting myself in the same gene pool as the Nords. I forgot that I was an Imperial. I was tactically strong, politically smart, and very well-versed. My speeches were what got me thought some tough spots. My ability to think fast on my feet is what made me Bloodstain.

I turned to Reachman and nodded. "Begin the attack in ten minutes. I'll see about creating a distraction."

Reachman nodded to me. "Good luck to you, Bloodstain. I'll see you on the other side, comrade."

Quietly, Summoner and I walked up to the gate to Solitude. We did not take off our masks, we did not slow our approach. Standing near the giant wooden doors that wanted to keep us out were a pair of Thalmor guards. Two Bosmer that were dressed in elven armor. The armor that used to be golden but was changed to a red/black combination to celebrate the successful takeover of Skyrim.

As we approached the two guards went through the standard reactions. First: one of them saw us coming and looked to his partner. He pushed him on the shoulder and pointed to us, probably saying, "Hey, look." Then: the two guards stand up and direct themselves to face us. They both look slightly confused, like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Then, one they made out our masks, they knew we were Shoutmen. They unsheathe their weapons and start approaching us. Honestly, I don't know why they're so predictable.

"Who are you and what is your reason for visiting Solitude, home of the elves?" The older looking Bosmer asked me. His eyes were blood-red, his armor old, faded. His face looked stretched and leathery. No doubt this Bosmer had seen a lot of combat in his life. The scar running across his left check told me so.

"We're here to see the Councilor of Solitude." I replied. "She's expecting us."

"The Councilor of Solitude is a male, sir." The younger Bosmer replied in a defensive tone.

I smirked under my mask. I was certain that they could see it, even if it was more of a stretch than anything else. "Hard to tell with Altmer…they all look like girls to me."

The younger Bosmer cracked and charged at me with his sword. The older Bosmer had just enough time to jump back as I grabbed the younger Bosmer by the attacking arm. I slid my hand up to his wrist when I halted his attack, spun his arm around until I heard several snaps, then brought an elbow down on top of skull. I enhanced the attack with magicka, making his elven helmet shatter in half as I did so. The Bosmer fell limp to the ground, never to walk again. No…I didn't kill him as has been my custom. He will forever be paralyzed and live to see this kingdom fall.

The older Bosmer smiled as he tossed down his weapon. "It's been fun while it lasted, but please, go on in."

I didn't bother messing with him. I ran up, ran my fist upside his jaw, and knocked him out. I did not want him reporting to anyone else. I took in the silence and forgot that I was already running behind. I wanted something to distract the masses inside from the siege outside.

I pushed the door open and walked inside. Once I was inside the town, I started looking around. The town looked very neat and orderly. The buildings were brightly colored with golden and white furnishings; outdoor stands that filled the busy streets were also well furnished. The locals were all elves, of any race that you could think of. Ayleids, Altmer, Aldmer, Bosmer, and Dunmer all walked around as if the day was normal.

Before anyone had noticed that I was there, I stuck my hands out to the emergency gate that was dropped in case of invasion. I breathed corrosion onto the chains and the turning mechanism. I smiled as I saw the device crack. Next, I brought Frost and Fire straight into the stone supporting the gate's weight. I smiled as I saw the stone shift and crack; the gate flinched as the rocks gave way and that in turn made the chains and release creek. I don't think anyone noticed it, not enough to do something about it.

I directed my attention back to the town. A child licking a snow cone looked up at me with bright orange eyes. His eyes locked onto my face and his snow cone fell from his hands. At that moment, everyone else started taking notice to me as well. The busy streets now became silent with hundreds of eyes looking at me and Summoner. It was the very sensation of a group of rabbits stuck in a corner with a hungry wolf drooling, drawing near to eat. I had not fully expected this, never coming to Solitude once in my life. I thought it was all just Thalmor and Nord prisoners, like it was thirty years ago.

Everyone seemed to stand still, waiting for me to do something. In the quiet, I had forgotten to move. In that time of hesitation, six Thalmor guards had approached us to see what it was that had the crowd of shoppers in dismay. One look at my mask and the swords left their scabbards.

"Everyone, stand back!" The head of the guard said as he walked up to me. "This is a dangerous fellow…Bloodstain, a Shoutman."

At the word 'Shoutman', I heard children and younger women whine and scream a little. I guess the tittle of Shoutman was becoming something like a bogeyman to the elves of Skyrim. I guess I can see that happening. If only they knew why we were really fighting they wouldn't see us as scary, but their protectors.

"Why are you here, Shoutman?" The head guard as me as he approached. "You know that there is a price on your head. Are you that dumb that you would walk willingly into the Aldmeri Dominion capital of Skyrim knowing what would happen when you did so?"

His words sounded nice. It was true that I knew that I wasn't leaving…unless I had a huge army outside waiting to bombard the town. Six minutes…that's all I had left to find out what I wanted to know before Reachman started his attack.

"I am here because someone is killing the Shoutmen…and we have a bounty on our heads. So, I wish to speak to the High Councilor of Skyrim. I know he's in this town." I said back.

The Thalmor smirked at me as he sheathed his weapon. His troops followed as well. "If you come peacefully, Bloodstain…I am sure that Councilor Fiirnar will be more than glad to talk to you."

Councilor Fiirnar…the oldest living Altmer alive. Bitten by a child vampire during the Aedra Wars that were lost to the arc of time back during the days of the Aldmeri Dominion's first rise to power. It was going to be an honor to meet the legendary vampire that destroyed our world. And it would be an honor to kill him as the Dawnguard tried to so very long ago.

The walk to the capital building, the White-Gold Palace was enjoyable. People cleared the streets as we walked up. Guards kept piling on around us, making my diversion so much easier for Reachman to handle. This was no simple town. This was a fortified hold with more than enough Thalmor to handle a simple march up a crowded corridor. No, I needed to weaken things before they got here. Good thing I already handled the gate. That was my first priority: weaken the entrance so they wouldn't be bunched up outside and rounded up into a kill-zone. Now, I just had to separate their forces; that was what I was doing now. Everything had been planned out before I entered the town. Five minutes left.

Once we entered the building, I was surprised at how fast the good Councilor responded. Right as we walked into the room, the Thalmor overlord was already walking into the room, bowing graciously to us.

The Councilor had dark eyes with bright yellow irises. His skin looked paled and crisp, like the sun had broken his skin apart. Long fangs pushed outside his lips, giving him a demonic expression of a permanent snarl. His long silver hair was pulled back into a ponytail and his Thalmor robes looked brand new and heavily tailored. He looked very elegant, but that look was now a disguise to a hideous blood-sucking beast and enemy to every man in Tamriel.

"Why, Bloodstain. So good to see you at last." Fiirnar said as he glanced at me. "Nice duster. Made from trolls, right?"

I nodded, allowing myself to smile under my mask. "Yeah, that's right. And I like your teeth. You were bit by a small girl, right?"

His smile vanished away. "Not just a girl, a newly turned vampire. During the end of the Aedra Wars, she had a chance to betray her friends for the chance to be my permanent servant. She would have the freedom to do as she pleased…as long as it served our purposes. Instead, she chose to run away as I seized her friends in a trap. I never saw her again…until I took over Skyrim in the Skyrim Purge. I smiled as I snapped her neck, killing her friend…Princess Cecilie next." Fiirnar's sick smile returned to his face.

I fought the urge to kill him now. I should have. I really should have. But I wanted to know why the Shoutmen were dying. There had to be a higher reason than just 'because'.

Fiirnar took my silence as a conclusion to our discussion. He waved us to follow him. "Right this way. We're having a business meeting that I'm sure you will love, Bloodstain."

"You know why I'm here, Thalmor. I want to know why you've ordered the extinction of the Shoutmen." I said as I followed behind him.

Fiirnar turned his head in slight curiosity, like something I said had just caught his attention. "Oh? You want to know…well, come with me to the dinning lounge and you'll see why soon enough." He started walking in front of me again, leading us further into the castle. He looked back at me with a curious smile. "But I do enjoy paranoid theories of Imperials. Oh…how I miss them." He nodded to me. "Please, do fill me in on what it is you think I'm up to."

I allowed a breath to escape my lungs before I started. "I thought it was just another purge, but that was too easy…and honestly I don't see why you'd wait until now to begin a purge of super Shouters that had given up fighting. So, when I started looking around, I noticed all the recent excavation of Dwemer ruins. Excavation that had ended ten years ago, because of failed experiments. Once I saw some of the new blueprints of magicka cannons and notes referring to old ruins found in Elsweyr…notes written by the King of Worms…I started piecing things together."

Fiirnar smiled. "Good thinking. But, what does it mean, though? Can you piece it together?"

I chuckled as I crossed my arms. "You're creating a super weapon that can destroy any hold city. You want to make sure that no one can ever rise up against you ever again. The only problem was that you lacked a power source strong enough to actually power the weapon. This is where I learned something very interesting from a loud mouth in Markarth. You've unearthed a massive magicka-infused device that was recorded in the Thalmor Wizard's journal…Ancano."

Fiirnar nodded in return. "Good speculation. Very solid in your thesis. All of those events did happen. But…why would I need a cannon in the first place? One blast is very ineffective and only will make everyone rally up and attack my city to shut it down. So…now…tell me why I would openly start killing Shoutmen?"

My blood ran cold. "Because you knew that I would start rallying people up to fight you…in order to figure out what you were planning." One minute.

Fiirnar smiled. "And that…Bloodstain is how you plan accordingly."

"Councilor, the army you prepared the cannon for is rising at the gates." The head guard said.

Fiirnar nodded and said, "Give it one minute, captain." Fiirnar turned to face me and said, "Come, Bloodstain. I want you to see this."

He turned around and pushed against a wall. The rock he pushed vanished inside the wall with a grinding sound. The wall started pushing back, sliding away. The wall disappeared into a balcony. The blizzard snowed furiously into the room, but Fiirnar stepped out like it was nothing to him. Summoner and I followed him out.

I reached for my dagger and started unsheathing it. Fiirnar glanced back at me and my entire body stiffened up. "Don't bother, Bloodstain. I'm a vampire, you're my thrall. Get over it." He set his eyes back over the horizon. "Oh…drat. I can barely see the coming of a new age with all this snow in my way. Oh…Farwen." He called over his shoulder.

My eyes darted over to Summoner. Her body was just as stiff as mine. Neither of us could move. This was not good. This was not good at all.

The 'High King' of Skyrim walked up. Farwen was a decent elf, by himself. He wasn't a Shoutman like me, but he never caused problems for any of us either. He ruled Skyrim quietly, but when it came to taking orders from Councilor Fiirnar, he couldn't resist. It's a whole vampire servant thing.

The High King bowed to Fiirnar. "Yes, Councilor?"

"Please, if you will…use your dragon blood to clear the sky so I may see the army of men and non-mer die." Fiirnar said, smiling.

"LOK VAH KOOR!" Farwen Shouted to the sky. The raging blizzard seemed to die down in an ever-flowing wave.

As the skies cleared up, the sun started breaking out. I could see the army now gathering outside. I wished I could have warned them about what was going to happen, but I was still glued to my skin by this hold person spell.

"Now, Bloodstain…you will see what it truly means to rise up and to fall to shame. Just as my ancestors did when your kind interfered with our rule. Time for a new age, Bloodstain. One without humans ruling anything anymore." Fiirnar said as the castle started shaking. Looking up, I could see a massive Dwemer crafted cannon coming out of the top of the castle.

The cannon fired off a brilliant blue beam off. I watched in horror as the beam ripped through the wall of the town and into the thin corridor that was the entrance to Solitude. Within seconds the beam died off and with it my hopes. The only thing left in the corridor was scorched earth and toiled soil. A black scar would forever be a reminder of the hundreds of brave souls who died, fighting for a single dream. The dream to be free again. I tried my best to secure that dream for them, but I had failed.

Fiirnar smiled and looked back at me. "Now, Bloodstain. Let's discuss about the second phase of my operation of "Bloodstain Paranoia". I'm sure you've been looking for the recluse 'Summoner'." He looked over at Vivian and smiled. "I am to guess that you found her." He reached up and pulled off her mask. His smile vanished upon seeing Vivian still appearing as a Bosmer with icy blue eyes and flaming red hair.

I shook my head. "I did find her…dead, from old age. I did however find a new Shoutman. Name's Scarlet. She's got this thing for ending oppression. You know…Shoutmen stuff."

Fiirnar was fuming but he calmed himself. "Well, Bloodstain. It's sad that you couldn't find her offspring. The last known High King of Skyrim was Asger Battle-Born. If his offspring were to put on the Royal Circlet…imagine just how the dragon blood would react. It would be enough to reclaim Skyrim as their own."

I head started turning. "Wait….was Summoner…Princess Cecilie's daughter?"

Fiirnar nodded. "You are correct. You never knew? How sad." He said, punching me in the stomach. He reached up and ripped my mask off. "You no longer have a purpose, Bloodstain. Time to die." He reached down to kill me, but he stopped himself. "No…I'll keep you alive, as well as your friend. You both will make a wonderful dinner, a constant supply of Imperial and Bosmer dragon blood."

And with that, we were escorted to the dungeons. I wish I knew what I was going to do next. I wish I has some idea left, but I didn't. I was done. I'm out of the fight for now on. I looked at Vivian, the now discovered heiress to the throne. No…I had to keep fighting. I could not give up. My Princess was depending on me. I had to set this country right. Fiirnar and Farwen both had to die. …. And Vivian needed to be crowned High King. I knew I could do this, if I had a little help.

Cearbhail: Yes, all this time Fiirnar has just been using the Shoutmen to bring anyone who might think of uprising just to have them killed off in one massive strike. And now, Bloodstain knows the truth about Vivian. The last Battle-Born in existance, the last of any royal clan alive. Now, time to see how the story ends.