Cearbhail: Ok, I split these up into two chapters. I don't like making them so long that people are forced to read for too long of a time and getting bored or distracted too far into it. I know I do.

[Bloodstain]

I was dreaming. A common thing when you have nothing else to do. I was on top of the Blue Palace. The world was burning around me. Standing near the center of the tower, right where the magicka cannon rested, I could see the Seer looking out at the fire. She turned to face me, her kind smile greeting me. She stuck out her hand, beckoning me to come to her.

I stepped up to her, taking her by the hand. She felt so real, everything looked as though it had already happened.

"It's about time you took my hand, Bloodstain." The Seer said, looking out at the scene. "This will come to pass. The world will burn."

"Why?" I asked. "Why haven't you done anything to change it?"

She looked over at me, her smile fading away. "You make me sound like a god. I'm only a person, one who already tried and failed. But you…are so much more. This world is of your making. It will burn and it will be silenced." She smiled. "And you'll do it for the right reasons."

I was about to question her but I felt her pulling away. She smiled as she disappeared under a mist. I found myself being pulled back into my body. I was waking up.

"Wake up, Bloodstain."

I could hear Branii as she stepped up to my cage. She was one of the immortal Thalmor and the current Councilor of Whiterun. All the councilors from around Skyrim and the other provinces were all here today, celebrating their final victory. Today would have been a perfect time to strike, if I had any magicka remaining in my body.

I looked up at her. Her dulled yellow face that was almost an ash gray was almost put to shame by her soulless black eyes. The ring of bright yellow irises glared through me, and with no magical defenses, I might as well have been bitten right there.

I pushed myself up off the floor and slid myself against the wall. "Why, hello Councilor."

She smirked at me. "Well, well. Claus Motierre is the infamous Bloodstain. If I had known…I would have killed you a long time ago." She opened the door to my cage and stepped inside. "Now, stand up, I don't wish to get my knees dirty."

When I didn't move, she grabbed me by the shoulder and lifted me up with no problem. She slammed me against the wall and I was sure that one of my shoulder blades cracked. She smiled as I coughed up blood, some of which splashed onto her face. She didn't shirk away from it like others would. A long tongue that looked alien rolled out of her mouth and lapped at it. She smiled even more hideously and said, "Mmm, you Dragonborns do have special blood. I always hungered for you…your blood was always calling me."

She pulled me in for an embrace, my body already succumbing to it. I hated it, but my body wanted the endorphin rush. Something to calm my mind through this prison experience. She was content to breathing on my neck while my body tensed, expecting to feel the tight pinch of the bite and then the rush of pleasure and unadulterated bliss. I would not be surprised if I had some sort of dysfunction during the feeding process. With how many I've gone though and enjoyed it…I could never tell what was going on down there.

Branii decided to stop messing with me, while all she was doing was just savoring the smell of my neck, and bit. She pulled herself in close, wrapping her arms around my back, pulling me in tight as if I was a lover or something. While the inside of my neck started going numb and my head started going into a haze, the only thing I could focus on was her tongue dancing on my neck. It sent goose-bumps down my spine.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, Branii sipping me like I was a delicate wine that had to be sipped and tasted over just plain consumed. In those long minutes, my mind continued to drift along the happy road where I chased a giant purple dragon…but I could never catch him. When she finished, I didn't feel her teeth exit, just saw her hands push me away gently. She was breathing hard, her mouth covered in rich dark blood. Her eyes had turned red again, almost Altmer in appearance. "By the gods, Bloodstain…I wish I could take you back with me." She started licking her lips, her lips pulling into a smile. "Your blood is so…" She shook her head and stepped away. "If I don't leave, I will drain you." With that she flashed away.

"Are you ok?" Vivian asked. I loved hearing her voice.

I tried to formulate words, ideas. I couldn't bring any to mind. My head was still reeling over the thought of Branii as she gave me the kiss of death. It was the only thing I could think of.

"Bloodstain?" She asked. "Are you still alive?"

I wanted to answer and I guess I grunted out, "Yeah." My mind started processing again and I looked around my cage. My head was now spinning. "Ugh…it's getting worse. Soon enough I'll lose my mind entirely."

"Me too." She replied. "I almost couldn't come back. Next time they bite me, just keep calling me until I answer. Ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that goes for you too. It's the only way we'll keep our heads while we're here."

"But…why are we still fighting? We can't keep this up forever, Bloodstain." She sounded like she was going to start crying. I could not blame her, it was getting tough for both of us, people biting our necks and taking our blood away at least seven times a day. It was getting hard to hold onto reality. We would soon lose our sanity, and it had only been a few days.

I looked back through at the wall where she lied opposite of me. "We'll get out of here."

Then she asked the only question I did not have an answer for. "How?"

…

[Madanach]

Trees were torn apart. The ground was a giant stretching crater. The ground was darkened, blackened and as cold as the void. I could still see the faces of the men who died here, hear their souls cry out as they were silenced, fused with the earth. Magicka didn't destroy, it returned what was given. If the cannon hit my men, they would have been returned to the earth, forever stuck in this blackened pit to suffer eternity.

The crater was the so large and deep that it was near impossible to ever fix. This giant scar would be a constant reminder of the men and women who died trying to bring freedom back to Skyrim, back to Tamriel. They had died trying. And right now, they had died for nothing. I hoped that I could change that.

I looked around, hoping that I was still invisible to the naked eye. Dressed in an all-white cloak, I slowly and stealthily strode across the snow, stopping every time a patrol passed over the tower, glancing down at me. I don't think anyone saw me, but I had a crossbow armed just in case. I had a thin fishing line attached to the bolt. For one purpose, really: to yank the dead body out of the tower and into the snow with me. I may not be the perfect soldier, but I do know a lot about being stealthy and guerrilla warfare.

I waited for the patrol to pull away from the edge, returning to peek at the other side of the snowy bank. According to the blind woman who healed me earlier, my remaining Reachmen were waiting by the cliffs down on the other side of the river. It was the giant stretch of rock that housed the Blue Palace. We were going to climb all the way up the giant plateau of rocks until we reached the castle's drainage sewers, climb inside, and using a map that we had: find the drainage pipe that led to the castle's prison cells. Then, free Bloodstain and Summoner, give them the potions to restore them to their previous power, and take the castle by force. Man, I sure it worked out as well as she planned it would.

Making my way through the snow on a counted sprint/dive tactic worked out great. I was never spotted by any patrols glancing over their gods-forsaken walled fortress. I eventually made my way over to the river, which had been frozen over for nearly 50 years. Sliding my way across was a breeze. Upon landing on the other side, I saw some movement and unsheathed my serrated sword. I snapped my fingers twice, each one sending out a small dull red flash of fire magic. I saw a reply of two snaps and green magicka magic. Good, my team had spotted me. So far, so good.

I started climbing on the flat surface that made up the groundwork of the giant pillar of rocks. Looking up into the almost midnight sky, I could barely see the rest of the mountainous pillar that we had to climb or the castle. The light of the twin moons gave me enough to go by so I slid my sword away and turned to face my squad. I nodded to them. "Ok, gents. This should be easy. Our mission: jail break, castle raid, throne succession, and escape all before tea time. Any questions?"

My team of six Reachmen just stood there, looking at me and then at each other. One of them shrugged and said, "Can we get started?"

I nodded and pointed up at the castle. "So, Reachmen. Let's see just how far we can reach before dawn." I pulled my spiked enchanted climbing gloves on and slammed my hand hard against the stone. I felt a welcoming smack as my enchantment allowed the metal pike to go through the rock and lock in place until my second hand was also caught. My boots were enchanted with a similar spell. All of our equipment was.

Slowly we rose through the rocks. I was getting high enough to see the lights in the castle, dim as they might be, but I could see them. Large gusts of wind blew against us, threatening to throw us off, but we all continued to climb without halting. Even when we encountered ice, we managed to push through until we came up to the flat-surfaced stonework of the castle's walls. We had made it.

I started looking around for an entrance for the sewers. I memorized the entire map layout just for this purpose. I positioned myself at the start of the climb so that when I made it to the base of the castle, there would be a small round hole that leaked all the nasty things that the castle did not want. The problem was…I did not see it.

So, I looked over to my fellow Reachmen and said, "Are we at the right spot?"

One of them nodded. "Yes, but the hole is just a little concealed. It's just to your left."

So I started climbing left and I was certain that I didn't see it. Until I heard sloshing. Then a giant wave of water came flying out of the bulging rocks just lower than us and I could see that the sewer was lower than we had thought. Good thing, I was about to give up. I started climbing down until I could see the hole. It was just big enough for us to muscle our ways through.

I looked to my fellow Reachmen and said, "Whoever draws the short straw goes in first."

…

The tunnel was slick, smelly, and filled with the nastiest things you would ever expect to see in your life. It was almost bad enough that it blinded me and choked my lungs as I quickly attempted to scatter through the maze of small tunnels that made up the castle's sewage system. Since they just flushed the pipes, we had a small window of opportunity before they flushed the next round. We finally found ourselves underneath a giant tunnel that ended underneath a giant barred grate. That was supposedly the torture room, adjacent to the prison cells. Right where the other prisoners could see the interrogation methods, just in case they needed another reason to be afraid for their lives.

I started climbing up, happy that my spikes continued to pass through the metallic pipe as I climbed up, both arms stretched out as far as they could, slowing pushing myself up the wider pipe. I could smell fresh air. I could also hear Bloodstain and Summoner talking.

"We'll get out of here." Bloodstain said through a hazy voice.

"How?" I heard Summoner reply, her voice sounding cracked and beaten.

I growled. I couldn't waste any more time. They sounded like they needed help. I peeked up through the gate, not seeing anything at first. I started activating my detect life spell. My eyes snapped open, covered with a light green hue over the land. Giant shades of white and blue filled the hallway surrounding the cells. White represented non-essentials, aka other prisoners, blue represented allies. No purple, vampires; or red, enemies. Good.

I punched the grate open and threw myself up. I landed quietly on the ground, but I was heard by someone.

"Who's there?" A guard said as he came around the corner. It was a standard Thalmor dressed in black elven armor with blood-red edging. When he saw me, he began to reach for his little rape whistle. He never got the chance. I Wulded up to him, slashing his head off before he could even raise the whistle to his lips. I spun around, caught his body, and lowered it to the ground without it making a sound.

I started walking through the rows of cages. If I wanted a really good distraction, a prison break was what I needed, but I was going to wait until everyone was sobered up, armed, and ready to fight. Looking through the cages, I could see children, mothers, former Stormcloaks, and former Alik'r soldiers in chains. There were enough of them to raise an entire army right here. The only problem, they all looked like zombies; eyes glazed over, dreamy smiles. They were drugged. Good thing I have healers with me.

There, in a cage I could see Bloodstain and Summoner. They were sitting near the end of their cells, their hands closed around each other. I paused for a second just enjoying see Bloodstain sort of content with his predicament. After that moment was saved in my head for my best-man speech at his wedding, I ran up to him.

His eyes locked on mine, but he looked more confused than lucid. "Madanach? What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life!" I called. I unsheathed my sword and slashed through the lock to his cage door. I kicked it in and walked up to him. "Take my hand and we'll take Skyrim back."

…

[Bloodstain]

I cracked my neck as I slid my backup mask over my head. Once I felt the silky material hug my skin in a cold refreshing manner, I felt like I was returning home. Sure, I was dressed in raggy clothes and not in my armor, but I was happy just having my face back.

I waited as Madanach broke through Vivian's cage. He did his little hand trick and her eyes unglazed over. She smiled as she saw us, throwing Madanach into a tight hug. "Oh thank the gods, I thought you were dead!"

Madanach nodded, saying, "Don't worry, Shoutmen aren't easy to kill." Then, Madanach looked over at me. "Hey, Bloodstain. Care to fill me in on what's going on? Some blind healer told me that I had to get this far and then…you'd lead me to the next phase of operation: kill Fiirnar and save Skyrim."

I started thinking about my dream. The entire world was burning and it was because of something I did. What was I going to do? I couldn't think about it now. I had to do something else. I looked at Vivian and said, "Well, this is..." I pointed to Vivian. "The Summoner is really Princess Cecilie's great grandchild."

That sent Madanach into a confused glance. "What? Wow. Ok, so…we kill Fiirnar and get her crowned as High Queen. For that we'd have to kill the current High King and place the crown on her head, since only a Dragonborn of the Battle-Born clan can wear it properly." He said, rubbing the growing beard on his chin. "Sounds easy."

I shook my head. "Not easy. We still have to deal with the Thalmor, the vampires, the rest of the world, oh…and the giant magicka cannon that can cause problems to everyone in the whole world."

Cearbhail: Next chapter, the finisher. I thought up all day on how to end this and now I have the perfect ending. And then, I will have a story premier. It will be called "Changing Fates". You'll see. I might also put up another story premier "The Melencholy of Cecilie". If you know what melencholy means, you can guess what the story will be like and then once you read the Changing Fates, I'm sure you'll figure out what I've been planning since the end of the Khajiit Battlemage. Everything is linked.