Cearbhail: Ok, final chapter. It did not come out as good as I had hoped, but it still gets the job done. Please let me know if you hated it. As I'm sure you all might.

Bloodstain's journal, entry 9, 8 Morningstar 4e423

The time has come. The final battle. Reachman has released the prisoners, healed them with his Thu'um, made them weapons from the bars of their cages, and now…we're going to take back our castle. Then Solitude, then Skyrim. Then…the rest of Tamriel.

I had lost hope. I thought I was going to lose my sanity to blood-suckers. I have my resolve again. Because I have a plan. Tonight a new High Queen will be crowned and this land will belong to her. All hail High Queen Vivian Battle-Born. That is all I have to say. Now, I have to meet the nice Councilor Fiirnar and discuss with him how upset I am at his killing all my friends.

Bloodstain…

…

The castle was once a proud place. It was called the Blue Palace, filled with some of the greatest kings and queens of Skyrim's history. Now, it was a vampire lair. The castle walls were stained with blood; the blood of the people who were killed her, feed on here, and who were now being killed in a violent castle takeover.

The castle was in an uproar. It was an uproar by our design. Madanach had freed the prisoners, gave them weapons and let them claim revenge on the elves that placed them here. We may have lost our army, but we still had a strong force. And now, it was already inside the walls, inside the castle. The prisoners easily outnumbered the amount of guards within the castle. The only problem was that there were plenty of vampiric Altmer here as well and they were stronger than ordinary elves.

My team and I walked up through the hallway, looking into each room for someone to kill. The prisoners were having an easy time with the small fry, but if we really wanted them to survive long enough to make a difference, the Shoutmen had to kill all the vampires within the castle before the prisoners found them instead. I found a lovely room on the second floor filled with expensive drapery and a giant dining table. I bet this was the dining room that Fiirnar had mentioned upon my first arrival to the castle. I stepped inside already finding someone to kill. Within seconds I could see a couple Thalmor who looked pale and thin. They sat down to a small child who was strapped down, his eyes glazed over. He had his arms cut open. The elves' mouths glistened with fresh blood.

Upon looking at their faces, I could tell that they were some of the upper royalty from Cyrodiil. They had to be some of the councilors from around Tamriel. I unsheathed my dagger and stepped into the room. Time for them to rejoin the cycle. The two vampires hissed as they flew over their tables at me. I smiled as I breathed in and cupped my hands around my mouth. "FUS, AUS, SHUL!" I Shouted as fast as I could. My triple Thu'um hit them fast and hard. I had to admit, I was doing it mostly because right now…I could.

My Fus threw them back against the wall, my Aus made them feel weak and ill. And then finally, my Shul created a giant orb of sunlight that blasted out of my cupped hand like a beam of pure energy. The already weakened vampires cried out as their skin burnt to a crisp and they caught fire. I don't care how much of my blood that they drank, this sunlight was powerful enough to kill me.

Two Thalmor knights came charging into the room, their swords drawn. Vivian spun past me, already ripping portals to the ethereal planes open. Two long glass daggers appeared in her hands and she was now covered in glass armor. She slid onto her knees, sliding right underneath the guards' swords. She slashed with both of her daggers, cutting both warriors around their kneecaps. They both cried out in pain as they fell to the ground. Vivian flipped herself around, slamming a knife through each of their necks.

She looked up at me and smiled. "How was that?" She asked me as innocently as she could.

I chuckled and scratched at my mask, trying to relieve my nose from an itch. It didn't work. "What do I think? I think I'm falling in love with you."

I saw her smile as she stood up. "Well, let's wait until after the fight to discuss that." She walked up to me and sheathed her knives into special knife scabbards built into the thigh plates. She grabbed me by my waist and pulled me closer to her. "But…a kiss won't hurt us." She pulled up my mask just enough to sink her lips in.

I was lost for a couple seconds. I don't know why, but just thinking about this kiss reminded me of the vampire feedings that I had been enduring for the past few nights. The pain, the bliss, every bit of it was captured in this kiss. The way Vivian's tongue danced on mine, the way she seemed to breathe into my mouth, the way I probably breathed into hers as well. It was nothing more than uncomfortable in a blissful way. I would have enjoyed the kiss, I knew I would have, but there was still the feeling of vampires biting down on me that made me shudder. It was ruining this for me. When the kiss was finished, Vivian pulled back, her eyes just as filled with that memory as mine were. She was obviously disappointed with the end result. She just stood there for a second before saying, "It's going to take a while before we recover from this nightmare, isn't it?"

I nodded. "It might. But at least we'll recover together."

And just like that we were running through the castle again, looking for Fiirnar. I bet he was up at the throne room, sitting in the chair like he owned it, even though he wasn't the High King.

Madanach ran into us, his own sword covered in light purple blood. He nodded to us. "I've killed a few vampires, the resistance is really hitting them hard. Shall we head on up to the top level and look for Fiirnar?"

I looked around. There was something bothering me. I looked up towards the ceiling and I remembered that the magicka cannon was resting on top of the castle's tower. I shook my head. "No, we're going about this the wrong way. Fiirnar is just a man. It was his machine that killed all our people in one blast, not him. If we destroy his machine…and then go kill him, we'll be on the right course. Besides, if I were a paranoid maniac who will do anything to kill the Shoutmen…I would be up there right now preparing to fire the cannon straight down into the throne room."

"Why would he do that?" Vivian asked. "All his fellow leaders are…" She stopped.

I nodded. "Right. He shares power with every vampire within this castle and now…they're all here under the same roof. If Fiirnar changed that and killed them all, he would be the only vampire Thalmor alive. He would rule the entire Aldmeri Dominion…all of Tamriel without any power struggles strong enough to beat him."

And just like that, we were running as fast as we could to find the nearest staircase. Madanach led the way since he was clutching a map like his life depended on it. His eyes were glued to it as he sprinted through the halls, Vivian and me following behind him. A couple Thalmor in our way, guarding the staircase, were Shouted by the Ice Form Thu'um as we raced past them and up the stairs. We reached the top to see a ladder leading up. So, we jumped. "BO…SU!"

I had a few seconds to take in what I saw as I fell to the ground. Fiirnar was indeed up here on the roof of the tower. I had never actually seen the magicka cannon before. But it was just as the blueprints suggested…with some tweaks. The whole cannon was the size of a mammoth. At the end of the cannon was a giant swirling orb of blue glowing light. The Eye of Magnus, as it was called. I remembered everything I read on the Eye of Magnus. It had enough power within it to destroy all of Tamriel if it was every harnessed improperly. Surrounding the Eye of Magnus was a familiar design that I had seen in notes taken by Mannimarco. The Black Soul Gem Capacitor. It was a device originally designed to power a Great Dark Welkynd stone. It took seven black soul gems to power, but when it was successfully activated, it had the power to end the Aedra Wars so long ago.

I looked up at the Great Dark Welkynd stone. It rested comfortably inside a different slot of the cannon. Most likely designed to capture souls while the Eye of Magnus was designed to rip anything up into shreds.

Standing near the front of the machine was Fiirnar, his white hair flowing in the giant gust of wind that was threatening to throw us off the roof. The magic brewing within the cannon had created a giant swirling set of thunderclouds above us, illuminating our battle with strikes of lightning, but no rain. Just the way I like it.

Fiirnar looked over at the three of us and smiled. "Oh, look at this. The three of the four remaining Shoutmen up here, standing together…ready to fight the big bad elf." He screamed over the raging wind. He spread his arms out. "By all means…teach me a lesson."

I started to charge forward, but Fiirnar only smiled. As I reached into blast him with a fireball, he dissolved into a cloud of bats. I heard them chirping as they flew past me. "You still have much to learn, Bloodstain." I heard from behind. By the time I snapped around, Fiirnar was already grabbing his head in pain. "Now…you will witness…a vampire lord's…true power!"

He screamed as his skin burst into flame and blood. Both Vivian and Madanach jumped back as the very air around Fiirnar exploded with force. He stepped out of the flames, a new person. He was tall, had strong wings, dressed like a transvestite, and was well-built. I did not believe the rumors that vampire lords looked asexual. I mean, I knew they sparkled, but that outfit just screamed 'batty'. He was wearing nothing but a tight leather loincloth. I don't think anyone should ever have to put up with seeing that.

Fiirnar looked down at me. He levitated from the ground. He smiled as he said, "This is my true form!"

Madanach shook the confusion off as he stood up. He looked at Fiirnar and averted his eyes away. "Ah, dude! Sick! Put some pants on."

Fiirnar smiled and raised his hand to Madanach. With a snap of his wrist, Madanach flew away, sliding against the stonework until he crashed into the wall.

Next, Fiirnar raised his hand to me. "WULD!" I screamed into my cupped hand. I vanished, reappearing behind Fiirnar with my blade raised. I could see blood glistened on my blade. I was disappointed when I found out that it was from my own side. I screamed as I cried out, grabbing my side in pain. I lost my balance and fell to my knee, my breath already becoming painful.

The loud sound of magicka started to hum to life. Fiirnar laughed as he looked back at his machine. "Any second now the cannon will be ready to fire. And when it does…I will be the only person worthy of the throne left!"

"No you won't!" Vivian screamed. She stood up and brushed her hand over her face. Her red hair changed back to black and her pointy ears melted away.

Fiirnar watched in dismay as her face started to change back. He glanced at her and said, "You look a lot like Lydia Battle-Born." His scowl turned into a smile as he looked over at me and then to her. "So, I was correct. Bloodstain did find the Summoner."

"Yes, he did find her. And…she's already beaten you." Vivian said, crossing her arms, dropping her swords in the process.

Fiirnar smiled. "Really? How so?"

She smiled in return. She took in a deep breath and yelled, "REVAK, SHUL, TOOR!" She stuck out her hands and a massive beam of golden sunlight flashed out, consuming Fiirnar. He screamed out in pain as he fell backwards, clawing at his burning flesh. His scary outer form started to burn away, revealing his true form…a weak Altmer vampire.

I pushed myself up as I started feeding Restoration magic into my wound. Fiirnar was still writhing on the ground, gasping in pain as his flesh refused to heal. Steam rolled off his exposed muscle. As he twitched and glared around, his eyes found me. "You're too late. The cannon is armed. Going to fire."

I actually smiled. "Then we will destroy it."

"Then what?" He asked. "You think that will solve anything? The orb will explode, killing us all in the blast. The world will still be ruled by the Aldmeri Dominion, if not by me. Your race will never recover."

I looked back at him. "Then I'll use the blast to kill a Thalmor base and then destroy it!"

He smiled at me. "You don't get it. We've become technological gods. We've achieved what the Dwemer never could. I won't be the first to figure out how to build this cannon and other Thalmor will learn how to create more powerful weapons. Our world only grows darker by the day." He chuckled. "Face it, we can't go back."

I shook my head. "No, we can go back." I looked over at the cannon. "And I know just how to do that."

Both Madanach and Vivian looked up at me in surprise. I don't think they were following my line of thought. Neither was Fiirnar.

"What are you planning on doing, Bloodstain?" Fiirnar asked, his body still twitching, still burning.

I walked up to the cannon and brought up the targeting screen. I had never seen anything like this before but it looked so basic, so familiar. Fiirnar was right, anyone could build this. The Eye of Magnus wasn't always around, the Dwemer created it and we've just completed what the Dwemer never could, a workable magicka cannon. If we could make this, an Eye of Magnus would be easy. And next time, I might not be around to destroy it.

"Answer me!" Fiirnar screamed through his skin-burnt expression.

I looked back at him. "This cannon is aligned under the fire elemental spell and it's aimed right at your main oil pipe. One shot from this will set that oil on fire and it will spread so fast, magnified from the magicka cannon, that it will destroy all your factories, all the Dwemer ruins. Everything will be gone."

Fiirnar looked pissed. "No! You can't do that! We'll never recover! We'll go back to using swords for combat and horses for transportation!"

I smiled. "Good. That means that the Aldmeri Dominion won't have an edge against the other races anymore. We'll all be on the same battlefield."

Fiirnar shook his head. "No, we still have magicka. And all the inferior races don't have any knowledge of any spells at all."

I looked up at the Eye of Magnus. "And…neither will you. I have the Eye of Magnus set to implode. When it goes 'poof' with the Great Dark Welkynd stone…it will cause a disturbance to the natural lay lines of magicka. Magicka as we know it will come to a standstill for a while, getting rid of your magical edge as well. Sure, it won't last even a year, but it will be long enough for my country to kick you back to your own island. Where you all belong. You are right about one thing. If you had magic, you would win. But you rely too much on it. My men don't. When your fireballs and staffs stop working, we'll run right through you."

Fiirnar snarled. "Why did you keep me alive this long?"

I ripped my mask off my face. "Because I wanted to show you…how to plan accordingly." With that Madanach walked up and shot a bolt into his face. Fiirnar was finally dead.

I looked at the magicka cannon. It was coming to its final rounds before firing. I looked over at Madanach and said, "Think I did the right thing?"

He nodded. "The Reachmen have always wanted things to go back to the old days. You were right. If we didn't do this, we would have lost against a Thalmor retaliation. This way, they will be still running around with their heads chopped off. I mean…all their factories and all the Dwemer ruins…gone…" His face paused. He looked over at me. "Bloodstain, my home is a Dwemer ruin!"

I glanced up at him and smiled. "Don't worry. We already lit that place up. There was no more oil to reach there and the pipe caved in long ago. The fire won't reach there."

Madanach nodded. "I sure hope not. It's not like we can change it anyway."

Vivian scrunched up her eyes. "What about the loss of magicka?"

I shrugged. "I don't know if we'll lose the ability to Shout, but your Conjuration magic will be affected. Don't worry, I crunched the numbers. Such an implosion will only disperse and interrupt the lay lines for three months. Just long enough to push the Thalmor out of Skyrim and out of Cyrodiil. From there, we can handle it a step at a time."

She nodded and came in for a hug. "Ok, I trust you."

The three of us watched as a giant red beam fired from the cannon. The giant ball of flame raced across the sky until we couldn't see it anymore. We continued watching. Once the cannon clicked off, the Eye of Magnus spun out of control. I motioned everyone to stand back as the orb started crackling with electricity. Then the orb started spinning faster and faster, finally pulling in and becoming nothing but a small bright ball. I could feel the orb pulling in energy as it struggled to stay stable. The dark welkynd stone broke off the cannon, flying into the tiny orb of magnus. Finally, the orb exploded into a bright blue fire that spread out for a few meters before dying out. The cannon was ripped apart in the explosion as was the dark welkynd stone.

The three of us were hit by the shockwave, but we all used our last Shouts to protect ourselves. Appropriately, we Shouted, "FUS!" The whole Dragonborn tale began with Asger Shouting 'FUS'. And now it ended with us Shouting it.

I stepped back up to the tower and glanced out at the land. I could see the giant pillars of fire as the factories exploded. Giant lines of oil light up as a giant wall of flame and I could feel the heat already. Skyrim might have been the coldest place in Tamriel, but right now I would die to be in a pair of shorts. I nodded as I looked over the land. Everything was just as I dreamed. And the Seer was right…I did it for the right reasons. Well, I hoped so at least.

…

Once we finished watching the world burn from our rooftop, we started walking back down to see about killing the rest of the vampire overlords. What we found were the prisoners standing over kneeling Thalmor wizards and soldiers. They looked confused, like their elemental energy had just turned itself off. The Seer was right about that too. She told me that I could burn and silence the world. I never took the meaning of silence as the spell 'silence' which created a giant bubble of non-magic. It was temporary, I'm sure of it.

Within a minute we kicked Farwen's butt and took the crown from him. We properly crowned Vivian as the next High Queen of Skyrim. It seemed like an empty victory, but to all the prisoners who bowed to her, it felt like a major victory. With all the magic silenced, we held off kicking out the elves. Madanach and I just walked outside and threw the previous High King's head on a spike with a note on it. 'New High Queen: Thalmor…leave.'

They tried to take us back. Within two days, the elves started to leave. Most of the couldn't fight us and the majority of the town were civil folks. Some wished to stay and continue living here. No problem for us at least. Until they try something.

That's the thing. We may have weakened the Thalmor, but they'll recover. They may have lost precious research, equipment, and with all the oil in the world destroyed…they may not be able to power their vehicles, or their weapons. Boo hoo. But they will think of something. Here's the good news. Skyrim is already recovering. We started early. They are still running around in circles. Cyrodiil and Hammerfell are right at our doorsteps, both filled with men and women who want their land back. Do the math. All it takes is a push and we have three months to do as much damage as we can.

No, this is not the end of our story. This is only the beginning. But it is the end of my story. You see…I'm going to be a father now. While I'll be here, changing diapers and feeding a child with a bottle; Madanach will be leading the frontlines. He will take the fight to the Aldmeri Dominion until they are back in Valenwood and out of our hair for good. After that, who cares what they do. As long as they stay away from us, we don't give a shit.

I wish I had more to discuss. More of the story to tell. But, I'm needed in the bed chambers. My wife needs me for something.

Bloodstain…

Cearbhail: Next chapter, the new story premier. And yes, I know horrible ending. Bloodstain becomes a father, does a whole monologue thing to discuss what happened in a couple days' time. But, it just seemed like a lot of information to try to pull out as any other way so I went with that.