Arven had pulled the small boat up to the shoreline, west of the main entrance to the castle. The trip took slightly longer as he skirted around the side of the island to try and stay out of sight, but he didn't care how long it would take as long as they could get in and out without being noticed.
He knew that there was only one person watching guard, and that person was far up the main entrance, but the knowledge did little to calm his nerves. As they climbed out of the boat he looked to Serana, her face completely calm as if they were strolling through the plains outside of Whiterun.
How can she be so relaxed?
She wasn't. Internally Serana was feeling a rare sense of apprehension. She just wanted to put on a show for Arven, to reassure him.
As soon as they were on the shore, the boat resting on land to stop it from floating away, Arven secured his helmet and drew his sword with his shield resting on his left arm. The dull glow from Dawnbreaker illuminated the grey rocks beneath his feet as the blade pointed down. Just as he went to raise his arm to a readied stance though, Serana stepped in front of him.
She looked back with a smile. "Just let me take the lead for the first bit, okay? It can get confusing pretty quickly if you don't know where you're going."
Arven raised a brow beneath his helmet, but nodded. He didn't relax his stance, but he let her take the lead. He felt odd, having someone who was essentially unarmed in comparison standing out in front of him like this. Serana hadn't even drawn the blade at her waist.
"If you say so," Arven said. "I'm guessing it's dark, anyway. Makes more sense to have you go first."
"Run out of potions? That's unlike you," Serana remarked.
"No, but I don't have many left. If I don't need to use them, I'd rather not." As he said that he placed a hand on the vials around his waist. He only had two night-eye potions left. The warrior knew he should restock, but he found himself getting oddly distracted as of late.
The pair walked along the shoreline until it dipped to the side, their vision blocked by rocks towering up to form the foundation for the castle. They were well and truly below Volkihar now, the towering spires filling Arven's vision if he was to look up towards the foundations.
"It's just around this bend. There might be guards, be careful," Serana said.
As soon as Serana went to round the corner she paused. Her hand opened up, lighting starting to crackle between her fingertips. The moment he saw that Arven jogged to her side, peering out to see a group of skeletal archers around what appeared to be a rather large dock. It was big, even for a castle.
As soon as he noticed the skeletons who, as of yet, hadn't noticed their presence, Arven drove the tip of Dawnbreaker into the ground and started to focus magics around his arm, preparing to summon a bow.
It was a rather useless gesture.
Within the blink of an eye, Arven's vision went incredibly bright as a series of booms echoed out. He let his eyes re-adjust, and found each skeleton had been blown to pieces, while Serana stood with a hand outstretched. Lightning was still dancing between her fingertips.
"Right, of course," Arven said. "Remind me why I'm even needed, again?"
"Entertainment," Serana quipped. "Keeping up morale. You know, the important things," she continued with a cocky smirk.
"Good to know I'm valued," Arven replied. "By the way, don't you think that was excessively loud?"
Serana shook her head as she started walking again. "No, we're too far down for anything we do to be heard." Looking up, Serana tilted her head as she stared at the looming castle above the pair. "The castle looks so big from down here. I mean, it is big, but well, even bigger."
"Aren't you eloquent," Arven said.
Serana turned to him, a rather unamused expression on her lips. She extended a finger towards Arven, lightning still dancing around the digit. "Care to repeat that?"
Arven pursed his lips, shaking his head. "No, I don't think I do."
The look on Serana's face turned back to a smile instantly. "Good."
They both continued to walk towards the dock, climbing stairs while stepping over a surprising amount of rubble. The place was in serious need of not just a thorough cleaning, but proper repairs before it could even be considered as being remotely usable.
"I'm guessing Harkon didn't have much use for shipments?" Arven asked.
"Rarely," Serana replied. "When he did he normally used thralls, so there was no need to keep the appearance of a normal dock. I honestly can't remember the last time we received anything that wasn't, well… food."
As they passed the skeletons, Arven had the urge to stab each one through the head as he usually did. The only reason he didn't was since they had been so completely obliterated by the lightning, that there didn't seem to be a need.
"Just through here," Serana said as they approached a door. "You might want to hold your breath, just in case."
"Sure, but why would I-" As he spoke Arven was instantly cut off the second Serana opened the door. He raised a hand to his helmet, trying to cover his mouth as he coughed and gagged while stepping out of the entrance.
"Water cistern," Serana said. "And unfortunately, commonly used to dispose of… garbage, by lazy members of the court."
Arven spent a minute regaining his composure. He took a vial out of his belt, one with a particularly offensive, potent smell and inhaled deeply. It wasn't nice, but it was far better than the alternative. The scent lingered in his nostrils for a bit and he stepped into the darkness alongside Serana.
"Lovely, I didn't need to smell or see anyway," Arven said.
"Do you need to hold my hand, Arven?" Serana quipped.
Arven let out a sarcastic laugh. "Very funny." Using his sword as a torch, Arven raised it to his side, looking at the worn-down stone walls that they walked past. The sword wasn't bright enough to offer much assistance, but he could at least see his feet.
"So why did you ever want to spend time down here?" Arven asked.
"It was quiet," Serana responded. "No one else ever came down here, so I could get away and have some time to myself."
"In a castle this big, this is the only place you can think of?" Arven responded.
Serana smirked. "I always ended up running into someone as long as I stayed within the main halls of the castle, regardless of where I went. It felt like I was being constantly checked up on. Monitored." As they continued to walk Serana lead Arven down what seemed like a maze of twists and turns.
"Down here though, no one ever wanted to follow," she continued.
"Well, I can't blame them," Arven responded.
As they kept walking, eventually Serana came to a stop. She paused, silent as she looked off to the side. Then she raised a single hand, lightning starting to crackle about her fingers once more. She spoke a single word.
"Don't," she said.
Arven couldn't hear a thing in response, at first. Then, he heard a hiss quickly followed by Serana's hand blasting the source of the noise with destruction magic. In the dim light, the sudden blast filled his surroundings with a blinding white light for a moment, leaving him disoriented.
Shortly after casting her spell Serana let out a soft sigh, sounding almost remorseful. After he could see again Arven walked closer as he held out his sword to get a better view. The thing that Serana had attacked was lying back against a wall, a young-looking woman who took the blast from Serana straight on, leaving her without an arm and a large chunk of her torso. The sight was grotesque and Arven almost felt a little sick.
"Shit Serana, was that really necessary?" Arven asked. He was trying to push back those intrusive thoughts once more, the ones telling him that Serana was nothing more than a savage beast hiding under a layer of beauty.
"Look in her mouth," Serana replied. Arven did so, holding his illuminated blade closer. He saw fangs.
"Wait, what?" Arven started. He went to continue, but found he was at a loss for words.
"A vampire. She was feral," Serana responded before she continued walking, looking over her shoulder to motion Arven to follow.
"Feral? How is there a feral vampire here?" Arven retorted.
"My only guess is that she somehow lost the favour of the court. Upset my father and was banished but didn't know where to go. So she starved, down here in the darkness." Serana explained.
Arven didn't know if he should feel sympathy for the creature or not. On one hand being left to starve was a horrible way to lose your sanity. On the other hand, she was a vampire. He looked back to Serana.
"Is this something that happened often?" He asked.
"Not common, but not rare enough that this is a shock," Serana responded. A second later the look on her face instantly changed, turning into the darkness as electricity started to crackle around her hands once more.
Arven raised his sword and shield, moving to stand to her side but Serana positioned herself in front of him as she raised a single hand back to him. "Don't, just let me handle this," Serana said in a surprisingly forceful tone.
Arven paused, and only then did he hear the familiar sounds of Death Hounds approaching.
"Serana I'm not going to let you handle everything on your own," he said. Serana seemed to ignore him, and a second later Arven was shielding his eyes from the blinding lights as the Death Hounds were taken care of in a matter of seconds.
He didn't see how many there were but judging from their dying screams he counted at least four. After the first few bursts of destruction magic he opened his eyes, only to see Serana drawing her blade as she moved between two more beasts, cutting them down in such an elegant manner that it seemed as if she was merely dancing. She was incredibly fast, fast enough that Arven knew he'd have trouble blocking a serious attack from her.
Frowning beneath his helmet Arven raised a hand, letting a bright yellow light glow from his fingers. By pooling restorative magic without letting it go he formed a sort of make-shift torch, lighting up the room around them. Now that he could count, there was a total of 6 hounds, and Serana didn't even seem to be out of breath.
"You know, I never liked these things," Serana said. "Come on, let's keep going."
Something felt off to Arven in the way Serana was handling this. She wasn't the type to shy away from a fight, but he felt like he was being coddled. He kept his thoughts to himself though, for the time being.
The cistern was surprisingly confusing to get around. With every twist and turn Arven lost his sense of direction very quickly, being completely lost without Serana's help. Eventually they came to a bridge that turned off into two different directions. Serana took them one way, leading towards a room that had spiked balls dangling from the ceiling.
"This really doesn't seem like the right way to go," Arven said.
"It's father's paranoia. A while ago he started having this entire place turned into more of a maze. Wanted it to be impossible for someone to pass through," Serana said. "He just doesn't realise that I know this place like the back of my hand. Oh, don't get poked. I'm fairly sure there's some diseases on these things."
Serana walked at a regular pace through the traps, moving her body around them without even trying while Arven followed slowly, using his shield to protect himself. It took them a little bit longer, walking through confusing corridors and finding hidden switches before they finally managed to see the light of day once more. Stepping out into the dim sunlight, Arven watched as Serana broke into a small jog.
"Oh, oh no…," Serana breathed. "What happened to this place?"
As Arven walked out into the open, thankful for some proper light again, he saw what seemed to be the ruins of a once beautiful garden. Dead trees littered the courtyard, rotting bark that carried no foliage. Garden beds that seemed to have been trampled, with the only remaining life being common weeds. Stone paths that had been upturned, destroyed. It looked as if a dragon had landed, torn things to shreds, then left. Arven even noticed one of the exits from the area had been totally caved in, the door buried under tons of stone and rubble.
"What happened to this place?" Serana asked. "Everything's been torn down. The whole place looks, well… dead."
Arven walked alongside Serana, sheathing he sword as he did so. "Hey Serana, your mother kind of sucked at gardening."
Serana, who looked as if she was starting to be overcome with emotion, turned to Arven and punched him in the arm. Despite the smile he put on her face, her eyes were glassy, and she turned away quickly.
Arven flinched, rubbing his arm that was almost certainly bruised – even under the armour he wore. "You really liked this place, didn't you?" He asked.
Serana nodded in return. "I did. I do," she corrected. "I spent countless hours here with mother. I have so many memories of this place." Serana continued to walk around, slowly strolling past the garden beds, reaching out to place her hand on the rotting bark of one of the trees. She looked rather solemn, and Arven couldn't do much but stand around, trying to be respectful of her mourning. While he didn't understand the attachment personally, it seemed to mean a lot to her. Because of that, Arven found that it meant quite a bit to him as well.
"We must be the first to set foot here in centuries," Serana said. She had walked up to the door that was now caved in, her look turning to one of anger instead of sorrow. "This used to lead into the castle's great hall. It looks like my father had it sealed up. I used to walk through here after evening meals. It was beautiful, once…"
Arven didn't respond. He didn't know what to say to make things better, so he kept his lips sealed. He just watched as Serana walked back down, then straight towards him. Serana found that she was oddly emotional, more-so than she would've thought after returning. She hated how it made her feel, so she decided to do the one thing which she knew would clear her head.
She approached Arven and rested her head across his chest, her arms gently wrapping around his waist. Arven just froze for a moment, arms hanging by his sides as he looked down.
"Uhh, Serana-" he started, before being cut off.
"Shut up, you idiot," Serana said as she hugged him tighter. Almost instantly she felt calmer, and after Arven unfroze and hesitantly wrapped his arms back around her, she felt at peace. She was a little bit worried about just how much of an effect he had on her, but that was something to concern herself with another time.
Arven felt awkward. He even had a small moment of déjà vu, but he found that he didn't exactly hate it. He expected his heart rate to jump up, as it normally did, but instead he felt calm. With his arms wrapped around her back, he rested his chin on Serana's head and waited for her to break the embrace. The voice in the back of his head yelling at him, berating him, it was almost entirely silent now.
"This was my mother's garden," Serana said, burying her face into Arven's chest. "Do you know how beautiful something can be when it's tended by a master for hundreds of years?" She asked.
"She would've hated to see it like this," Serana gently whispered.
"This isn't permanent," Arven replied. "It can be remade again."
Serana had a gentle smile come across her lips. "I suppose you're right," she said as she turned her head, resting her other cheek on his chest. Her eyes were drawn to the moon dial in the centre of the courtyard, which caused her to frown.
"Hang on," she said as she broke the embrace, walking towards the centrepiece. "Something's wrong with the moon dial here."
"What, they forgot to make it a sun dial instead?" Arven quipped. Serana seemed less than impressed.
Breaking off their embrace Serana walked over, although her fingers reached out behind her to linger on Arven's chest as she walked away. Arven finally felt his heart jump. He felt a small longing. He felt sad that he no longer had her in his arms, and that emotion itself led to confusion. He waited for the other part of his mind to speak up, to tell him that he was being foolish, but it didn't come. It was silent.
That worried him, just a little bit.
"I don't think a sun dial would really fit the theme of this place, Arven," Serana retorted. "But no, some of the crests are missing." Serana squatted down near the edge of the dial, her fingers running over a groove in the ground. Arven walked over and saw what she was talking about, a series of circular grooves running around the perimeter of the dial. Each one seemed to represent a phase of the moon, yet some of them had been pulled out.
"Did anyone else ever come here?" Arven asked.
"No, never," Serana replied. "Father did once, maybe twice. That was only when he needed something though. None of the other members really shared mother's interest in gardening. Plus, they were all scared of her."
"Scared?"
"Yes, just as they're afraid of father. Vampire Lords don't tend to invite friendly company," Serana explained. Then she turned to him, looking up with a smile. "Just the sarcastic, annoying type I suppose."
Arven folded his arms across his chest, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "So, what're we looking for exactly?"
Serana pointed to each of the empty grooves on the floor. "The discs that belong in these. They've been deliberately taken out, not destroyed as collateral in father's rage. We should try to find them."
Arven looked around the courtyard. He couldn't see any obvious places to hide a disk at first. As he looked around Serana had started searching their surroundings and Arven couldn't help but notice that she did so with an incredibly delicate touch, as if she was still trying to preserve the garden.
Looking around, eventually Arven came to one of the garden beds. The bed was mostly empty, with only some dead roots and small plants still present that had long since become rotten. Sinking his gloves into the soil he started to dig, pulling up the dead plants.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Serana called out, walking over to Arven.
"Digging, what's it look like?" Arven replied without looking back.
"Do you have to?" Serana replied. Arven turned his head, looking back at Serana. She had her arms wrapped across her torso, holding herself with a solemn look on her face. Arven let out a soft sigh. While the gardens all looked destroyed to him, he didn't think that continuing to tear things up might upset Serana even more.
"Sorry, Serana. We just have to look everywhere if we want-" Arven cut himself off as he felt something in the soil. Grabbing hold of it he pulled out one of the disks, brushing the dirt off with his other hand before holding it out to Serana, as if he was providing evidence of his innocence.
"Have to be thorough if we want to find your mother," he finished.
Serana reached out, grabbing the disc from Arven's hands. She nodded in response to his words but didn't verbally respond, walking back over to the moon dial to replace the disc into its groove.
The two of them kept looking, with Arven trying his best to be respectful of the area before they finally managed to return all the discs. As Serana placed the final disc into its respective slot, the moon dial began to turn. Arven could hear the workings of a mechanism beneath the dial as it moved in the stone, the floor around it slowly changing, morphing shape as a descending spiral staircase came into view.
"Very clever mother, very clever," Serana said. The two of them walked down the stairs, only after Serana ensured that she was in front, finding a door leading to dimly lit tunnels.
"I've never been here before, but I'd bet these tunnels run towards the tower ruins. It feels like we're getting closer," Serana continued.
"I hope you're right," Arven said. "As long as we're moving in the opposite direction of the main hall."
"We are, don't worry," Serana confirmed. "Let's keep going."
Eventually the tunnels opened back up into one of the many towers that made up the castle, a tower that was derelict inside. Cobwebs spanned across the roof, rubble was everywhere, and furniture had been upturned, broken or had simply rotted away within the many rooms inside.
"This place looks like it hasn't been touched for centuries," Arven commented.
"It probably hasn't," Serana said. "I don't how many people used to live here, but the Castle is huge. There simply aren't enough members of the court to fully populate it."
"So do you really think your mother is hiding in here, somewhere?" Arven asked.
"I don't know. It seems unlikely, but the tunnel leading here and the moon dial, that's no coincidence. At the very least, we should be able to find a hint. Something," Serana said.
The two walked into a surprisingly large dining hall, a long table in the centre of the room with lavish, yet ruined chairs pulled up to the table. Skeletons were seated at most of the chairs, cobwebs running all over their bones with a thick layer of dust resting across them.
"Lovely," Arven commented as he tightened the grip on his sword. He started to walk towards the closest chair, ready to ensure that the skeletons wouldn't be a threat, but Serana stopped him. She stepped in front of him before waving a hand towards the table. A deathly cold chill filled the air, and a second later each of the Skeletons now had a thin coating of ice along their bones. With a snap of her fingers, Serana made the ice violently explode, causing each skeleton to be decimated within the blink of an eye. Bones shattered, and all that remained was a mixture of bone and ice resting in each of the chairs.
Serana's casual mastery of destruction magic was something that the best mages at the College would be highly envious of. It was also a source of mild discomfort for Arven still. Not because he was afraid of Serana, but because it reminded him of just how powerful a different Vampire Lord was bound to be.
Stepping forward, Arven turned to Serana. "I can handle some skeletons, you know," he said.
"Well I should hope so," Serana replied. "Where did that come from?"
Arven tilted his head, studying her expression. "You're being a bit… protective."
Serana placed a hand on her hip, shaking her head. "What, I'm not allowed to flex my magic on occasion?"
"Well sure, but… a couple of skeletons aren't going to hurt me, you know," Arven responded.
Serana rolled her eyes, turning back as she kept walking through the room. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Arven," she said. It was an obvious lie, one that Arven was able to see through, but she wasn't about to admit it. She knew a few skeletons posed no threat, but the thought of him fighting brought back images in her mind of Arven bloodied and near death, with a vampire sinking its fangs into his neck.
If she took a few extra seconds to get to him back in Whiterun when they were attacked he could've died. Thinking about that scared her in a way that nothing else did.
"Come on, we're getting close," she said. "I'm sure of it."
"Do you know anything about this place?" Arven asked.
Serana shook her head, observing their surroundings as they started to climb some stairs. A gargoyle was looming at the end of the staircase, and a second later the statue's head had been blown off by destruction magic. Serana wasn't taking any chances.
"I had always just assumed that this tower was completely destroyed inside," Serana continued. As they walked past the destroyed gargoyle Arven looked over the remains, charred stone that had cracks all throughout the torso while the head had been entirely obliterated.
"My mother kept this a secret, even from me," Serana noted. "She must have been up to something she thought was dangerous."
"What would even count as being dangerous to her, though?" Arven mused.
"Besides father, and specific artefacts? I have no idea," Serana said.
Eventually they walked into a wide, open room. Two gargoyles were resting on the far side of the room, towering high as they remained entirely still. Serana blasted one without hesitation, destroying it within the blink of an eye. As soon as she did the other one sprung to life, the outer layer of stone breaking away as it charged directly at her.
Another flick of her wrist and the statue had been cast to the side, broken in half by a blast of lightning directly to its chest. What Serana didn't realise though, was the sound of stone breaking masked the approach of two more gargoyles that had been hidden above them as they walked into the room. She heard a crash as one smashed into Arven's shield followed by a shriek coming from the beasts.
Serana immediately spun around, her eyes wide in a panic as she readied more magics in her hand, but she needn't have. As soon as the first one charged Arven spun around, raising his shield just in time to deflect the charge off to one side. As he did he stepped towards the second gargoyle, thrusting Dawnbreaker right though its chest. After slaying the beast he spun on his heel, drawing the blade free before slamming the second beast across the head with his shield, followed by his blade severing head from neck.
Each beast fell to the ground, silent, as Arven barely broke out in a sweat. He had been caught off guard by gargoyles once, but once he knew their trick they were easy enough to manage. They lacked intelligence and were incredibly easy to predict.
"Bloody annoying things," Arven remarked before looking up, finally seeing Serana facing towards him with magics surging around her hands, her eyes wide. "Uh, Serana?"
Serana quickly snapped herself out of it, dropping her arms as she exhaled, the magic leaving her fingers. "Good to know those don't give you trouble anymore," she said. She tried to feign a casual tone of voice, but there was an uncommon shakiness to her words. She went to turn around, but Arven approached and placed a hand on her shoulder. He took off his helmet, looking her in the eyes before she turned her gaze away.
"Seriously, Serana. What's going on?" He asked.
"It's nothing, really. I don't know what you think is happening, but I'm fine," Serana responded. With his helmet off, Serana's eyes went to the scar on his neck. The skin was still healing, showing a visible mark where flesh had been torn away by the vampire. His neck was whole, but the skin was disfigured and coarse.
Arven noticed her eyes drifting down, then reached up to place two fingers on his neck.
"I've survived much worse than that Serana. You don't need to worry," he said as he gave her a gentle squeeze on her shoulder.
"Like another vampire ready to blow you to pieces while you're being feasted on?" Serana retorted in a slightly harsher tone than he meant to use.
"Like dragons. Plural. I would've survived if you didn't show up when you did," Arven said as he tried to reassure her, trying to hide the fact that he was lying.
"You looked like death, Arven," Serana replied, her voice almost a whisper.
"And that was what, a few days ago? Now I'm fine. Really, I'm sturdier than you think," he continued.
Serana turned her gaze away again, reaching up to rub at her eyes. Arven thought he saw a small amount of moisture, but she turned away before he could confirm it. Serana started to walk towards the other side of the room, finding the staircase to continue their climb upwards.
"Just keep an eye out, I don't know how many more of these things are lying around," Serana said as she stepped over the remains of one of the gargoyles.
Arven followed shortly after. He wanted to ask Serana why she was being the way she was, but he didn't feel like he'd be able to get through to her currently. "So, why are there so many gargoyles here exactly?" He asked in an attempt to change the subject.
"It's not all too surprising. Mother had a thing for magical constructs," she said. Arven failed at supressing a small snort of amusement, causing Serana to turn around for a moment.
"Not what you're thinking," she clarified.
"No idea what you mean," Arven said as he raised a hand, as if pledging his innocence.
"You're horrible," Serana said as she turned back. "She enjoyed making constructs, bringing them to life. She studied how to make them stronger. I think she mentioned something about replacing the need for thralls as warriors."
Arven grunted in response. A crude thought came to mind, but it didn't seem like the best time to jest, so he kept it to himself. After climbing another set of stairs they came to a dead end, a room that had a few more skeletons littered about with a table and a fireplace. Serana stood in the middle of the room, arms folded as she looked about.
"Well, this isn't what I was hoping for," she said. Arven didn't respond. Instead he was walking around the walls, running his fingers along the stone while looking for any irregularities.
"What're you doing, Arven?" Serana asked.
"Looking," he replied curtly as he approached the fireplace. He pressed against the back wall of the pit, but there was no budge.
"Looking for what?"
Instead of replying, Arven kept searching. Eventually he placed a hand on the candlestick and found it had some budge to it. So, he turned it, and shortly after the wall of the fireplace gave way, retracting into the ground to reveal another passage.
"For this," Arven replied as he hid the smug on his face underneath his helmet.
"How did you…"
"There had to be something here. Wouldn't be gargoyles littered about the place protecting nothing," he explained.
"Huh. Well, let's go then," Serana responded before she stepped into the passage, the light dimming significantly. They walked up a few more flights of stairs before emerging into a wide, open room. Bookshelves littered the walls, lined with a mixture of books and alchemical ingredients. Stairs led to an upper level, littered with more shelves and desks along with an alchemy table, while in the very centre of the room was a stone circle engraved into the floor. A quick glance at the ingredients told Arven, even with his limited alchemical knowledge, that these ingredients were almost certainly for darker practises than your standard potion crafting.
"Look at this place. This has to be it!" Serana said as she looked over the shelves. Her fingers ran over the spines of books, glancing over each one while studying the different ingredients. "I knew she was into necromancy. I mean, she taught me everything I know, but I had no idea she had a setup like this."
"You know necromancy? What am I saying, of course you do," Arven said.
Serana nodded. "Just never felt the need to use it. Plus, I can't imagine you'd enjoy that too much," she said with a half-smile.
Arven sighed. He was appreciative of her consideration, but he was once again reminded of what she was.
"Look at all this," Serana muttered to herself. "She must have spent years collecting these components." She spent her time walking about the room, primarily looking at the ingredients she found, as if trying to determine what their purpose was. Eventually she stopped in the centre, standing in the depressed circle.
"And what's this?" She asked of no one in particular. "I'm not sure what it's for, but it's obviously… something."
"You mean… a circle?" Arven said. He just couldn't help himself.
Serana frowned. Stepping over to a nearby bookshelf, she picked up a book and threw it at Arven. He raised his arms, blocking his head as the book hit his shoulder.
"Hey," he said. "And here I thought you'd be more respectful of your mother's belongings.
Serana's eyes went wide as he said that, as if she didn't realise what she'd done. Walking over, she picked up the book, brushing the dust off of it before placing it back in the shelf.
"Let's take a look around," Serana said in an obvious attempt to change the subject. "There has to be something here that tells us where she's gone, or at least gives us another hint." Serana started scanning the bookshelves with more care than before, picking out several books and flicking through them before placing them back.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Arven asked as he idly walked around, ignoring the creeps he got from observing the place. The more he looked, the more sinister it became. Blood stains, poisons, books on necromancy, soul gems and more.
"See if you can find some of her notes. My mother was meticulous about her research, there might be some hints in anything she's written," Serana said.
Nodding, Arven went to the opposite side of the room to Serana. He started leafing through various books, trying not to avoid the darker topics as he wanted to be thorough yet some of the things he read made his stomach turn. Particularly the passages based around the various uses of the dead.
"Your mother, uh… maintained quite the laboratory," Arven said to fill the silence. His voice showed his discomfort obviously, but Serana was too wrapped up in her own work to realise.
"I had no idea that this place even excited," Serana said with a hint of wonder. "She had an alchemy setup in her drawing room, but nothing that even comes close to what's here. I could spend weeks going through all these notes."
Arven pushed down the thoughts of Serana practising necromancy. He knew she had in the past, but that didn't make it any easier to imagine. He put another book back, reaching out to pick up a smaller book this time. Plain, black and leather wrapped.
"I really hope nothing creepy is going to jump out of the shadows," Arven said.
"Why would that happen?" Serana asked as she kept her nose buried in a book.
"Whatever your mom was researching here, it doesn't exactly seem like a wholesome sort of thing to study," Arven commented.
"I suppose necromancy isn't the most pleasant thing in the world. Well, I assume it's necromancy, judging by everything I've seen," Serana stated.
"To what end, though? More power?" Arven asked.
"I don't know," Serana mused. "Longevity, perhaps?"
Arven rolled his eyes underneath his helmet, turning back to Serana. "And you call me sarcastic. I almost don't want to share this with you now," he said as he held up a book.
Serana's eyes turned to him, then lit up when she saw what Arven was holding. "Is that it?!" She ran over, dropping her book as she plucked the one from Arven's hands. Opening the book, she then looked up to press a finger against the man's helmet right where his forehead would be, grinning at him.
"Good job," she said with a smirk before turning on her heel, her hair spinning behind her as she did so. Strands of the wine-red hair brushed against Arven's chest, leaving him with her lingering scent, an incredibly intoxicating smell that was enough by itself to captivate nearly any man.
"Thanks," he mumbled to himself. "So, what exactly is a soul cairn?" When flicking through the notes, that was the first thing he noticed. Repeated mentions of a 'Soul Cairn', something he'd never heard of.
Serana paused in her tracks, turning back to him. "I only know what she told me. She had a theory about soul gems, that the souls don't just vanish when they're used."
"This is already sounding rather grim," Arven said.
Serana shrugged. "She hypothesised that they end up in the Soul Cairn. It's a place home to immensely powerful beings, a place that necromancers bargain with. They send them souls and receive powers of their own in return."
"Wonderful," Arven said. "Sounds like a relaxing place."
"I think my mother was trying to travel there directly."
"Really? It almost sounds like some sort of twisted afterlife. Is going there even possible?"
"Maybe. Technically, vampires are dead, so why shouldn't we be able to go?"
Arven sighed. He stepped up to the engraved circle in the centre of the room, banishing thoughts of a dead Serana from his mind. "So what, this is a… portal?"
Serana nodded. "I believe so. If I'm reading this right, there's a formula here that should give us safe passage into the Soul Cairn. Just wait here, I'll go hunting for them."
"Fine by me," Arven said to no one in particular. He crossed his arms over his chest, a small golden light radiating from the palm of his hand. He found it oddly comforting, as if he was bringing some light, some life into this place that had been forsaken of it for so long.
While trying to clear his mind, he ended up watching Serana from behind as she walked about the room, scooping up various ingredients and talking to herself under her breath. He was only snapped out of his daze when she called out.
"Damn it. I knew this wouldn't be easy," she said.
"What's wrong?" Arven asked as she looked up. Serana was standing on the platform above them, near a pedestal of some kind with a bowl at the top, clearly for mixing ingredients in. He started to walk up to join her.
"We need a sample of her blood. Which… if we could get that, we wouldn't be here in the first place," she sighed.
"So, use your own blood," Arven said.
Serana paused, thinking to herself for a moment. "Hmmm. Not bad. That might actually work," she agreed.
"Seems like an odd thing to ask for, though. A specific vampire's blood for a portal," Arven said.
"Hey, I don't make the rules. We'd better hope that this is good enough though. Mistakes with these kinds of portals can be… gruesome. Anyway, that's enough of that. Let's get started."
"Can I ask you something first?" Arven spoke up.
"Of course, what is it?" Serana asked, turning back to face him as she took a few steps over to close the distance between the two of them.
"What will you do if we actually find your mother?"
Serana looked off to the side, her lips pursed. "I've been asking myself the same thing since we came back to the castle. She was so sure of what we did to my father, I couldn't help but go along with her," she said. "I never really thought of the cost."
Arven exhaled through his nose. He opened his mouth but was unsure if he should say what was on his mind. He didn't want to sour Serana's mood. Despite that though, he spoke up.
"Honestly Serana, it sounds like she was pretty selfish."
Serana looked back to him, a scowl almost crossing her face before her expression turned soft once more. "She wasn't always, but… I think you're right. When I think back, she was practically smirking as we fled home. Almost like she was proud of herself, even though she was taking her daughter to lock her away for hundreds of years."
Arven didn't know the right words to say, so he kept his mouth shut.
"The more I think about it, the more I feel like she didn't want to just stop my father. She wanted to beat him, she wanted to win, even if it meant using me as a pawn," Serana continued.
Arven stepped closer, reaching out to place his hands on Serana's, giving them a quick squeeze. It was an intimate gesture, one that Arven wasn't entirely comfortable with, but he found himself wanting to comfort her.
"That doesn't matter now, though. I'm just happy I've got one person who actually cares about me," Serana said in the sweetest voice possible. She looked up at Arven, gazing into his eyes through the small slits in his helmet as her beautiful smile reached him once more.
"Alright," Serana continued. "Let's get this over with."
While he tried to shake the fluttering feeling in his chest, Arven leaned against one of the handrails around the upper platform, watching idly as Serana started to mix all of the ingredients together. At the end she drew her dagger, slicing her hand to let blood pour out into the mix. The flesh knitted itself back together shortly after, leaving no visible mark or scar.
As soon as all the required ingredients had been combined Arven felt the floor around him shift. He reached out to hold onto the railings for support as the engraved circle in the centre of the room gave way, stone stairs rising out to meet them at the top of their platform as a ghastly sort of energy seemed to come out from the ground. The sight made Arven take a few steps back, while Serana edged forward.
"By the blood of my ancestors," Serana whispered. "She actually did it. She created a portal to the Soul Cairn." Serana stood at the edge of the stairs descending down, her eyes lit up with a sense of wonder. "Incredible."
She turned back to Arven, a look of excitement on her face. "Well, are you ready to go? We might just be the second and third people to ever enter this place."
Arven didn't respond. He felt something bad coming from the portal. But he couldn't back out now, so he took a few steps forward. It felt surprisingly fine as he moved to the stop step but suddenly he felt a lurching sickness coming from his chest, the feeling of something trying to tear his very essence away. The feeling reminded him of the horrid sensation of absorbing a dragon's soul, yet in reverse. He felt like his soul was being torn away from him.
After a moment of initial shock he backed away as fast as he could, almost stumbling before he ended up flat against the fall, his chest rising and falling quickly as he struggled to catch his breath. Serana moved to him in an instant, pulling his helmet off and wiping his hair from his eyes before her palms came to rest on his cheeks.
"Hey, hey! Arven, are you okay? That looked painful," she said with a worried look.
"It was," Arven breathed as he managed to get his heart rate under control. "It felt like my soul was being ripped out from my chest."
Serana cursed under her breath, pulling her hands away after ensuring that Arven was alright. "Now that I think about it, I should have expected that. Sorry," she said with an apologetic look.
"What do you mean? Do you know what that was?"
"It's not called the Soul Cairn for no reason. It… well, it's hungry for lack of a better word. It's probably trying to take your life essence as payment for passage."
Arven exhaled, picking up his helmet that Serana had placed off to the side before placing it back on, an action that got a small frown of disapproval from the vampire. "So, what now? I don't like the idea of you going in alone," he said.
"There might be a way in, but likely not for you," Serana said as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I can pass through without issue because I'm a vampire. So, if you were-"
"No," Arven immediately said, cutting off the train of thought before it could go any further.
Serana had a solemn smile come across her face as a strange emotion welled up within her. Was that… disappointment?
"I figured, but I had to ask. Sorry," Serana said.
"So there's no way in, unless you kill me and drag me in over your shoulder," Arven stated.
Serana ran her hands through her hair, appearing deep in thought for a moment. She walked over to a nearby table, picking up a large crystal-like object. "Maybe. We might be able to trick it. Pay the 'toll' another way," she said.
"And how would we do that? Trick it into thinking that I'm dead?" Arven asked.
Serana turned to him, holding up the soul gem in her hand. "We give it a soul. Yours."
"Uh," Arven stuttered. "I'll pass, thanks. That sounds the same as just 'dying', really."
"Not necessarily," Serana said. "My mother taught me a trick or two. I could partially soul trap you, just take a tiny fragment of your soul and fill this gem, offering it to the Ideal Masters," she said.
"The who?"
"Oh, right. The Ideal Masters are the rulers of the Soul Cairn. It's like their own little sliver of oblivion that they reside over. They're the ones that the necromancers make deals with in exchange for power," Serana explained.
"You want to trick people who're strong enough to rule over a place like that?" Arven asked.
Serana shrugged in response. "I don't plan on being in there for long. We could run in, take back your soul, grab my mother and get out before they even notice," she said.
Arven let out a deep, long sigh. "Will this make me any weaker?"
"It will, most likely," Serana said. "You'll be missing a part of your soul. And you, of all people know how much strength you can gather from souls."
"Good thing you're feeling protective today. I'm not sure how much use I'll be after you do this," Arven said.
Serana ignored his comment as she stepped up, holding the gem close to her chest. "I need you to think about this. I'm willing to do it, and I'm confident that I can, but it carries some risk. I can't say how much weaker you'll be until we regain your soul."
"I don't really see any other way. And I'm not content to stay here while you go in there alone," Arven said. Serana had a soft, sweet smile come to her lips from his words before she held out her hand, placing it on Arven's chest.
"Are you ready?" She asked. Arven nodded in response. "I know this would be difficult. I hope you trust me to do this, you know I'd never do anything that could hurt you," Serana said as she looked into his eyes.
"I do trust you Serana," Arven said as the thought of another word came to his mind. He doubted it, but it felt… right. Surprisingly right. It wasn't something he ever thought he'd say, but as he toyed with the idea of it, he found it to be true.
"Completely," he stated.
Serana's eyes widened ever so slightly, before she moved in closer and wrapped her arms around Arven's chest. She held him tight, her eyes closed as she prepared the magics required in one hand, the other hand clutching the gem.
Arven wrapped his arms around her in return, giving her a soft squeeze. "I'm ready," he said.
Suddenly, the feeling of his soul being torn returned to him, a split second of discomfort and disorientation before he returned to his senses. Serana took half a step back, supporting him as Arven staggered. He found his feet quickly, taking a few deep breaths as Serana looked down to the gem she held that was now glowing with an incredibly bright light.
"That… didn't feel all too great," Arven said. He held out an arm clenching his hand into a fist a few times over. He still felt fine, strong, but noticeably weaker than he did before. Still far stronger than any regular man, but he felt as if he'd spent the entire day exerting himself.
Serana didn't respond. She was almost awe-struck by the object she held in her hand.
"You alright there?" Arven asked as he noticed her.
"I don't think I've ever felt anything like it," Serana said. "Your soul, that is. The second I touched it I was almost overwhelmed. Normally a gem of this size would barely be filled by a person, yet I barely chipped at your soul and that was enough to fill it."
"I'm uh, not exactly sure how to respond to that," Arven said. "Although it does make sense, if you think about it."
Serana raised her head, a quizzical look on her features before realisation dawned on her. "Right, of course. It isn't just one soul in there, is it? Well, it is, but you know."
Arven just grunted in response, avoiding the topic. "Time to see if that worked, I suppose," he said. Stepping around Serana, he cautiously returned to the place on the first step where he had felt his soul being torn from him. He closed his eyes and waited, yet… nothing came. No sudden pain or sensation overwhelmed him.
"I think that worked," he said.
Serana stepped alongside him, looking up with a smile. "I told you it would, didn't I?" She said with a cocky grin. "Ready to go, then?"
Arven nodded, and after taking a deep breath, he descended down into the Soul Cairn.
Hello again! I'm back with another chapter, and yes I'm still alive! Apologies for the recent delays between chapters, life has been hectic recently. I hope everyone has been staying safe and well with everything that's going on in the world at the moment, and I hope that reading this can bring you a small amount of reprieve from your days. I've got a bit more time to write now, so fingers crossed I can get the next chapter out within the next month.
As always thanks for reading, following, favouriting and commenting! Even if I don't manage to get back to you, I read every single comment and they mean a whole lot to me. :)