Author Notes
As this story does involve Molag Bal, I would like to put a necessary statement out. I will not condone or agree to any type of things he professes or write openly about them. However, there is the implied situations in this chapter with the characters involved, including what everyone knows from the game itself and the books from many Elder Scroll series. I will allow you to make the judgments for yourself and leave it to what you feel is best. You may see it one way or another depending on your tastes. It is written this way intentionally. I will not provide any guidance either way and leave this solely to you, the readers.
-Dragonxtreme7
4th of Sun's Dusk
Serana struggled to keep herself alive. She fed on a few bandits they encountered, drinking each of them virtually dry. She coughed heavily and just didn't have the strength of life inside her. Tenaya did everything she could to keep her comfortable the entire journey. It was almost time to get her home. They saw the castle across the water.
Tenaya put her in the jetty and started rowing across. Serana didn't even try to sit up. The very sight of the castle made Tenaya's stomach stir. When the jetty hit ground, Tenaya looked up remembered so many of the memories here. None of them turned out good. This wasn't her part of the world. She didn't feel it at all.
Her eyes looked up the stone path remembering the brutal fight to get in to fight Harkon. Every moment made her feel uneasy. Tenaya picked Serana from the boat and started up the stone path. It felt ridiculously cold, almost unusual for even Skyrim. Serana clung to her neck like she did most of the travel when carried. Without warning, two gargoyles burst from out of their stone, ready to kill.
"Umm, Serana?" Tenaya asked stepping backwards as another two burst from the stone behind. "Need some help here."
Serana in a daze looked forward realizing the situation. All the gargoyles stood on guard, ready to attack the moment Tenaya walked their direction.
"Just keep going. They won't touch you. I promise." Serana reply.
Tenaya felt a lump in her throat again, noticing that little trait returned with Serana. She took a few steps forward to see the Gargoyles tense up. Each of them knelt slightly, taking a pouncing position. Tenaya walked forward slowly, Serana turning her face forward from the comfort of Tenaya's arm. The gargoyles looked her direction and the only word Serana said was no. The gargoyles parted and allowed them to pass, never dropping their guard the entire way inside the doors.
"I want you to know I hate this place more than I did before." Tenaya mumbled.
"Look at it this way, once I am dead, you do not have to come here again."
"Stop saying that. We will find a way Serana." Tenaya wasn't sure she even believed those words. Knowing how screwed up Serana was right now made it tough to imagine a way forward.
"Valerica!" Tenaya screamed as loudly as she could. Her voice startled Serana for a moment. If her mother heard it, she wouldn't be long.
Tenaya looked around at the great hall. It looked… different… No bodies sitting on the tables. Sure, the blood stains remained here and there, but the entire place looked clean. It had a different feel to it. Someone might feel welcome if it wasn't for the fact a swarm of vampires lived her.
"Where are the others? I need to set you down and get my sword." Tenaya said nervous in silence.
"Dead…" Serana whispered.
"What? How?"
"I killed them when I found you were possible alive. I didn't know what I did. Can you let me die Tenaya and end this? I don't deserve to live anymore."
Tenaya listened to the usual ramblings. Serana pitied herself. She did so much under the influence of Boethiah and her followers. That priestess, she belonged to the College of Winterhold as a mage. Together, they understood what happened.
"Serana!" Valerica yelled seeing her in shambles before transforming to her other form. She came rushing at Tenaya with vengeance in her eyes. Her wings beat quickly in the air with spells ready from both hands.
"Stop mother… She saved me… Calm…" Serana mumbled.
Valerica lowered her hands and flew to her daughter's side. She glared at Tenaya, knowing the woman from their brief time together and the stories Serana told. This woman returned her daughter in pieces and now Serana stopped her from ripping Tenaya to pieces? Something didn't add up. She demanded answers with claws wrapped around Tenaya's forearm.
"She is dying Valerica. Did you know she was being manipulated by Boethiah and her followers?" Tenaya asked.
Valerica shifted back to her normal form looking on blankly. Her eyes didn't change, shaking her head slowly. She shifted the hair from Serana's eyes having no clue the past few years were being dictated by others. Tenaya explained the entire story much to the surprise of Valerica. She didn't know how intricate the entire thing was. All of this because of Molag Bal and Boethiah having their little rivalry.
It all started with the book going to Serana at the College of Winterhold. She didn't know, it seemed innocent enough. A mage appearing to help answer the questions. Giving her a book to see if something existed. Serana opened the page only to realize it was cursed. Her mind became tangled with the will of Boethiah. Her priestess pulled the strings inside to ruin things.
Every action from that point forward became an alteration of reality. Serana didn't have control really. She turned Tenaya when she didn't have to. She went to kill her to remove one of the only people who could piece it together. Boethiah had her prize, a Daughter of Coldharbour, the prized children of Molag Bal. The plan worked. Of the handful remaining, she had control of one. In effect, she had two with Valerica able to do her bidding or watch the suffering unfold.
A bigger question comes out, how many others are under their control? Is it only her or others? With the priestess gone, what would happen? Serana came back but would others? So many questions ran through Tenaya's head, all needing answers at some point.
"None of us can help her. Only one may be able to help. I am not sure he will listen." Valerica announced.
"Molag Bal…" Tenaya mumbled.
"We are his creation. He can help her or let her die. Molag Bal refused her since I returned, this is clearly why. Knowing one of his children are suffering under Boethiah's hand might entice him to help."
"Is it true there are only a few of you left?"
Valerica nodded. "Few survive to begin with. Of those who do, most end up dead with their power being overestimated. Beyond Serana and I, one other lives in Skyrim. She survived about a hundred years after we became pure blooded. We collectively studied the arcane arts to not be weak."
"Just like Matria."
Both looked at Tenaya odd. They didn't know the name or story. She didn't care to speak of it now. The bigger issue remained in her arms. Serana had one chance to live and it wasn't even a good chance. Molag Bal had to willingly answer their call and agree to help her.
Tenaya carried her to the alter inside the cathedral. Blood flowed through it slowly which caught them both by surprise. Since the death of Harkon, the blood stopped. Nothing moved at the altar, drying up after. Valerica ran ahead with her hand touching the blood. This returned. Blood flowed again.
"Drink my daughter." Valerica urged.
Serana pulled herself up and leaned down to the blood. She drank once from the altar and waited. Valerica had hope seeing the blood again, flowing even the smallest amount meant something. She looked to the head of Molag Bal to see the eyes glow like years ago. No glow came. It remained black with a slight crimson tint from the light reflecting off the blood. All of them watched for a sign of his return. Would be come and answer the call.
"Molag Bal, I ask you to come and help one of your children. A pure-blood cursed by Boethiah." Valerica asked sternly while holding on to the altar.
Everyone waited patiently. They wanted to see something, anything. Serana sat down on the ground unable to hold herself up further. She rested against the base, letting the cold sweep over her. In her eyes, this was it. After all these years, her end came at the hands of Boethiah. It wasn't her father fulfilling some prophecy or being locked away for most of her life inside a tomb, it would be the undoing of Daedra fighting with each other. How humbling everything felt all at once.
Valerica looked on bleakly. She didn't have an answer. Molag Bal wouldn't be forced to answer, but this made her rethink if everything before was worth it. Her innocence meant something a long time ago. Had Serana not ventured to Coldharbour as an offering and show enough strength to Molag Bal, her life would have ended the same as Harkon and Serana. It isn't just the one, it is their entire family. Serana brought them to this point and now, she was helpless.
Those feelings of affection and care trickled back to her body. Valerica looked down at her broken daughter starting to realize this was the time. She never said I love you. She never cared for her with only their blood binding them. Serana spent years locked away for foolish reasons. Valerica quivered, mouth opening, tears starting to flow. She failed her as a mother. Thousands of years and equally as many what-ifs coursed her mind.
The emotions took their toll on Valerica who changed forms. Her wings beat harder than any time in her life. Tenaya looked on with Serana trying to make sense of it. The scream of rage seemingly pushed her through the cathedral door with splinters flying every direction. The sound of Gargoyles exploding from their slumber shook the floor. Tenaya fell from the vibrations, feeling nothing like this except from a dragon years ago.
Suddenly, it all stopped. No noise came from the great hall. Tenaya walked out to see the front doors swinging open and an army of gargoyles following Valerica through the air. Her attention shifted back to Serana returning to her side. "Hang in there. We will find a way Serana, I am not letting you die." Tenaya grasp her hand trying to keep Serana there. She ran through everything she could think of, trying to heal her body with no success.
Valerica however, went a different direction. Her wings took her high in the sky, well into the clouds with her army. She beat her wings with a fury she couldn't remember. Her only mission was the death of those responsible. Her daughter didn't deserve this. She failed her. She failed Serana. This would be her vengeance.
The army landed with a thud on the doorsteps of Fort Dawnguard. Those who stood up died. Valerica drained the life from every Dawnguard she saw. She didn't want them to have a quick death, she wanted them to feel it. Their entire being drained slowly at her mercy while the gargoyles ravaged the forces outside. One by one they all perished.
As the last Dawnguard fell outside, the only thing standing in her path was the front doors. She tried her magic with no success. The gargoyles pounded mercilessly against the wood, but it held strong. Valerica flew backwards, instructing her minions to stand back. She pushed her hands together while flames started around them. As she pulled them apart, fire grew. The orb turned bright red with a massive swirl of flames. Heat erupted catching nearby bushes on fire. Her hands grew wider as the strain crossed her face. She knew magic and never struggled except this time. Nothing she ever did was this crazy.
Her body slowly drained itself, her face trembled with her hands. Sweat came on above her demonic eyes until it felt right. The orb shot forward at the same time Valerica dropped to the ground. Her lungs gasp for air never having put so much in to one spell. The world went silent from her body being taxed. She landed on her feet collecting herself. When she looked up, the door no longer stood. Each gargoyle flew inside with rage.
Bolts shot through the door, spells missed their targets going out the door. Valerica did nothing except let them work. They were after one man and one man only. Everyone else would be collateral damage.
Every scream rang out as music to her ears. They suffered but not as much as she did right now. Serana sat on her deathbed while he paraded around as some metaphorical hero to every one of the light. Her family never touched the Dawnguard. Her husband died with their help. She wouldn't forget it.
Valerica walked inside to bodies and gargoyles across the floor. Two gargoyles remained of the dozen who came. They had someone sitting in a chair. Valerica approached, changing forms to her regular side. The man sat at the table; he wasn't the one she wanted. He was no Redguard.
"Where can I find Isran?" Valerica asked him calmly.
"We are smarter than you. Do you think we didn't expect an attack? All you did was kill the stupid Vigilants of Stendarr we leave here for posterity. Isran will always be a step ahead."
"Tell me where he is, or I will kill you myself!"
"Go ahead, I am dead already. I volunteered to wait for you."
The man tossed a pill down his throat. Valerica jumped his direction, but it was too late. He convulsed on the floor for a moment. His body twitched even after the death. She didn't get her answers. The gargoyles stalked the entire fort looking for signs of people. Valerica circled the lower level wanting to get answers. These people were a step ahead. He didn't lie once about it. Isran was damn smart as much as she hated to admit it. He managed to get out with the entire force, and supplies, without as much a scratch to his real forces.
Valerica left Fort Dawnguard as quickly as she came. The destruction surely wouldn't go unnoticed. It seemed they wanted a war and it came to their doorsteps. Cowards. The only word coming to mind in her head. They fled instead of fight. Some sort of heroes they were. Word would get around soon enough of this. Isran would no doubt use the attack as a way to bolster the ranks with new recruits. She went about it very careless but didn't care. This was her daughter suffering.
Her return to the castle didn't make things easier. Serana sat at the base of the altar with no changes. Her body looked like death, not just the vampire kind, but real death. She suffered. Tenaya looked her direction shaking her head. This woman who Serana turned on sat at her side trying everything to save her life. Even if the words she spoke of with Boethiah were true, she didn't need to remain at her side.
"He escaped. I wanted to get my hands on his throat so badly…" Valerica muttered with a knee to the ground beside Serana. "I want him dead. Forgive me daughter for not being here for you like a mother should." Serana simply nodded her head slowly. It was about as much as she would get from her right now.
"I do not know what else to do for her. No one will answer." Tenaya replied glum.
"The gods do not care about the plight of one. We have nothing they desire. Why would a god answer us?" Valerica yelled showing the first sign of emotions with a tear coming down her cheek. The tear didn't go unnoticed. Serana looked up to see it slide down her cheek. Her mother had a heart after all these years.
"Say that again Valerica." Tenaya lifted her head from her knees.
"It's true. We have nothing a god wants."
"That is not true. I have something your god wants."
Both sets of eyes turned her direction. Serana came to life hearing the statement. She stood up and demanded Tenaya forget that thought. With every ounce of life she had left, Serana pleaded with Tenaya to forget that idea. Valerica pieced it together quickly. "You would really give everything for my daughter? There is a good chance you will not return."
"The blood of an innocent is the path to Coldharbour. I know the writings well enough. Molag Bal will not answer you, it is my turn. I already had words with one Daedra, why not piss off a second one. As far as I am concerned, they can all rot on Oblivion."
"You do not know the words you speak. Molag Bal is the Prince of Domination and Enslavement. He didn't earn the other titles by being a swell guy. Do you know what happens when you become a Daughter of Coldharbour?" Serana said refusing to take no for an answer. "Your dignity is destroyed. He breaks you in every way possible. This isn't a trip to the pleasure baths, this is your essence removed and filled with hatred, distrust and regret."
"She speaks the truth. You do not know what awaits you in Coldharbour. If those who remain there allow you to pass and you survive, he awaits. Serana walked that path alone. Her father and I didn't have the same journey. He enjoys what he does. Harkon walked away with only memories of seeing him and a drop of blood changing him. We were not as fortunate, worst being Serana."
Tenaya conceded hearing their stories. She knew convincing both would prove pointless. Valerica picked her daughter up and walked with Tenaya out of the cathedral and to her room. Serana badly wanted that bed back she ditched with Tenaya. The feeling of a coffin didn't seem too enticing anymore. Even if a warm body didn't share the same space, it had the ability to make her feel better.
Serana didn't have many options at this point. She went to the coffin and nestled inside with little arguing. Valerica wasn't willing to give up. A potion might be help resolve the problem. Tenaya agreed to watch her and let Valerica do the research in her laboratory. It didn't take long after she left for Serana to fall asleep. The morbid feeling of her room made Tenaya more anxious than she cared to admit. This felt exactly like Harkin's decorating.
With little to do, she walked her room wanting to see more of Serana. Books of older times littered the bookcase and table. Serana didn't lie when she said she enjoyed a good book. Seeing them throughout brought a human side back she forgot. Tenaya saw her as a monster for the past few years. All the searching grounded her as a person again.
She popped open the wardrobe curious to her choices in clothing. The very outfit she remembered hung inside. The flowing and tattered cloak needed some work but reminded her of the good days they had together. Her fancy royal attire looked more amusing as she wondered in Serana ever wore them. It was what sat underneath the clothes that caught her eye.
Tenaya knelt to the ground and lifted the white dress. The slashes throughout spoke volumes of what she had to endure. Splatters of blood faded with time. The dress told the stories they warned her about earlier. This dress was Serana's.
She took a moment and looked to the coffin where Serana slept. Tenaya walked over to her side with a blank stare on her face. She looked at peace when she slept. Every thought of hatred vanished the moment Boethiah released her. Now she had to accept the inevitable or face something she wasn't sure she could handle. No potion on Tamriel could fix the problems inside. To think any plant or even the salts would do it, nothing would. Only one thing would bring Serana back; Molag Bal.
This didn't come lightly to Tenaya. She unbuckled her armor as quietly as possible to avoid Serana waking. Each piece she carefully set on the floor next to the wardrobe. Absolutely nothing stayed on knowing the rules from many stories about this. She slipped the white dress with all its blood and holes over her head. The only weapon she took was her sword. One item may go to Coldharbour as it was written.
Tenaya walked out of the room quietly and down the stairs to the cathedral. Inside was quiet, too quiet. She approached the altar noticing the surge of blood flowing through it. Tenaya bit her own wrist to let the blood drop to the altar on his head. The eyes glowed unlike before. She bent down and took a drink of the blood knowing not to gag or show weakness, forcing the worst of it down in one drink. As she did, darkness surrounded her.
The world faded out slowly. Her soul lifted away from her body seeing it on the ground as she rocketed through time and space. When she stopped, she knew where she was. The muck on her feet felt disgusting. Her arms felt like they were on fire and freezing at the same time. Her breath froze in the air while every gasp burned like flames. No mortal belonged here, that she knew. Her eyes looked ahead to the broken palace. She knew this palace, or one that looked like it from Cyrodil. This looked much worse, desecrated might be the only word to describe it.
Step by step she walked towards the palace. Creatures scurried around, none seeming too eager to attack a stranger who wore the dress. Only one attacked, something the likes she never saw, a slithering spiked tail with four arms and a face ready to kill. Her sword made quick work of the creature and sent others away. Atronachs didn't cross her path, only watching from a distance with keen interest.
Tenaya walked inside the palace gates, quickly covering her nose from the smell alone. Decay and blood covered the entire place. Bodies, some burned, others just rotten, thrown around like no one cared while blood covered almost everything. This place felt wrong. Everything sat quiet. Not a single thing moved in the shadows.
Nerves set in as Tenaya opened the doors to the throne room. It sat as empty as the rest of the place. Nothing seemed to be alive in here and the one thing she needed remained a mystery. Tenaya walked to the broken throne and saw nothing anywhere except more dead bodies. She sat down on the busted throne before a voice boomed out. "Who dares enter my world…"
Tenaya remained in the throne with no desire to move. "I come to ask of your service. You denied one of your own and now I am here to ask for her."
"Who does Molag Bal deny?"
"Your own of Coldharbour, Serana Volkihar."
"You dare come to my world and ask for help of Molag Bal? This name means nothing!"
"You willingly let your sworn enemy, Boethiah, destroy her?"
"Do not utter that name in Coldharbour!"
The walls shook violently as his voice elevated. Pieces of the ceiling fell all around, pillars crumbled from the voice alone.
"Reveal yourself Molag Bal. I do not fear you. What I ask is only a Daughter of Coldharbour be returned to her glory to fight against the unnamed. Would you deny this?"
"I have no time for weakness."
"And yet you refuse to show yourself to a mortal. Who is the weak one?"
Tenaya pushed harder than she should have. Molag Bal feared no mortal. His essence swept inside the throne room. Tenaya swallowed quickly seeing the mountain of a demon. He stood three times as tall as she did with nothing but pure hatred and evil spewing from every inch of his body. Blood matched with magic.
The claws broke the floor with each step forward he took. Tenaya rose from the broken throne to stand on the stairs. Even at the top, he overshadowed her. He never moved forward or up the stairs, even his reach would hit her if he swung.
"I fear no one mortal. Asking to have me come here will be your death."
"Do as you want to me, restore Serana and heal her. Let us avenge what happened and bring the unnamed to suffer."
"Her weakness is her problem mortal." The words slid through Molag Bal's teeth with blood spitting forward. His face leaned down close to Tenaya who didn't step backward or show signs of wavering. She knew this was an awful idea, most of hers turned out to be through her life, but to turn her back when she was so close would make it worse.
"Then I challenge you Molag Bal. If you will not help her, you are my enemy. I wear her dress to remind you of who she was. I chose to come her to speak to you and ask for help to one of your own. If you chose to not help, then I will die knowing I took a piece of you with me."
"You are in my world mortal. This is not Nirn."
His hand reached forward with one swipe and took Tenaya in his grasp. Molag Bal lifted her with no effort. She struggled only to free her sword and swipe at his hand. The cut opened his hand dropping her to the ground. Molag Bal looked down to see a slash cut his ankle, the wound catching fire the same as his hand for a brief second. She drove the sword deep in his knee. He didn't yell or scream as he dropped down for a moment.
"Petty mortal. It is time you see the power of Molag Bal! Very few ever made Molag Bal bleed."
He chased her for a moment. She darted between broken columns around trying to get away. His strength shattered everything around. Firebolts littered the air trying to drive him back. His hand raised to block them with no effect. A faint glow emanated from the sword as she swung again. The moment it touched Molag Bal an explosion erupted putting them both on the ground.
She struggled to get up. Molag Bal closed the ground too quickly. Tenaya had nowhere to run. His backhand sent her flying across the room. Her back crashed hard into the blood-stained wall, knocking her unconscious. Molag Bal laughed and walked her direction. He grabbed her and left the throne room without a care in the world.
"You are too precious to waste Tenaya Darix. Others will not be pleased."
Valerica found Tenaya's body sitting at the base of the altar wearing the white dress from Serana. She watched her body fall over from the upright position with a sickening thud. Bruises appeared on her body with fresh wounds opened across it. Valerica shook her head knowing not to go to Coldharbour. This was dumb, really dumb and one thing she knew would be pointless. Molag Bal wanted dominance, he fed on the weak. Serana was nothing more than a weak person now.
"Mother!" Serana yelled out.
Valerica rushed to her side fearing the worst. Serana stood in the middle of the room, stepping away from the coffin. Serana moved her arm around for the first time since Fort Dawnguard. The pieces no longer were missing. Valerica bit her lip hugging her daughter. Serana didn't know what to do, never getting any sort of comfort or embrace in hundreds of years. She stood there for a moment only to catch sight of the armor on the floor.
"Where is Tenaya?" Serana asked needing to answer her mother's questions first. "I feel better than I ever did mother. Something is very different too. I feel it inside."
"About that…" Valerica pointed out the door. "Cathedral. Might want to say your goodbyes my daughter."
Serana ran out and down the stairs yelling no repeatedly. Her hands threw open the doors to the cathedral. She looked in to Tenaya on the ground under the altar. Tenaya had her arms around her knees, head down. Serana walked over slowly, not sure what was going on anymore. Valerica ran in behind her seeing she moved.
"Tenaya?" Serana whispered.
"I never knew Coldharbour isn't the worst of it." Tenaya said quietly.
"What do you mean? What did you do?"
"There are worse places."
Tenaya rocked back and forth holding her knees for a moment. This was a side of her Serana never saw. No one ever saw this.
"What are you talking about?"
"I went Beyond Coldharour…"
Tenaya lifted her head looking directly at Serana. Her eyes glowed brighter than Serana's ever did. In the middle they looked bright while the outsides appeared red. "I am a Daughter of Coldharbour now but so much more…"