17th of Last Seed, 4E 201

Serana hated the Soul Cairn. She absolutely despised everything about the tiny sliver of Oblivion, from the barren ground, the tortured souls roaming about, the feeling that they were being watched at all moments. The vampire would much rather have never set foot in this foul place again, and been by the side of her favorite mortal, supporting her through what was no doubt a difficult time, but her inability to say no to her mother proved enough to separate them. But the sooner she, Valerica, and Garan removed her mother's connection to the Soul Cairn, the sooner she could be back in Valkyrie's arms.

"Well, here we are," said Serana, none too enthused. "So what are we doing?"

"First, we need to head back to the castle I was imprisoned in," Valerica explained. "From what I observed, it seems to be a central location of the entire Soul Cairn."

"Maybe we'll run into Durnehviir again."

"Creators, I hope not," said the eldest vampire. "I'm not in the mood to fight a dragon today."

"We won't have to," Serana said with a hint of pride. "Valkyrie kind of... well, tamed is a strong word. But I doubt he'll be hostile to us."

"You're kidding," Valerica's eyes widened. "That mortal of yours is quite extraordinary."

"You have no idea," said Serana. "Anyway, we get to the fortress, and then what?"

"Well," the three of them began walking. "From there I should be able to locate the guardian of this realm."

"Guardian?" asked the younger vampire. "I thought the Keepers Valkyrie and I destroyed were the guardians."

"Not quite," Garan now spoke. "From what your mother had described, the Boneyard Keepers served more or less as prison wardens, watching over the souls that already reside here. But there is another, far more powerful entity that claims the souls to begin with."

"He is called the Reaper," said Valerica in a grim tone. "And finding him is no easy task."

"I figured as much," Serana sighed. "How are we-" she stopped, her inhumanly sensitive ears picking up the sound of ashen soil and gravel shifting all around the trio. Tortured moans made themselves known as skeletons began to crawl out of the very ground. Serana bared her fangs, readying her magic as she, her mother, and Garan put their backs to one another. "I knew it wouldn't be long before they found us," said Serana. Surrounded by at least two dozen undead, each skeleton armed with blade and bow, they all charged in unison at the trio of vampires. But Serana quickly slammed an open palm to the ground, emitting a wave of blood magic that stopped the monsters in their tracks.

With her claws extended, and her entire body now brimming with magic, Serana leapt forward onto one of the skeletons, forcefully ripping skull from spine. As soon as the undead stopped moving, she jumped again and repeated the process with another, and then another, and then yet another. In truth, the young vampire was rather enjoying herself, the last real fight she'd had was against Harkon. One skeleton's blade just barely missed Serana's torso, her superhuman reflexes allowing her to side step just in time, and she retaliated with a bolt of magic, quite literally blowing the monster apart.

Three skeletons came at her at once, and Serana found little difficulty bobbing and weaving out of their strikes. She dodged one attack, just in time to see a blade coming down right for her forehead. The vampire caught the sword mid-swipe, ripped it away, and jumped into the air, planting both her feet into the skeleton's ribcage. The creature fell backwards, only to unnaturally roll right back onto its feet again, holding out its hand, the sword leaping directly into its grip. The other two made swipes with their blades at opposite angles, Serana ducked between them just in time for steel to only meet steel.

Another blast of magic from each of her palms lead to two less skeletons, although something seemed off. Serana looked over her shoulder, Valerica and Garan had defeated at least the same amount of undead she had, and yet their numbers hadn't seemed to deplete in the slightest. "Is it just me," Garan yelled out. "Or do they just not seem to stop coming?"

"It is-" Valerica grunted as her magic vaporized a skeleton. "As I feared. The Ideal Masters know we're here."

"We can kill these monsters all day," the Dunmer replied, easily weaving in and out of one of their strikes. "But eventually, their numbers will overwhelm us."

Serana leapt into the air, delivering a swift kick that took the head off a skeleton. "What's the plan, mother?"

"Retreat!" The eldest vampire called out, turning on her heel and hoofing it. "To the fortress!"

Serana and Garan followed as close they could, the three vampires moving as quickly as their superhuman bodies and stamina would allow them, all the while given chase from the seemingly endless hordes of undead that ripped out of the ground with every step. Serana glanced back for the briefest of moments, and immediately regretted it. There were hundreds, possibly thousands of undead behind them, and despite the monsters being unable to move at the speed of the vampires, more still continued to crawl out of the ground they had just passed over.

Past countless ruins, dozens of lost souls wandering the wasteland, at last the fortress began to come into view. Not a moment too soon, as Serana was beginning to feel the ground underneath her tremble, despite not breaking pace once since they retreated. As they rushed for the safety of the fortress walls, a familiar bestial roar made itself known from inside the walls, and Serana couldn't help but smile. From behind the colossal main gate, the great dragon Durnehviir, in all his necrotic glory rose above, his wings beating the air viciously.

"Durnehviir!" Serana called to him, and the dragon perched on top of the gate.

"Nightwalker!" The dragon's booming voice responded. "Where is Qahnaarin? I would think she would be with you."

"No time!" The vampire yelled back. "Help us with this!"

The three vampires reached the main gate of the fortress, taking refuge underneath it's structure just as a wall of fire from Durnehviir's maw scorched the first few dozen undead chasing them. Valerica quickly produced what looked to be a soul gem, but something about this one was different, Serana noted. Before she could question her mother, Valerica tossed the gem directly at the horde of skeletons, before zapping it with a blast of magic. There was an explosion of light, so brilliant that Serana had no choice but to look away, and when it dissipated, she found herself, Valerica, and Garan on opposite sides of the same impenetrable barrier that had trapped her mother during her first visit to this place.

"What did you do?!" Serana exclaimed. "How are we supposed to get out of here?"

"Relax, dear daughter," said Valerica, panting. "I had nearly a thousand years to study that barrier. The previous one may have been constructed by the Ideal Masters, but this one answers to me."

"You always were so clever, my dear," said Garan in a rather flirtatious tone.

"You have no idea," the eldest vampire answered. "Perhaps I'll show you just how much when we get back."

"I'm going to puke," said Serana. "Can we focus on finding this Reaper and getting out of here, please?"

"Oh, calm down, Serana," Valerica said. "We're perfectly safe behind this barrier."

"Maybe, but I have somewhere on Mundus I need to be," the younger vampire fired back. She looked back at the barrier, as far as the vampire's sight could see there were hordes of undead, seemingly no end to the mindless servants the Ideal Masters had summoned to capture her mother. The hordes continued attempting to force their way through the magical barrier, but this only ended with row after row of them crushed in front of the weight of the others. "Durnehviir!" Serana called upwards. "Are you still there?"

"I am here, nightwalker!" Came Durnehviir's response from atop the castle.

"Meet us in the courtyard!" yelled Serana, motioning for Valerica and Garan to follow her. The three of them entered into the same barren courtyard where Serana, Valerica, and Valkyrie had battled Durnehviir once before. It was every bit as lifeless and depressing as it had been her first time in the Soul Cairn, and the vampire longed to be home more with each passing moment. As they reached the center of the courtyard, Durnehviir's massive shadow rose over the opposite end of the fortress, the great dragon landing in front of them, and shaking the ground doing so.

"Good to see you, old friend," said the vampire.

"And you as well," the dragon replied. "But you did not answer. Where is Qahnaarin?"

"She had other business to attend to," Serana answered. "It's a long story, but it has to do with her being Dragonborn."

"Hold on, what?" Garan spoke up.

"Oh, didn't I mention?" Serana said with a hint of pride, before turning back to Durnehviir. "But I need your help now, and the sooner I'm done here, the sooner I can return to her side."

"Very well," said the dragon. "As Qahnaarin is my grah-zeymahzin, so too are her friends. How may I help?"

With this Serana turned to Valerica, motioning for her mother to speak up. "We seek a being known as the Reaper," said Valerica. "The Ideal Masters continue to covet my soul, and destroying their guardian is the only way to rid myself of them for good."

"Hmm..." Durnehviir's head cocked to one side. "I have heard only whispers of this Reaper you speak of. He is... motahmus. Elusive."

"Is there any being in this place who may know more?" Valerica asked. "Preferably, one who won't try to kill us on sight?"

Durnehviir snorted. "Sahrot lot. A tall order, as your kind would say. Allow me to think."

"Thank you, Durnehviir," said Serana.

"Hi graciodro," the dragon bowed it head. "Perhaps there is one. A soul who has roamed this place since... mahfaeraak. Forever."

"Forever?"

"It is said this one was the first soul to be sent here," Durnehviir continued. "And yet, countless centuries later he continues to evade the grasp of the Ideal Masters. Perhaps this one soul has the... mindok, the knowledge you seek."

"And where might we find this soul?"

"That I do not know," the dragon sighed. "He is much like this Reaper, only whispers and rumors. But the most common ones place him at the far corners of the Soul Cairn."

"I'm sorry, but isn't this place quite literally infinite in size?" asked Garan. "How in the world are we to find either the Reaper or this wayward soul?"

"It's not quite infinite, actually," said Valerica. "As I said, I had a long time to study this place when I was trapped here. If one were to wander far enough, they would eventually end up right back where they started."

"But that still doesn't take care of the undead outside," said Serana.

"I believe I may be of some grahmindol... help in that regard," said Durnehviir, now beating his wings and rising from the ground. "I will keep the Ideal Masters and their minions' attention for as long as you may need. I have longed to obtain my nahkriin, my vengeance for their enslavement."

"Don't do anything stupid, Durnehviir," said Serana, sensing there was no talking the dragon out of this. "And be careful." The dragon simply nodded his head, before letting out a ferocious roar, and flying back over the other side of the gate, raining fire and death on the hordes of undead that lay in wait outside. "So," the vampire now turned back to her mother. "Far corners of the Soul Cairn, he said. Any clue what that even means?"

"Maybe," said Valerica. "When I first set foot here all those centuries ago, I briefly saw a place that looked... I don't know, out of the ordinary, even for a plane of Oblivion."

"And you think that's where our lost soul is?"

"It seems like a good place to start our search, at least," the eldest vampire replied. "Come on, if I remember correctly, there's another exit around here that's a bit less conspicuous than the front door."

24th of Last Seed, 4E 201

A week. They had wandered for a week. A whole bloody, gods damned week. If not for the fact that they were in Oblivion, and thus the rules of the mortal plane did not apply, Serana no doubt would have gone absolutely mad from lack of blood. Her feet and legs ached unbearably, and yet despite the fact that they had encountered no further of the Ideal Masters' undead servants, she was exhausted, so much that the vampire could easily have dropped and napped for a day or six right where she walked.

A seemingly endless trudge through this forsaken wasteland made Serana miss her mortal far more than she cared to think about. It was at the back of her mind every moment, longing to be free of Oblivion and back in Valkyrie's arms. Only a week had passed, and yet it had felt like a century, and this from a vampire, one for whom time held very little meaning. It didn't help that there had been very little talking between the three of them since they had left the fortress. No conversation to break the monotony, just a march with no end, through a desolate landscape that didn't ever change.

Until it finally did.

Serana's gaze had been so entranced on the road ahead of her, she hadn't even noticed that Valerica had stopped until she bumped into her. The elder vampire paid no attention to her daughter's blundering, instead focused intently on the structure in front of them. "We're here," said Valerica.

At first glance, it seemed like only a dingy hut, nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever, but then Serana looked closer. Where as all of the ruins that dotted the landscape of the Soul Cairn seemed to be comprised of a strange metal, dissimilar to any found on Nirn, this tiny cottage was built of hay and straw, not unlike something she would see in a poor village. There was something strangely off putting, yet also inviting about the hut at the same time, and the three vampires exchanged glances, none saying a word. At last, Valerica stepped forward, preparing to knock on the door.

"You may enter," came a ghostly voice from the other side before she even made contact. Serana couldn't help but feel quite nervous as they stepped through the door, the inside of the hut completely empty, save for one soul sitting on the floor just opposite them. Its shape vaguely resembled that of a human, but it bore no facial features, and its frame completely transparent.

"Hello," said Valerica, herself taking a seat in front of the soul. "I was told you may be able to help us find the Reaper."

"Perhaps," said the soul, seemingly uninterested. "Why do you seek this bringer of death?"

"Not by choice," the vampire answered. "The Ideal Masters seek to claim my soul, and so I seek to remove their means of doing so."

The apparition was silent for a moment, before suddenly rocking back and laughing madly. "Such arrogance," it said. "Even for three powerful vampires such as yourselves, you stand no chance against the Reaper."

"You know nothing of our abilities," the eldest vampire spat.

"I know more than you think, Valerica." This caught the attention of all three vampires, and the soul continued. "I have roamed this cursed place for longer than I care to recount. If I once had a name, it has long been forgotten. But in that time, I have learned many things."

"Like how to evade the Ideal Masters?" asked Serana.

The soul chuckled. "You're a clever one, Serana. It's no wonder you managed to turn the head of a demigod."

"Wait," she leaned forward. "Are you talking about Valkyrie? What do you mean, a demigod?"

"I've said too much as it is," said the soul, and Serana knew better than to continue asking. "Regardless, you will not defeat the Reaper."

"If we can't defeat him," Valerica spoke again. "There must at least be a way to throw him off our trail, and escape the Ideal Masters' grasp as you have."

"Perhaps," the soul now rose to its feet. "But be warned. All who have attempted this have died horribly, their souls forever ensnared within this forsaken wasteland."

"Not like we have much of a choice," said Serana. "What do we do?"

"Very well," the soul reached out a palm, and in the midst of the air between them, lights began to flicker, arrange themselves into shapes that almost looked like a map. Three beams of light in particular stood out, each sat as far away from the other as could be, and all three at least the same distance they had marched just to get here. "At these three locations, you will find fragments of one larger soul gem. But this gem is unlike the ones mortals use to trap the souls of others inside."

"A different kind of soul gem. Is it like the one you used to construct that new barrier at the fortress?" Serana turned to her mother.

"I would assume so," said Valerica. "I had thought it was one of a kind."

"They are exceedingly rare," the soul explained. "But if you are able to gather these three pieces and bring them back to this fortress, you will able to force the Reaper to come forth and face you."

"A minute ago you were sure we couldn't beat him," said Serana. "Now you're saying we have to summon and fight him?"

"He will be severely weakened at first," the soul continued. "But his strength will only grow with every moment you spend fighting. In order to truly be rid of the Reaper, you must trap him within himself."

"Within himself?" Garan finally spoke now. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I am surprised you said anything, Garan," the soul joked. "You've been so uncharacteristically quiet until now."

"Look, I'm just here for moral support," the Dunmer vampire threw up his hands. "But you didn't answer my question."

"These gems are comprised of the Reaper's very essence," Valerica explained. "In the hands of a strong enough mage, their possibilities are quite limitless."

"Good thing we have three powerful mages on hand," Garana said back.

"So it seems we have three fragments to obtain," said Serana, eyeing the map. "Maybe we should split up to cover the ground more quickly and meet back at the fortress?"

"Are you sure, Serana?" asked her mother. "I don't like the idea of you braving this place alone."

"So long as Durnehviir is keeping the Ideal Masters busy, we should all be fine," Serana now turned back to the soul to thank him, but there was nothing there. "I really hate this place."

"Don't we all," sighed Garan. "So, if we're splitting up, I assume I'll see you both back at the fortress in a year or so?"

"If we're lucky," said Valerica sarcastically.