A blackness greeted them that was so absolute Torina couldn't see her hand in front of her face. Controlling her breathing, she reached out to grab Serana and Gelebor's arms. The two waited for her signal before igniting any light, magical or otherwise. Calling upon the dragon soul within her she spoke laas yah nir.

Her voice left her in a whisper, using the aura whisper to search for any lifeforms. Even in the darkness the magic of the dragon shout would allow her to see their life forces. She'd used it dozens of times before in barrows across Skyrim. Only when she had looked all around them to make sure no draugr or other creatures were waiting for them did she start to relax and let go of her companion's arms.

In the dark every noise was louder, every scent stronger, and the hair on her arms pricked up at attention. So, the gathering of magicka at everyone's fingertips smelled like the spark in the air before a lightning strike.

A handful of hovering magelights and candlelights illuminated the room. All three of them had used the same spell at once. The stark brilliance of the magical light made all of them blink to allow their eyes to adjust.

"Where do you think we are?" Serana asked. Her voice echoed.

Gelebor didn't answer right away. He was the first to step off and call his candlelights with him. The two women looked at each other, still buzzing with nerves and excitement, and followed.

High walls of the white stone formed a blockade behind them, the paragon platform set in a corner of what sounded like a huge room or hall. The lazy sound of running water and steady dripping filled the silence as they walked off the platform. No one, not even Serana, could see up through the blackness to wherever the ceiling was, but the chill in the room suggested they were somewhere full of ice.

"We're far below the citadel, deep in the mountain," Gelebor answered. His steps were slow and measured. He cast his gaze around him and kept his voice low to avoid echoing so much. "I've not seen this room since I was a small child, but I could not mistake it for any other. Long ago when my race first started to inhabit this valley, this sanctuary, we still boasted numbers in the thousands. But the threat of dragons and men forced us more and more to hold our celebrations and ceremonies underground. That was safer than gathering in a large number out in the open where we would be more easily heard."

Gelebor, lost in memory, slowed his pace at the foot of what appeared to be a great staircase that went off in either direction. The walls here were indeed frosted in most places and completely encased in ice in others. Serana and Torina followed him up the staircase, careful not to let their hands linger on the frozen railings, and paused when they reached the uppermost level.

The hovering lights cast a brilliant reflection off of a wall covered almost entirely with colored glass beneath ice. It glittered and cast the hues back onto their skin. In the center was a raised dais and thrones carved to appear as though they had grown naturally out of the floor. A white chest gilded with gold and silver markings sat proudly between the middle two.

Gelebor walked over to the chest and kneeled before it. He looked over his shoulder at the two following him, his face a mask of hidden emotion, though his voice betrayed how awestruck he truly was. "The last time I saw this dais was my cousin's wedding and subsequent coronation. But that was the last time the room was used, sealed away not long after because of the imminent attacks from men. This chest wasn't here."

"Can we open it?" Torina asked. After a pause she continued, "Should we open it?"

Gelebor nodded. "I feel as though we must. My ancestors would not go through the trouble of setting up a paragon to protect nothing."

To everyone's surprise, the lock was not set on the chest at all. Closer inspection showed how water made its way into small cracks and crevices in the metal and stone. Through hundreds of years freezing and melting, expanding the material, the seals were broken. The lid stuck slightly as chunks of ice fell away.

"By Auri-El," Gelebor breathed. His arms reached deep into the chest to pull out a single object. "Is this…?"

"An elder scroll," Torina said. "It's an elder scroll."

The three stared at the prize, unmoving for a solid minute of silence, before Serana reached into the chest. Hefting it up she stared at it with her orange eyes slightly glowing in the dark.

"We should bring this upstairs," Serana said.

Torina noted her voice sounded tired, and initially it surprised her, but a look at the vampire's face in the magical light spoke volumes. She'd spent centuries buried with one of these. It did nothing to make her life easier. The longer she thought on it the more reserved Torina felt. Her initial excitement was snuffed out more surely than a candle against a harsh wind. The sight of another Elder Scroll didn't demystify what they were trying to accomplish, it complicated it more.

A trip through the paragon platform later, the group spoke quietly of where to put the scroll while they decided their next moves. Gelebor took the scroll away to a safe chamber where several other research items could be found.

"There is a moth priest in Skryim, yes?" Gelebor asked.

"He's with the Dawnguard," Torina said. She sighed and scowled at the ground while she walked next to her friends. "It's not safe for them to know the location of this place. If there's any chance of saving the Falmer from their cursed state, it will be far easier to free them when there's still air in their lungs. He took my temporary transfiguration into a vampire...poorly. I nearly lost my standing with them, though I was doing what I had to in order to progress his bloody plans."

Gelebor looked to Serana with a startled look. He hadn't known Torina had spent any time as a vampire or that the affliction was reversible. Torina missed this exchange.

"I doubt he would see my actions as little more than an extension of my friendship with Serana. Isran is a good man, but his prejudices are deep rooted. Mixing this with them is a poor choice." Torina gripped the leather straps of the talisman around her waist and gritted her teeth. "But I don't know anyone else who would know how to recognize or read a new or perhaps lost Elder Scroll. We have to contact Dexion."

"We used to utilize hawks or other birds to send messages across the province," Gelebor offered.

"The Dawnguard would not know to look for a hawk or to trust the message." Torina softened her scowl enough to give Gelebor a small smile to thank him for the suggestion.

"I've an idea," Serana said.

Torina's face returned to a scowl as she regarded her friend. "Serana…"

"Do you have a better idea?"

Torina almost stomped her foot on the stone floor in frustration. She didn't have a good answer for her friend. "But we've only just arrived, there's no sense in taking the scroll away!"

"Don't be arrogant, it's the best plan so far. I'll take the scroll to Dexion and get the information we need."

She was still without a better argument and that made Torina sullen and pessimistic. Halfway through the day, however, she went to work on part of the areas of the citadel that needed melting, and worked with incendiary magic until she no longer felt the burn of frustration in her skin. She rejoined them a good deal calmer. The group bantered and worked out plans, all to Torina's displeasure, but at the end of the day when the mortals were turning in to sleep, the plan was laid. Like she had for centuries, Serana would again be the bearer of an Elder Scroll.

Huge thank yous to those who keep steadily reviewing this. Wanted y'all to know I had to take a second job. Between that and the holidays I'm just chugging along as best as I can. I have a couple chapters written ahead still. Comments help motivate me on this one of course - let's me know that there are readers interested in the story. Thanks guys! -d9