"And what happens if she does not unite her aspects?" Valerica was gazing intently at Serana.
Idgrod closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The vampire wouldn't take kindly to anything she'd had seen in her visions or in her dreams. "I don't know exactly."
"You don't know…?" Valerica's question was flat, yet held a menacing edge to it. The weight of it pressed on everyone in the room. "What do you know?"
Idgrod shook her head. She hadn't missed what the woman was implying. She toyed with her dagger handle as she watched Azriel sleep. "I know what I've seen and my visions have only shown me what happens if she wakes like this."
"Which is what, specifically?" Valerica tapped her forearm impatiently.
Idgrod leveled her gaze on the woman, she had no intentions of letting the ancient vampire intimidate her. She looked at the pin on woman's cloak and steeled herself. She'd had enough of their clan and what they had done to her town and her family. She locked eyes with the vampire and watched her shift from one foot to the next, then stop tapping. She knew the vampire was sizing her up, looking for her weaknesses. The fact she held no regard for mortals made it that much sweeter in her book. She knew what she was capable of and what the vampire was. Idgrod was resolved not to show her any fear.
"Ahziial will lead the dragons into the next Dragon War in her rage and her madness. Some will follow her out of fear, most will follow her out of respect as their Overlord. She is the youngest of Akatosh's children, yet she is the most powerful. They know that the right to rule comes from power. They will see her will done and that to not submit means death in the most horrifying of fashions."
Idgrod watched both vampires shift uncomfortably. "She will lay waste to anyone that opposes her. The Dragon Cults will rise to power as a means to feed the Dragons mortal souls and to appease her. In her delusions she will lose sight of her humanity and her compassion. Azriel will cease to exist and Ahziial will rise. No one will stop her from destroying Tamriel, not even the powerful vampire covens." Idgrod lifted the blanket, exposing Azriel's blackened wound. "With her dying breath she will summon the World-Eater to destroy Nirn. Does that answer your question?" She let the blanket drop back down over Azriel.
Valerica stared at the Dragonborn, then her eyes drifted to Serana's. "You see, she is more insane than your father."
A growl caught in both Serana and Aela's throats.
Valerica looked between the two and shook her head. "This is your mess, Serana. Deal with it or I will. We have enough threats from you father and the Order. We do not need to worry about a mad demigod as well."
Serana watched her walk out of the room and exhaled in relief.
"I can't believe we have to go through this again. The nightmares are just..." Aela shook her head.
Serana squeezed her shoulders. "We have to do this for her. I understand your fears, but mother is right. We cannot allow Azriel to destroy this world, because my father is already trying to do that. It's not like he needs the competition."
Aela looked at her sadly, "You can't possibly know what she is dreaming of. It's more terrifying than the first time this happened."
Serana knit her brows. "The first time? You've mentioned this before in the tower. You were trapped in her nightmares weren't you?"
Aela ran her hand through her hair and winced again. "It's that damned Skull and what it does. I told you, it feeds on nightmares, but it does more than that to her."
Idgrod stood and walked to the dresser. She picked up Azriel's ruck sack and opened it. Rummaging inside, she pulled the Skull of Corruption from it. "This is only part of the answer. It's true that it is really a curse to bear it, not the gift Vaermina touts." The staff began to absorb light around it. "And you're right, there's more to it than that. Azriel already had nightmares before this, it's part of her gifts as a Dragonborn. Her dreams are prophetic, but they are also damaging to her psyche. Her visions once gave her possibilities and outcomes. Once the Skull was introduced to her, it became what it fed on. It takes the possibilities and shows her worst fears to her. That is what she sees now and that is where she is trapped." She looked directly at Aela. "But, what caused Azriel to be like this? Something formed this chasm within her. Something made her want this split and I suspect that it was the Skull of Corruption. But, I need to know more to help her."
Serana held Aela while she shivered, seeing the young sorceress' reproachful look. "In the tower you asked her why she still had that staff. You need to tell us everything so we can understand."
Aela crushed her eyes together and heaved a deep breath with remorse. She opened her eyes and looked right into the hearth fire pools that looked down at her. "We went to help the people in Dawnstar. Kodlak sent us both, but I left first. It was when I couldn't even stand to be near her. I couldn't bear the thought of traveling with her, so I told her we'd leave in the morning. I left the night before to get a head start and to travel alone."
Idgrod just shook her head. "I thought the Companions were supposed to have honor."
Aela glared at Idgrod. "When she arrived I had already found out that the Companions wouldn't be of any use, so I suggested they contact mages at the College. I stayed to clear out some trolls nearby and when I returned to Dawnstar, the Priest had met with Azriel. They were going to travel to the Temple of Vaermina and deal with the issue. I was angry at her for agreeing to it, but I refused to allow her any glory from it. We had to do something called the Dreamstride. After, we were tricked into killing Erandur who wanted to send the staff back. We had to make a choice and I… I left her to deal with it. I knew after everything I saw, I couldn't be involved nor did I want to be. But, one of us had to take the Staff. I forced her to take it. It was I that told the Prince she was a hero and it should be her to carry it. I was left to sleep for eternity, but Azriel released me. When I woke I didn't know she actually had the staff until we were in the tower."
The shame on Aela's face was perfectly clear to Idgrod, but it didn't change her mind about the Huntress. "You damned her to this."
Aela glared at her, frustrated. "I didn't know that it would change her!"
Idgrod returned the glare. She knew more about Aela's arrogance than she let on and after watching the Dragonborn endure torment at the hands of the Companions, she was convinced her opinion of Aela would never change. She bit her tongue and decided to keep the rest of her opinions quiet. "Something happened to Azriel when she read from the Elder Scroll and fought Alduin. I was blinded to it in my visions by it. Before Morthal was attacked last night, the same thing happened again, this time though she hasn't recovered." She nodded to the staff, "The staff feeds on her nightmares, waiting for her to use it on others. It has to be used to give Vaermina what she desires, but I can't see Azriel ever using it. So the nightmares she already has are amplified. She's become a prisoner to that plane of Oblivion."
Aela groaned and rubbed her face.
Serana pulled Aela closer. "She doesn't use it, at least not on anyone that I've seen. The only time she's used it was to show us her struggle. But, this makes more sense now." She curled her arm under Aela's head, turning the woman to face her. "Her addiction to skooma, the staff, her anger… In the tower we talked about acceptance and understanding but that isn't enough."
Idgrod raise an eyebrow. "She's addicted to skooma?"
Aela snarled, clearly fed up with Idgrod's attitude toward her. "She was. She isn't anymore."
"She told us she was using it to stay awake. That she couldn't take the nightmares and what she saw in them." Serana stroked Aela's hair.
"Honestly, I can't blame her if that's the case. I dreamt that Ahziial ruled a desolate desert. Nothing living existed in it and that's how she's come to view Tamriel, or at least how the dragon does."
Serana cautiously scrutinized the sorceress. "You've dreamt about her?"
Idgrod blushed deeply, slightly embarrassed at how the vampire scrutinized her. "Azriel is the only real friend I've ever had. At the College, she was the only person who accepted me for who I am. During the attack on Morthal, my visions pulled me from the battle. I knew I had to get to her. Fruunskahdirn brought Florentius and me here."
"You brought that Vigilant here?" Aela growled at her.
"Aela, be quiet. This is far more important than that Priest." Serana helped Aela shift to a more comfortable position.
Idgrod gave Aela cool look. "Florentius saved my life and the lives of others in Morthal. He fought vampires with his bare hands after his sword broke, twice." Her face fell and she looked away. "For as brave as he and the others were, we couldn't stop them from starting the fires. Most everyone that survived scattered towards Whiterun and Solitude."
Aela reached out, her hand touching Idgrod's. "Forgive my coarseness. I didn't know."
"All of Morthal fought." Idgrod looked away, touched by the unexpected act. "Including my mother and father. Like so many others, they were injured. They've been taken to Whiterun to the Temple of Kynareth. Mother and others were poisoned, but I'm not sure how. I recognized at least one of the vampires as someone who had recently move to the town as an Advisor." Idgrod sighed sadly. "They had been watching us for some time, even from the court. I don't know how Mother didn't see it. But after the last of the vampires retreated, those of us that remained gathered up the wounded and sent them with the remaining detachment to Whiterun. Some of the town's folk disappeared, including my brother Joric. I can only suspect they were taken as prisoners. There's nothing we can do for those who were lost." She looked back at them. "I chose to come here to help my friend and maybe we can find my brother. I hope you can both understand that I'm here for her now."
Serana and Aela shared a glance.
"We can understand it. You took a risk when you could have chosen to fulfill your duty to your people and the Legion." Aela took another pained breath and sat upright fully. "We'll find your brother."
Serana watched Azriel's eyes flutter open then close. "We need to talk about Azriel…" She scooted next to Aela and took her hand, noticing that Idgrod watched with interest.
"When she used the Skull of Corruption on you, what did you see?"
"She guided us through her life." Aela winced as she rubbed her side. "She showed us her memories and that she has split herself in two, the Dragon and the human. One personality controls the other and when she loses control, the Dragon temporarily takes over. It was the dragon that used the Skull."
"Azriel said that only in dreams were they whole. The dragon wants to be united. If your visions coincide with when she read the Elder Scrolls, the Scrolls would block your visions." Serana added.
"They could, but I don't know." She stood, picking up the staff. Azriel shifted, her eyes fluttering open, then closed a second time. "We're out of time. We need to get started. I hope you're ready…" Before Aela or Serana could answer, Idgrod tapped the staff on the rock floor.
The Skull radiated darkness around them, absorbing light and Idgrod's spell lulled both Serana and Aela into sleep. She turned the Skull towards Azriel, the green glow becoming sickly in the darkness as it surrounded the Dragonborn. The glow expanded to surround all four women and Idgrod joined them in the realm of nightmares.
Aela's side no longer hurt. It was the first thing she noticed before emerging from the darkness. She took a deep, filling breath, then opened her eyes.
The world around her was on fire. The sky was orange, violet, and black. Clouds of embers burned and blackened trees and grass blazed. The ground was the color of a hellish sun, heat radiating from it in every direction. Pockets of golden flames danced on the ground like pools rippling in the breeze. White smoke lifted into the sky, carried on hot gusts.
A roar shook the ground under her and Aela looked in the direction she heard it come from. Her armor moved oddly as she walk, looking down, she froze in horror. She was covered in skins of the dead, animal and human faces adorned her body as leather armor. She tried to strip it away, but the buckles faded from existence. The sewn mouths began moving, as if they would tear their stitches. She struggled trying to tear at it, but the skins constricted against her until she nearly passed out. She laid on the ground, exhausted and short of breath feeling the skins squirm against her.
Aela turned her head and watched the blaze rage. She tried to block what was happening to her skin by focusing on her surroundings. The route would lead her directly though the inferno. She looked at the blackness behind her, the sullied tendrils of grasses moved in the breeze fragilely. Their ghosts were silhouetted against the ruined and lifeless forest. Within it lurked a gloom of sorrow and fears. The sight of it sickened her, but she couldn't pinpoint the reason.
As the coils swayed, they did so of their own volition, taunting her to come near. She closed her eyes, searching herself for strength as she laid of the ground. The feeling of desolation was claustrophobic and Aela felt the oppressive weight of hopelessness surround her. The charred forest represented every failure of her past and it mocked her feebleness.
The dragon bellowed in the distance, not once, but twice.
Aela moved her head on the ground in the direction of sounds. Rolling onto her side, she watched the flames roll upward, consuming the pine needles. The more she watched, the less expectation she had of even moving. The flaming pools lapped at her and the burning ash in the air snowed down on her. She turned to look at the smoke filled sky. The oranges reflecting off the white with an intensity she had never seen before. The violet kissed the black in the backdrop of fire. While Aela let faith drift away with her isolation. Her eyes slipped closed, but she did not sleep.
Serana's dress tangled on the burnt limbs that twisted over the path. She tugged at the slick wet material, disgusted. She tried not to look at it, the smell of it burning her throat worse by the second. The instant she was free she continued her pursuit. The raven never stopping or slowing down.
The air around her vibrated with the thunderous rumble of the dragon. It shook the ground at her bare feet and she stumbled over brambles.
The raven cawed at her, forcing her to pick up her feet, and her dress was once again tangled. She swore and tore at it, wrenching it free and feeling it ooze between her fingers. The smell of blood made her thirst claw at her throat and she cursed more because of it.
Serana ran, chasing after the raven.
The smell of the dress constantly shifted, distracting her as she sprinted through the charred forest. It was a pure hell, the scent of every victim she had ever taken, constantly shifting in her nose. From bandits to vampires, their scent bit at her. But, the longer she allowed herself to focus on the dress, the more she realized she could smell the ones she wanted to forget. The blood of innocence, powerful and addicting. It was the omnipresent reminder of the life she led and the monster she was.
The raven squawked again. Its voice echoed through the darkness, pulling Serana deeper into the skeletal woods.
The squawking overhead forced Aela to open her eyes. The raven was watching her as if it was disgusted by her. Aela didn't care. She didn't have the energy to move. The smoke was burning her nose and she sneezed. For a moment she laid there and enjoyed the silence.
The raven cawed again.
"You're obnoxious…" Smoke drifted past Aela's face as the breeze shifted. As she closed her eyes she realized how quiet she was. Searching within herself, she couldn't locate the wolf. She sat up surprised. Where are you?
The raven called out to her, answering through the silence where the wolf should have been.
Aela looked up at the bird and it flew down to a lower branch.
It shrieked again.
Slowly, Aela stood, watching the black bird carefully.
The raven spread its wings and danced along the branch.
"What do you want?"
The raven called to her, flapping its wings.
"Fine." Aela caught on to the frolicking raptor's want. "Lead on."
The raven swooped off the branch. Circling, it sailed into the hellish timberland.
Serana bounded over the wall of flames and the giant boulders they surrounded, the blood-red dress twisting around her legs as she landed in a pile of skulls. Ash billowed around her on the ground and she looked over the charred and cracked earth. The raven soared high into the air, circling in the distance. She muttered a few curses, her thirst was driving her insane. She ran near the edge of the corpse of the burning woods, following a barren path.
She kept glancing up at the raven, gauging the distance and it annoyed her more that the bird seemed to be still so far away. Her throat felt as parched and dry as the ashen soil her feet touched.
Serana looked up again and the raven was practically in her face. She dove into the ground, cursing and rolling. The air around her was suffocating, filled with dust, choking her further. She rolled to a halt in charcoal wispy grasses. All around her, the blackened translucent coils waved with the breeze.
The raven landed and squawked at Serana.
The muscles in her legs were burning and sweat poured down her body. The black bird swooped and ascended around helices of fire, never giving her a chance for rest. The leather armor constricted against her, the shifting faces sliding across her soaking skin. Flames shot out at her and she jump over burning timber, diving through clouds of embers. The searing heat scorched her, yet Aela pushed on. The raven called to her, forcing her to keep moving. The jeering shrieks mingled with the sounds of the blaze that surrounded them. The log-pole pines raged brightly against the backdrop, the heat of it forcing the very air from her lungs.
The raven dodged a rush of hot cinders and the ghastly cloud blew over Aela, taking her breath away. Aela coughed, cursing between breaths at the intensity from her run. She called out for her wolf, only to hear the raven call back to her, taunting her onward.
Serana climbed to her feet, surveying the blackened shoots that stood proudly against the gray backdrop. Past the sea of swaying coils was a drop to a valley. Her arm grazed one of the wisps and the field came to life. The air around her grew drastically colder, causing the tendrils to sway. They grew, reaching out for her. Serana had nowhere to go for escape and just as quickly as she had moved, the cold wisps snared her. They burned against her skin as they wrapped around her, constricting against her body tightly and mummifying her. They constricted hard against her struggling form, crushing her and pulling against her. Serana screamed, but they covered her whole and the darkness consumed her. As the tendrils pulled, she thought she would be torn to pieces. Shifting up, then down, right, then left, she was drawn into limbo.
Aela covered her face with her arms, crashing through the burning brush. Like the raven, she glided into the darkness leaving the woodland behind. The sensation of falling overwhelmed her, even with her eyes open she couldn't see anything in the slick, wet gloom that ensnared her. Her skin felt like it was covered in frost, enclosed by a coldness without equal.
Aela screamed into the gloom, its oppressiveness more frightening than anything she had ever imagined.
Aela descended further into her nightmare for what felt like an eternity. Feeling as though she were watched by a presence that mocked her cruelly. Throughout the void that engulfed her, she felt it drawing her nearer. She plummeted into the murkiness. She screamed again, but made no sound, calling for her wolf and getting no response. All around her the ether vibrated, mimicking no sound she had ever heard before in her life.
From nowhere, the raven called to her.
Serana was suddenly aware of standing on the cracked desert floor. The sooty sky above wept its chilling tears on the wasteland. The raven sat motionless, watching her intently, from a pile of human bones. The small cooing noises that left it filled her with doubt. She couldn't remember a place like this, one which left her feeling so dejected. She was cut off from life and filled with an empty ache like pieces had been trimmed from her. Pieces that she couldn't remember, but missed.
From somewhere ahead, a dragon roared.
The black bird flapped impatiently, catching Serana's attention. Squawking loudly, it lifted off its roost. At first Serana only watched the bird ascend, seeing it circle higher into the smoke filled sky. When the bird chose a direction, Serana followed obediently, wondering what waited at the end of their journey.
In the distance, a single white pin-point glowed. It was as light as the tiniest of stars in the inky black emptiness. So much so, Aela had to look away as she tumbled through the unknown. Her eyes were burning from staring into the blackness she thought she had imagined the singularity. She closed her eyes, counting mentally, trying to calm her fears.
Her body vibrated from a sound she couldn't identify, the suddenness of it and the surprise caused her to open her eyes. The white hot point was directly in front of her and she felt herself being drawn towards it.
After walking for so long, it seemed odd when she stepped over the first of the series of concentric rings that had been burned into the soil. Bone and ash had been the only thing she had seen for so long that the charcoal ring was almost a gift. She looked up only to see she was much closer to a dissimulation of birds that circled over a source. It had been that curiosity that had led her to where she was. The raven that she had been following had disappeared when she had seen the others.
Serana crossed the first ring and whatever magic that had been in that place suddenly seemed very strong to her. She realized it was an unkindness of ravens that spiraled above and that their quarry was much closer than she initially thought. Ring after ring she walked. The ground, cracked and barren, burdened her with a sorrow for the lack of life. It actually amazed her how empty she felt when she reached center of the rings.
Falling, end over end, had to be the worst sensation she had felt in her life. The single dot of blinding white light neither seemed closer nor farther than when she had started her free-fall. Yet, still she tumbled, the queasiness of the sensation sapped all of her strength. Until she was suddenly standing on the edge of a ring.
Aela surveyed the blandest of environments. The soot gray sky married the ash gray earth at an indiscernible horizon. Everywhere she turned, piles of bones littered the dirt. The air shimmered with frost and the vacant, cracked desert floor pulled at her heart. The place was so lonely and abysmally desolate, she ached for anything but the wasteland that surrounded her. She ached for the pieces she was missing, but couldn't identify.
Aela took a deep breath of choking regret and followed the rings inward.
There was no mistake of what was chained at the center of the rings. The smell of burnt flesh lingered all around it. The form was that of a human, on their knees and bent back over a beam that their arms had been chained to. Chains held the pathetic individual in place to spikes hammered into the ground. The collar around its neck ensured the wretch would never leave its uncomfortable position without assistance.
Serana swallowed hard, looking at the miserable creature and she pitied it. The hair on the burnt human was the color of embers and still smoldered. Under the cracks in its skin, flame broiled like an Atronach. Were the eyes should have been, only fire existed. Serana peered closer at the eye sockets, but the creature did not move. She could only wonder at the horrifying sight when she saw something moving towards her from the distance.
As Aela approached the center of the circles what she saw was more nightmarish than anything she had ever beheld. For the first time since her quest began, Aela regretted not having a weapon. She called to the wolf once more, but the only response she received was the lingering silence.
The beast was another shade of gray, its stone-like skin glimmering red in the pale light. Its long claws stretched awkwardly from its hand and its wings wrapped loosely around its arms. It stood as a sentry at the charred remains of its prisoner.
Aela broke into a run when the creature looked directly at her.
It was revolting and that was the only description that fit what was coming. Its body continually morphed between humanoid and some type of animal. Serana swallowed hard, tasting only the dust in the air. The constant shifting was actually beginning to give her a headache since it was almost impossible to not look at it.
Serana looked down on the pitiful husk of a creature in front of her. Something within herself made her want to defend it. To give it some sort of dignity that it had so obviously lost. As she stared down at the remains, something struck her as familiar, yet like a distant memory. Through the ruin of charred flesh and the cracks with the molten insides, she saw the high cheekbones and the strong, almost elven grace that once had existed. She imagined the person had once been beautiful and felt the need to defend them from the horror that approached.
Serana looked back out to where the creature had been to gauge the distance. She had resolved not to let it close the chained humanoid's remains. She almost choked when she saw the creature coming at her didn't have a face.
Her legs carried her forward, but in a paralyzingly slow pace. Aela glanced upward, noticing the flock of black birds that circled over the monster and its victim. Something pushed her forward, towards both beings at the center of the expanse. For her, there was no turning back.
The faceless form quickly approached. It was breathtaking how fast it moved and very surreal. Its odd gate made her more uncertain as to what it was, since she had never seen anything like it before. She could only imagine it was some sort of creature from a plane of oblivion. The way it moved and the fact it seemed to be accelerating made it harder to focus on anything else. She knew that in moments whatever it was would be right on top of her.
Aela was drawn to the smoldering person on the ground. From the distance, she could see the person was bound in chains and that their body was somehow familiar. She pushed harder at the invisible force that was slowing her down to a frustrating pace. She had to get to the center.
It happened almost instantly. The faceless thing had been at one place, then suddenly it was now in the center with them. It seemed to be contemplating the bound person from directly opposite of Serana. Then, it touched the seared face and the person that Serana thought was burned to ruin took a shaky breath, exhaling flames.
Aela leapt back, shocked that the burned victim was still alive. Flames curled from its mouth and nose as it exhaled and the monster opposite of her thundered.
Serana dove at the morphing creature. Every fiber of her being told her to defend the burned person at the center of the ring with her very life.
The ravens above watched as the two beings clashed. Blow for blow the two were incredibly complemented in battle. As they descended, they called out their warnings, but it was too late and the warning was lost. The dragon's attention was already drawn to the plane and it was coming. Nothing the ravens could do would stop it.
The thunderous bellow shook everything around them.
Aela shoved hard against the stony creature, just as the thing shoved against her. The equality of their abilities had made it impossible for her to gain the upper hand over it. Overhead, the murder of ravens were spiraling, just out of reach. Their continuous cries and shrieks had pulled both Aela's attention and the monster's she had been fighting.
Another roar shook the desert floor. This time it was closer.
Aela cursed out loud at her lack of weapons. The cold air around them plunged in temperature and she feel the frost thickening on her skin. The horned beast backed away from her, striking Aela as if the thing was protecting the prisoner. Aela looked from the monster to the prisoner, bewildered.
The ravens swooped between them, driving them further apart. They circled just over the head of the kneeling corpse.
Aela was at a loss. She couldn't understand why the stony creature was abiding the distance, when only moments before it had been attacking her. Nor could she understand why the birds were behaving in a manner to suggest they remain separated.
A second later another bellow rang out and the very air vibrated.
Aela saw flames curl from the nose and mouth of the corpse out of her peripherals. The being moved the slightest bit and both Aela and the creature jumped in surprise. The birds swirled around the prisoner, flying faster until they became a blur. In the center of them, directly in front of the captive, a woman took shape. Against the gray backdrop, her white dress shone brightly. Her brunette tresses cascaded over her shoulders were in contrast to the pure white. The ravens disappeared altogether.
Directly overhead, the dragon roared and Aela looked up in time to see the black dragon circle to land.
The woman reached out, grabbing Aela's arm and she saw she had the stone creatures arm as well.
"Open your minds, can't you see where you are standing? Recognize each other for who you are!"
Aela blinked, but instead of the monster, she saw Serana. For a moment she almost didn't recognize her. The long red silken dress flowed around her in the breeze, the crown of roses she wore in her hair were distinguished against the ebony in utter perfection. That's when Aela realized she was dreaming.
Serana stared at the Huntress in awe. The elegant, emerald green velveteen dress against the woman's pale skin was regal, taking her breath away. The golden crown was dotted with bright green gems set against the woman's scarlet locks was beautiful and only rounded out her thoughts more. Aela looked like a fairy tale Queen. It sparked a memory of the past and with it, understanding. The instant change in circumstance was difficult to comprehend. Only a moment before had she been fighting the faceless creature, now her radiant lover stood in front of her.
She glanced over at the corpse, its head was at a slight, angle looking directly at the dragon. Serana swallowed the bitterness in her mouth. "This is Quagmire…"
The woman in the shining white dress smiled. "It is and you must look through the nightmare to see things for what they truly are, not what Ahziial sees. You've been a part of her nightmare and now you must take control or we will fail."
Serana looked back at Aela, then she sprinted forward, catching the Huntress in a crushing embrace. "We're dreaming again."
Aela caught her face in her hands, "Forgive me… I didn't know it was you."
Above them, the black dragon roared, shaking the lithosphere and their bodies.
"There's nothing to forgive. We saw what truly terrifies us and not each other for who we are."
Another thundering bellow shook them again.
"Listen to me, both of you. We have only a moment before it lands. You must be prepared."
Aela and Serana looked at the woman.
"For what?" Aela studied her, trying to remember who she was.
The dragon swooped lower and snarled at them.
"Ahziial is mad, drunk on…"
Next to them, the corpse shifted. It pulled against its chains, turning its head more to watch the dragon. All three women backed away as the dragon landed next to it. A pale cloud suffocated the air around them, obscuring both the dragon and the undead corpse next to her.
The dragon roared deafeningly through the dust, its head appearing through the cloud before the pale lady. She stepped between Aela, Serana and the dragon.
"Why do you summon me, Sorceress?" Blue flames curled from the dragon's mouth as she spoke.
Both Aela and Serana marveled at the sheer enormity of the dragon that towered over the fearless woman.
"This time it wasn't me, Ahziial."
The dragon bent its head lower sniffing at her. All of them saw the bluish-purple flames that burned in her eye sockets.
"You've been blinded by the Elder Scrolls, so you cannot see them." The sorceress continued. "Can you not feel them though your bond?"
"I feel…" The cold wind displaced the last of the ash cloud and for the first time they saw the cracks in the dragon's body as well. Beneath the ebony scales, molten fire rolled. Its bluish-purple hue drastically different from the corpse that stared directly at the three women.
"Aela…"
Aela's blood turned cold. The corpse had spoken her name and its rattling voice was that of Azriel's. Serana gripped her hand, almost too hard.
"…Serana." Flames curled from the corpse's mouth as it spoke again.
The dragon chuckled darkly. "I am strength. I rule this place and now my frame. I will burn all of Tamriel until I rule only fire, ash, and bone!"
"No." Aela whispered and the dragon turned toward her.
"This is what I am and we are joined. I have seen what I am meant to become and I embrace it." The dragon growled at her.
"You have a choice and this isn't you!" Serana yelled back at the dragon. "Look around you, this destruction… this isn't who I love!"
"Nor I! This is madness," Aela's hand swept over the landscape. "This is what you fought the World Eater to prevent!"
The dragon looked between them, then it reared back, bellowing into the sky. Its tail slapped the ground knocking all three women from their feet.
The corpse didn't move as it stared at them.
"Aela, that burned creature, it's…" Serana shouted over the earsplitting dragon.
"Azriel! I know!"
"You have to get them to merge." The woman in white yelled. "I'm only the guide."
Serana and Aela finally understood who the woman in white was.
Aela climbed to her feet and held out her hand. In it, a sword appeared. She ran to the smoldering Azriel and raised the sword high over her head.
Serana jumped to her feet. "What in Oblivion are you doing?"
"We have to do this. It has to be this way!" Aela swung the sword downward, striking the chain binding Azriel's collar to the ground and severing it. She raised the sword again, this time, bringing it down on the ties connected to her feet. Aela continued, each time her sword connected another chain was severed.
The dragon focused its attention on Aela. It lumbered forward, thrashing its tail wildly.
Serana grabbed the frigid horn of the dragon, pulling its massive head towards her. The dragon was level with hers. "You wanted to be whole, you wanted to be released…"
The dragon closed it's it flaming eye, then opened it. "Yes." The word was drawn out slowly, more cracks formed in the dragon's head.
"This isn't the way to do it. You've accomplished nothing through force. Look around you, you've destroyed everything. This isn't what you were meant to be, it's what you've become in your bitterness and isolation. You are everything you hate through your own corruption. You've been deceived into believing this is all you are capable of."
Aela slid the beam from under Azriel's arms and watched it crumble to ash. Azriel fell forward, her blackened hands crashing into the ash. Twin puffs escaped either side when she did. Aela heard her take a deep breath.
Aela looked at the dragon Serana clung too. The cracks in its scaly hide had widened, just as the cracks in Azriel's had done. Looking down on Azriel, Aela finally understood what it would take to merge them. She bent down, grabbing Azriel by her blackened arms. "Get up."
The burnt face looked up at her, leveling the flaming eye sockets on hers. The cracks in the corpse-like figure's frame widened.
"You must be whole. You cannot keep doing this, it's destroying you. You have to heal yourself or you will lose us to your hate." She pulled on Azriel with everything in her to get her to rise. "You are strong enough to do this, but you have to get up. You have to face everything you hate within yourself. You are capable of so much more."
Azriel lowered her face and chains snaked their way from the ash, encompassing her hands and feet. Aela took a step back watching. The cold wind that blew carried a mourning wail upon it. Secured in place, the cracks widened and the molten interior became more observable.
"Serana, this isn't working!" Aela shouted, watching desert slowly begin to absorb the burnt woman.
Serana ran her fingers over the heated dragon's hide. Where the cracks had formed, the scales were peeling back, exposing the bluish-purple fire that burned within it. "You feel everything I feel." She whispered to it and the dragon rumbled a low response. "You feel everything Aela feels as well." The dragon growled again. "You know how we feel for you and how we accept you. We know what you are, but you have to choose to be whole and find your own balance." The dragon nudged closer into her touch. "You have to find balance between your soul, heart, and… us."
Aela knelt down in front of Azriel and took her face in her hands. "You have to get up, you mustn't give up hope."
"Hope…" The blackened chained hand reached for her neck, searching for something. "I know this…"
'Hope is an illusion.'
Aela looked around them, the words had come from nowhere. "What in the name of Hircine was that?"
"It was the Skull!" Serana pulled on the dragon's horn finally understanding. "You were imprisoned after you took the Skull, weren't you?"
A rumble filled the dragon's throat in ascent. "Yes." Again the word was drawn out.
Serana turned to see Idgrod standing on her own. "The Skull… can you bring it here?"
Idgrod gave a nod. "It will take a moment, but yes."
"The Skull isn't just feeding on her nightmares, it's the source of her doubt. She can only see the worst of what she is. If she can't see it, she can't send it back." Serana turned towards Aela. "Keep her from sinking, talk to her. We need to give Idgrod the chance to pull the Skull to us!"
Aela lifted the Imperial's charred face. The flames the burned in her face stared through her. "I regret everything I did from the start with you. The way I've been, you shouldn't forgive. You are so compassionate, you have to see it and heal yourself. Here on this plane, you must for all of us."
The flaming eyes blinked at her.
Aela took a deep breath and continued. "You have to fight this. You're better than this. Tearing yourself apart has done nothing to spare you any pain. You cannot remain like this."
Splits appeared in Azriel's face. The cracks followed the length of the right side of her face.
Aela stared at them, realizing she still wasn't getting through to her. "Azriel, fight this! You have to, not just for yourself, but for all of Tamriel."
'Lies! She lies!'
Aela grit her teeth. "Azriel, through everything, you have fought. You have to reunite yourself. You need to be whole."
It began to rain blood. The ground immediately sprouted black tendrils all around them. The gale shifted directions, blowing ash over them while Azriel sank farther into the soil. She was nearly to her elbows and mid-thighs. Cracks widened in her arms and shoulders. Aela looked at the dragon that Serana held on to and saw that the same thing was happening to Ahziial.
The Skull of Corruption materialized between Ahziial and Azriel.
Azriel and Ahziial's heads turned in unison towards the staff. Aela and Serana each took a step backward, away from them. Ahziial reared, throwing her head back to roar. Standing, Azriel pulled herself from the ash, tearing the chains from the desert floor.
"WULD NAH KEST!" Both Azriel and Ahziial were carried forward in a blur.
Aela found herself suddenly next to Serana and Idgrod, standing behind the Skull and watching the pair. Dirt swirled high into the air like a dust storm around the Skull and the two aspects of the Dragonborn. Their voices were silent inside of the tornado, even though their mouths were moving. They moved with synchronicity, working in tandem, but they kept being driven back.
Next to her, Serana groaned loudly.
"You have to work together!" Serana yelled to them, but the Dragon and Azriel ignored her. "Aela, come on, let's go."
Aela was startled, "Go? Go where? Into the storm?"
Serana looked at her for a moment. "What do you see?"
"I see only the storm."
"You don't see the other dragon?" Serana queried.
"I do. She's fighting the World-Eater." Idgrod muttered. "She won't win this way."
Aela peered through the storm and this time she could see the outlines and unusual movements of the fight. It struck her queer that they seemed jerky, not fluid. Each blow either of her lover's aspects delivered drove both farther from the center. "This isn't how she fought him the first time."
"Aela, that center means something significant. We both followed those rings inwardly. We need to drive her towards it."
Aela shook her head, not truly understanding. She looked around the desert floor for anything she could use, then she spotted a sword in the boney grip of a skeleton. Hastily she gathered it up and moved opposite of Serana and Idgrod. Both women launching volleys of icy spikes at the feet of the fighting beings.
Frosty shards scattered across the cracked desert soil. Serana and Aela unwittingly were drawn into the fight, as both aspects crossed into the center. It was an instant thing, one moment they were outside the circle, the next second, they were beside Ahziial and Azriel. Alduin reared, his tail slapped the ground.
"This isn't working!" Azriel shouted, cracks widening in her legs. Bits of burned flesh were sloughing off exposing more of the liquid magma that churned beneath.
Serana inspected the dragon as it lunged at Alduin, noting it too was losing its sections of her flesh.
"Azriel!"
Azriel turned her charred face toward Aela, her flaming eyes burning into the Huntress'.
"Azriel, this won't work, you have to fight him like you did before!"
"Ahziial, you need your heart. You cannot defeat him without it." Serana shouted over the impossible wind.
The dragon turned to face her.
"Azriel, can't you see it? You've given in to you nightmares! You have a choice in all this."
'There are no true choices without consequence. Every decision in your life and it has led you to this point.'
Serana and Aela could only watch as Alduin attacked again. Blackened flesh drifted from the wing membranes of Ahziial and from Azriel's arms. The more the pair fought independently, the faster their bodies broke down.
"Azriel, listen to me!" Aela shouted, the thunderous sound of Alduin's roars nearly deafening to her combined with the wind. "You cannot do this without your soul, you must be whole again!"
"NO!" Azriel roared back at her.
Serana clung to Aela to keep from being blown from her feet. The two struggled against the earth-shattering roars and the wind, barely able to keep within the circle. Yet, Aela was pulling on her, trying to get her to move.
"What are you doing?"
"Can't you see, this is pointless?! We're leaving."
"Have you lost your mind?" But, something in Aela's eyes told Serana she was being serious.
Aela pulled Serana from the circle and the world around them crumbled into dust.
They hovered in blackness and were only aware of each other. Idgrod had disappeared. Time seemed to tick by, the mirk clouding. The haze that at first barely seemed visible, suddenly obscured everything around them.
'You would leave me?'
The charred and cracked face of the Dragonborn appeared in front of Aela.
Aela gasped, the smell of burned flesh was spiced with heavy scent of decay. "You won't listen to reason." The smell of death permeated her nostrils, settling on her tongue and Aela started to gag.
The dragon loomed in the misery that surrounded them.
Aela choked on her words, desperate to free them. "You haven't listened. You've let your fears fuel your separation."
"I can't…" The miserable shade whispered, its breath scented with putrefied flesh.
"You have to." Serana reached for the specter, her fingers tracing the face where cheekbones once were.
For a moment, the ruined corpse like face's flaming pools stared holes into them. Then, it withdrew back into the murk.
"For every strength, I am frail." Azriel's voice held a strange weight to it.
Serana sighed loudly, "We all are. You aren't any different from us. We each have our own demons to reign in. That's the point, we have to face them and conquer them on our own."
"You aren't alone in this and you haven't been. When will you recognize this?" Aela's fingers tightened on Serana's.
The originality abruptly existed. This time though, it began to grow. One second it was a single pinprick of light and the next the two were blinded. The brightest and most intense light seared into them.
Aela's eyes opened with the howling wolf in her mind and she saw Idgrod standing next to bed. For a moment she was confused, coming out of sleep she wasn't sure where she was. Her side was in glaring pain and she crushed her hand against it. The wolf that had been missing from her dreams howled mournfully within her. She took another second to investigate herself, trying to remember why she felt the pain and why the wolf called so woefully. She watched Serana sit up on the other side of Azriel, then slide off the bed. While Serana scrutinized Azriel, Aela took her in. Her painful side pulsed like a heartbeat. The ache radiating through her bones with a ring, reminding her of the events leading her to this new place in her life.
"Where is the Staff?" Serana examined every feature on Azriel's face.
Aela rolled off the bed, gripping her side as she moved. After a couple sharp breaths, she looked to Idgrod to see she was also staring intently at Azriel.
"It's gone." Idgrod mumbled deep in her own thoughts.
Aela tipped her head back relieved, then she felt it. The stirring in her soul was like when Azriel had created the bond with her, but this time it was stronger. She looked down at the bed were Azriel laid, still asleep.
She could feel the chasm and chaos were gone. The darkness had been stripped away to reveal something new. She glanced at Serana, who was leaning in, her fingers a scant inch from Azriel's sleeping face. The connection between the three of them was the most intense she had ever felt with it. The dam that had held Azriel's feelings in check was missing and the triad finally felt whole to her.
She also felt the stirring within the Dragonborn. She felt the waking moment before Azriel's eyes started to flutter. She also felt the dragon's pain and heard Azriel's wolf call back to her own.
Aela felt the rush of anger and the yearning of the wolf to be free of the discomfort it was enduring. Without meaning to, she growled as the wolf pushed forward.
Serana turned, her eyes going wide as she looked directly at the amber hues of Aela's eyes. "No! You can't! You must control her." She could feel Aela struggling against the beast beneath her skin. The two fought for control, with the wolf only backing down at the end of the longest minute of Serana's life. She watched as Aela calmed herself, her lupine fangs and nails retracting.
Azriel shifted on the bed. Her left hand had moved to her side and she moaned out a low sad sound.
Aela calmed herself just as Azriel's eyes fluttered open, the low light catching the aurous striated orbs as they appeared under the half-lidded eyes for a second, and then they disappeared. Aela took another breath and Azriel's eyes shot open. Her body contorted on the bed and Aela buckled over onto the floor. The agony that seared through them was shattering. She could hear Serana yelp with the wolves' pain.
She braced herself against the wooden frame and cringed as Azriel's shrill wail tore throughout the caverns and shook the mountain side.