Happy Halloween people and welcome back to Skyrim: Darkblade Chronicles. Time to get the really spooky shit rolling along...and boy did the modding community, and especially my imagination, give me some juicy stuff to work with.
I had ascended to the heavens, now I must plunge into the depths; I followed Alduin to Sovngarde itself, now I followed Serana into the jaws of Oblivion. The irony of following one prophesy, and working to stop another was a contrast sharp enough to split a diamond. Despite my...questionable predicament, my resolve to continue my quest remained as firm as ever...or so I thought. It would not escape me forever the cost of my services, and it was a cost I struggled to pay.
I am no coward, nor am I worthy of sainthood, but I am very much limited, in spite of my awesome, and awful power. Even the strongest mind, and hardest heart will eventually break under enough weight, and I was under just enough weight as it was. I had told myself that I was willing to do whatever it took, little did I know just how far that declaration would push me.
Now...the blood of the Beast filled my veins once again...
As the pair went into the portal, the soul-draining fire passed over them with no regard for them...then they entered the Soul Cairn itself. The whole, expansive world around them was partially-shrouded in dust, and fog, and the visually-overwhelming shades of blue, violet, and especially indigo. The only structures were the ruined, stone-made towers, houses, and walls among the scarce, and lifeless, trees and grasses at their bases.
The sky above was covered from one end to the other with clouds, and the sky directly above the pair consisted of a slowly-swirling vortex with pure darkness and unholy energy around its edge.
"So...this is the Soul Cairn..." Sheldon breathed out as Serana came down the stairs behind him, and stopped just before the stone circle at the halfway point down the levitating staircase.
"I've heard stories about the Soul Cairn, but never thought I'd see it myself. So far it's...about what I imagined." Serana said, then Sheldon looked over his shoulder as Serana.
"Is it?" Sheldon asked simply.
"Well, not in this much detail, but...pretty much every description fits." Serana said.
"I see..." Sheldon trailed off.
"Now, if you have anything to get off your chest, this is the time to do it." Serana said, then Sheldon turned around, and looked up at her...despite the ethereal light accentuating Serana's image.
"Tell me what you know about this place." Sheldon said.
"Just what my mother told me. I've also studied a little bit on my own, but there's not much." Serana said.
"At this point, anything can be helpful." Sheldon said.
"If you're asking what we'll fight, that's anyone's guess, As for how the Soul Cairn works, when something is trapped in a soul gem, and then the energy is used for powering an enchantment, the remnants are sent here." Serana said, then Sheldon looked at her curiously.
"Any soul gem?" He asked.
"Well, I think it's specifically the black ones. I don't know if the Soul Cairn takes just any leftovers." Serana said, then Sheldon looked around.
"Do you think anything lives here?" He asked.
"Look at this place. Do you think anything would want to live here?" Serana asked casually, then Sheldon smirked.
"No...I suppose not." He said.
"The only things that can survive here are the Ideal Masters, the undead and the souls themselves. Well, if you want to call that 'living'." Serana said.
"No...I would not." Sheldon said.
"Anything else?" Serana asked.
"Do you think we'll meet these so-called 'Ideal Masters'?" Sheldon asked.
"I don't think anyone's ever met the Ideal Masters. I'm not even sure anyone knows what they look like. They could be underground, flying above us...they might be the ground. I have no idea." Serana said.
"That makes little sense." Sheldon said.
"This is a realm of Oblivion...nothing makes sense here." Serana said seriously.
"Point taken." Sheldon said.
"Alright then." Serana said.
"Why are they collecting these souls?" Sheldon said.
"Lots of theories, some say they feed on them like I feed on blood. Others think they use them as payment to an even higher power. Almost like a currency, a very strange currency. Whatever they're doing with them, they've been harvesting for millennia. No telling how many souls are trapped here." Serana said, then Sheldon closed his eyes, sighed deeply, then looked at Serana again.
"Why would a necromancer want to deal with them?" Sheldon asked.
"Look around you, there are some extremely powerful undead here. Even a necromancer as seasoned as my mother would be willing to spend years trying to gain access to them." Serana said seriously.
"Summon them you mean?" Sheldon asked simply.
"Exactly. It's a lost art; most necromancers just raise up whatever bodies are nearby. A simple trick really, child's play. But bringing something from the Soul Cairn gives you something much more powerful." Serana said.
"No doubt." Sheldon said.
"I don't think they hold a candle to the dremora lackeys you've been throwing out recently. But hey, I already told you the difference before we came here." Serana said.
"You have indeed." Sheldon said.
"Anything else?" Serana asked.
"How do the necromancers communicate with the Ideal Masters?" Sheldon asked.
"Well, that's usually the trick. It's possible to do it through a simple portal. But to finalize the deal, you have to travel here yourself...and most of them never come back." Serana said.
"Not in one piece at least." Sheldon said, then Serana raised an eyebrow.
"Or at all." She said seriously.
"Or at all..." Sheldon breathed out.
"Is that it?" Serana asked.
"Yes...that is all." Sheldon said, then he walked down the rest of the stairs, and Serana followed him.
"Aren't you going to put your helmet on?" Serana asked, then Sheldon stopped walking just before he reached the bottom of the stairs, and looked at his helmet.
"Yes." He said simply, then he put his helmet on, and kept walking as Serana walked faster until she was next to him.
"Are you alright? You seem...a bit off." Serana said.
"I have a great deal on my mind, and it will take more than a small amount of time to explain all of it." Sheldon said seriously.
"In that case, I'll ask later." Serana said.
"That would be wise." Sheldon said, then they continued their trek down a sand pathway with rocks on the sides, and each one was larger than both Sheldon, and Serana combined. The dead trees, and grasses scattered far apart from each other did nothing to obstruct the pair's trek across the road. The cemeteries on the sides of the areas, and the few ghosts staring in various directions were focused upon by Serana, but not by Sheldon.
"Look at this place. I can't imagine choosing to come here. My mother must have been terrified." Serana said seriously as she looked around.
"Yet she still came here in earnest." Sheldon said.
"Yeah...whether it was because of bravery or desperation, who knows?" Serana said.
"She'll tell us in due time." Sheldon said, and shortly after their trek continued, they passed a large piece of a skeleton, with ribs, and especially a spine.
"I would hate to meet up with whatever those bones belong to." Serana said.
"I am certain the same sentiment will apply more than once later on." Sheldon said, then a bright purple wisp flew closer to the pair, and went to the side.
"What the...?" Serana said, then the pair stopped walking when they reached the small cemetery in front of them, and looked at the wisp as it stopped flying...then flew closer to them, and flew away.
"Whatever that was, it didn't seem hostile." Sheldon said.
"And I'll bet the same won't apply to the rest of the things in this place." Serana said.
"Aside from these ghosts." Sheldon said as he looked around.
"That's the first time I've seen you even look at them." Serana said.
"Your point?" Sheldon asked.
"Aren't you interested in whatever they have to say?" Serana asked.
"You have told me enough of the souls that linger here." Sheldon said.
"But...what if they-" Sheldon cuts Serana off.
"The less we know about them personally...the better." Sheldon said seriously, then he continued walking, and Serana looked at him curiously as she followed close behind then passed by a crypt with a large staircase leading to the crypt's gate, and there was an armored ghost woman leaning by the wall at the base. Even when they pair approached the ghost, she didn't even pay attention to them.
"Want to see what's in that crypt?" Serana asked.
"No, we should focus on finding your mother. After that...we will see what this place holds for us." Sheldon said.
"Figured you'd say that." Serana said casually, then the pair continued their walk down the sandy path, and past the more numerous dead trees, elevated ground, and small stone wall with a ghost man sitting on it. They then passed by a small crater with a bright purple flame raging within it...and their trek paused. Both Serana and Sheldon looked upon the flame with keen interest, especially Serana.
"Anything phenomenon we can investigate later." Sheldon said seriously, then Serana looked ahead of the pair.
"We've got company!" She said seriously, then Sheldon looked at saw a pitch-black skeleton charging at them...and it held an ebony sword. Sheldon immediately materialized Chillrend, and Spellbreaker, and deflected the rapidly-approaching boneman's vertical swing. Serana hit the boneman with an icy spear...which broke against the boneman's body, then Sheldon sliced into the boneman's ribcage, but it was still standing.
The bone then wildly swung at Sheldon's helmet, then Serana grabbed the boneman's hand, dislocated its arm, took it sword, and severed its head...then its bones turned to dust, and even the severed head's dust returned to the location where the boneman died.
"That was different..." Sheldon trailed off, then Serana pointed at the graveyard ahead of them.
"There's more of them." She said, then Sheldon looked ahead, and together, Serana and Sheldon launched thunderbolts at the four remaining boneman, but the one in front carried an ebony shield that blocked their magics.
"Fus!" Sheldon yelled, then a wave of force staggered the shield-bearer, and Sheldon immediately materialized his dragonbone battleaxe, and charged at the bonemen. Serana stayed behind, and continued to cast thunderbolts at the bonemen, and Sheldon struck the shield-bearer without mercy. The boneman immediately turned to dust, and the two bonemen behind the shield-bearer had both of their heads removed by a single swing from Sheldon's gigantic axe.
Serana widened her eyes as she watched Sheldon's axe move with more force, and speed than he used before...but the cause was not a secret to either of them, and the results bared fruit as Sheldon looked over the dust piles.
"Those things were tough..." Serana said.
"And there's sure to be more." Sheldon said.
"Than it's a good thing you choose vampirism over being weakened. I've never seen you move that fast, or hit that hard before." Serana said.
"To an extent, I did miss the power vampirism gave me...and it is now more clear than before how much pure-blooded vampires stand apart from normal vampires. Nevertheless...this is not something I want to get used to." Sheldon said seriously.
"If you say so..." Serana said casually, then Sheldon stared at her, then at the ebony shield on the floor, and the swords, and axes further away.
"These weapons are ebony..." Sheldon trailed off.
"I hope they aren't common in this place." Serana said.
"If they are...we'll have to be careful." Sheldon said.
"No kidding." Serana said, then Sheldon took the ebony weapons...as well as the gems, and soul gems, out of the bonemen's embers, along with the rest of their items.
"What is this...?" Sheldon asked as he held up a tubular plant.
"No idea." Serana said, then Sheldon used clairvoyance.
"It's a soul husk...a plant that grows in the Soul Cairn." He said.
"What do you know, something does live here afterall." Serana said casually.
"They have properties I've never seen before, but they can apparently bolster magic resistances, and in more ways than one." Sheldon said.
"What does that mean?" Serana asked.
"I cannot say, but from what I've gathered, there are hazards here that can drain life forces, and this thing can disrupt them if it's eaten." Sheldon said.
"Who would want to eat that thing?" Serana asked, then Sheldon looked at the soul husks growing on the side of the road.
"Who can say...?" He trailed off as he approached, and picked the cluster of soul husks.
"Maybe my mother knows." Serana said.
"Maybe indeed." Sheldon said, then Serana smirked and shook her head.
"You'd think a vampire would be right at home in this place. You'd be wrong. Let's just find my mother and get out of here, quickly."
"I agree." Sheldon said, then they walked further down the path, and another wisp flew between them, and they watched it leave the area. They then continued to walk down the path, ignored the large gravestones on the sides, and the small walls and elevated ground lining the further pathway. They also ignored the ghost man sitting on an elevated ground, with a greatsword on his back, which he never drew even as he looked upon the two vampires.
"Look at the sky. What kind of place is this?" Serana breathed out.
"An unholy place Serana..." Sheldon said seriously.
"Clearly." Serana said, then they continued to walk until they reached the ghost man in the middle of the road at the space between the ends of the walls.
"Arvak!" The ghost yelled, then the pair approached him.
"Hey, what's going on?" Serana asked.
"You must help me find my Arvak. He doesn't deserve to be in a place like this!" The ghost said seriously.
"Calm down. Who's Arvak?" Sheldon asked.
"Arvak, my horse. We came to this horrible place together. We were attacked by monsters, so I told him to run. Please, he's such a loyal creature, and he's been running for so long. You have to save him! A place like this will change you..." The ghost said.
"How can we help him?" Sheldon asked, then the ghost looked away.
"Arvak! Arvak, where are you? Arvak, please come back! Come back!" The ghost yelled.
"How can we help-? Dammit!" Sheldon yelled as the soul vanished.
"Great, looks like we're on our own...if we want to find him." Serana said.
"Not now." Sheldon said, then the pair walked around the large stone in front of them, past another small wall, and set of large gravestones.
"I feel terrible for the dead who end up here for eternity. Seems awful, like they're still suffering." Serana said softly.
"Like I said...this place is unholy." Sheldon said.
"Well, here's hoping they aren't...aware of what's happening." Serana said.
"Not beyond reason anyway." Sheldon said, then they approached the massive wall just ahead of them.
"That wall looks like it separates this part of the Soul Cairn from the one beyond it." Serana said.
"Quite possible." Sheldon said, then they ran toward the twin staircases at the base of the opening in the wall.
When they looked ahead of them at the other side of the wall...they saw an expansive field with scattered, lifeless trees, and abundant grasses, and small buildings. In the far distance, numerous towers, walls, and crypts were seen, and one tower was floating above the structures around it. In the center of the field, was a large castle with two towers with beams of energy cast skyward, and large stones levitated around the beams.
Faint thunder was also heard in the distance, and lightning was just as frequently seen.
"The air, the ground...this is all wrong." Serana trailed off.
"And it's even more wrong here." Sheldon said, then Serana pointed at the castle.
"That place in the center looks promising, let's go there." She said.
"First, I neglected to ask you something." Sheldon said.
"Alright, let's hear it." Serana said seriously as she folded her arms.
"Are you sure Valerica has the Elder Scroll?" Sheldon asked.
"No, but there's no way she would have left it in Tamriel. She wanted to get it as far away from my father as possible. I can't imagine a better place." Serana said.
"And if she doesn't have it?" Sheldon asked.
"Then we find out where she hid it. If she's still alive... well, as alive as she was before. Or is now. Or...you know what I mean." Serana said.
"Why not hide it in the Soul Cairn and then return?" Sheldon asked.
"Probably to avoid whatever my father would do to her if he could get his hands on her. Or maybe her plan was to come back, but she was stuck here. We won't know until we find her." Serana said.
"Then let's get going." Sheldon said, then he run onto the platform between the twin staircases ahead of them, and jumped off of it. He then rolled along the ground after he landed, run between the two small walls ahead of them, and approached the ghost standing by the small, but thick arch ahead of them. The ghost had his arms crossed, and wore the clothing a normal civilian, but the piercing stare on his transparent visage spoke for itself.
"Get out while you can..." The ghost said seriously...then Serana looked to the side, and she widened her eyes and backed away as a purple, skeletal horse trotted past her and Sheldon.
"Whoa! Sheesh!" Serana yelled, then the pair watched the horse trot down the path through the arch.
"I think we just found Arvak." Sheldon said casually.
"He sure is as subtle as a horse is." Serana said seriously.
"And now we know that any soul can be sent here..." Sheldon trailed off.
"Yeah...lucky us..." Serana groaned, then Sheldon led her through the tunnel Arvak went down, and they looked around.
"This place is the complete opposite of the first section we went through." He said.
"Let's just keep moving. I feel like we're being watched." Serana said.
"I do too...and I have a pretty good idea by whom." Sheldon said seriously as they exited the tunnel through a second arch, then walked up the small staircase to the top of a large, square platform.
"This place looks more promising the longer we're here." Serana said., then they walked off the platform, further down the pathway, past some gravestones...then a portal opened, and Arvak trotted past the area behind them.
"A teleporting horse..." Sheldon trailed off.
"Yeah, seen it all yet?" Serana said casually, then lightning struck one of the gravestones, and Serana flinched, and backed into Sheldon, then he caught her and helped her regain her bearings.
"I doubt that was intentional." Sheldon said.
"That doesn't make it easier to deal with." Serana said.
"Laas Yah Niir..." He whispered...then he looked ahead.
"Anything?" Serana asked seriously, then Sheldon pointed at the castle.
"There's someone in there." He said, then Serana widened her eyes.
"That could be my mother!" She exclaimed, then multiple bonemen emerged from the cemetery, and the large piles of bones on the opposite side of them.
"Ambush!" Sheldon yelled, then he materialized Chillrend, and his ebony mace, and charged at the trio of bonemen crawling out of the heaps of bones. Chillrend and the mace did little damage despite Sheldon's incredible strength, speed, and increasing ferocity, but the bonemen's ebony axes, and maces hit nothing but air. Sheldon's relentless assault smashed the bonemen to powder, and an ebony arrow immediately stuck into his breastplate a moment later. He then removed the arrow, and saw no blood, then he looked at the boneman archer as it notched another arrow.
Sheldon then cast a paralysis spell on it, and the green orb of magic caused the boneman's form to turn stiff, and fall to the ground long enough for Sheldon to approach it, and destroy its skull with his ebony mace.
"Hey Sheldon! I could use some help over here!" Serana yelled, then Sheldon immediately looked to see Serana casting icy spears, thunderbolts, and blood waves at a squad of bonemen lumbering toward her as she retreated from them.
"Wuld Nah Kest!" Sheldon yelled as he replaced Chillrend with Spellbreaker, and he sped toward the boneman in the rear of the squad, and knocked it to the ground. Serana then she ducked under a boneman's sword, then she formed a bound sword, and seared through the boneman's ribcage until it dissolved. A second boneman engaged her with an axe, and Serana side-stepped it, severed one of its legs, and stabbed it in its face. The third boneman was engaged with Sheldon, and he held it back with Spellbreaker absorbing its sword strikes. Serana then cut the boneman in half as her ethereal sword went through its lower spine, and Sheldon destroyed the boneman he knocked down by smashing its skull with his mace.
"Teamwork right there." Serana said, then Sheldon looked at Serana's bound sword.
"Impressive work." Sheldon breathed out, then Serana smirked.
"You don't fight fair, and neither do I." She said.
"Fairness is only warranted if there is no hostility." Sheldon said.
"Case and point." Serana said, then Sheldon channeled green magic through his body, released the magic in a wave around him, then he used clairvoyance.
"Now the soul gems, weapons, jewels, and soul husks, those undead have are mine." Sheldon said.
"You haven't used that spell in a while." Serana said.
"I try not to if I can help it. Gonar's greed as it's called, doesn't show me what I grab, and I prefer seeing what I take first-hand." Sheldon said.
"Noted." Serana said.
"Let's go, your long-lost mother waits." Sheldon said, then Serana walked ahead of him up the sloped path to the castle.
When they approached it, they saw a faint barrier covering the entire, space-encompassing entrance to the castle.
"That is some ward...!" Serana breathed out.
"And it has to be there for a reason." Sheldon said seriously, then Serana ran up the small staircase in front of them, and Sheldon took the staircase on the side.
"Mother? Mother!" Serana yelled as she ran toward the ward, and Valerica came into view.
"Maker...it can't be, Serana?" She said seriously as Sheldon stood at the side.
"Is it really you? I can't believe it! How do we get inside? We have to talk." Serana said.
"Serana? What are you doing here? Where's your father?" Valerica asked as she looked around.
"He doesn't know we're here. I don't have time to explain." Serana said, then Valerica shook her head.
"I must have failed. Harkon's found a way to decipher the prophecy, hasn't he?" She asked.
"No, you've got it all wrong. We're here to stop him...to make everything right." Serana said, then Valerica looked at Sheldon.
"Wait a moment...you've brought a stranger here? Have you lost your mind?!" Valerica asked.
"No, you don't..." Serana trailed off, then Valerica pointed at Sheldon.
"You, come forward. I would speak with you." Valerica said seriously, then Sheldon slowly walked toward the ward, and Serana stepped to the side as Sheldon removed his helmet, and revealed the usual composed yet intense on his face.
"Speak." Sheldon breathed out.
"So how has it come to pass that a vampire hunter is in the company of my daughter? It pains me to think that you'd travel with Serana under the guise of her protector, in an effort to hunt me down." Valerica said.
"This is no ruse, and she needs no protection." Sheldon said.
"Coming from one who murders vampires as a trade, I find it hard to believe your intentions are noble." Valerica said.
"Then you do not know me." Sheldon said.
"Even within the Soul Cairn, your reputation as the Beast of Bruma is well-known." Valerica said, then Sheldon widened his eyes.
"What...?" He asked.
"Yes, numerous vampires whose souls you trapped and sent here have spoken of you, with both contempt, and dread in their hearts." Valerica said.
"Now here I stand before you, at your daughter's side, and her head is still attached to her shoulders. I even let her turn me from a werewolf, back into a vampire, a pure-blooded vampire no less...which I swore would never happen to me again, all just to find you. The Beast of Bruma would never even consider that, even if it meant striking a blow against Harkon." Sheldon said, then Valerica sighed deeply.
"Even still, Serana has sacrificed everything to prevent Harkon from completing the prophecy. I would have expected her to explain that to you." She said.
"That's why we're here, to put that Elder Scroll you have to use, and bring an end to this madness." Sheldon said.
"You think I'd have the audacity to place my own daughter in that tomb for the protection of her Elder Scroll alone?" Valerica asked.
"Do not change the subject." Sheldon said.
"You should know what I am about to say Beast. The scrolls are merely a means to an end. The key to the Tyranny of the Sun, is Serana herself." Valerica said, then Sheldon widened his eyes, looked at Serana, then back at Valerica.
"What do you mean?" Sheldon asked seriously.
"When I fled Castle Volkihar, I fled with two Elder Scrolls. The scroll I presume you found with Serana speaks of Auriel and his arcane weapon, Auriel's Bow." Valerica said.
"Yes, it did..." Sheldon trailed off.
"The second scroll declares that, 'the blood of Coldharbour's Daughter will blind the eye of the Dragon'." Valerica said.
"What does that have to do with Serana?" Sheldon asked.
"Like myself, Serana was a human once. We were devout followers of Lord Molag Bal. Tradition dictates the females be offered to Molag Bal on his summoning day. Few survive the ordeal, those that do emerge as a pure-blooded vampire. We call such confluences the 'Daughters of Coldharbour'." Valerica said.
"Yes yes, a cowardly tradition dreamed up by an entity who embodies cowardice itself. Now answer my question in earnest." Sheldon said seriously, then Valerica stared at him.
"I already have." Valerica said simply.
"What?" Sheldon asked.
"Think about it, why would I tell you all of this if they had no connection to each other?" Valerica asked, then Sheldon took a moment to think.
"The Tyranny of the Sun...requires Serana's blood..." He trailed off.
"Now you're beginning to see why I wanted to protect Serana, and why I've kept the other Elder Scroll as far from her as possible." Valerica said.
"Are you saying Harkon means to kill her...? His own flesh and blood!?" Sheldon asked seriously, then Serana watched as Sheldon's nostrils flared, and his fists tightened.
"If Harkon obtained Auriel's Bow and Serana's blood was used to taint the weapon, the Tyranny of the Sun would be complete. In his eyes, she'd be dying for the good of all vampires." Valerica said.
"That will not happen." Sheldon breathed out.
"And how exactly do you plan on stopping him?" Valerica asked.
"I'll kill him." Sheldon said, then Valerica stared at him.
"If you believe that, then you're a bigger fool than I originally suspected. Don't you think I weighed that option before I enacted my plans?" Valerica asked.
"I care little for what you did, or did not consider! I have defeated everything that has ever been thrown at me, by Nirn, or Oblivion itself. This time, will be no different." Sheldon said.
"And what makes you so sure?" Valerica asked.
"I don't know how strong Harkon is, but I do know it will not be easy to bring him down. Nevertheless...I am still a match for him." Sheldon said.
"Even if you are a match for him, I doubt you understand the gravity of what your victory would entail, or what the stakes would be should he kill you." Valerica said.
"And Serana's opinion in this?" Sheldon asked.
"You care nothing for Serana or our plight. Whether or not you've become one of us in order to survive the Soul Cairn, you're still a vampire hunter at heart. You're here because we're abominations in your mind, evil creatures that need to be destroyed." Valerica said.
"Valerica...I have been nothing but honest with you since you saw my face. I went against my beliefs just so I can come here and help Serana find you, and maybe get some closure...as well as use an Elder Scroll to save Skyrim, and maybe the rest of Tamriel from annihilation. If you truly think so little of me after all of that, then the only fool here is you." Sheldon said seriously.
"Inconceivable...you come here, promising salvation while supposedly asking nothing in return, and I'm supposed to take all of this on faith alone?" Valerica asked.
"Serana believes in me...why don't you?" Sheldon asked, then Valerica looked at Serana curiously.
"Serana? This stranger may call himself vampire, but he knows nothing of our struggle. Why should I entrust you to him?" Valerica asked, then Serana folded her arms.
"This 'stranger' has done more for me in the brief time I've known him than you've done in centuries!" Serana said seriously, then Sheldon widened his eyes and looked between the two women.
"How dare you! I gave up everything I cared about to protect you from that fanatic you call a father!" Valerica exclaimed.
"Yes, he's a fanatic, he's...changed, but he's still my father. Why can't you understand how that makes me feel?" Serana asked.
"Oh, Serana, if you'd only open your eyes. The moment your father discovers your role in the prophecy, that he needs your blood, you'll be in terrible danger." Valerica said seriously.
"So to protect me you decided to shut me away from everything I cared about? You never asked me if hiding me in that tomb was the best course of action, you just expected me to follow you blindly. Both of you were obsessed with your own paths. Your motivations might have been different, but in the end, I'm still just a pawn to you, too. I want us to be a family again, but I don't know if we can ever have that. Maybe we don't deserve that kind of happiness; maybe it isn't for us. But we have to stop him, before he goes too far. And to do that, we need the Elder Scroll." Serana said, and Sheldon watched Serana's resolve bleed out of her as she spoke...and Sheldon looked away from her as his own composure suffered.
"I'm sorry, Serana. I didn't know...I didn't see. I've allowed my hatred of your father to estrange us for too long, forgive me. If you want the Elder Scroll, it's yours." Valerica said, then Serana sighed.
"Good..." She whispered, then Valerica looked at Sheldon.
"Your intentions are still somewhat unclear to me. But for Serana's sake, I'll assist you in any way that I can." Valerica said.
"Do you have the Elder Scroll with you?" Sheldon asked.
"Yes, I've kept it safely secured here ever since I was imprisoned. Fortunately, you're in a position to breach the barrier that surrounds these ruins." Valerica said.
"What do we need to do?" Sheldon asked.
"You need to locate the tallest of the rocky spires that surround these ruins. At their bases, the barrier's energy is being drawn from unfortunate souls that have been exiled here. Destroy the Keepers that are tending them, and it should bring the barrier down." Valerica said.
"We'll return soon." Sheldon said.
"One more word of warning, there's a dragon that calls itself Durnehviir roaming the Cairn. Be wary of him, the Ideal Masters have charged him with overseeing the Keepers, and will undoubtedly intervene if you're perceived as a threat." Valerica said.
"A dragon is here...?" Sheldon trailed off.
"Yes, I don't know how he got here, or why, but he's incredibly powerful, and will not show you any mercy should you encounter him." Valerica said.
"How do you know of this Durnehviir?" Sheldon asked.
"Because I fought him..." Valerica said, then Serana widened her eyes.
"You fought a dragon?" She asked seriously.
"Yes, and it nearly cost me my life." Valerica said.
"You were very lucky...few have ever fought a dragon and survived. Even I struggled against them in my first encounters with them." Sheldon said.
"Wait...what do you mean 'first encounters'?" Valerica asked.
"Mother...Sheldon Darkblade here, is the one and only Dragonborn." Serana said, then Valerica widened her eyes.
"The Beast of Burma, and the Dragonborn...one and the same." She said.
"Indeed, I not only have a stronger version of vampirism within me, thanks to Serana, but with or without that...Harkon now has the power of the Voice to contend with." Sheldon said.
"Sheldon, if your claims match your words, then those Keepers are doomed." Valerica said.
"Before we leave, I must ask you for answers." Sheldon said.
"Then do so." Valerica said.
"First... how did you become imprisoned here?" Sheldon asked.
"When I entered the Soul Cairn, I had intended to strike a bargain with the Ideal Masters, the custodians of this place." Valerica said.
"What was the bargain?" Sheldon asked.
"I requested refuge in the Soul Cairn, and in exchange, I would provide the Ideal Masters the souls that they craved. If I had foreseen the value they placed on my own soul, I would never have come here." Valerica said.
"They tricked you." Sheldon said.
"The Ideal Masters unleashed their Keepers and sent them to destroy me. Fortunately, I was able to hold them at bay, and retreat into these ruins." Valerica said.
"You became trapped." Sheldon said.
"Unfortunately, yes. Since the Keepers weren't able to claim my soul, they had their minions construct a barrier that I'd never be able to breach." Valerica said.
"You've been imprisoned here for all this time?" Sheldon asked seriously.
"Time has very little meaning to me. Consequently, it has little meaning to the Ideal Masters as well. I suppose you could call this the ultimate waiting game, each watching the other to see which will give in." Valerica said.
"And it's about to end, once my dear Dragonborn companion's curiosity is quenched." Serana said casually, then Sheldon looked at her curiously.
"You're starting to sound like me." He said.
"Don't get used to it." Serana deadpanned, then Valerica cleared her throat.
"Do you have any more questions Beast- I mean, Dragonborn?" She asked.
"Yes, who are the Ideal Masters?" Sheldon asked.
"I know very little about them. They're mystic entities that lord over the Soul Cairn, controlling every aspect from its fabric to its appearance." Valerica said.
"What do they resemble?" Sheldon asked.
"Well, some necromancers believe they are the crystalline structures dotting the Soul Cairn. I believe there's more to it than that." Valerica said.
"How so?" Sheldon asked.
"I think they transcend what we perceive as a physical form. Perhaps they were once corporeal beings, but they've obviously reached a point where they no longer require a tangible presence." Valerica said.
"And the crystals?" Sheldon asked.
"Conduits through which the Ideal Masters speak to their underlings, and feed on their victims." Valerica said.
"Why would they require sustenance?" Sheldon asked.
"The Ideal Masters's weakness is their insatiable hunger for pure souls. It's the reason for the Soul Cairn's existence, and the only leverage a necromancer has when bargaining with them." Valerica said.
"What do the Masters provide in return?" Sheldon asked.
"The ability to summon powerful undead guardians as one would conjure an atronach or daedra. However, the majority of necromancers that are foolish enough to enter into a bargain with the Ideal Masters wind up here...as harvested souls." Valerica said.
"It's also as needless as it is vile. Summoning dremora, while tricky, is still a far more viable option." Sheldon said.
"As you said, it's tricky, and most necromancers have no interest in summoning dremora, or any type of daedra for that matter." Valerica said.
"Is there any way to release the souls from this place?" Sheldon asked.
"Ha! The souls here are under the Ideal Masters' thumbs. Unless you can defeat them, you have no chance of freeing them." Valerica said.
"A simple 'I do not know' would have sufficed." Sheldon said.
"I told you that you can't save them, because you can't save them!" Valerica exclaimed.
"Do you know that because no one has, or because you yourself tried and failed, or because you never bothered to try?" Sheldon asked.
"The Ideals Masters have their title for a reason. Even a Dragonborn-" Serana cuts Valerica off.
"You're wasting your time Mother. If Sheldon Darkblade wants something to be done, he won't stop until it's over." Serana said seriously, then Valerica sighed deeply.
"If you are right, then I guess congratulations would be in order...if you're right." She said.
"My next question... why haven't you pursued the prophecy?" Sheldon asked.
"Harkon's vision is a world plunged in eternal darkness where the vampire can flourish and never again fear the 'Tyranny of the Sun'. What he fails to realize is how much attention would be called to our kind if the prophecy came to fruition." Valerica said.
"Attention?" Sheldon asked.
"If eternal night fell, there are many who wouldn't stand for it. They would raise armies in attempts to return things to normal. The order of the day would be our destruction until every last vampire was hunted down and eliminated." Valerica said.
"So you prefer living in the shadows." Sheldon said.
"I do. It's how the vampire has survived for millennia, and the only way we can continue to survive in the future." Valerica said.
"Lastly...did you and Serana undergo this ritual that made you vampires willingly?" Sheldon asked.
"It was expected of her, just as it was expected of me. Being selected as an offering to Molag Bal is an honor. She wouldn't have dared turn her back on that." Valerica said, then Sheldon scoffed, and looked away.
"Right, put your body and mind at the mercy of a maniacal daedric prince who thrives on punishing people simply for being weak. Quite an honor indeed..." He said seriously.
"It's not something I expect you to understand." Valerica said.
"I understand completely...and while I cannot judge either of you for going through with it, let alone not considering what the price is...your beliefs themselves might as well be soaked in oil, and surrounded by torches." Sheldon said.
"And yet it is because of those beliefs that we are able to have this conversation." Valerica said.
"In a place none of us would be able to go to without this so-called blessing." Sheldon said.
"That's enough!" Serana yelled, then Sheldon and Valerica stared at Serana, then Sheldon sighed deeply.
"Yes...that is enough, we came here for the Elder Scroll, and we went through a great deal to come here." He said.
"Then you know what you have to do." Valerica said.
"What do these Keepers look like?" Sheldon asked.
"You will know them when you see them, especially since they wear similar armor to your own." Valerica said.
"What?!" Sheldon asked seriously.
"You heard right, although I don't know how they acquired it, they too wear armor composed of dragon bones. If it wasn't for your helmet, I would have assumed you were one of them." Valerica said.
"That...that's impossible..." Sheldon breathed out.
"The weapons they use are also composed dragon bones, as well as ebony." Valerica said.
"Then this will be a challenge...there is a reason my armor is composed of dragon bones, and ebony." Sheldon said.
"I suggest you deal with them as soon as possible before they prepare whatever defenses they have
"We'll be on our way then, and Valerica? Don't ever tell me what I do or don't care about again..." Sheldon said seriously as he shook his head, then Valerica stared at him, and Sheldon eventually walked off as Serana followed him.
Well...that encounter just happened. And fun fact, I was considering writing this chapter for Mother's Day, just to be a dick to Valerica's character but...come on, that kind of pettiness is beneath me. I know there's a chance people will read this on Mother's Day, but that's beside the point. There's "it's the thought that counts" then there's this. Speaking of thoughts that count, I know that the bonemen in the Soul Cairn don't use ebony weapons in vanilla Skyrim, but this isn't vanilla Skyrim now is it?
As for the rest of the Soul Cairn's badness, well, you'll just have to Rate, Review, and Share while the next bit rolls along.