After the cremation of Sofia's body, each person in the group took a part of her ashes and released them into the wind. That way, Sofia would forever remain a free spirit, just the way she was in life.

After that, everyone made their way to Fort Dawnguard. They still had the responsibility to protect everyone from those vampires, and even in grief, everyone knew that. The Nerevarine was traveling with them now, keeping his word after Vardall's request. Having a legendary hero among them increased the morale of the group a little, but not enough to make Sofia's death easier to handle.

Of all of them, Vardall was the one who was suffering the most with Sofia's death. He already saw friends dying in front of him, like Jowan, who he chose to kill to not have him turned into a Tranquil because that was a fate worse than death. But those facts don't mean a friend's death was something easy for him to handle now, it never was and never will be.

But it wasn't only the death of Sofia that was making the silence reign over them, another reason existed. Vardall knew very well what it was, as he looked at the hand he cut with his dagger. He decides to break the silence before anyone.

"If anyone has any questions about what I did back in Kagrenar, this is the time to ask." Vardall talks, still walking.

Everyone looked at each other's faces, but Lucien is the one who decides to take the initiative. "I think... we all want to know what exactly that was."

Vardall sighs. Sooner or later he would have to tell his friends all the truth about him and his past. He will do that someday, but now simply isn't the time. So he decides to lie to them, at least partially. "That is... a type of special ability I have." He says. "It allows me to use my own blood to recover a great part of my stamina and magicka reserves."

All of the group still were heavily confused by that. The more scholarly ones, like Lucien and the Nerevarine more than anyone. "I never heard of such ability during my years." The Nerevarine said.

Vardall makes a very little dry laugh. "I thought so. It's... a very old knowledge. Very few people know." He lies again. The Nerevarine notices that, however.

"Where did you learn it?" The Nerevarine asks, crossing his arms. "Cyrodiil? Morrowind?"

"I... don't like to remember that." Vardall says, as an attempt to dodge all these questions, but it wasn't a total lie. "I'm sorry."

The Nerevarine didn't sound very convinced but decided to forget that for now. Whatever Vardall had learned such a strange technique, it does not seem something it would put other people in danger. The Nerevarine himself admits some types of more... unorthodox knowledge can be useful if used by the right person.

"I am the one who shall apologize, Dragonborn." The Nerevarine says, humbly and respectfully. "I did not wish to make you remember any bad memories you might have."

Vardall makes a little smile and nods. "Thank you, Nerevarine."

Vardall feels a little better. Thedas still was a very sensitive subject to him, but now he was feeling more comfortable about it. When all of this business with Harkon and Alduin was over, and if he was still alive... he would tell his friends everything about him and Thedas, without hiding anything.

They all made their way back to Fort Dawnguard. The grief for Sofia's death still was there, but they all needed to keep moving. Now crossing Dayspring Canyon, Vardall noticed as the Nerevarine was quite distracted looking at the landscape around him.

"Something wrong?" Vardall asks the Nerevarine, lifting one eyebrow.

"Hmm? Sorry, I was just... thinking about Morrowind." The Nerevarine says.

"Feeling homesick?" Inigo asks him.

"Yes, a little." The Dunmer says to the Khajiit. "I'm still not used to the lack of mushrooms here in Skyrim. But what I truly appreciate is the lack of Cliff racers. I hate those things."

Lucien giggles after hearing that. "I think all the stories I heard about them were true."

Vardall lifts one eyebrow. "What is a cliff racer?"

"A very annoying creature, trust me." The Nerevarine said. They all returned their walk. Once inside the Fort, Vardall is immediately received by the stoic figure of Isran. He was with his arms crossed.

"Where have all of you been?" Isran truly sounds more angry now than he normally was, if that even was possible. "Sorine and Gunmar arrived here days ago. I was expecting all of you to be with them."

"Sorry, we were busy doing other things." Vardall dodges his gaze. "Not all of us made it out alive..."

Even talking about that, Isran remained seriously apathetic. "That doesn't matter, we have other things to resolve. Like why a vampire would risk its own life coming here searching for you." He says that pointing to Vardall.

That news made not only Vardall, but all of his group confused. "A vampire came here searching for Vardall?" Lydia asked.

Without saying one more word, Isran turned himself and started to walk. "Follow me."

The whole group was confused, but followed Isran even so. They all went up some stairs and went to a more isolated part of Fort Dawnguard. It was a place full with some torture instruments, but what most surprised Vardall was who he found on that place.

"Serana?"

After crossing a corner, Vardall lifted his eyebrows and slightly opened his mouth when he saw no other than Serana waiting form them. When she saw Vardall, Serana gave him a half smile. "You probably weren't expecting to see me again, aren't you?"

"This is the vampire who showed up while you were away." Isran talks, as he stops closest to Vardall and crosses his arms again. "I'm guessing it's the one you found in Dimhollow Crypt. Says it's got something really important to say to you." Isran looks to Serana, Vardall being able to feel the rage in his voice and eyes. "So let's hear it."

The rest of Vardall's group was as confused as he. The Nerevarine was only watching all of it, curious. Vardall then gets a little closer to Serana. "What are you doing here?"

"Trust me, I'd rather not be here either, but I needed to talk to you." Serana truly sounded worried while she spoke. "It's important, so please just listen before your friend, here, loses his patience."

"What's wrong?" Vardall asks.

"It's..." Serana sighs before continuing talking. "...well, it's about me. And the Elder Scroll that was buried with me."

"What about you?" Inigo asks, while Vardall crosses his arms, still looking at Serana.

Serana continues to talk. "The reason I was down there... and why I had the Elder Scroll. It all comes back to my father. I'm guessing you figured this part out already, but my father's not exactly a good person. Even by vampire standards."

"Really? I thought he was charming." Vardall jokes. Serana doesn't like that a little, but just ignores that as she continues to talk.

"He wasn't always like that, though. There was... a turn." Vardall noticed Serana told this last part with a certain hesitation. "He stumbled onto this prophecy and just kind of lost himself in it."

"What do you mean... 'lost himself'?" Vardall asks.

"He just became absorbed... obsessed. It was kind of sick, actually."

"Your father stumbled in what kind of prophecy?" The Nerevarine asks, deciding to break his silence.

"A prophecy that said vampires would no longer need to fear the sun." Serana's words left everyone worried. Even Isran showed some other emotion rather than anger. "For someone who fancied himself as vampire royalty, that's pretty seductive."

"Seductive and crazy." Arissa commented. Serana kept talking.

"Anyway, my mother and I didn't feel like inviting a war with all of Tamriel, so we tried to stop him. That's why I was sealed away with the Scroll."

He still has many things to process. Vardall closes his eyes and sighs, looking back to Serana moments later. "You took a big risk coming here." He told her with a calm and worried voice.

"I did." Serana agrees dogging her gaze for a moment. "But something about you makes me think I can trust you." Vardall's heart starts to race a little more, but he is able to control himself. "I hope I'm not wrong."

"Don't worry, you can totally trust me." Vardall gives Serana a little smile that soon disappears. "We just have to convince the grumpy old man here you're on our side." Vardall points with his head to Isran, who grunts a little with that, but does nothing more than that.

Serana smiles and almost giggles with that, but is able to keep her composure. "Well, let's move then. I'm not if not persuasive."

"That I can tell..." Vardall murmurs before turning to look at Isran, who still was with his arms crossed. "All right, you've heard what it has to say. Now tell me, is there any reason I shouldn't kill this bloodsucking fiend right now?"

("Because if you try it, I will shout your soul out of your body!") Vardall thinks internally, without really saying that. Some time ago, that would be the answer Vardall would give to Isran. But now, after seeing some things and all his meditation time with the Greybeards, Vardall was able to better control his emotions.

"Set your hatred aside and try to see the bigger picture, Isran." Vardall simply says, still with his arms crossed.

"Why, because of that story about the prophecy? About some vampire trying to put the sun out?" Isran asks, very angry, but he then takes a deep breath and calms himself a little. "Do you actually believe that?"

"Why else would she risk her life to come here?" Vardall asks.

"Who knows, maybe it has a death with. Maybe it's just insane. I don't really care."

"Can you stop calling her 'it'? Her name is Serana." Isran's insistence on calling Serana 'it' was not pleasing Vardall. Damn, not even Shale was so annoying.

"I don't care about it's name." And yet Isran persists. "It is not even a human being." Isran says. "It can say for now, but if it so much as lays a finger on anyone here, I'll hold you responsible. Got it?"

Before Vardall could answer anything, Isran dodged his attention to Serana. "You hear me? Don't feel like a guest, because you're not. You're a resource. You're an asset."

Vardall closes his hand into a fist, not just because of the way Isran was treating Serana, but because he was now reminding Vardall of the way some Templars treated the mages on the circles back in Thedas. They didn't even treat mages like normal beings, only like things.

"In the meantime..." Isran kept talking to Serana. "...don't make me regret my sudden outburst of tolerance and generosity, because if you do, your friend here is going to pay for it."

Serana didn't let herself be shaken by Isran's words. "Thank you for your kindness. I'll remember it the next time I'm feeling hungry." She answers him sarcastically. Isran only grunts and gets out of the room, leaving all of them alone. All of them felt relieved when Isran went away, even Bran.

"If one day, when I get old, I end up like Isran, please, shoot an arrow on my head." Arissa says.

"So..." Serana talks again, calling Vardall's attention. "If you haven't noticed the giant thing on my back, I have an Elder Scroll with me."

"Don't worry. After your beauty, that was the second thing I noticed about you." The silence reigns upon them after Vardall's attempt to flirt with Serana. She only looks at him while lifting one of her eyebrows.

"Really, Vardall?" Lydia told him. Vardall lifted both his eyebrows and widened his eyes, dodging his gaze right after and passing his hand on the back of his neck, a red blush being heavily visible on his face. "Ehh... sorry."

Vardall was a powerful mage, a Grey Warden, The Last Dragonborn and a master in persuasion, all of that being only 19 years old, but even so he was terrible at flerting. Spending his whole life inside the circle's tower, he never truly trained his social skills. Even Jowan was the only friend he has made among the regular mages, not counting the senior mages who respected him for his talent, and Cullen, who so as he was, had zero social skills.

Even with Leliana his poor skills didn't help him, as she was the one who made the first steps that culminated in their relationship, and even so Vardal took a very long time to catch Leliana's hints. He was a little better on this now, but he still had a lot to learn. But, to be honest, Serana found Vardall's attempt a little cute.

Shaking her head, Serana ignores that for now and continues to talk. "Whatever this Scroll says, it will have something that can help us stop my father."

Vardall and the rest of his group recovered their attentions while Serana continued to speak. "But of course, neither of us can read it."

Vardall shrugs. "So who can?"

Before Serana can say anything else, Lucien quickly talks. "The Moth Priests!"

Everyone looks to Lucien, curious. Less the Nerevarine. "But of course..."

"What are you talking about?" Lydia asks.

"The Moth Priests are the only ones who can properly read a Scroll. Even that they spend months or even years preparing to start reading." Lucien says.

"Where can we find those Priests?" Arissa asks.

"Usually they only stays half a continent away in Cyrodiil." The Nerevarine says and Lucien nods. "That's right. But just before I left on my own expedition to Skyrim, I heard from my father that some Moth Priests heard rumors of a lost Elder Scroll here in Skyrim and that they sent some of them here to search for the Scroll."

Vardall lifts his eyebrows. "Now that's what I call luck. But where can we find this Moth Priest?"

"Well..." Serana talks. "The College of Winterhold was the first place I'd think to go for any kind of magic or historical thing."

"College of Winterhold, hmm? I think that is the perfect place to start." Vardall says. The truth was that he wanted time visiting this college for quite some time. A place for mages, where they can study and practice free, without anything like the Templar order watching them all the time, totally different from the circles. Join that with the fact the Moth Priest most likely passed in that place, then Vardall combined the useful with the pleasant.

Serana nods. "I agree. And now that I think of it... I'm going to come along with all of you. I've been really wanting to get out and explore a bit."

Vardall smiles a little. "You really had any doubt? But of course you're coming with us.

Serana then smiles. "Good. Then let's go."

"It will be wonderful to travel with you again, Serana." Inigo said. Lucien and Arissa also agreed. Lydia also agreed this time, seeing they're not gonna be able to defeat Harkon without Serana. The Nerevarine still is a little silent, but Vardall can feel he agrees as well. Bran is the only one that still is a little apprehensive, because he was created to hunt vampires, not to work with them. But Vardall was sure he and Serana would come along just fine.

With everuthing set, they all go in the direction of the College of Winterhold. Sofia's death still was affecting Vardall, even him not showing very much now. But he can't deny Serana's presence makes him feel better.

# # # # # # # # # #

"I must say..." Vardall told Serana while they walked. The group decided to travel apart until they arrived in Winterhold. Lydia was traveling together with Arissa and Bran, while Inigo was traveling together with Lucien and the Nerevarine. Vardall and Serana were traveling alone. "That was quite a family reunion you had with your father, don't you think?"

Serana sighs. "I don't even know why I created any type of expectation for that. I was so naive to think he would have changed, at least a little, after all these centuries?"

"No, it wasn't." Vardall's words caught Serana by surprise. "Something I learned with someone I... deeply care, is that no one remains the same forever. For the good or the bad."

"Wise words." Serana said. "But even so, that was a cold welcome, even to vampire standards. After all those years, that's the first thing he asks? 'I trust you have my Scroll?' Yes, I have the damn Scroll, gods..."

Vardall could feel Serana's frustration and anger. He only wanted now to put a hand on her shoulder, tell her she was not alone on this, so he decides to restrain himself and give Serana the space she needs for herself. "I'm sorry about that." That's all Vardall says.

Finally calming down, Serana looks back to Vardall. "Thanks. And I'm Sorry about this. It's just that I have a whole pack of emotions I don't know how to deal with."

Vardall smiles. "It's okay, I understand." He could tell Serana still was being a bit guarded around him. He would definitely spend more time and talk more with her, so that he can make her feel more comfortable in his company.

"What about you? You had a lot of trouble with your parents?" Serana asks.

Vardall gives her a long sigh. "That's... not an easy topic.."

Serana blinked with Vardall's answer. And before she could ask more, he just kept walking, ignoring her. Apart from others Serana understood his actions and simply went along, not asking nothing else.

They both return their walk to Winterhold. During the journey, Serana told Vardall a little more about vampirism, saying it came from the daedric lord, Molag Bal. He also noticed that Serana was a bit more hesitant in talking about how she became a vampire, only telling Vardall that the ceremony was... degrading. It was clearly something bad that happened to her, but what is not bad when involving the Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement?

Anyway, after some more days of traveling, Vardall and Serana finally arrive in Winterhold. Once there, they both meet with the rest of the group, who had arrived in the city a few hours before.

But... calling Winterhold a city was a little too much. This place, which once was the capital of Skyrim and rivaled with Solitude in power and importance, is now little more than a shell of its former self. Vardall read it about this city, learning that a certain event happened here, called 'The Great Collapse', that almost destroyed the entire city. The College, being a much more resistant structure, was able to resist more to the event. The fact that the whole city was destroyed while the college remained greatly intact made the population think The Great Collapse was caused by the college, and that fact made mages' popularity around Skyrim fall a lot.

Talking about the college, it really was a sight to see. It was a gigantic fortress, right on the end of Winterhold, connected to the city only by a stone bridge.

"Wow..." Vardall was impressed by the college's architecture. "This place is truly something else."

Passing through the city in the direction of the college, Inigo starts to feel a very strong headache. He stops walking and screams because of the pain.

"Inigo!" This obviously calls the attention from the rest of the group, and Vardall prontly goes to help his friend. "What's wrong?! What's happening?!"

"I don't know..." Then suddenly, Inigo covers his head with his hand again. "Argh! My mind is vibrating in my skull. It feels like it's it at the end of a hook."

"What we can do to help?!" Vardall was truly desperate now. He already had lost one friend, he didn't want to lose another. He uses some of his healing spells on Inigo, trying to make him feel better, but with no results.

Inigo remained feeling those pains for a few more seconds, until they started to fade away.

"Wait... The sensation is receding." Inigo starts to feel a little better now. "That was horrible."

"What was that all about?" Lucien asked, also worried.

"I have no idea what it was." Inigo shrugs. "All of a sudden there was a bright flash and it felt like my mind was being pulled out of my ears."

"That truly doesn't sound good." Vardall said. "If it happens again let me know."

Inigo nods. "Do not worry about me, my friend. Let us get back to our actual objective."

Still a little hesitantly, the group returned to walk until the College of Winterhold. All of them were paying double attention now to Inigo, making sure they could help if he started to feel those pains again.

Getting up the bridge to enter the college, the group is suddenly stopped by an Altmer female mage. "Cross the bridge at your own peril!" She said to them. "The way is dangerous, and the gate will not open. All of you shall not gain entry!"

Vardall, as always, takes the initiative to talk with this woman. "Who are you and why are you out here?"

"My name is Faralda." The Altmer says. "I am here to assist those seeking wisdom of the College. And if, in the process, my presence helps to deter those who might seek to do harm, so be it."

"We're not here to harm the wisdom of the College." Lucien says. "We're only here seeking the knowledge of the Elder Scrolls."

That caught Faralda's attention. "Do you? It is true there are some here who have spent years studying the accumulated knowledge of the scrolls. But what you seek does not come easily, and can destroy those without a strong will."

This time, the Nerevarine took the initiative. "We can assure you our will is strong."

"That may be true. But the real question here is what any of you can offer to the College?"

That was true. Besides Vardall, Serana, Lucien and the Nerevarine, the rest of the group could not offer anything to the college.

"This is enough, Faralda." Suddenly, before anyone could say anything, a Dunmer showed up there, with his hands on his back and talking with Faralda.

Faralda's expression and body language suddenly changed when she saw the Dunmer. "Arch-Mage! I wasn't expecting..." Faralda tries to talk, but the Dunmer lifts one of his hands as a signal for her to stop.

"Leave us, Faralda. I will deal with our guests." The Dunmer said in a smooth, but yet authoritarian tone. Vardall only watched that with one eyebrow lifted.

Faralda nods respectfully. "Yes, Arch-Mage." Then she walks away, returning to the college. The Dunmer then focuses his whole attention to the group, mainly on Vardall. By the way he looks and the way Faralda treated him, Vardall could only suppose that Dunmer was the equivalent of the College of Winterhold to the First-Enchanters from the Thedas Circles of Magi.

The Dunmer then put a hand upon his chin and narrowed his eyes, looking directly at Vardall. "I certainly was not expecting a human this time."

Okay, now Vardall was even more confused. "Excuse me?"

The Dunmer ignored Vardall's confusion. "But nonetheless, your connection to the Fade is the strongest I ever felt."

Vardall was now totally shocked with the Dunmer's words, almost speechless. "W... what?" He was now with both his eyes wide open and his mouth was also slightly open. How did this man know about the Fade?

If they're not confused before, Vardall's friends were confused now. "Fade? What is he talking about, Vardall?" Lucien asked, noticing Vardall's suddenly change of expression and posture. Actually, the whole group noticed that.

The Dunmer also ignored that. "I know you are confused. If you want answers, follow me." Then he started to walk back to the college. Vardall shakes his head, still shocked, but starts to follow the man like he was hypnotized.

"Wait, Vardall!" Lucien yelled while he and the others followed Vardall, totally confused by now. Vardall ignored that, only focussing on having answers.

I'm trying my best to make the conversations and flirtings between Serana and Vardall the most natural as possible. I have more practice on writing about already established relationships, and not on the development of one. If anyone has a constructive critic on how I can improve my writing on those parts or if you think that I'm going too fast, you're most than welcome to comment.