I never really expected so many people to get interest into my fic. I appreciate you all for giving this story a chance, and appreciate even more those who liked it. I'm not the best writer and I know that, but I always give my best in each chapter I make.
- THEDAS/CITY OF MINRATHOUS - CAPITAL OF THE TEVINTER IMPERIUM -
It was a relatively quiet night in the giant and majestic city of Minrathous. Of course, you still had the countless disputes between the Imperial Magisters in search of the Archon's favor, the many assassination plots, the problems with the slaves, the many blood-magic rituals that happen every time behind closed doors, and the countless refugees from the endless war with the Qunari, and those were all problems for the Archon and leader of all the Tevinter Imperium, Radonis.
But still, the Archon didn't seem to worry too much. And if at least one good thing was happening these days, certainly it was the growing tension between the Orlesian Chantry and the Anderfels after the Templars' attack against the Grey Wardens, and the somewhat crescent acts of violence from mages and attempts of rebellion, a result of the destruction of Ferelden's Circle of Magi by Vardall Amell. He alone destroyed an entire Circle of Magi, which isn't something that goes unnoticed. Some mages had already started seeing Amell as an example to be followed, and Radonis had no doubt this small blaze would grow into one gigantic fire in the years to come. This situation Vardall created could be very beneficial to the Imperium if the right pieces were moved and the game of politics was played correctly.
Making his way through the corridors of his palace until his private quarters, all the Archon was hoping for now was a good night's sleep before having to deal with more politics by the morning. Arriving close to his quarters, Radonis was caught by surprise when he saw that the corridors leading to, and the very entrance of his bedroom, which are usually heavily guarded, were now empty. He seemed to be the only soul there right now.
Instead of panicking or calling more guards, the Archon merely sighs and continues his way to his quarters. The guards were probably bribed to leave him unprotected or were killed, so that another assassination attempt against him could be made, one of many others. This had happened so many times before, that now Radanis has the habit of not hiding and confronting his assassins, where they would usually fight and the Archon would defeat the assassin with his unmatched arcane mastery. It was a good change from the imperial court's boring and sometimes monotonous life.
Upon entering his private quarters and locking the door behind him, the Archon immediately sensed the magic of an unknown person in there, waiting for him.
'The fool doesn't even try to hide his presence. It also must be itching for a fight.'
Smiling, Radanis proceeds to remove his "crown" and his Archon robes, but still with his staff at his hands as he proceeds through his quarters, moving up to where he kept his best drinks, next to two giant windows that gave him a privileged view of his entire city and the sea.
"Before we start, can I offer you a drink?" Radonis said to his assassin, still with his back turned to him or her. "These are the finest drinks in all of Thedas. Unless, of course, that you've poisoned it already-" When the Archon turned to face his assassin, he was honestly caught by surprise with who, or even what he saw.
Standing in the middle of his room was a man covered from head to toe in a dark blue, almost black armor. The armor was obvously well-crafted, being made of plates that give it a scaled appearance. From his waist to below, the man also had an armored robe from the same material and color than the rest of the armor, covering his armored legs for even more protection.
But what truly surprised the Imperial Archon wasn't the armor per se, but the size of the man wearing it.
Radonis had to look up to see the man's head (that was hidden inside a dark blue helmet with two big horns and a big, red plume falling from his helm's back). This man was taller than anything or anyone Radonis has ever seen, with the Archon not even reaching the man's knees. If he had to guess, that man's height should be 6 meters or so.
"Who... What are you?" Radonis sincerely didn't know what to say now.
"Names are for friends, so I don't need one." The man said, starting to calmly walk in Radonis' direction, still with a very relaxed posture. "But if you insist... you may call me Archdragon."
The Archon prepared his staff. "I don't know who you are, but you will kneel before me!"
Having now a better view of him, only now has Radonis noticed the strange left arm the said Archdragon has. Different from his dark blue armor, the arm had a more bronze-gold color and a strange design. It appeared to be some sort of machinery in the form of an arm than anything else.
Anyway, the Archon retrieved his focus. With his staff at hand, he prepared and fired an ice spell at the Archdragon. Radonis could not just see, but feel this man wasn't someone ordinary, so it was best if he didn't let him get too close.
The great spell cast by the Archon ran through the room, in the direction of the man. The Archdragon didn't show any physical reaction to a deadly spell being fired against him and didn't try to dodge when it was almost hitting him.
"Tiid..."
After saying that, the Archdragon disappeared, with the spell continuing on its way and hitting a wall. Radonis opened his eyes wide at the man's sudden disappearance, but before he could even look around, his staff was taken from him and tossed away, and he was grabbed and lifted from the ground by the Archdragon, who was now at his side.
Radonis struggled in the Archdragon's grip, trying to set himself free. "Let me go! I am the Archon of the Tevinter Imperium. I demand to be...!"
Grunting loudly, the Archdragon simply tosses Radonis aside like a ragdoll, brutally throwing him at a wall.
"I am not one of your slaves, Radonis!" The Archdragon had some anger in his voice while saying his words.
Shaking his head, still trying to retrieve his senses, Radonis notices as the Archdragon slowly approaches him.
"But you'll find out soon what it is to be a slave." The Archdragon said as he stood above the Archon in all his giant height. Radonis can only watch as the man utters three more words, unleashing some magic Radonis has never seen.
"Gol... Hah... Dov!"
Soon, Radonis feels his mind being invaded, his thoughts and actions being replaced and submitted to just one thing: servitude. He tries to resist, but it is stronger than him, and soon he feels his mind being overtaken.
With his senses in check now, the Archon gets up and stares at the giant Archdragon, now not seeing him as an enemy but as something else.
"What can I do for you?" Radonis asks, his mind now completely overtaken.
Before the Archdragon can say anything, strong beats can be heard at the door. The Archdragon murmurs and, while looking at Radonis, points with his head at the door. The Archon understands what he needs to do and moves to the door, which he opens slightly until he sees a group of guards outside.
"Archon! We heard strange noises coming from your private quarters! Are you okay?!" One of the guards asks.
Radonis sighs, slightly irritated. "I am fine. I was just practicing some of my magic. There's nothing to worry about."
Still, the guard didn't seem to be convinced. "Are you certain, my Lord? I think we should..."
"I am perfectly fine, guard! Now leave, all of you! I need to rest for tomorrow and don't wish to be disturbed unless it's an emergency. Return to your regular duties, now!" Radonis yells.
The guards looked at each other, scared of making the Archon angry. "Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" They then leave.
The Archon sighs again and closes the door. Sometimes his guards could be such fools...
"You did good, Radonis." The Archdragon said. "You are going to be useful to me."
While many would find such a sentence offensive, Radonis just smiled and nodded. "I'm pleased to assist. Now, what do you want me to do?"
"For now, I just need you to continue what you're doing and go to sleep." He says. "But tomorrow we'll have a lot to do. I have big plans for the Imperium and Thedas, and you'll aid me in fulfilling them."
Radonis smiles and nods again. "No matter your objectives, I'll gladly help you achieve them, Archdragon."
The Archdragon nods. "I know. You don't have any other choice... Now, go to sleep. And whatever happens, do not reveal anything about me to anyone. After all, what good is a puppet if everyone knows who the puppeteer is?"
The Archon obeys and moves away, continuing to do his nightly rituals as if nothing happened, then going to his luxurious bed and falling into the world of sleep. The Archdragon stares at him while he sleeps and then turns to face the city of Minrathous below, especially at the Gardens, where the houses of the nobles and Magisters, the elite of Tevinter, were. He would have a lot of work, as always, but with manipulation and controlling the minds of the right people, he would be able to do whatever he wanted without any opposition.
After all... It wasn't his first time manipulating empires and the world itself to fulfill his goals. And after thousands of years doing it over and over again, pulling the strings of this mad world, he could do even without bending the will of people.
But the Archdragon wasn't going to allow himself to make a mistake, not now when he is so close... Just a few more years and finally all of his thousands of years of suffering would pay off.
But until there, he still had plenty of work to do.
Yet another beautiful day at the Valence Cloister in Orlais. Another beautiful day that Leliana didn't even notice.
Her nightmares with Vardall or that huge, bipedal dragon had become even worse in the last few weeks. It was all she could dream of every time she tried to sleep, and it always ended the same: with the black dragon with red eyes killing her in the most diverse and brutal ways.
It reached the point where Leliana avoided sleeping at all costs, all out of fear of her nightmares. Even with the bard reaching her 7th month of pregnancy and her body demanding more and more from her, she didn't pay attention. She was reaching her limit, and all she wanted was to get rid of those nightmares by any means necessary.
A sudden knock at the door of her room called her attention, but Leliana didn't even bother opening it.
"My child... How are you feeling today?" Mother Dorothea asks on the other side of the door.
Leliana didn't answer, still keeping her blank gaze outside the window of her room.
A few seconds passed before Dorothea spoke again: "Leliana... please come outside. You need to take care of yourself and the little one."
Still no answer.
Leliana can hear the Mother sighing after a few seconds. "Very well... You have a visitor, my dear. I think you'll like to see her."
The redhead bard hears Dorothea walking away from the door, and now her curiosity has been picked. A visit? To her?
It didn't take too long for Leliana to hear Dorothea's footsteps as she walked back to her room's door, being followed by another one. Whispers could be heard outside, but Leliana didn't know who Dorothea was talking with.
A few more seconds passed before the door was opened, and Leliana opened her eyes wide.
"It is so good to see you again, my dear.", said the mage Wynne, as she stared at Leliana with a kind, motherly smile.
Leliana didn't know what to say. The last time the bard saw the older mage was during her marriage ceremony before Wynne went to the Tevinter Imperium with Shale.
"Wynne...? H-how? Why are you here?" Leliana stutters.
"Mother Dorothea sent me a letter a few weeks ago, asking for me to come and see you." Walking towards the redheaded bard, Wynne takes a chair and sits at Leliana's side. "She thought it could help you to have a friendly face around."
Wynne kept looking at Leliana, almost analyzing her. Meanwhile, the bard looked at the ground, thinking of her next words.
Looking down, Wynne stares at Leliana's belly: "How long?"
Leliana places both her hands on her belly. "Almost seven months..."
"Are you expecting a boy or a girl?"
Leliana thinks a little before answering: "I don't know... I'm almost certain that no matter what, our child will always remind me of... him."
For the first time, Wynne's smile weakens a little, knowing very well who Leliana is talking about.
"Leliana..."
"I killed him."
Wynne blinks. "What?"
"I killed Vardall, Wynne!" Leliana yells while getting up. Tears ran down her cheeks while she did so. "He didn't disappear or ran away. After destroy just Ferelden's Circle of Magi, but also an entire village at the Bannorn. He tortured and killed so many innocents... and he wasn't going to stop. Not until he had killed the last Templar that attacked his Wardens."
Leliana was done with hiding her emotions. She let out everything she had kept inside of her, and all Wynne could do now was to listen.
"I tried to convince him to stop, but he wasn't going to, so I had to stop him myself. I waited until I had the perfect chance and... shot a poisoned arrow at him." Leliana's voice now sounded more like a whisper than anything else.
"He hated me until the end, I could see that. Even while dying, he tried to attack me. He let out all his rage in one final scream directed at me." Not taking any longer, Leliana sits back in the chair, covering her face with her hands while crying even more. "And the worst part of all is that, even now, I miss him. Even after all, all I want more than anything is to have him back, to be hugged by him, to feel safer in his arms, and to find some comfort from these damn nightmares..."
Wynne couldn't just keep watching Leliana fall apart and do nothing to try to help. Advancing, she catches Leliana around her arms, involving the bard in a warm hug the best she could.
"Hush, child... I understand how you're feeling, and I guarantee you this is temporary. One day this pain will go away, and until then, I'll be by your side, together with your beautiful upcoming child." Wynne says.
There was still more to be said and discussed between the bard and the mage, but that could wait. Right now, what Leliana needed was a friendly shoulder, and Wynne was more than willing to be there for her.
- TAMRIEL -
Being paralyzed was a very distressing sensation, something most of the group didn't want to repeat. Being totally still but still fully aware of your surroundings, vulnerable to anything or anyone, was not a very pleasant thing. They remained like that, under the effect of Flemeth's spell, for many minutes, with each of them feeling like an eternity. Then, simply like that, they're all free to move again.
Immediately after being free, Nerevar promptly moved to check on the others, without even worrying about himself. "Is everyone alright?"
Lucien sighed in relief once he was free, and that none of them were hurt. "We're alive, at least that."
"That hag... I knew we couldn't trust her." Lydia said as she stretched a little, just like the others.
"If not even Vardall trusted her, would you?" Arissa teased her.
"What about Vardall?" Serana asked. "Flemeth went after him, and we heard sounds of the battle outside."
"My fleas are telling me he will be fine." Inigo says. "And given how powerful our friend is by now, I also believe that Hag will not be much trouble for him."
Nerevar stands right next to Inigo and Serana, crossing his arms. "We all know that, but what worries me is if Vardall kills Flemeth, will she remain that way? He already killed her once, and here she was, alive and well."
A little bit away from the others, Farlenya had already fully recovered from that strange paralyzing spell casted by that mysterious old woman. Farlenya's affinity with magic was great, and one of the main facts was that she always was such a good mage from a young age, and she could feel that spell was... different, to say the least. That was something that was bothering her, the fact that the spell felt different from any other she has ever seen or casted. That piqued her curiosity a lot, as she wondered how such a thing was possible.
Strangely enough, she felt quite the same thing when close to the Dragonborn, even though he hasn't cast a spell close to her. Vardall and his friends were certainly surprising Farlenya more and more.
However, all the thoughts and conversations were stopped when they all heard the outpost's entrance being open and someone getting down the ladder. It doesn't take long before a very upset Vardall shows up, staring at everyone.
Both Serana and Inigo smile as soon as they see the Dragonborn.
"My fleas never disappoint me." Inigo smiles.
Bran right away runs to his master, but this time Vardall doesn't even try to pet the dog.
Soon after, Vardall is already approaching his friends, with them all surrounding him very worried and with questions.
Serana was the first one to say something: "Are you okay, Vardall? What happened to your mouth?" The vampire didn't take too long to notice the scar on the Warden's lips that wasn't there before.
Vardall runs his fingers above his new scar for a moment, before turning his attention back to his friends.
"Just a little gift from Flemeth..." He says.
"And what about that hag? Is she dead?" Lydia questions.
The Dragonborn doesn't answer at first, just moving his hand to take Azura's Star and showing the daedric artifact to everyone. It didn't take long for them to get the message.
"Flemeth's soul is... but how? I thought only white souls were allowed inside Azura's Star!" Lucien gasps, quite shocked.
"Unless Lady Azura has opened an exception." Nerevar's words caught everyone's attention.
"How's that, Nerevar?" Serana asks.
"It's extremely rare, but Lady Azura already allowed black souls inside the star, usually for some objective or goal of hers. That's the best explanation I can think of."
"Either that or this just proves what I already knew: Flemeth never was human. Her soul never was a black one to start with." Vardall says, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"Then what was Flemeth?" Arissa questions.
Vardall shrugs. "I have no idea, but it doesn't matter now. She's dead for good, and that's what matters."
The conversation among the group continued for some time. Farlenya kept watching and hearing everything she could, still not understanding a thing of all this. Magic she didn't understand, that woman... If before she was looking for a chance to escape, now her curiosity was bigger than anything. She wanted and needed answers.
"Now we just need to decide what to do with this." Vardall says as he holds the Oghma Infinium in his hands, gazing at the book, almost mesmerized. "It may not contain the secret to defeat Alduin, but still..."
Again, everyone's attention was on the book, and again Lucien and Nerevar became more serious.
"Are you going to read that book, Vardall?" Lucien was visibly worried while he talked. "I mean, do you at least know-"
"I know this book belongs to Hermaeus Mora." The Dragonborn quickly says. "I mean, he didn't even try to hide such a fact from me."
Now that was something that called everyone's attention.
"Hold that thought, Hermaeus Mora talked with you?!" Nerevar was even more worried now.
Vardall nods. "He appeared and talked with me just five minutes ago. It happens that Azura wasn't the only Daedra watching me my entire life..." He said this last part with some anger in his voice. "He said he wanted me to replace Septimus as his emissary and champion. I obviously refused."
"And yet you're considering reading the Oghma Infinium?" Lucien questions Vardall.
"Hermaeus Mora always used the Oghma Infinium to lure mortals into his schemes." Nerevar says. "The book indeed holds the knowledge of many ages, but Mora only allows those that read to see a sample, to have just a little taste of all knowledge they can acquire. The regular mortal mind is then overtaken by curiosity and the desire for more knowledge, making them seek Mora more and more until it's too late and the Daedric Prince already owns them." Everyone paid much attention to each of Nerevar's words. "Whoever locked the book into that lockbox did so with the best interests in mind, that I can tell."
"As a scholar, I'd normally encourage the pursuit of knowledge, whatever the source, but... this is the knowledge of a Daedric Prince. We don't know what the consequences will be." Lucien affirms.
Even with the words and warnings from both Lucien and Nerevar, Vardall still kept a heavy gaze over the creepy book.
"I know I shouldn't do this, but... this is too good to just ignore. I consider the rewards to outweigh the risks." Vardall says.
"Vardall, are you listening to yourself?!" Arissa intervenes. "You heard Lucien and Nerevar. Besides, I'm pretty sure you read that book is exactly what Hermaeus Mora wants!"
Inigo nods in agreement. "Arissa is right, my friend. Reading that book is not worth the risk. We should get rid of it as soon as we-"
"It would not be my first time tasting forbidden knowledge!" The Dragonborn yells at everyone there, surprising them.
Vardall stares deeply at each one of his friends, even at Farlenya. "You all know the dark pieces of knowledge I hold deep inside my mind. The number of tomes and books containing dangerous and forbidden knowledge I've read during my life... And yet do any of you see me overtaken, or even using such knowledge freely?"
No word was spoken for anyone at that moment. They just kept staring at Vardall and each other.
Vardall continues his speech: "I deeply appreciate the concern of you all, I really do. It just shows that we're all true friends and that you all care for me as much as I care for any of you. But I'm asking, here and now... Please, trust me."
Once again, they all looked at each other, wondering and thinking about what to say in this situation. Words were trapped inside each one's throats, trying to be free, but without success.
In the end, Nerevar let out a high sigh. He then moved his hands and removed his helm, revealing his concerned face to everyone once again.
"Very well.", says the Moon and Star. "If you're certain about this, then I think I say for everyone here that: we got your back. If anything goes wrong, we'll be here to aid you."
One by one, each member of the group showed their approval, even more so with some reluctance. They all still had their doubts if reading the Oghma Infinium was somewhat a good thing, but their trust for Vardall was bigger.
Meanwhile, Farlenya watched all of this, more curious than ever. This entire situation made her completely forget her actual state as a prisoner, and now all she wanted were answers. Her gaze was severe -almost not blinking - while she watched all the scenes in front of her.
With all that, Vardall smiles at his friends and nods. "I appreciate your trust, my friends. It will not be in vain."
"We hope so..." Lucien murmurs to himself.
And yet, of all of them, Serana was who was worried the most. While Vardall was preparing to read the book, she advances and holds his forearm, making the Grey Warden look at her.
"Vardall, you..." And she stopped. The words simply refused to leave Serana's throat. She knew more than anyone that if you made a deal with a Daedra, you would regret it sooner or later. But at the same time, she trusted Vardall - hoping he knew what he was doing.
"...I just hope you know what you're doing." That was all the vampire managed to say.
Serana's action caught Vardall by surprise, but just for a while. With a little smile on his face, the Dragonborn nods.
"You have my word." It is all he says.
Right after Serana releases Vardall, it is time for Bran to approach his master, yelping while looking at the Dragonborn.
"Don't worry, boy. I'll be okay." Vardall kneels, gently petting his friend.
Getting up, Vardall breathes deeply for a moment before taking and staring at the book in his hands.
'Here goes nothing...'
And so the Dragonborn reads the Oghma Infinium.
At first, all Vardall sees are incomprehensible words and images, spread all over the book's pages. But as soon as he starts to flip the pages, it all changes.
The words written on those pages suddenly start to mix, making more and more sense the more Vardall reads them. All of the group watch as Vardall starts to frantically flip through the pages.
His eyes widened with the complete sea of knowledge before him. Not even when he absorbed the soul of a dragon and earned all the knowledge the ancient beast processed was so intense as it was read this book.
One of the book's sections called the Warden's attention the most: one fully dedicated to magic. With his pupils moving erratically through each word. Whispers around him telling the Dragonborn to read and absorb everything he saw.
Great pieces of knowledge from Tamriel's magic were being carved deep into Vardall's mind as if always belonged there. It looked like each sentence and word he read not only provided him knowledge, but also vast fathoms of further lore still yet to be uncovered. Spells and incantations from many aspects... Information and knowledge about Aetherius... Years of pure and diverse magical knowledge are being delivered to Vardall in mere seconds. Knowledge that even a glimpse would make him a master to be known all across Tamriel. The Grey Warden always thought he knew almost everything about magic while on Thedas. But now he sees he knows almost nothing. There's still much, much more for him to learn. So much for him to...
But then, as Vardall flips through more pages, suddenly it's all over. The countless whispers are gone. His vision starts to turn back to normal, and he also hears the smooth, slimy voice of Hermaeus Mora.
'Yes. Very good... I shall repeat, mortal: Your freedom is merely an illusion. Sooner or later, you'll come back to me. Until we meet again, Vardall Amell."
Vardall...
Vardall...
"VARDALL!"
Suddenly, the Dragonborn is brought back to reality by the feeling of his shoulders being violently shaken. Shaking his head and getting back his senses, Vardall finally notices Serana quite close to him, with a worried expression on her face, holding him by his shoulders.
"Are you alright?" Serana asks, worried.
"W-what...?"
Looking around, Vardall finally notices he was sitting on the ground, with his back against the ice walls of the outpost. Both Lucien and Nerevar cast healing spells on him while the others just watch, with concern dominating the expressions of each one; except for Farlenya. The Talmor still watched all this situation with much curiosity, keeping quite the gaze above the Dragonborn.
"Don't push him too much, Serana. Give him some room to breathe." Nerevar warns the vampire.
Serana stares at the Nerevarine for a few seconds, before turning back to face Vardall and back off a bit, joining the others and letting just Lucien and Nerevar take care of Vardall.
"Vardall, can you hear us?" Nerevar asks.
Having now retrieved most of his senses, Vardall turns to stare at the Dunmer.
"Yeah. I guess..." The Warden runs his hands over his head, feeling quite the headache now. But apart from that, he was feeling fine. "What happened?" Looking around, Vardall couldn't see the Oghma Infinium anywhere. "Where's the book?"
"Gone." Lucien says, making the Dragonborn look at him. "Sometime after you started reading it, the book simply... vanished. It disappeared from your hands in the blink of an eye. Then you fell to your knees and that's when we started treating you."
"Hermaeus Mora must have used this opportunity to retrieve what's his." Nerevar says.
'Hmm...'
"So, how was it? How was reading that book, Vardall? What was the sensation?" Lucien asks. He was deeply worried by his friend, but his scholar side was dying with curiosity to know in detail what Vardall saw.
Vardall dodges his gaze, staring at nowhere, like he was searching for the correct words to say. "It was... different. Something I had never felt or saw in my life. Every single word I read had its meaning and knowledge burned deeply inside my mind. Not even absorbing the soul of a dragon and earning its thousands of years of knowledge is close to what was reading that book."
Every single one there carefully heard Vardall's words, either worried about his well being or by undying curiosity. It certainly surprised some of them, specially Serana, Lucien, and Nerevar, that Vardall seemed to keep most, if not all of his faculties, even after tasting knowledge from Hermaeus Mora himself.
"Looking now, this was certainly risky, but I would consider it worth it." Vardall affirms. "With the amount of knowledge I acquired, I can say I learned some new tricks."
"How so, my friend?" Inigo asks.
Vardall doesn't answer. Instead, he just gets up, with everyone standing aside from him and just watching.
Looking at both his hands, Vardall closes and opens them a few times, before channel, not his usual mana, but instead raw magicka, and summoning two storm atronachs.
Such action takes all of Vardall's friends by surprise.
"How did he...?" Arissa questions, even though the answer was obvious.
But Vardall didn't stop there. Looking at his hands again, he once more channels magicka, and this time summons a Bound Battleaxe, holding and staring at the ethereal weapon with both hands while turning around and staring at his friends.
"Well, the Oghma Infinium fulfilled one of its purposes, after all." Nerevar crossed his arms while saying it.
Vardall kept watching both the bound axe and the atronachs. Less than 10 minutes ago, Vardall knew nothing about how to manipulate and use Tamriel's magic as he does with Thedas' one. He obviously felt the magicka of Aetherius running around him and through his body, but never knew how to use it. Even with apparent similarities, it was quite different from the magic of the Fade, even incredibly more powerful. But now... Not just the Dragonborn knew how to use such magic, as it felt, just like his dragon shouts, that the knowledge for it was always in his mind, and not just added there five minutes ago.
Casting away the axe and using another spell to banish both the atronachs back to Oblivion, Vardall walks back to his friends.
"How are you feeling, Vardall?" Lydia asks her Thane.
"Honesty, I'm feeling more than okay." The Grey Warden assures. "Flemeth certainly was a thorn on our side, but in the end, she quite helped us, as much as I hate to say."
"Now that we have the final Elder Scrolls, we can return to that Moth Priest, find Auriel's Bow, and end this vampire problem for good!" Arissa smiles.
"I think that's not just our problem with vampires..." Vardall takes the Elder Scroll from his back into his hands. "Even paralyzed, I think you all heard Flemeth about this Scroll's other purpose."
Everyone there looked at each other, reminding not just of the awful feeling that was being paralyzed, but of Flemeth's words as well.
Lucien approaches Vardall. "Do you think Flemeth was telling the truth, boss? She lied to us all this time so she could get the Oghma Infinium to herself."
"Yeah. Who says she wasn't lying about the Scroll as well, my friend?" Inigo warns.
"It is a huge possibility. But for the first time in her life, I think Flemeth wasn't lying. As much as she was using us to find and take the Oghma Infinium to her, I think her desire to help us defeat Alduin was somewhat genuine." Vardall returns the Scroll to his back. "But the truth is this will have to wait. We're too close to defeating Harkon to deviate our paths now."
"So as Arissa said, all that is left for us is to return to Fort Dawnguard and deliver the Scrolls back to Dexion." Serena says. "We should return as fast as we can. Durnehviir is our best bet to return to the fort quickly."
"We'll have to ride that thing again? Divines..." Both Lydia and Inigo shiver, just thinking of flying upon the dragon again.
Seeing that, Vardall smiles while crossing his arms. "Lucky for you two, my dear Housecarl and best blue friend, I have a solution for this. Come closer to me, all of you."
They all stare at each other again for a second. "What are you up to, Vardall?" Lydia asks.
The Dragonborn snorts. "You'll thank me later, Lydia. Now get closer, all of you! Conjuring a cool axe and some atronachs isn't the only thing I learned from the Oghma Infinium."
Just upon hearing Vardall's words, Nerevar already had an idea of which spell he was talking about. Together with the others, he also approached Vardall even more, standing at the Dovahkiin's side together with Inigo.
Farlenya also obeyed the Dragonborn. Instead of trying to escape or anything else, she followed him. Her curiosity had overtaken her common sense, all born from her desire to know what was going on here.
With all his friends now close to him and ready, Vardall would prepare to cast the spell; but first, he turned around to face Farlenya, staring at the Thalmor with an expression far from friendly.
"You and I still have much to talk about, Thalmor. You better be ready to answer my questions." Vardall's voice tone sounded much more like a threat here.
The Justiciar didn't let her be shaken, instead, she just crossed her arms and gazed directly into the Dragonborn's eyes. "I expect the same from you, Nord."
Vardall says nothing as he returns to face forward and closes his eyes and starts moving his hands, concentrating to gather all the magicka he needs. The Warden's moving hands are taken by a blue and magical light, soon with everyone's surroundings being taken by the same light. They all watch as, once it all seems to be ready, Vardall hits the ground with his right hand. The entire group is then engulfed by the bright light and, once it dissipates, they're no were to be found in the outpost.
Sorry if this quite big chapter was too much stagnated into Septimus' outpost, but I think Vardall reading the Oghma Infinium deserved some special treatment. It isn't an ordinary book, after all. Things will get more dynamic the more we approach Dawnguard's end.
The armor the Archdragon is wearing is the Dragonlord armor, created by the incredible modder Zerofrost. More specifically, it is the armor's version that comes with an armored robe and a helm with a red plume as decoration. I highly recommend you all to search for this armor, because oh, boy... is one of the best armor mods to Skyrim. It truly is a masterpiece.
And yeah, now Vardall knows Tamriel's magic, together with the ones from Thedas. It was only a matter of time before that happened, and the Oghma Infinium was the best opportunity for him to learn, and already creates a connection between Vardall and Hermaeus Mora that will be more explored on the events of the Dragonborn DLC and with Miraak.
Again, reviews are always welcome.