Hero of Two Worlds

by IvoryMage

Betrayed and left for dead by the woman he trusted and loved more than anything, Vardall Amell thinks this is the end for him. But when a mysterious voice echoes inside his mind, guiding him to an Eluvian and he ends up on the continent of Tamriel, at the same time an ancient black-winged evil returns, The Hero of Ferelden discovers his destiny is far greater than he ever imagined

28. A Dragon's Love

Quoting Vegeta from DBZ: Abridged: "I'm back, bitches!"

(Sorry, I couldn't resist)

Getting serious now, yeah, I'm back. A lot happened in my life during these last 10 months that prevented me from posting any chapter sooner: usual problems in college and personal ones, I got my first job, creative blocks and, I admit, even my own procrastination. But my will to write gradually returned, and I pretend to keep it.

But even so these months were good for me to mature and study ideas for this story. Some old ones have been abandoned, while new ones were adopted for now and in the future. I have a solid straight line to follow now, which will make things easier.

Now about this chapter, this one is the biggest I ever wrote. After almost one full year without updates, I thought you guys deserved some type of compensation. Now, I'll try not to take another 10 months to post another chapter. I'll try to write and post at least one chapter per month from now on.

I also wanted to thank you for being patient. I know some of you were excited for updates for months, and I hope to not disappoint you all again.

Well, I guess that's all I had to say. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

---

"Divines... This time I think I'll-" And those were the only words that Lydia managed to say before she started vomiting.

"Easy there..." A very caring Nerevar was behind the Nord, gently patting her back and casting a healing spell to make her feel better.

Vardall's teleportation spell had just left the entire group at the foot of a mountain in Falkreath Hold, but their situation right now was... less than optimal. Vardall, Serana and Inigo all felt quite dizzy, but were okay aside from that. Lucien and Arissa had to kneel in order to fully retrieve their senses. The Nerevarine, as expected, was totally fine, without any sort of malaise. Bran and Greywing looked okay at first, but soon fell ill and were quite weak physically, which made them, especially the baby gryphon, Vardall's priority.

"Don't worry... the worst is over." The Last Dragonborn kept casting healing spells over his pets, quite bothered by how the teleportation took its toll over his beloved animal partners.

Lydia, however, was the one that took the worst. Aside from the fact the group was being teleported a second time within 15 minutes, Lydia's magical resilience was extremely poor, which made the sickening side effects of one's first teleportations even worse.

"Vardall, for the love of Kyne! No more-" Lydia had to stop once she felt the vomit going up her throat again. She then released it over the ground yet again before continuing: "No more teleportation!"

"It is that or Durnehviir flying us around. And knowing just how afraid of heights you are, my dear Housecarl... do you really want that?" The Dragonborn asks.

Lydia opened her mouth to say something, but her words died on her throat until she gave up. Vardall just looks up, dodging his attention from Bran and Greywing to his Housecarl, staring at her with a half-smile.

The party took their time to recover, making sure that each of them were better and fit to continue. They still had quite the path to walk.

"According to Dexion, the glade's entrance is high up on the mountains. I would say it will take us an hour or two to get there, so watch your step." Vardall warns his friends.

"Why don't we ask Durnehviir to fly us to the entrance?" Arissa asks.

Serana looks up, analyzing the mountain they would have to climb. "Good luck making a dragon as big as Durnehviir to land on any bumpy, narrow corner of this mountain."

"And come on, it's just a couple of hours of walking." Vardall smiles. "Literally the worst thing we'll have to endure are some Ice Wra-"

It was so sudden and out of nowhere that no one from the group had time to react. At one moment the group was chatting like normal, but less than a second later they were all violently knocked to the ground, their surroundings starting to shake violently right after. Trees and rocks around them were all toppled or completely crumbled because of the sudden, sheer force.

Among the sudden fall and the earthquakes that follow it after, Vardall had a hard time focusing on anything. But amidst the chaos, the Dragonborn was able to hear something, echoing throughout the air: a word, spoken in what he recognized to be the dragon language.

"NAHLOT!"

The earthquakes ended as suddenly as they started. If it wasn't for all the destruction surrounding the group, it would have been like nothing happened.

Slowly retrieving his senses, Vardall was the first that managed to get on his feet. The Dragonborn didn't even consider checking himself, straight up moving to check each one of his companions first.

"Guys! Please tell me you're all oka-" The Dragonborn was once again interrupted, this time for noises of heavy things hitting the ground and loud cracking sounds.

Looking up, Vardall's eyes widen in terror on the very moment the Dragonborn notices a gigantic piece of the mountain above them, so big that it literally looked to be half of the mountain, was now loose and making its way to fall right above the Grey Warden and his companions, and it was extremely close to hit the ground.

The Dragonborn had to act, and really, really fast. He didn't have the time to take all of his friends out of there, and the mountain would hit them before he could use any shout. Making his decision and with literally no idea of it was going to work, does a desperate move. Raising his arms and firming his feet upon the ground, Vardall decides to support by himself all the impact and absolute weight of the colossal piece.

And he managed barely in time. Vardall almost falls to his knees because of the sheer force of impact, but manages to keep his legs sturdy while he strengthens his arms and shoulders the best he can to endure all the thousands of tons he has upon him. The biggest problem for Vardall wasn't even the unbelievable weight of what he held, but to keep that thing properly balanced so it wouldn't fall to any side. It was just by now that all of Vardall's companions were retrieving their full senses.

Still on the ground, Arissa shakes her head and frows. Why does it look like they're in a cave now? She has her answer when she looks up to witness what for her could very well be the entire mountain less than three meters from them.

"WHAT THE...!"

The rogue finally notices the massive and imposing figure of Vardall standing above them all, holding the behemoth above them with his bare hands. She couldn't avoid feeling a mix of absolutely horrified by this near death experience and completely stunned and impressed by the show of the Dragonborn's strength.

By now, the others also had fully recovered their senses, realizing the situation they're in now.

Looking upon his shoulder, Vardall desperately stares at all his friends behind him.

"Get out of here! This thing is getting slip...!" Grunting while strengthening his arms, legs and shoulders once again, the Dragonborn raises the giant piece of mountain a little more, once again trying his best to also keep that thing balanced.

"GET OUT NOW!"

There was nothing they could do and they knew it. One by one, every member of the party got away, crawling from below the enormous boulder, going into safety, with Serana quickly grabbing both Bran and Greywing.

The only one to not leave was a certain Dunmer.

Totally focused, the Dragonborn suddenly feels the weight upon him becoming less overwhelming.

Looking to his right, the Dragonborn spots the figure of the Nerevarine there, showing an insignificant fraction of the hidden might that defeated Dagoth Ur, Almalexia and Hircine by also holding the mountain, sharing those tens of thousands of tons with the Dragonborn.

Without his characteristic helm to cover his face, the Protector of Morrowind not just smiles at Vardall, but giggles as well, without showing any sign of trouble to hold that thing up. "What's the matter, Dragonborn? Having problems with holding a piece of paper?"

Vardall just blinks at Nerevar, perplexed by his Dunmer friend. Not because of his helping him to hold all this weight, but perplexed by the fact that Nerevar... was joking with him. From when they met, Nerevar always showed himself to be more serious and mature, but not in an overwhelming or annoying way. He sounded and acted just like what he was: a hard-seasoned hero with centuries of experience that had his share of legendary battles and that endured much suffering through his life; a mentor and almost father figure that always had something to teach or say.

But on the last days? Nerevar was starting to become more open. He smiled and laughed a lot more, dropping some little jokes here and there, not to mention he was starting to use his helm less, showing his face more often.

Despite the situation they're in now, Vardall can't help but to laugh together. "Just for you to know, oh mighty Nerevarine... My problem is not the weight, but yes keep this thing balanced."

"I don't know, that sounds more like a sore excuse to me!" The Incarnate laughs as he also shakes his head. However, when he looks back at Vardall, his usual more serious expression was there once again, finally focusing on their present problem.

"Alright, Vardall... On three we'll both launch this thing up so you can destroy it with a shout, okay?"

The Dragonborn nods in confirmation, already preparing himself to act. Nerevar nods back and also prepares, positioning himself.

"One... Two... THREE!"

The entirety of the group that was away and safe all watch as the combined force of both heroes enters in action. Acting almost as just one, the Dragonborn and the Nerevarine both launch the enormous chunk of the mountain hundreds of meters into the air. It kept going up for many few seconds before gravity finally worked its way and started to fall again.

"Fus!" But Vardall wasn't going to allow that thing to hit the floor in one piece. With just one word of Unrelenting Force, Vardall hits the behemoth that was falling with such power that it does not break into tiny pieces, but instead it is entirely disintegrated into literal dust. Using his magic, Vardall then conjures winds that sweep away all the dust until there is nothing left in the air.

Cracking his neck and extremely relieved, Vardall looks at Nerevar, who can't help but to smile at what he and the Dragonborn did together. Vardall promptly returns the smile and does more by walking until the Protector of Morrowind and pats him on the shoulder. No words were expelled between them, and there was no need for it.

"That was AWESOME!" Arissa raised both her arms up high and smiled the whole time while walking towards Vardall and Nerevar, being followed by the others. "And some still want to get into trouble with us, even when you two can do that?!"

Nerevar crosses his arms. "That was literally nothing, my dear friend. You do know both me and Vardall suppress our true strengths practically entirely, correct?"

"If we didn't hold ourselves back, the following results would be much, much worse than... this." The Dragonborn takes his time staring around, looking at all the destruction that was surrounding them.

The others follow his gaze. "What happened back there? It felt like thousands of dragons just decided to attack... It looked like all of Nirn was suddenly shaken..." Lucien questions.

"Both Mr. Dragonfly and I have a bad feeling about this, my friends." Inigo expresses his concerns.

"Also, did you guys also heard a shout? At least it looked like one." Serana questions the others.

"It wasn't a Thu'um per se... but it was in fact a word uttered in Dovahzul." Vardall confirms, making everyone look at him. "Nahlot... It means Silence."

"Do... Do you think it is Alduin?!" Lydia can't hide the panic in her voice.

The Dragonborn crosses his arms. "No, it isn't him."

"How can you be so sure?!" Lydia almost yells as she says that. It was reasonable, given how the Nords saw Alduin.

"Aside from that voice sounding nothing like the World-Eater... Alduin's essence is... unlike anything imaginable, even among the Dov. His power... If he did anything, I would have felt." The Dragonborn is quick on his answer.

Vardall turns to face his friends. "Besides... I think you all could already deduce during our travels: Alduin is missing. No news or report from any of the dragon attacks all over Skyrim said anything about a black dragon with red eyes, and he also hasn't shown his ugly face in months."

The Dragonborn waves at all the destruction caused by the earthquakes. "Alduin is definitely planning something, and as soon as we deal with Harkon, we are going to find out what. But this? This was something else entirely."

"We'll investigate this, but in time." The Nerevarine steps up. "We have too much to do now and are too close to completing our goal of stopping the vampires to deviate our path now."

The Protector of Morrowind places his hand on his chin. "I know of someone that might help up on that matter, but we have more to worry about now, don't you all agree?"

Each of the members of the group took their time analyzing the situation, but they all reached the same conclusion at the end. This strange event would not be ignored, but it had to be postponed for now. With their overall focus returning to where it should, the party prepares and makes their way once again towards the Ancestor Glade, cheering that it was still intact after all the destruction that happened.

---

- THEDAS/CITY OF MINRATHOUS - CAPITAL OF THE TEVINTER IMPERIUM -

Standing proud over the Tevinter capital, losing in size only to the Archon's Palace, the Temple of Razikale surely was something to see. Built and used in ancient times in honor of Razikale, the Old Dragon-Goddess of Mystery; the Temple today serves as both the best-preserved example of ancient architecture in the Imperium and as Tevinter's Circle of Magi. It is a signal of the power and influence mages exercised over the Imperium. Something, in the opinion of many inside Tevinter, should be extended to all of Thedas.

Today, the Harrowing Chamber at the top of the temple was crowded, filled with many senior mages and Imperial Templars, which meant that an apprentice was undergoing his Harrowing.

The apprentice in question was none other than the young Rezaren Ammosine, heir of House Ammosine, one of the most influential houses in all the Imperium. The one overseeing the Harrowing was none other than the matriarch of House Ammosine and Rezaren's mother, Enrichetta Ammosine.

By now, the young Ammosine's mind was already sent into the Fade, with his body lying on the ground. There he should face and overcome a demon that would try to possess him. It was a rite followed by all circles of magi in Thedas, and Tevinter was no exception. Aside from Enrichetta, a few others were also present here, mostly senior mages from the circle and some Imperial Templars. The templars in Tevinter were nothing more than lapdogs of the Magisters and mages of the circle, but they still had their uses. In case Rezaren was possessed by a demon, the templars had the responsibility to strike him down. But the head of House Ammosine had plain conviction that her son would succeed.

Funny enough, there were two unexpected guests present at the Harrowing as well - two elven slaves that belonged to House Ammosine: a girl named Mirriam and her twin brother named Neb. Enrichetta didn't want them here, but her son liked both elves and insisted on bringing them together. She angrily allowed such a thing, only for her son to stop whining and drive all his focus to the Harrowing ahead.

They all watched the unconscious body of Rezaren, waiting for the rite of passage to be complete. Lady Ammosine was growing more and more impatient. She expected her son to have defeated the demon already, but this was taking too long. She would properly punish Rezaren later for taking so long. He was an Ammosine! Petty demons should be nothing for him.

But then it happened. Rezaren started to slowly move. Enrichetta smiled proudly, thinking that her son finally would become a full-fledged mage... But she had no idea what was really happening.

It all happened too fast. In less than a second the young Rezaren started to violently squirm and let out shouts that were both with his own voice and other, more guttural tone. His skin was also being taken by blue, magical veins. All mages there also felt the disturbance within the Fade, which only meant one thing.

Rezaren was being possessed.

"The young Rezaren has failed! We have no other choice!" The Commander of the templars there yelled, already signing to one of her knights. "He needs to be slayed!"

"No! You all stay away from my son!" Lady Enrichetta yelled angrily as she used her magic to toss away all the templars and mages that were getting close to her son. She then stood there, paralyzed as she watched her son being possessed, seconds from becoming an Abomination. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a nightmare. Rezaren wasn't supposed to fail! She had to do something, something to save him. The leader of House Ammosine wouldn't allow her son to die, no matter the cost.

"Rezaren!" Looking behind her, Enrichetta lays her eyes upon the two elven slaves who were there. Mirriam watched in horror as Rezaren was being possessed, while Neb was behind his sister with his eyes closed and crying, refusing to look.

Staring upon the two brothers, Enrichetta finally has an idea. Moving forward, she fiercely grabs Neb by the arm and starts to pull the young elf into Rezaren's direction.

"Leave my brother alone!" Mirriam tries to stop Enrichetta from taking Neb, pulling him back and even trying to attack Enrichetta. The leader of House Ammosine growls angrily at the attitude of her slave and simply slaps Mirriam, making the elven girl fall to the ground.

"A slave should never harm her betters, elf!" Enrichetta yells at Mirriam as she continues to pull Neb. The elven girl watches that with even more tears falling from her eyes.

Already taking the dagger she carried with her, Enrichetta planned on doing a blood magic ritual to transfer the demon from her son to Neb, saving her son. In her head, these slaves would finally be useful to something.

But then, out of thin air, a strange golden light appears in front of Enrichetta and she is hit by something that throws her away with such strength that she ends up hitting the wall at the other side of the chamber, but Neb finds himself okay at the ground.

When the light starts to dissipate, all people there watch as from it emerges a giant, armored man. No one there knew, but they were now in the presence of the mysterious figure that, in secret, took over the Imperium and made the Archon his personal puppet: the Archdragon.

Standing above everyone there with his unnatural height of 7 meters and his characteristic dark blue, almost black scaled armor, the Archdragon slightly moves his helmed head around, watching as everyone inside the chamber looks at him in disbelief, confusion, and terror. All the mages and templars present there could feel the unbelievable magical power overflowing from the Archdragon, as if they were all staring at the very concept of magic. For them, the Archdragon felt like he was the Fade itself in the form of a man; sheer undiluted power.

Ignoring all the looks and whispers from everyone there, the Archdragon turns around and lays his eyes upon the squirming body of Rezaren, who was still fighting to not be possessed, but losing the battle with every passing second.

So much for everyone's confusion and fear, the Archdragon starts to move his strange, bronze-golden arm and... simply waves upon the unconscious body of Rezaren, appearing to do nothing else. But as soon as he does that, the effects are instantaneous. The heir of House Ammosine starts to shake less and less, he stops yelling in pain, and all magical veins he had over his body fade away. The Tevinter mages there could feel as the demon that was trying to possess Rezaren disappears, being destroyed by the Archdragon. Rezaren was safe from the demon.

But the young Ammosine wasn't the only one the Archdragon was here to save.

Turning back and looking down, the Archdragon stares directly at both Mirriam and Neb. The elven girl stood fearless, shielding her brother with her own body in case the armored giant tried anything against them. To stand valiantly against a bigger and more powerful foe, just to protect those you love... Under his helm, the Archdragon smiled tenderly, thinking about someone very dear to him, that being his youngest son. Mirriam didn't know, but she and the Archdragon's last born shared many things in common.

He then started walking towards Mirriam and Neb. The elven siblings retreated a little, which made the Archdragon stop and raise both hands as a sign of apology. He already expected he would have to take this on a more slow approach, so he plans what to do.

All those present in the Harrowing Chamber watch as the Archdragon is once again engulfed by a bright light and they all watch as he... shrinks? From his colossal height of 7 meters, the Archdragon shrinks into the still tall, but normal height of just 2 meters. He could see that both elven twins were quite scared now, Neb mostly, but he wanted to make sure to them there was nothing to fear.

Slowly approaching the twins again, this time they don't flee like before. Seeing the good sign, the Archdragon now kneels before them and slowly reaches for his helm. The twins and all the others there watch as the Archdragon slowly removes his helm, revealing his face.

Divine. That was the best way any of the twins could think to encapsulate how the face of the Archdragon looked like. It was like staring at the face of the Maker Himself. As if a sculptor took a chisel to a slab of marble with the aim of carving the most symmetrical and regal face in existence.

The very moment the Archdragon removed his helm, his long hair fell upon his shoulders, also reaching all to the end of his back. He also had a full, but well trimmed beard decorating his face. Both his hair and beard were extremely red in color - a so vibrant tone of scarlet that it looked like his hair and beard were made from the brightest and purest rubies in all of Thedas.

His skin was white as snow, with many facial scars, but that didn't diminish his beauty. But what really stood out, what really caught the twin's attention more than anything else were his eyes. Both the color Archdragon's eyes was extremely unique: a vibrant golden. But even that wouldn't be enough to describe them. His eyes are golden on the level they are extremely gleaming. It was like to stare at the sun itself, and that wasn't everything. Aside from their golden glow, the Archdragon's eyes definitely weren't normal. They both had such a unique form... looking more like the eyes of reptiles than human ones, with vertical, long-narrowed pupils. In fact... they looked exactly the way dragons' eyes are depicted and illustrated in books.

Despite the strange eyes, the Archdragon's gaze upon the twins was kind, fatherly even.

"I know what you two went through... All the suffering that has been inflicted on you both by Enrichetta and others... But I can assure you two I'm not like any of them." Those were the first words of the Archdragon to the twins. His tone of voice is just as he looks: steady, words evenly spaced and perfectly pronounced. A voice so deep, but also… fatherly. His voice alone. was enough for both twins to low their guards and relax right away.

"I'm here to rescue you. All the three of you." The Archdragon looks back, making both twins look over his shoulder, directly at where Rezaren now sleep peacefully, free from any demonic influence.

"I know you two have no true reason, but I ask you both to..." Turning back to face the twins, the Archdragon slowly reaches both elven twins, offering his right hand to both Mirriam and Neb.

"...please, trust me."

Silence reigns between the elven twins and the Archdragon while both parts stare at the other. Mirriam and Neb should be suspicious, but honestly they weren't. The twins couldn't see any sight of evil or double intentions behind the Archdragon's eyes. Yes, he was a complete stranger that literally appeared out of nowhere - but he was a complete stranger that saved the boy both elves saw as an older brother and that was offering them both a way out of slavery. Who was insane to refuse such an offer?

The Archdragon lets out a big smile when both Mirriam and Neb raise their arms and move to hold his hand. The red-haired man nods and slowly closes his hand around the ones of the twins.

"I'll get you out of here in a second. I just need to take Rezaren and-" The Archdragon stopped talking the moment he felt a lighting spell hit him in the back. It didn't cause any type of damage and he didn't even flinch. The Archdragon didn't have to turn around to know just who had attacked him.

"Now that's rude. Attack the man who just saved your son..." Getting up, the Archdragon turns around to face Enrichetta Ammosine, who was with her staff ready to attack again and a more than angry expression.

"But I didn't expect anything different from such a horrible woman and mother like you... Enrichetta." The Archdragon's full demeanor also changed the moment he laid his eyes upon the leader of House Ammosine. He closed both his fists tightly, assuming a more aggressive posture. He also frowned at Enrichetta; his before calm and gentle eyes now convey a raging and deadly fire born from nothing else than hate. Hate for the woman before him.

"I don't know who or what you are, and I don't care." Said the leader of House Ammosine to the Archdragon. "Step away from my son, or I'll-"

Abandoning his always calm and methodical demeanor for a moment, the Archdragon became more enraged than ever. He was clenching his fists so hard that he almost broke both his right-hand gauntlet and the Dwemer prosthesis he wore on the place of his left arm. He also started gritting his teeth with such strength it looked like they were going to break.

"NAHLOT!" The very moment the Archdragon yells whose words, everyone inside the Harrowing Chamber, less the Archdragon himself, fell to the ground when the tower was violently shaken. And they weren't the only ones.

It was not just Minrathous, or Tevinter, or even all of Thedas that was shaken, it was literally the whole world. The entirety of Nirn was affected by the Archdragon's sudden raging cry. From the dense jungles of Par Vollen to the icy mountains of Skyrim... all the way to the lands of Akavir, Atmora, and also the even more outlying lands of the Ka Po' Tun and Tang Mo civilizations. Every single corner of Nirn was shaken for a moment, and not just that, as the voice of the Archdragon literally echoed through all Nirn. Every single being in Nirn heard that word spelled in the dragon language.

It took him some effort, but in the end the Archdragon managed to calm himself a little bit by closing his eyes and breathing in a deep but controlled way. He almost lost it back there. Infuriated with Enrichetta, he almost lost control, almost unleashed more of his power than Nirn could sustain. A momentary lack of control over the Thu'um, a completely insignificant amount of his power released at the moment he shouted was enough to make the entire world shake. If he continued... If the Archdragon didn't stop himself and allowed his rage to take control... all of Mundus would have been reduced to even less than nothing.

But still, he wasn't entirely free from his inner wrath. Not while Enrichetta was still alive. Opening his eyes, the Archdragon focuses his gaze solely upon the matriarch of House Ammosine, his eyes still conveying anger towards the woman. But now, the Archdragon had full control over his powers and emotions, as it should be. He wasn't going to allow himself to make a mistake.

Also, the very moment the Archdragon opened his eyes, they were different. Where before existed a golden glow and draconian pupils was now replaced by a blue, magical light. Neither Enrichetta or anyone there had the time to notice such change, neither could they do something about it, because as soon as the Archdragon's eyes started to glow blue - Enrichetta - together with all the mages and templars present at the Harrowing Chamber started slowly to have their skin turned into stone. The only ones spared were Mirriam, Neb, and Rezaren.

"Dreh ni hi krilon kosmey hi los pruzah monah nu!" The Archdragon started to angrily shout at Enrichetta again, but now it was in a more controlled way. "Zu'u mindok nunon vir folaas hi vahraan Rezaren, pah riilkei sod hi drey wah hin meyar slen ahrk sos!"

Both Mirriam and Neb kept watching as they saw everyone around them being turned into stone and the Archdragon kept speaking in that strange language none of them understood. His voice has also changed, where before it was fatherly and calm, now was not just filled with anger, as it was now extremely gutural. They were somewhat scared of what was happening, and how they couldn't? This was one of the most unseating shows of magic that both siblings witnessed. The Archdragon turned all these people into stone, the majority of them without him even having to stare at them... Not even some blood magic rituals the two of them saw were as strange as what was happening now.

But as quick as that minor fear emerged, it quickly went away. Neither the elves nor Rezaren were being harmed by the Archdragon. The only ones being harmed here were the mages and templars of Tevinter; most of which were slavers and blood mages. They treated both Mirriam and Neb, as well as countless other slaves of all races, in a way worse than they would treat any enemy. Seeing some of them now suffering what they deserved... It brought relief and even some joy to the elven twins.

"Joriin med hi dreh ni qaariv wah lahney, rinik jos wahl kiir!" The Archdragon kept angrily shouting at Enrichetta, watching as she was almost turned completely into stone. He could make her and all the templars and mages present here to be turned into stone in less than a second, to end this quickly, but he didn't want to. He wanted, he desired all of them - especially Enrichetta - to suffer, to feel desperate and powerless as they watched their lives being taken from them, their bodies being turned from flesh to the hardest of stones.

"...Zomaar lafaan med hi los zok lum banaak ko usnutiid, ahrk I'll wahl bek tol enook geinan gein med hi tir til aus dez volz wey dinok!" And as the Archdragon stops shouting, he watches while Enrichetta Ammosine, the matriarch and leader of House Ammosine, is finally turned into stone once and for all, the same also happening with all mages and templars around them.

The blue glow starts to fade away from the Archdragon's eyes, with them turning back to their original golden color. He then keeps staring at the now petrified Enrichetta Ammosine, still with an angry expression all over his face. Walking towards the leader of House Ammosine, the Archdragon holds her petrified head with just one hand, rips it off her body with literal no effort and then he smashes it, opening his hand to let only the dust fall to the ground.

Behind the Archdragon, Mirriam and Neb both watch all of that without saying a word. It wasn't because they're shocked or anything, they're just processing all of this. Enrichetta, the woman that made the lives of the two of them and many others a living nightmare was now dead. The twins were extremely relieved by that, but one thought remained at the backs of both their minds: Rezaren.

Turning back to face the unconscious Ammosine, both siblings look at each other, both thinking the same, on how Rezaren would react after knowing of his mother's death. As much as Enrichetta was a horrible person with everyone, even with her son, Rezaren still cared for his mother to some degree.

"I wished for her to suffer more..." The twins are caught by surprise by the Archdragon's sudden words. "But I have more important tasks to do."

Turning around, the Archdragon stares at Mirriam and Neb for a moment before dodging his gaze towards Rezaren.

"Like the three of you..."

Moving past the twins until the unconscious Rezaren, the Archdragon knees down and carefully takes the young Ammosine into his arms, holding him in a very fatherly and careful way, something both twins couldn't help but to notice.

The tall man then once again turns to stare at both elves. "Come on. I'll take us all out of here."

The twins obey the Archdragon, getting close to him. By now they all could hear the mass of mages and templars heading towards the Harrowing Chamber, getting closer and closer. Mirriam and Neb both get ready to fight, but the Archdragon quickly dismisses that.

"We'll not leave this tower on foot. I know you both are somewhat capable, being trained by Enrichetta to be assassins, but engage in combat against an squad of mages and templars would be suicide."

Both elves look at the Archdragon in confusion. But before anything, the siblings are caught by surprise when they all start being surrounded by a magical blue light. The Archdragon sees their reaction to it and can't help but to giggle.

"Don't worry, everything is okay. I told you we're not leaving this place on foot."

The blue light surrounds the Archdragon and the twins even more, to the point where they can't see their surroundings. If any other person inside the chamber was still alive, they would see as the light engulfed them all, and as it dissipated, revealed that the Archdragon, Mirriam, Neb, and Rezaren were nowhere to be seen.

---

As the blue light starts to fade away, both Mirriam and Zeb find themselves blinded by it, their eyes having a hard time adjusting to the sudden change of scenario.

"Don't worry, your vision will return in a few seconds. Teleportation always brings side effects upon the bodies of those who experience it for the first time." Both siblings can recognize the Archdragon's voice at their side. It brought some comfort to them.

With her vision gradually returning, Mirriam takes her time and starts looking around, analyzing the surroundings. She, Neb, Rezaren and the Archdragon weren't at the circle's tower anymore. Teleportation, the Archdragon said? Mirriam didn't know that sort of magic existed, but wasn't complaining.

They all found themselves inside an extremely luxurious room. It was bigger and more fancy than any other room Mirriam and Neb ever saw, even inside the Ammosine state. The room had three luxurious beds, many bookshelves and other furniture made with the most fine materials anyone could think about. That room was the epitome of the words fancy and ostentatious.

Close to them the twins could see a pair of giant and highly decorated windows. Only looking through them the twins could notice how high up they were. From those windows they could see practically all of Minrathous, from all the sea surrounding it, the Gardens, the Three Imperators' Square, passing though the Vivazzi Plaza, the Grand Proving Arena, and even the Dwarven Embassy.

While the twins were stunned by the view they had from the imperial capital, the Archdragon, still with Rezaren still in his arms, places the young Ammosine upon one of the beds. He removes his right gauntlet and places his hand upon Rezaren's forehead to check things up. He smiles when he notices that Rezaren was physically okay, without any sequelae from the brief possession.

Meanwhile, the same beautiful view bewitched Mirriam and Neb also made them question where they were now. This view... they being this high up to be able to see it... It didn't take Mirriam and Neb too long for them to connect the dots and realize the most likely place they were: the Archon's Palace.

They got their answer when the large double doors behind them were open and none other than Radonis, the Archon of the Tevinter Imperium, entered the room in all his glory, wearing his fancy and typical dark-golden robes, being followed close by a group of elves wearing what looked like to be servants' attires.

The presence of the leader of the Tevinter Imperium sent red alerts over the minds of Mirriam and Neb. The twins quickly enter a fight-or-flight mode, assuming combat stances, getting ready for anything. But they certainly didn't expect to see Radonis, the Archon of Tevinter, smile and bow before none other than the Archdragon, who approached them.

"I am relieved to see you well, my liege. When Minrathous started to tremble for a moment, I thought something might have happened."

The Archdragon sighs, closing his eyes for a moment. "That was... a mistake. A single moment of lack of control. It will not happen again, Radonis. I assure you that.

"I am glad to hear that, my liege." The Archon then dodges his gaze to see the sleeping Rezaren upon the bed, as well as Mirriam and Neb. "I am also glad to see that your mission was a success."

Mirriam and Neb weren't understanding a thing now. Not only they had been taken to the Archon's Palace and were in the presence of Radonis himself, but apparently the Archon - who supposedly was to be the absolute ruler of Tevinter - was under the command of the man that rescued them from Enrichetta?

Looking down at the twins, the Archdragon could see how tense they were. Of course, he already expected that. Both twins are caught by surprise when the Archdragon places both his normal hand and his mechanical prosthesis upon their shoulders. The elves look up, being received once again by the Archdragon's kind and fatherly gaze, which calms them down a little.

"I know you're both afraid and confused, but there's nothing to worry about. Radonis will do nothing against you two." The Archdragon affirms.

"My liege is right, young ones." The Archon's sudden words made Mirriam and Neb turn their attention to him, who received them with a kind smile. "I know the reputation I have as one of the grand slavers of Tevinter, but no more. It shames me how long I supported this blight that Tevinter is known for, but that will change."

With his hands on his back, Radonis starts pacing around the room. "My liege... he opened my eyes. Not just on the matter of slavery, but on many others. He made me finally realize just how awful and sickening that system is. So I decided to finally act, to use my powers as Archon of the Tevinter Imperium to truly improve our civilization. I decided to start and do what should have been made thousands of years ago."

The Archon then stops for a moment, turning to stare directly upon Mirriam and Neb, so that no doubt remains within the mind of the twins. "Slavery of any kind against any rational and thinking being will be outlawed within the borders of the Tevinter Imperium, and any who decides to continue and spread this atrocious system will be punished with death."

Radonis then takes a step back, waving at the direction of the elves behind him.

"These elves, for example, were some of my personal slaves. I once considered them as my property, treating them as inferior beings. But now they're not just proper workers receiving proper and worthy wages for their labor, but also full-fledged Tevinter citizens, enjoying the same full rights as any citizen within our borders. And not just this group, but all of who once were my slaves, no matter their race, are now free men and women. Of course, that now also applies to you two, young ones."

The elven twins didn't know what to think or say. Mirriam and Neb both had their eyes widened and jaws dropped. It had to be a dream. All of this that they heard... It had to be a dream. Slavery outlawed in the Tevinter Imperium?

In their shared moment of complete disbelief, Mirriam and Neb took their time to look at the elves behind the Archon, analyzing each one of them. To their surprise, all the elves there looked extremely healthy and fine. Every slave in the Imperium already heard of the brutal treatment the personal slaves of the Archon received; punishments that the mere mention of their names caused fear within the slaves.

But none of the elves there seemed to have suffered any type of brutal punishment in any way. They all looked well and happy, sporting warm smiles and looks that had a mix of relief and gratitude behind them. The twins had to look twice to make sure they weren't hallucinating.

"Of course, that is, for now, unofficial. The Magisterium still has to vote for and approve the law for it to be properly enforced, but none of you must worry about that. My liege will make sure that the magisters from the Imperium not just approve the law, but free their slaves of their own free will once it's done." Radonis then looks at the Archdragon, who simply nods in response.

The Archon smiles, looking back at Mirriam and Neb. "Until there, however, you'll have to remain within my palace. Not as slaves, of course, but as guests of honor. It is all for your own protection against other magisters and slavers. But then when the law is approved and the public announcement is made, you'll all be able to leave the palace and follow your own path."

All of this was too much for Mirriam and Neb to take at once. Looking up to the only person there they both trusted, they were received once again by the caring eyes and smile of the Archdragon. The man with golden eyes nodded to the twins, telling without words that everything was okay.

Still trying to absorb all of what happened in the past minutes, both Mirriam and Neb nod towards Radonis, agreeing with the Archon. It was the best course of action at the moment. Mirriam and Neb would take anything to never be slaves again. And besides, it wasn't like the elves had any alternative.

Radonis opens one big smile, snapping his fingers right after. "I appreciate the trust you both have placed in me, little ones. I guarantee by my own life that will not be in vain. You'll all stay in this very room, and these elves will take good care of the two of you and young Ammosine."

"You both should take some rest by now. Do not worry, I'll be back later to check on the three of you." The Archdragon still had his hands upon Mirriam and Neb's shoulders, smiling at them.

Giving the twins one last, firm squeeze on their shoulders, the Archdragon starts walking away towards the room door, where Radonis was already expecting for him. He and the Archon of Tevinter still had a few things to discuss in private.

"Wait!"

Before he could turn back fully and even ask what Mirriam wanted, the Archdragon grasped and opened his golden eyes wide the moment he felt the Mirriam's arms around him, hugging him as if her life depended on it.

"Thank you... for everything." Mirriam couldn't hold back her tears anymore.

For the next seconds, the Archdragon just stood still, completely stunned by the sudden act of kindness. He also saw himself stuttering, opening his mouth repeatedly, not managing to get any word out. All of this surprised Radonis. Until now the Archdragon had shown to be extremely eloquent, always knowing what to say and to do, apart from having an unnatural master intellect that didn't appear to be humanly possible, even among the highest mages. And yet here he was, paralyzed like an apprentice who just had contact with their first demon.

Looking down at the elf who still hugged him tightly, the Archdragon doesn't hold himself any longer. Finally recovering his senses, he hugs Mirriam back and doesn't even notice when he also starts to cry - his tears being born from a combination of happiness, sadness, and longing. When was the last time he cried, or showed his emotions this way in front of others? It has been eons since the last time. During this moment, the Archdragon imagined himself not hugging Mirriam, but instead any of his sons. It has been forever since when the Archdragon last held any of his children into an embrace such as this, and that memory made his heart heavy with sorrow.

It was for them he was doing all of this, you see... his sons - in particular his youngest one. The Archdragon's last born was his crown jewel, his pride and joy, even if he doesn't know yet. However, the Elder Scrolls have wicked plans yet to be written for the Archdragon's youngest one, plans not even the Archdragon himself can avoid, no matter how much he wants to shield his child... but still he does his best. All of this the Archdragon is doing, controlling and manipulating the world from the shadows... it is all in order to aid his last born the best he can, things he knows will benefit and make his son's path somewhat easier. But still, there are things he can't avoid, certain sufferings and responsibilities that the Archdragon can't take away from his son, experiences and inevitable events his child must live and endure, no matter how traumatic or bad they are. But any burden he can endure in his place, any weight he can take away from his son's shoulders and put into his own... the Archdragon does it without thinking twice.

"There's no need to thank me, Mal Peyt... I would have taken you all out of that suffering in any circumstances, without a second thought." The Archdragon found himself sobbing while talking. He hugged Mirriam for a few more seconds before starting to get away from her grasp.

"But now I must go. The yoke of duty calls me elsewhere - it is not something I can ignore."

Mirriam understood and also started to release the Archdragon, walking back as she wiped away the tears that still fell from her eyes.

"Rest, the two of you. I'll be back to check on you later." The Archdragon gave not just Mirriam, but also Neb one last fatherly smile. He then turned and started to walk out of the room, but not before turning to one of the servants there with a more serious expression. "Take good care of them all. I will not accept any lack of responsibility regarding the kids."

The servant nodded, perfectly understating the Archdragon's request. He then finally got out of the room, with Radonis following him close after. As soon as the doors behind him were closed, the Archdragon let out a happy sigh, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes with his hands.

"If I may say, my liege... I certainly didn't expect you to act like that with the twins. You certainly care for them." Radonis had quite the smile on his face when he said that.

The Archdragon can't help but to giggle. "That's just the father inside of me acting, Radonis. I can't avoid it."

The Archdragon's words made the Archon raise an eyebrow. His liege had children? Radonis never took the Archdragon for a father. But before he can ask anything else, the Archdragon interrupts him with another question:

"Did you retrieve it?"

The Archon quickly regains his composure, knowing very well about what his liege was talking about. "Yes, my liege. Our agents returned this morning from the Summer Palace with the artifact."

"Good." The Archdragon nods. "I want to see it."

Without any second thought, Radonis nods respectfully before he starts walking, with his liege following him close. Both men then make their way through the pompous halls of the palace, passing through guards and other servants and free slaves. The guards nodded in respect to the Archdragon, each one of them with their minds overtaken, just like Radonis.

The slaves also reacted to the passing duo, with them also showing not just respect, but gratitude to the Archdragon. He was the main reason they were now free and had the chance of a true life, away from any type of bondage. While Radonis and the guards from the palace revered the Archdragon because they had their minds bent into servitude, each one of the free slaves revered the Archdragon because of true respect, admiration and gratitude.

"The upcoming meeting with the Magisterium... You did just as I said, right, Radonis?" The Archdragon asks as soon as he and the Archon are in a more isolated section of the palace.

"To the letter, my liege. Every single magister of Tevinter has been summoned to the meeting. The only exception being Magister Gereon Alexius, as you instructed." The Archon places his hand at his chin. "But I must ask... If you plan to influence every magister from the Imperium, why keep Alexius out of it?"

Radonis is quick on noticing how the Archdragon assumes a more angry posture the moment Alexius' name is mentioned.

"Because Alexius still has a role to fulfill in the eventual war that will happen in ten years." The Archdragon grinds his teeth, still with some anger into him. "And as much as I wanted to skin that Firok alive right now... If I alter his fate in any significant way, something even worse than what Alexius does will happen."

Heavily sighing, the Archdragon recovers his more normal facade, letting his anger quickly fade away this time. Radonis watches it all with a raised eyebrow. Without saying a word, the Archdragon merely signals with his hand to Radonis to resume the walking, which the Archon is quick on obeying. They both continue to move until their destination, with no more words being exchanged.

Finally crossing a pair of grand doors, both men found themselves on their objective: the Archon's private library. In the middle of the library, surrounded by many bookshelves, there was a table carved with the wood from the most rare trees in all of Thedas. Upon the table it was a box of solid steel, crafted and enchanted to protect the artifact inside of it.

Radonis moves towards the box to open it, but is stopped by the Archdragon. The man with golden eyes then moves forward and reaches to open the box himself, revealing the artifact stored inside of it: a bright, golden armlet depicting a snake devouring its own tail.

The Circulum Infinitus.

Taking the Circulum with his prosthetic hand, the Archdragon analyzes the artifact, at the same time feeling its power born from pure blood magic.

"How much blood did Amelia Pavus shed to create this? How many slaves did she sacrifice? Just one was too much already."

Standing next to the Archdragon, Radonis watches as his liege unleashes some magic upon the Circulum, what makes the armlet born from blood magic start turning into dust, until the point where the Circulum Infinitus vanishes completely, even the dust that it had become being erased.

"The Circulum Infinitus was nothing. It was less than a toy when compared to artifacts created by others or the ones created by me." The Archdragon turns and stares at Radonis. "But… still was dangerous enough to be allowed to exist."

Radonis nods. "I trust your wisdom, my liege. When should we take our next step?"

"When the Magisterium is under my control. Together with slavery, there is yet another institution from Tevinter that we shall abolish."

"Which one?" Radonis questions.

The Archdragon opens a smile before answering: "The Chantry."

As soon as the words hit him, the Archon raises both eyebrows and blinks, taking a few seconds to say anything. "My liege?"

"You heard it, Radonis. The Chantry will be outlawed inside the Tevinter Imperium." The Archdragon turns around, giving his back to Radonis. "And not just the Chantry, but also the elven, dwarven religions, as well as the Qun. They shall all be outlawed."

The Archon stood there, trying to process what his liege told him. Without any more words, the Archdragon starts to make his way out of the library. Radonis is quick to start following him close by.

"But may I ask why, my liege?" Radonis questions. "I'll do whatever you tell me, with no objections; but to outlaw the Chantry? That will most definitely provoke uprisings throughout the Imperium, which has the risk of compromising any future plan you have."

"Nothing serious will happen, Radonis, don't worry. I'll ensure that. In fact, one of my main goals is to abolish all religions of Thedas not just within the borders of Tevinter, but through the entire continent." The Archdragon had a proud smile on his face as he said that. "That will happen just within the Tevinter Imperium for now. But in ten years, just the right event will happen that will make almost all races of Thedas give up on their religions of their own free will. The only ones that will resist the change will be the Qunari, but I already have plans to deal with them all."

The Archdragon's words make Radonis sigh in relief. "That's great to hear, my liege. If you say you have a plan to deal with this situation, then I fully trust you on that."

The Archdragon and Radonis kept walking through the palace for a little longer, before finding themselves on one of the many balconies the palace possesses. There, the Archdragon watches over the city of Minrathous, smiling for the eventual changes that will happen not just here, but in the entirety of Tevinter and Thedas. But he still had much work to do, with one being right now, that required him to be elsewhere.

"I'm certain you can behave for a couple of minutes, right, Radonis? I need to go to a certain place right now. There is a certain power out there and I feel now is finally the time for me to reclaim it."

The Archon of the Tevinter Imperium just giggles. "What, you don't trust me, my liege? There is nothing for you to worry about."

"Just make sure you don't set the Imperium on fire while I'm away." The Archdragon says as he walks a little away from Radonis. "Like I said, I'll be out for literally a couple of minutes - three, at max."

"Even so, may I ask where you're going? You said that a power is there for you to reclaim, so I admit I'm curious." Radonis questions.

"A mechanical wonder, a place created by one of the fake gods of the Tribunal." The Archdragon turns to look at Radonis. "The Clockwork City of Sotha Sil."

And so, the Archdragon teleports himself away, leaving Radonis alone.

---

- TAMRIEL -

The way up the mountain was made without much trouble. No hostile creatures were found on the way up, which left the narrow, bumpy path itself as the only major peril Vardall and his group faced on their way up. The destruction caused on the mountain by the earthquake was quite visible the more they proceeded, with many debris on the path, as well as the empty mark left by the giant chunk that Vardall destroyed.

After a few hours of walking, the group finds what looked to be the entrance of a cave. The illustration of a moth was carved in one of the stones, showing for the Dragonborn and his companions that they're in the right place.

"Finally... Let's get inside, but stay alert for anything, just in case." Vardall warns his friends.

Making their way inside, the party find themselves walking a long stone path. Until now this place looked just like any ordinary cave Vardall and the others were already tired of seeing it.

"If this turns out to be a waste of time... I'll have a long talk with Dexion." Serana had quite the irritated tone now.

But soon the path of pure, cold stone starts to give way to more and more vegetation, much more than what you would find inside most caves. Plain and clean grass, some small trees with fruits and bushes filled with flowers started more and more to become the predominant view all around. The distant sound of waterfalls also starts to become audible, together with a... song?

Turning one last corner, the entire group has to cover their eyes when they're received by a strange, bright light. While their eyes adjust to the light, their noses are soon invaded by the strong scent of flowers, combined with what smelled like many different fruits, with the predominant ones being raspberries. The sounds of the waterfalls were now fully audible, along with a faint, but beautiful melody being sung in unison by what sounded to be multiple choirs.

When their eyes finally adjust to the light and they can look around, the entire group, no exception, widens their eyes in pure reverence to the beauty out of this world they now have the privilege to lay their eyes upon.

One giant grove, filled to its top with giant trees of many types and species, with the predominant ones being trees with black logs, but with their tops filled with white flowers. Swarms of white moths surrounded each of those trees, and the faint melody that was heard throughout the glade seemed to be emanating from them. Vardall was quick to deduce that those were the Canticle Trees Dexion was talking about.

Majestic waterfalls were also scattered all around the glade, creating small streams of crystal clear water everywhere. But what definitely caught the eye more than anything else was the middle of the glade. A type of altar was there, that spot being continuously illuminated by a grand pillar of white light that kept flowing through one giant hole on the glade's ceiling.

Worries, concerns, the weight of the world upon everyone's shoulder... It all simply vanished when in contact with the peaceful and extremely tranquil scenario of the glade.

"I... I never saw so much beauty... This place... it feels unreal." Serana was completely mesmerized with the glade and all its beauty. It was the complete opposite of the dirty and devoid of life scenario of Castle Volkihar.

"Blackreach just lost as the most beautiful place I ever saw. This... It's like a dream come true. A literal, untouched paradise." With such beauty surrounding him and the feeling of peace the glade gave him... Vardall felt like he could just lay down and sleep forever, without any concern about his nightmares or the world in general.

The group made their way towards the altar at the center of the glade, everyone still mesmerized by the place. While passing next to one of the trees with white flowers and moths surrounding it, Vardall actually reaches out to touch the tree. When he did it, many of the moths there landed right on the Dragonborn's arm, continuously humming that same calm melody.

"Look at that... I think they liked you." Standing next to the Dragonborn, Serana can't help but to giggle with that. When turning to face the vampire, Vardall can't help but to smile at Serana. The moths then all depart from Vardall's arm, returning to their tree. Greywing, that was upon the Dragonborn's shoulder, tried to bite some of them out of the pure curiosity of a puppy, but had no success.

This entire place was certainly beautiful and almost out of this world, Vardall and the others didn't come here to admire it. They still had a major objective to fulfill. Walking through a series of stone gates, the companions finally find themselves at the altar where they had to realize the ritual to read the scrolls.

"Alright... remove a bark with the Draw Knife and wait until enough moths are following you so that you can read the scrolls. Sounds simple enough... if you don't consider the risks of blindness and total insanity, but who would consider that?" Vardall talks more to himself than to the others while he places Greywing on the ground, takes the Draw Knife from his backpack and advances to one of the Canticle Trees.

"Vardall, wait." The Dragonborn is stopped, however, when Serana puts a hand on his shoulder.

Looking behind, Vardall raises an eyebrow at the vampire. He was quick to notice the sudden fire of determination that emerged from Serana's eyes when she said: "I'll do it."

The Grey Warden blinks. "Pardon?"

The Elder Scrolls. I'll read them." Serana said with complete conviction.

"Oh, no... I'll not." The Dragonborn turns completely to face Serana, looking right into her eyes. "You heard and saw from Dexion the possible consequences of reading the scrolls. It is too dangerous for yourself, so I'm doing it. As Dragonborn, I know my mind is powerful enough for me to-"

Suddenly, Serana reaches out for Vardall's hand that was holding the Draw Knife, squeezing it with enough strength for the Dragonborn to feel it, at the same time she stares right into the deepest parts of Vardall's eyes, completely resolute. "I am reading it, Vardall."

Vardall, as well as the others, watched Serana with shock, their eyes widened. They never saw Serana like that. Even at the moments where she was angry, she never took her anger out on any of them. But now it looked like she would jump at Vardall's neck if he dared to breathe too loud.

"You don't understand, Vardall. The prophecy written within these scrolls is the main reason my family was torn apart. It's what drove my parents so deep into their own obsessions to the point of no return. I need to see it by myself. I need to see the thing that made my father decide he should sacrifice his own daughter and that made my mother decide to lock me away for millennia!" The fire within Serana's eyes looked almost out of control as she continued speaking. "Also, are you really deciding to risk yourself in such a huge way like this? If your mind is overtaken by insanity, then who's gonna defeat Alduin when the time comes? You're literally the most important person to walk over Nirn right now. If something happens to you right now, Alduin would have won without any fight and we're all dead."

Shaking a little, Vardall was in complete shock right now. He never saw Serana acting like this. It reminded him of Thedas, from the times that Leliana's facade as a sister of the Chantry was dropped and her ruthless Bard side returned, where she was nothing more than a merciless assassin without any sense of pity. Many times Vardall himself was ruthless and showers no mercy towards enemies; but to see that on anyone else, especially on someone that, back in the day, he loved? It honestly scared Vardall. He knew that the violent and indifferent side of him was necessary on many occasions, but he knew just what could do with oneself, that it killed him bit by bit, so it was something he never wished for anyone else.

And now Vardall was seeing that same side, that same feeling on Serana, and that made his mind turn off. It took him some painful, agonizing seconds before he retrieved his senses, with Serana still staring deeply at him. But even so, he could see Serana's point on everything she said. This prophecy ended her family and made her life even more miserable; so she had the right to see it for herself. And yes, Vardall definitely should go out throwing himself at risks he could avoid. He still had a duty to fulfill with this world.

Slowly and without saying a word, the Dragonborn releases the Draw Knife from his hands, allowing Serana to get the item. Once she has it, she moves right away towards the Canticle Tree, ignoring Vardall's worried gaze.

The Dragonborn lets out a deep sigh, now turning his eyes in the direction of Lucien, his scholar friend. "Come on, Lucien... Help me grab the scrolls."

Still feeling the tension in the air, the blonde imperial quickly agrees. While he and Vardall both grab the three Elder Scrolls, Serana makes her move and, carefully, uses the Draw Knife to take a piece of bark from the Canticle Trees. The seconds after she takes the bark within her hand, nothing happens.

But that doesn't last for too long. It all starts when the swarm of moths that surrounded the very tree Serana took the bark all went to her, keeping flying around her. Another swarm came soon after, and another, and another... Soon, Vardall and the others all heard the loud noise made by a giant cloud of moths that went flying over them all towards Serana. It definitely was something to see: hundreds and hundreds of moths, all flying in perfect synchrony around the Daughter of Coldharbour. Vardall and the others had to cover their eyes a little when a white light - similar to the one coming from the hole above - starts to emanate from Serana.

Looking at Serana now, Vardall's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. The moths flying on a perfectly beautiful synchrony around her, all the light emanating from her... A Goddess. Serana looked exactly like the way a goddess was described by many, and that view honestly made the Dragonborn's heart skip a beat.

Slowly as all moths kept gathering around her, Serana felt more and more their harmonious trilling to become just one, they all starting a perfect synergy with Serana herself. She could hear the moths speaking and her own vision changing; she and the moths sharing the same augury, signaling for her to step right into the pillar of light upon the altar.

Both Vardall and Lucien already had the three Elder Scrolls all gathered and in the correct order to be read. Approaching the altar when Serana was ready, Vardall gives her the first scroll, their eyes meeting for a few seconds. There were many things to be said, words stinging their tongs, wanting to be released. But none of them said a single word. Vardall still considered this to be extremely dangerous to Serana, but the vampire was completely resolute on her decision. There was no turning back now.

With the timeless artifact upon her hands, the moths surrounding Serana start to sing their melody even higher. It was the time. Then, taking a deep breath, the Daughter of Coldharbour opens the Elder Scroll.

It happens swiftly. The very moment Serana lays her eyes upon the open scroll, her entire vision changes. Whispers from both the moths and the scroll itself start to pour into her ears and mind, at the same time words and visions start taking form before her eyes.

On the outside, Vardall and the others had to hold their own amidst the chaos that suddenly unfold. The moths started to fly around Serana with extreme high speed, almost like a hurricane. Also their before gentle and welcoming melody was replaced by a cacophony of shrill and agonizing screams. But even so they all stood still, decided to go through this until the end.

Even with all the chaos, Vardall never took his eyes away from Serana, not even blinking. He saw the vampire being surrounded by a strange magic, her eyes unnaturally widened with her bright pupils running erratically through the face of the scroll. Her already extremely pale skin became even more pale, which placed Vardall on an even higher state of alert.

A vision finally unfolds before Serana's eyes: a bow, extremely shining and almost completely white in color. Auriel's Bow. And the same as it happened with Dexion, whispered words flow through her ears.

'Among the night's children, a dread lord will rise. In an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men, darkness will mingle with light and the night and day will be as one.'

The voice soon fades and the words begin to shimmer and distort. Not moving by herself, Serana merely drops the Elder Scroll to the ground, reaching out towards the Dragonborn that had another scroll upon his hands. Her gaze, however, was completely static towards her front.

Vardall understood and quickly delivered her the second scroll. The vampire is quick to take the artifact and unfold it. Serana now receives a vision regarding the prophecy being fulfilled. She sees a red-blood arrow being fired from Auriel's Bow, towards the sun. A giant red explosion soon follows, replacing the once bright glare from the breach between Mundus and Aetherius by one red glare of pure shadows. Serana then sees, after the sun is blocked, darkness and death spreading all around Nirn; the cries of fear and despair of millions soon echo deep into Serana's mind, only to be swiftly silenced.

The vision fades and the same from before happens. Vardall delivers the last scroll to Serana while Lucien quickly retrieves the one she dropped. Unfolding the final scroll, Serana watches as now a map from Skyrim starts to be formed before her eyes. The patterns of the many roads and mountains from the province soon became recognizable, followed by more and more intrusive whispers.

On the map, a trail of light starts making its way through the region Serana now identifies as the Reach. The trail moves and moves, until it finally stops on a location north of Markarth, with the whispers around Serana getting higher and higher, all saying the exact same name:

'Darkfall Cave'

The exact location of the cave is carved deep into Serana's mind, right before her vision darkens and the whispers become more and more distant.

The Elder Scroll makes a loud sound when he falls to the ground after Serana lets go of her hands. All the chaos that was happening before was over faster than when it started, with the cloud of moths quickly dispersing, with the animals all returning to their places around the Canticle Trees and humming back their faint and calm melody in complete unison.

The first thing Serana feels the moment her senses are hers once again are her extremely weak knees and body as a whole, feeling like she hasn't fed with blood in millennia.

"Serana!" Vardall is extremely fast to move and take Serana into his arms, supporting the vampire upon himself. The entire group surrounded Serana now. All watching as it looked like she was unconscious. However, slow but steady, the vampire starts to move.

The first thing Serana tries is to open her eyes - only to quickly close them again and grunt because of how bright everything was. In fact, it took Serana many minutes for her eyes to become slightly less sensitive and to be able to keep them open.

"Hey, take it easy... It's over." Vardall's soft voice soon fills Serana's ears. Slightly opening her eyes, she is finally able to see the Dragonborn right upon her, looking at her with complete concern and relief behind his blue eyes.

Meanwhile all the others kept watching the vampire recovering. Lucien, on the other hand, while also worried for his friend, also let his knowledge-hungry and curious scholar side speak higher here.

"Serana, how was it? To read the Elder Scrolls? What did you see? What exactly did you-" Lucien's torrent of questions, however, abruptly ends the very moment Vardall glances at the Imperial scholar with an extremely unfriendly face and even rage behind his eyes. Lucien freezes the moment he meets the Dragonborn's eyes, which sends him a very clear message.

'This. Is. Not. The. Time.'

Looking back at Serana, Vardall's semblance smooths naturally. "Can you sit down, Serana?"

"Y-yeah..." Her voice sounded a little hoarse, but even so audible. Smiling, Vardall positions himself and helps Serana to sit down, always with a hand at her back to support her. Serana was apparently fine physically, despite being extremely tired. She had no condition to continue traveling now.

Turning his attention away from Serana, Vardall looks back at all his friends. "Let us set up camp here. Serana needs to rest and recover, and I know she isn't the only one..."

There was no arguing against Vardall's statement. From constant battles to teleportation and walking, it's been days since the group had a proper rest. And what better place to camp than this glade of dazzling beauty?

With all things set, Vardall looks back at Serana, smiling at the vampire. Despite the absurd risk she just went through, a part of the Dragonborn couldn't help but to feel pride of the vampire.

---

"Are any of you even trying?" At this moment, Nerevar couldn't keep a cocky smile, even being a fake one, out of his face.

Vardall, Lucien, and Lydia all look at each other. Everyone there, except for Vardall, was almost without breath from this little sparring/training session with Nerevar. Even being just one against four, Nerevar was able to keep up against all of them, mainly because of how fast and agile he was, also his knowledge and techniques.

Taking his time, Vardall looked at each one of his friends, seeing how exhausted most of them were. If it wasn't for his natural greater endurance and stamina as consequence for being a Dragonborn and a Grey Warden, Vardall knew he would probably be just like them now.

Still catching her breath, Lydia was the first to speak: "I... give up. You're a monster!"

"Me too... I think it's easy for me to tell which part of my body ISN'T in pain right now." Lucien followed Lydia as both of them walked away from Nerevar, joining Serana, Bran, and Greywing, who were all sitting close by, just watching everything. Arissa and Inigo were currently out, trying to hunt for something to eat.

With his other friends out, that leaves only Vardall to face the Nerevarine.

"Then shall we continue, Vardall?" Nerevar assumes his combat stance once again, tightly holding Trueflame and Hopesfire on each hand.

"And remember: no shouts or magic whatsoever! My objective here is to improve your body and swordsmanship."

Vardall says nothing as he also assumes a combat stance, holding the Black Star tightly with just one hand. Both heroes kept staring at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Vardall does it first, as he quickly advances towards Nerevar and tries to hit the Dunmer. For someone as big as him, Vardall was fast, being able to match Nerevar's unnatural speed, and surpass him with the use of his magic and shouts.

The Protector of Morrowind manages to dodge some strikes, blocking a few others with his swords. The way both heroes moved and their speed made it incredibly difficult for the others to keep up with, as they moved and attacked each other so fast they both looked like a blur. Even Serana with her enhanced senses wasn't able to normally watch both heroes.

While blocking and attacking, Nerevar was also carefully analyzing Vardall's combat style, the way he swings his sword, deflect and attacks. He had to say: he was impressed. Nerevar is one of, if not THE best swordsman in all of Tamriel today. Swordsmanship and combat were as natural as breathing for him, it was part of his essence… and yet deflecting and countering each of Vardall's attacks was proving to be a challenge for the Protector of Morrowind.

It was all in the way that the Dragonborn moved, the astounding precision and finesse he had with his greatsword. He knew exactly how to deflect each one of Nerevar's strikes, together on how to counter-attack at the most precise moments.

The Dunmer knew Vardall's gargantuan improvement had to do with the Oghma Infinium. Of course, most of the knowledge Vardall learned from the book was magical, but among a literal sea of knowledge of so many different areas and subjects, decades of experience being freely placed into his mind by just reading the words… it was obvious that the Grey Warden wasn't going to lose the opportunity to acquire more martial experience. And the results were being shown. Vardall before was only decent when it came to swordsmanship, being able to hold his own against more usual foes, but not against someone with Nerevar's skill. But now he was almost as experienced and skilled as Nerevar himself.

Almost.

The Dragonborn could be almost at his level now, but the Nerevarine still had many tricks up his sleeve to turn the duel in his favor.

Backflipping to dodge from one of Vardall's attacks and to get away from the Grey Warden's range, Nerevar lands quite far from the Dragonborn. Looking at Vardall for a few seconds the Dunmer smiles, not assuming his combat stance anymore. Instead, Nerevar closes his eyes, apparently doing nothing else.

Vardall frowns, trying to read Nerevar. What was he doing? If he was trying to make the Dragonborn low his guard, it wasn't working, because that was the last thing Vardall was gonna do. No, the Nerevarine had another plan in mind, and the Dragonborn wasn't going to let himself to be caught and fooled by it

Breathing slowly and steadily, what Nerevar was doing was simple: clearing his mind from all unimportant things and focusing exclusively on himself, his body, and his swords. Only by getting rid of all his emotional baggage, so to say, is Nerevar ready to perform a little technique he had learned centuries ago.

Finally ready, Nerevar suddenly opens his eyes and doesn't lose a single second before charging in Vardall's direction at incredible speed.

The Dragonborn stands ready, prepared for anything. The way the Nerevarine moves, the gracefulness and carefree with which he runs delivers already that this wasn't going to be some ordinary move.

Before both heroes can collide; Nerevar, using just one foot, launches himself up into the air. The Dunmer tightly holds Trueflame and Hopesfire, moving both blades into position and finally staring deep into the eyes of the Dragonborn. It was for less than a millisecond that their eyes met, but it was enough for the Dragonborn to realize, even before Nerevar made his move…

…that he was bringing with him nothing else than true horror.

As he starts to descend from the air, Nerevar begins to gracefully move Trueflame and Hopesfire at an unbelievable speed, faster than any way he was moving before, creating with the mere movement of his swords not one or two, but a myriad of yellow and blue blurs, together with blurs of pure air, creating a perfect and beautiful synchrony that mesmerized the Dragonborn for long enough for him to almost not he able to react.

Vardall raised the Black Star at the very last millisecond, barely being able to block Nerevar's attack. But he didn't have the time to find a way to counter attack because he had to block yet another attack, and another, and another, and yet many more. The Dovahkiin was finding it extremely difficult to block each one of those attacks. Vardall could block and deflect Nerevar's regular swing barrages without any problem, no matter their speed. But this one… it is such a unique and foreign movimentation… strong and relentless at the same time it was simple and graceful, to the level it could be seen as a type of acrobatic dance instead of a deadly attack. Nothing Vardall saw among the pages of the Oghma Infinium taught and prepared him for something like this.

Getting close to the ground, Nerevar simply uses yet again just one foot to launch himself back into the air, continuing his unique barrage of attacks. It was obvious that Nerevar was the one holding the advantage here, with him not giving Vardall any room to breathe and making the Dragonborn walk backwards to still be able to block and deflect most blows. But then, it finally happened.

With a precise strike at the hand of the cornered Dragonborn, Nerevar manages to disarm him, making the Black Star fly many meters away from Vardall. Such movement disoriented the Dovahkiin, which opened a huge window of opportunity for the Nerevarine to he able to, once upon the ground again, drop both his blades and advance with his bare hands against Vardall, delivering a sequence of quick punches directly at the gaps where Vardall's Grey Warden armor didn't fully protected him, such as the laterals of his chest and parts of his arms. And to finish things, the Nerevarine jumps at the height of Vardall's head and, still in the air, delivers a powerful spinning kick directly at the Dragonborn's jaw. The force is such that it sends the Warden flying away, with him flying directly through a tree, breaking it and making the giant log fall at Vardall's side.

Smiling at himself, Nerevar retrieves Trueflame and Hopesfire from the ground, watching as the dizzy Dragonborn tries to get up from the ground.

"I am impressed, Vardall. I really am." Nerevar complements the Dragonborn.

The Dunmer watched while Vardall was getting up, slightly dodging his eyes to gaze at the Black Star laying on the ground. "Your technique with a sword rivals my own. You use your weapon of choice with perfect finesse and precision, using its strong points well and avoiding its weakness. That's something not many can do."

Supporting himself on the fallen log while washing away the sweat over his forehead, Vardall listened to everything Nerevar said with close attention. It honestly reminds him of the first time he managed to impress Sten during their training sections right after he learned the knowledge of the Arcane Warriors and exchanged the staff and robes for an armor and a greatsword. And even though Vardall had already received some good knowledge and tactics on how to wield a sword from the spirit of the Arcane Warrior, it was only partial knowledge, so there were still things Vardall needed to learn back then, and surprisingly, Sten was willing to teach him.

("Hold it steady, Kadan. Listen to your weapon's wishes. It represents who you are in the eyes of all. It isn't just a tool, but an extension of yourself.")

Well... Sten would be both proud of Vardall having managed to hold some of his own against Nerevar's foreign attack, but also angry to see Vardall being disarmed and being kept away from his "extension" by a legendary Dunmer hero and god-slayer.

Analyzing his options on how to proceed and retrieve the Black Star, Vardall looked at the log at his side with the corner of his eye, already deciding what he was going to do.

The others watching the sparring certainly didn't expect what the Dragonborn was going to do. Not thinking twice, Vardall once again showed his strength by lifting the giant log like it was paper and throwing it in Nerevar's direction at an incredible speed. That surprised Nerevar, but still he didn't get worried.

When the log was about to hit him, Nerevar jumped to dodge, and while in the air the Dunmer used both his flaming swords and reduced the entire log to shreds, showing once again his incredible speed.

The problem was, by focusing on the log, Nerevar took his eyes away from the Dragonborn - which - without his knowledge, was exactly Vardall's objective. Moving at incredible speed on the exact moment Nerevar touches the ground again, the Dragonborn lands a straight uppercut at the Dunmer's chin, strong enough to send Nerevar flying upwards. Right after it, using his inhuman strength, Vardall jumps many meters high until Nerevar, grabs the Dunmer and starts punching him in the face while they both fall. Getting closer and closer to hit the ground, Vardall charges and then delivers one last, powerful punch that sends Nerevar flying down and through rocks and trees, breaking them all the way to one of the glade's corners.

The entirety of the group watching both heroes training were completely stuttered by such demonstration, also thinking that Nerevar was now somewhat injured from all Vardall's strikes. But the Dragonborn knew better. He knew what he did, all while holding back, was not even close to hurting the Protector of Morrowind in a significant way.

Vardall had his confirmation at the moment that, faster than lightning, Nerevar rushed from the far corner he was, fists up, straight into Vardall. The Dragonborn didn't even move, instead he steadied himself on the ground, ready for the impact. And when Nerevar finally hits the Dragonborn, both warriors lock hands, and the force released by the impact was so much that it sent all the water that was around them all over the glade and the ground surrounding them cracked.

And so they started a vicious battle of strength.

It certainly was something to see: two behemoths clashing, both trying to impose their strength over the other. Nerevar could be shorter than Vardall and be with his armor partially broken because of the previous attacks he had received, but he lacked nothing when it came to physical might compared to the Dragonborn's current level.

It seemed that none would succeed, that none of the heroes would be able to subjugate the other through mere blunt strength. But battles weren't decided through brawl alone, and despite being practically at the same level when it came to strength, the Nerevarine still had many other advantages over the Dragonborn, the main one being his agility.

Instead of pushing the Dragonborn, Nerevar is fast enough to, instead, use the fact that Vardall was so steady at the ground and use the Warden in his own favor. Starting with using Vardall's hands as support hands and surprising everyone there, Nerevar flips his entire body and, with all the strength he manages to gather, hits Vardall's face with both his ankles.

Being completely caught by surprise by such a quaint move, the Dragonborn not only loses his balance but is also sent flying backwards because of the force of the attack.

Finishing the flip and perfectly and gracefully falling upon his foot, Nerevar doesn't even wait to act, already being with everything planned from the very moment he laid that attack at Vardall.

Vardall's greatsword, the Black Star, was relatively close to Nerevar. Not wasting a second, the Dunmer grabs the tainted blade into his hands and runs until where Vardall landed.

Somewhat dizzy because of the unexpected attack, Vardall wasn't able to react at all when the Nerevarine got close and pointed the blade of Vardall's own greatsword at his neck, making the Grey Warden gasp and look up and stare at Nerevar with both widened eyes.

"You're dead, Dragonborn."

Vardall kept staring at Nerevar for a few seconds, still absorbing what just happened. The Dunmer, however, moved the greatsword away from Vardall's neck and offered him a hand to help him get up.

Nerevar himself can't help but to giggle. Vardall frowns in surprise at the Dunmer's attitude.

"This feeling… It's been centuries since I felt it. The thrill of facing someone as powerful as me… a true equal! Your skills with a sword, forcing me to use a technique I haven't done for centuries… Even though this was a mere training exercise, it still was the most exciting fight I ever had since Hircine!"

Still with the Black Star at his hands, Nerevar holds the sword by its blade, not caring about the lighting at all, while offering its grip back to the Dragonborn.

"You honored me with this duel, Dovahkiin."

Being quite baffled because of Nerevar's words, Vardall takes a second to finally snap back to reality and accept his greatsword back.

And only now the Dragonborn realized he was shaking, all because of the same feeling as Nerevar. When he started speaking, Vardall also couldn't avoid the stuttering.

"I… appreciate a living legend such as you thinking of me in such a way. It truly honors me. But I'll not hold back next time."

Nerevar's smile grew bigger. "I'll be waiting for that, Vardall. I could tell that you were not going with everything."

"I say the same about you…" The Dragonborn then heals his right hand that was in some pain thanks to Nerevar disarming him. "But I have to ask: what was that sword technique?! That was sick!"

The Nerevarine shrugs, smiling. "Something I learned from an Ansei sword-singer that was adventuring through Akavir. When I showed interest in learning it, he said he would teach me if I defeated him on a duel. After I did it, he then taught me."

"You have to teach me that later." Right now the Dragonborn sounded like a teenager, which Nerevar honestly found adorable. With everything that was going on and after all Vardall went through, it warmed Nerevar's heart to see him act more lightweight.

And just at that moment, Inigo and Arissa show up again, both of them carrying a quite big deer they just hunted. That deer alone would be enough for all of them.

"Sorry for taking too long, this deer was being quite slippery. What did we…?" Arissa didn't even finish speaking once she noticed all the destruction around the glade. The Imperial rogue looks directly at the Dragonborn and the Nerevarine, a brow raised.

"Nothing important, really." Vardall approached the others with Nerevar following him holding his broken chest plate onto his hands. Both the rogue and the Khajiit watch that surprised, especially surprised by seeing Nerevar's armor literally broken. The Protector of Morrowind had received that armor from Vivec himself, and despite being extremely light in weight and made of bonemold, the armor was crafted and enchanted in such a way that made it much more resistant than materials such as pure Dwemer metal.

While the old Dunmer moved to his tent so that he could repair his armor, Vardall moved until the dead deer and analyzed the animal.

"Yeah... this will do nicely. Nice job, you two."

"I'll start making the fire for us to roast the meat." Lydia right away gets up to collect wood, but Vardall calls her attention and makes her stop.

"Actually, I was thinking this is the perfect opportunity to show you guys my favorite dish of all."

They all looked at each other, curious by Vardall's words. Eventually they accepted, and they all started to work. The fire was made and the venison was properly collected. Some greens and vegetables were also collected, mainly potato, carrots and red cabbage. A cauldron was then placed up the fire, and Vardall started all the preparations to make them a stew.

After some hours, finally the stew was almost ready.

"Hope you guys are hungry for some Fereldan stew enhanced by myself." Vardall happily says while stirring the contents inside the cauldron.

Arissa watches Vardall's movements. "I'm actually curious about this. Never knew you could cook, Vardall."

The Dragonborn giggles. "Circumstances forced me to learn, but I also had some help during my life. The food the templars served for us back at the circle was too basic and bland. Guess that's a consequence of having to cook for hundreds of mages, besides they never cared for us anyway."

Watching the stew inside the cauldron boil, Vardall takes a little bit with the spoon and tastes it, opening a huge smile as result, clearly satisfied with the flavors.

"I certainly outdid myself on this one!" Vardall celebrates. "But anyway... Given how the food was, many mages actually took their times to improve it by themselves. I also did that, together with an elven mage called... Lanaya Surana, if I recall. We helped each other in that regard." Vardall stir the stew a little more. "But I really became better after I met Morrigan, believe it or not. That woman must have used blood magic while making all her dishes, because it didn't matter what she made, it always was the best food I had ever eaten! She was kind enough to teach me, at least."

"Then you better deliver us something great, my friend. Your confidence is contagious, but it might be your downfall for setting our expectations on a high ground." Inigo teases Vardall.

"Oh, don't you worry, Inigo. You all will get impressed by this." Vardall adds a few more spices and red cabbage into the stew, stirring a little more. Close to him, Bran and Greywing were both mouth-watering. The Warden was certain it was taking lots of self control from them to not attack the cauldron and eat right now.

A few minutes later, it was all done. Everyone was impressed by how good the stew smelled. Now, if it was going to taste just as good...

"Okay, everyone! Help yourselves! Hope you all enjoy it." Vardall serves some stew into many bowls, and then distributes them between his friends. He also separates two bowls, each with extra pieces of venison, for both Bran and Greywing.

"Here!" Vardall places both bowls in front of the gryphon and the husky. "My good boys deserve the best."

Both animals don't even restrain themselves. They right away fiercely attack the bowls, devouring the venetian like it was nothing. Greywing in particular has no trouble cutting the pieces, given his sharp and strong beak.

Meanwhile, each one of Vardall's friends moved to prove the stew - and their reaction couldn't have been more unanimous: they all loved it. Some were even eating like it was their last meal in life.

"Hmm... Divines... Vardall, this is delicious!" Lydia didn't even hesitate to continue eating.

"I am deeply sorry, mother, but you've been officially outdone." Inigo even licks his lips after eating.

"Mmm... Hmm..." Lucien was too busy chewing to actually say something.

"My, oh my... Now I think the Gourmet is from Ferelden." Arissa didn't even wait and already scooped more.

"If I could exchange blood for this, I would do without hesitation." Serana said while taking a little piece of venison out of her fangs.

"Hmm... quite good, I suppose. But I still prefer a Lava Foot Soup-And-Saltrice prepared by the best chefs from House Telvanni." Nerevar was just teasing Vardall. In reality, he had found that dish extremely delicious, even wanting to eat some more.

The Dragonborn noticed Nerevar's tease, and decided to joke as well. He then pressed his hands into his chest, pretending to be offended by the Dunmer's words. "You're a mean Mer, knew that?"

"If everyone in Ferelden cooks just like you, now I more than even want to visit that place." Arissa says as she finishes eating her third bowl in a row. "And it's decided: you cook from now on!"

"Deal." Vardall finally gets a bowl himself. "And if you guys already loved my stew, you'll all die from pure joy from how I do a roasted duck."

And so for the next few minutes, Vardall and the others just stay there - eating and chit chatting, sharing stories, laughing together, like all friends do. How Inigo met Mr. Dragonfly... Lucien's time at the Arcane University... The time when Arissa, together with other three thieves, tried to steal an extremely valuable diamond from the mansion of a reclusive and bizarre artist... It brought extreme comfort for all of them, just spending time together, acting as normal friends, and not worrying about dragons, vampires and everything.

Even heroes need a break once and a while.

---

"Look, Bran's already asleep. Why don't you follow his lead? I need to shut-eye and I can't do that with you disturbing me every single second."

Vardall felt like he was fighting a losing battle while trying to convince Greywing to sleep. That little gryphon had more energy than a dragon, and didn't look like he was going to relax any time soon.

Moaning, but not very loud to not risk awake Bran, Vardall lays his head back into his sleeping bag, defeated. Others were probably sleeping by now, so it was just Vardall and Greywing. Opening his eyes and staring deeply into the roof of his big tent, while Greywing keeps trying to jump upon his chest, the Warden thinks of various possibilities to make the gryphon relax. Of course he could just use a spell to make Greywing sleep, but he decided against that. He wanted to train Greywing in the most natural way possible, and even the use of his shouts to calm the gryphon once and a while already were enough and something he wanted to avoid.

('Why can't gryphons be like a Mabari? Sif never gave me this many trouble.')

Vardall remembers how it was to train Sif. Being smart as all Mabari are, Sif comprehended and followed orders very well, but that doesn't mean he didn't also had his moments of stubbornness. Thankfully, those moments could be easily outmaneuvered, given Sif had a cute weakness all dogs had and that Vardall would always exploit: he loved to get his ears rubbed.

('Huh... I wonder if it work on birds with lion bodies as well.')

Well, he had nothing to lose - beside some hours of sleep - so he decided to give it a shot.

Moving his hand gently, Vardall starts to rub Greywing's head, especially against his feathers, given he knew that's how birds usually prefer. The effects were almost instantaneous. Greywing was caught by surprise at first, but suddenly relaxed more and more against Vardall's fingers. The Dragonborn kept doing that for a while, and smiled as soon as he saw Greywing getting more and more sleepy, until the cute gryphon wasn't able to keep his eyes open anymore.

Smiling softly, Vardall carefully takes Greywing into his hands and moves him to a more open corner of his really big tent, next to where Bran was sleeping. When he became a Grey Warden and started having those nightmares with the Darkspawn and the Archdemon, Vardall wasn't prepared for how intense they felt, how real... Many times he started to desperately move inside his tent, to the point he would make the tent collapse upon him, no matter how tightly he or anyone had firmed to the ground. A solution was Vardall to start sleeping inside bigger and taller tents, and it worked quite well, despite those being a total pain to set up, but everything was worth sleeping better, Vardall supposes.

With nothing else disturbing him, the Grey Warden sighs in relief, finally being able to close his eyes and sleep for some hours. He was needing that, given he wasn't able to rest since before he and Serana entered the Soul Cairn. He could maintain himself for longer periods of time without sleep, but after fighting dragons, Flemeth, reading the Oghma Infinium and holding that giant piece of mountain, Vardall was quite exhausted.

But before his mind could enter the Fade, being guided by the soft melody of the ancient moths, Vardall suddenly hears someone entering his tent. Quickly opening his eyes and looking up, Vardall is caught by surprise by seeing Serana there.

The vampire presence there made Vardall frown in surprise. "Serana? Is everything okay?"

Serana widens her eyes once she notices she disturbed Vardall's sleep. "Sorry, I didn't meant to..." She made mention of leaving, but stopped herself before she could do it. She then just remained there, without saying a word for the next seconds. Vardall understood what she was going through and silently gave her the time she needed.

During those seconds, Serana couldn't avoid stare at Vardall's chest and arms for a moment, giving he was without any type of shirt, wearing only some loose pants, as it was the way she knew he liked to sleep while in private. She was caught by surprise by seeing how much Vardall's muscles had developed since the last time she saw him like that at Fort Dawnguard. An obvious result of all the battles they all had endured in the past months.

Finally sighing and staring at the ground, Serana finally says: "I just wanted someone to talk to."

"You know I'm always here for you, right? Come in." Smiling, Vardall signals with his hand for Serana to get inside and sit at his side. His tent was really so big that two people could just stay there and even lay down, not to mention the husky and the gryphon also inside.

Serana moves and sits at Vardall's side. She kept her arms over her knees and staring at nowhere, like she was searching for the right words to say.

"Take your ti-"

"Could we lie down?" Serana's sudden words get Vardall by surprise. That wasn't what he was expecting to hear.

"...sure. If that's what you want." Vardall isn't able to hide the surprise from his voice, but that didn't matter. Serana then lies down and soon he follows, maintaining a respectable distance from her.

Silence reigns over them for almost an entire minute, being only broken by some eventual and random noises both Bran and Greywing make while sleeping. Serana kept a straight stare forward, while Vardall kept watching her with the corner of his eye, quite flushed from being this close to Serana at this circumstances, with his mind returning to that night they shared at Fort Dawnguard, of her cold skin at his when they both almost kissed each other.

"First of all, I want to apologize for how I behaved earlier. When I pretty much forced you to let me read the Elder Scrolls. I… don't know what took over me, but… I shouldn't have acted like that, especially with you." Serana says.

"It was nothing. And you were right, it was your right to read the scrolls. This is all about your family, after all." The Dragonborn doesn't fail to notice how affected Serana looks as soon as he mentions her family. It was obvious there was more she wanted to take off her chest, so Vardall would give her all the time she needed. It took a few more seconds for Serana to say something: "I... don't know what to think, Vardall."

The Dragonborn right away turns his gaze to Serana, watching as she continues. "This entire situation with my father... I just don't know. He obviously needs to be stopped, and part of me is so angry and wants to make him pay for what he did to me. But at the same time-"

"He and your mother are the only family you know, and part of you is thinking you'll not be able to do what's necessary when the time comes, right?" The Dragonborn asks.

Surprised, the vampire turns to stare at Vardall, who was also staring at her with comprehensive eyes. She opens her mouth to say something, but her words die at her tongue and she can only sigh again. "Part of me just wishes we could somehow convince him, to make him give up on this madness so that we could return to be a family once again."

Serana moves her eyes and stares at nowhere. "But I know very well he's beyond redemption."

"I understand what you're feeling. I understand very well." Vardall lets out a sigh and drops his head even more at the sleeping bag. "To feel you're all alone and hopeless. Wanting nothing more than things to go back to normal and to have your family back..."

Serana right away notices a certain pain in Vardall's last words, which make her look at him. But then, she was totally caught by surprise when she felt Vardall's hand covering hers, his fingers sliding with hers, making her dodge her gaze for a moment. And once she looks up again, she meets Vardall's blue eyes looking deeply into hers.

"But you're not alone, Serana. None of us are. I learned that all you need is to have friends who care about you close by. I admit it doesn't make those feelings disappear, but it damn sure helps you deal with them." His voice was smoothly calm. Part of not waking Bran and Greywing, but also to calm the vampire.

"Each one of our friends care about you, Serana. I care about you." Vardall's embrace on Serana's hand turns more soft when he says that. "You may feel it, but you're not alone."

The Dragonborn gives her a reassuring smile, one she didn't know how to answer. It came to Serana again, the same sensation she felt when Vardall sang to her weeks ago back in Fort Dawnguard. The sensation she always feels when she is close to Vardall: Something fresh and new, but hardly unpleasant. And the warm and good feeling of his hand linked with her's just added to that sensation.

Vardall then returns to stare at nowhere again, still keeping his hand around Serana's. It took quite a few seconds before the Grey Warden said something again: "But hear me, Serana: I know they're not the best, but believe me when I say you're extremely lucky for having all of your family present during most part of your life."

The Dragonborn lets out a long sigh. "That's a privilege I lost too soon."

Now that caught Serana's attention. Even after all this time, Vardall's family was a subject he always avoided. When he revealed to her and the others about Thedas and his past, he avoided talking about them. It was obvious how much of things Vardall still kept inside his chest, and while it might be painful, Serana thought having someone to talk those things with and release yourself was a blessing. So she decides to take a risky shot.

"Your family... you never say much about them."

"I have my reasons..." Vardall sighs. Even with family still was a sensitive topic for him, but Vardall felt comfortable close to Serana, enough to let things out of his chest. Besides, she of all people deserved to know. "I've never met my mother or brother, so all my memories are of my father and sisters."

Serana can just blink with the new information she just recieved. "Hold that thought... you have siblings?!"

Vardall nods. "Revka Amell and Alinoth Trevelyan - my parents - had 5 children in total. The oldest was my brother Sylvain Amell, followed by my sisters Yahim, Ricce, and Alessia, who were triplets. Their youngest child was me… Rakrid Amell."

"Wait… WHAT?!" Serana's eyes wide even more with the last words she hears and her jaw slightly drops as well.

The Dragonborn can't help but to giggle with Serana's total shock. He should have expected that.

"Yeah… but yet another revelation: Vardall isn't my real name. My true name, the one my parents gave me when I was born, is Rakrid."

Still struggling to process that information, Serana can't avoid notice the change in Vardall's expression to a more angry one. "But don't even start calling me like that. I renounced that name a long time ago."

"W-why?" Serana questions him.

"Because of what that name means. The message and symbolism it bears..." The Dragonborn takes a deep breath. "Rakrid is the name of a character from the Chantry, almost as revered as Andraste herself. According to the Chantry, when starting to gather allies for her Exalted March against the Tevinter Imperium, Andraste received a man amongst her ranks, a knight many said to be a holy warrior sent by the Maker to help his bride, or the Maker himself in disguise: Sir Rakrid."

Leaning closer, Serana kept listening closely while Vardall continued the story. "Rakrid led Andraste's forces to many victories against Tevinter. His skills were said to be unnatural and divine, with him allegedly being able to defeat entire armies by himself and make the earth beneath tremble with his steps alone. Rakrid's leadership alongside Andraste and actions during the battles granted him the title 'Vanguard of the Maker'. However, as suddenly as he appeared, Rakrid vanished completely, right before Andraste was betrayed by her husband and killed by the Tevinter Imperium. When the Chantry was established, Rakrid was immortalized as a saint, holy warrior and the Right Hand of Andraste."

The Dragonborn lets out a very dry laughter, his expression still covered in some anger. "Hogwash… Just like the Maker, Andraste and the Chantry as a whole. But even so, according to my father, my mother admired and loved the story of Rakrid. So much, that she decided to name me in honor the Right Hand of Andraste."

Turning his head, the Grey Warden looks directly into Serana's eyes. "And with you knowing very well my opinions about the Chantry and religion as a whole, I guess you can see why I HATE that name."

Silence reigned over the Dragonborn and the Daughter of Coldharbour for quite a while, with Serana trying to process everything she heard. Now she had questions, especially on how Vardall came up with the name he uses today. Looking at Serana and knowing just what was going on through her head, Vardall is quick to say.

"There's nothing special, really. Vardall and Cassian were just names that I came up with by myself, when I decided to follow my own path. They were a blank canvas, names without meaning, without history. By myself, with my actions, I carved meaning into them, I gave them history, both good and bad. With those names, I made my own path… Or at least thought I was."

Vardall sighs, while Serana just watches him. All this sudden new information about Vardall and his past deeply surprises Serana. To find out that he has siblings and that Vardall wasn't always his real name? She never imagined anything about that. But again, Vardall almost never speaks about his past before he joined the Grey Wardens.

The Warden crosses his free hand upon his chest. Serana could feel the Dragonborn still had much to talk about, so she made sure to listen closely: "But now… my siblings… You first must understand: magic runs deeply inside the Amell family. Me and almost all of my siblings were all born mages, and we're all taken to different Circles of Magi. When Sylvain was taken by templars and locked into Kirkwall's Circle of Magi, my mother went mad and disappeared. Dad then took me and my sisters and exited the Free Marches, going to Ferelden, where we lived hidden for the next few years. But one day the templars found us, and me and Yahim and Ricce were all taken to different Circles of Magi. Yahim and Ricce were both taken to different circles on the Free Marches, while I was taken to the Ferelden one. You know the rest."

"And your last sister? What happened to her?"

Vardall turns to face Serana. "Alessia? I don't know. She was the only one of my siblings who didn't have a connection with the Fade, and I never found out what the templars did to her." The Dragonborn takes a deep sigh. "But I learned the fates of the rest of my family..."

Serana felt she was entering dangerous waters here. She felt she should stop Vardall from continuing, but the Warden kept talking motherless.

Vardall closes his eyes for a moment, before continuing: "After I became Chancellor of Ferelden, I searched for each one of them and... learned their fates." He visibly swallows, hesitating into continuing talking. Serana was already regretting letting him continue. "...Sylvain was killed by Templars when he tried to escape the Circle. Ricce was made a Tranquil, and Yahim ended up in Kirkwall's Circle and was doing fine the last time I knew of her. Now Alessia... I told you: I don't have the slightest idea."

The Grey Warden opened his eyes again, still keeping staring at the tent's roof. "As for my father... he tried to protect me and my sisters from the Templars until the end. When they came, he killed two of them, but was bested in the end. For killing templars - and by hiding mages away from the Chantry, he was taken to a templar prison called Aeonar. That's all I know of him. I… don't even know if he or Alessia are still alive..." Just by Vardall's voice tone as he spoke it was obvious how that affected him.

"For the blood of my ancestors..." Serana gasps.

"This all happened a long time ago. Long enough for the pain to fade into the background..." Vardall then sighs. "But to be honest... I don't think the pain's ever going to fully leave me. I keep myself distracted most of the time, but whenever I think about my family... Many are the moments where I just force a smile, that I just pretend I'm fine to motivate others... while all I want is just let the tears flow away."

Hear that made Serana widen her eyes and feel as her heart was broken into pieces. She had no idea Vardall hid so much and that he kept such a large amount of negative thoughts deep into him.

"Many are the moments where the waves of pain for what was taken from me roll free again, together with the anger."

After saying that, beside his expression changing from sad to quite angry, Vardall closes his free hand into a fist. "The Templars... Besides treating mages way worse than cattle, they took my entire family from me." Serana watches as its anger grows into Vardall more and more.

"I've lost everything because of them! Because of them and..." Vardall hesitates for a moment, stuttering and opening his hand a few moments after. "...and also because of myself."

The Dragonborn sighs and looks at Serana with his eye corner. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to better control myself, but sometimes..." His voice sounds almost lost, as if he didn't know what to say or do.

Serana quickly raises her hand, almost as a way to apologize. "It's okay, Vardall. I understand really well." She assures. "You know I'm always here to talk, if you want."

Vardall smiles a little, this time being a genuine one. "I know. You're always here for me, Nightshade. I can always count on you."

Serana raised both her eyebrows and opened her eyes with the nickname Vardall called her, but didn't make any movement to release herself. "W-what did you call me?"

The Warden turns to stare at Serana, smiling and slightly blushing. "Nightshade. I think it really suits you, aside from the fact you told me you used to tend nightshades in your mother's garden... But of course, I can stop if you want-"

"Not at all!" Serana quickly says. "I mean... I... don't really have a problem with that."

The vampire dodges her gaze from Vardall, staring at nowhere, visibly embarrassed. Noticing that, Vardall can't help but to giggle a little. "I can see we're both the same, Nightshade: getting all itchy with the slightest complements."

And so, he turned to stare at her again. He stared inside her eyes, directly looking at her soul with his beautiful and perfect blue eyes. She was always mesmerized by his eyes, like a moth attracted to a flame. They were so bright, to the point they literally glowed in the dark.

It was in moments like this that both of them could forget about the world and its problems for a while and just focus on each other. No Harkon, Elder Scrolls or prophecies... No Chantry, templars, dragons or Alduin... Just them, and it was perfect.

But as all good things have to end someday, it soon happened. A sleeping Greywing gently moves in his sleep, making some cute, little sounds that take both Vardall and Serana out of their reverie.

Smiling once again, the Grey Warden reaches out and gently pets the baby griffin's head with his free hand. He turns to stare up again, looking at nothing at all, now deeply lost into his own thoughts.

It was like that for the next minute, until Serana finally came up with a risky question, but one she still was rather curious and thought it would help the Warden. Doing this certainly helped her. "Vardall, how was your family? How was your father?"

To Serana's surprise, a fond smile appears on Vardall's face. "Dad... he was the sweetest man I ever knew. No matter how difficult things were, how dangerous... he always made sure me and my sisters were safe and happy. I remember when I was very young and used to keep playing with dad's long blonde hair. I don't know why, but I loved it. He and all my sisters had blonde hair and green eyes, while I was the only one with my mother's black hair. But strangely, my eyes weren't green like my father's or brown like my mother's, as I was born with unusual bright, golden eyes ."

The last part made Serana frown. "Golden eyes? But... your eyes are blue!"

Vardall giggles at Serana's confusion. "They WERE golden. However I suffered a little accident during my childhood that turned them into blue."

As soon as he says that, Vardall's smile fades away.

"Do you know why I'm so afraid of spiders? It all happened one day, back at the circle tower, while I was still a child I was playing in the cave system that was used to store the tower's supplies, like I always did whenever I wanted a moment just to myself, away from the watchful eyes of the templars. I was just playing with some rocks when I had the feeling that I was being watched. I didn't even have time to react when I was grabbed by a string and was pulled by something. While I was still trying to even understand what was happening, I saw it."

Without him noticing, Vardall started to hold Serana's hand tighter, making her dodge her gaze for a moment. The vampire also noticed the Dragonborn's hand was sweatier.

"Getting out of the shadows was a giant spider, the biggest I had ever seen, staring deeply into my soul with its eight giant eyes. My initial chock was so much that it gave time for the spider to get even close to me. It then started to cover me with more and more of its web, crawling over me with its disgusting legs..."

Vardall's breathing started to become quite irregular and he also started to shake a little.

"The panic I felt at the moment was bigger than anything. It took me a while to finally react and burn the web with my spells, get up and just run to a safe place. The problem was that the spider started chasing me, determined to not let its prey escape. I ran so much and in panic that I didn't notice a bunch of pilled crates blocking my way until it was too late and I crashed right into them, making them and the content it was being stored inside them fall over me and the spider. Once I got away from the rubble and crawled to a nearby wall, I turned to find the spider dead, covered by the content those crates were being used to store: raw Lyrium. That made me panic once again, realizing that I was under a pile of raw Lyrium just a moment ago. But several seconds had passed and... nothing. Nothing happened to me. I wasn't hurt by the crates falling over me and very less by entering in contact with the Lyrium."

Serana was fast and widened her eyes once she heard that. She recalls very well when Vardall explained to her and the others about Lyrium, on how despite being the main magical material mages use in Thedas, they could only safely use it after it was refined. Vardall said how raw Lyrium was extremely toxic to most living beings, even the Dwarves that extract it, and if a mage or any being that has a connection with the Fade enters in contact with raw Lyrium... they would die instantaneously.

"I know what you're thinking and yeah... I don't know how I didn't die that day." The Warden says, all while moving his free hand to touch his face, close to his right eye. "I was literally buried under piles of raw Lyrium, but nothing happened to me. I didn't die, very less developed some disease... except for a few curious side effects. It was then when my eyes, before golden as the sun, started to become blue and bright over the passing days, so bright to the point of starting to shine in the dark like fireflies. And apart from my eyes, my magical sensitivity became sharper and my spells became even more powerful. No mage or templar on the tower had the slightest idea how that was possible, but it was after such an event that First Enchanter Irving took me under his wing and made me his main pupil."

Despite the circumstances he found himself with Serana, Vardall did his best to shrug. "I don't know if I didn't die that day because of my dragon blood, soul or anything else... but whatever it was, I'll certainly not complain."

Serana watches as the smile in Vardall's face gets bigger. "And I know it is a very curious story, indeed... but it wasn't our main subject of conversation, right? Returning to talk about my family... Even being triplets and 8 years older than me, my sisters were quite different in their personalities: Ricce was always smiling and full of energy. Yahim was our little troublemaker. Alessia was the most mature of the three, taking care of us all and acting almost as a mother... but sometimes I could see she was jealous of me and my sisters' magical aptitude, while she was just a regular folk. Now I always was more silent, and if I ended up in trouble, always was because of one of them."

Paying more attention now than ever, Serana listens to all of Vardall's words with great enthusiasm. The way he talked about his father and sisters... It was obvious how much he still loved them and had lots of fond memories with them.

"...I remember when Yahim awakened her magic, as she was the last of us. She was so excited that she almost burned our house to the ground." Vardall laughs with the memory. "Me, Alessia and Ricce laughed our asses off with the giant lecture dad gave her. Just one of the many she already heard, as you can imagine."

Serana couldn't hold her laugh as she heard more and more stories about Vardall's sisters. It pleased her that at least a part of his childhood was happy and almost normal, but also hurt to know how much he had lost. The amount of emotional scars Vardall had, especially at his age... It was something no one should have.

But then, it was over. The happy memories were all gone, giving space to the same and bad memories. Serana noticed the moment Vardall stopped laughing, turning to stare at nowhere again.

Serana wanted nothing more than to relieve Vardall's burden, but she knew better than anyone that it was not an easy task. But still she wanted to try.

"Do you have any other family out there? Besides your parents and siblings, I mean..." The vampire asks carefully.

Vardall takes a deep breath before he starts talking: "I do, a few. From my mother's side, I know she had a cousin who ran away with an apostate to Ferelden, so I may have some second-cousins scattered around. Now on my dad's side... As I mentioned, dad was a Trevelyan. Just like the Amells, the Trevelyan family are one of the most important noble families of all the Free Marches, with deep connections inside the Chantry and the Templars."

Vardall makes a small pause, taking a deep breath before proceeding.

"Dad has a twin brother, named Osbert Trevelyan, who became a Bann in recent years. Dad and my uncle both lost contact when dad ran away to marry my mother, given the Trevelyan family didn't approve of them being in love. Doing some research, I also found that Osbert married a woman named Dahlia, or Lady Dahlia Trevelyan, as she's known today. They both had a daughter, who they named Alsanna Trevelyan, and was found to be a mage and sended to a Circle in the city of Ostwick, in the Free Marches. Dahlia, who is a Chantry zealot, tried to disown her own daughter. But Osbert had heart and didn't allowed such thing to be done."

"That's harsh. Poor girl..." Serana says.

"I tried to help her." Vardall reveals. "When I became Royal Chancellor of Ferelden, I tried to perhaps free this cousin of mine, or at least have her moved from the Circle in Ostwick to the one in Ferelden, but to no avail. My political influence had limitations, and not even appealing to the Divine herself showed results. The Chanty and Templars both don't like me, with many inside them seeing me as a heathen and a threat, so there was nothing I could do."

And once again, silence was upon them, but this time was a more comfortable one. Vardall certainly was more light for having revealed many of what bothered him, and Serana as well. Now they're just enjoying silence and each other's company, with their hands still linked in a soft embrace.

After a few minutes of comforting silence, Vardall is the first to speak: "Thank you, Serana."

The vampire turns her head to face the Dragonborn. "For what?"

Serana is then caught by surprise when Vardall approaches her, with their faces almost touching.

"For allowing me to talk about my family. I haven't talked about them with anyone for a long time. It was good to take that out of my chest."

Serana takes a few seconds to react at all, but eventually she smiles. "I'm… glad I could help."

With his smile growing even more, Vardall can't help but to chuckle a little. Serana raises an eyebrow, but she doesn't have the time to ask him about anything else before the Grey Warden, without warning, advances and takes Serana's lips into his.

In the first instance, Serana is obviously surprised and shocked by such a thing, with both her eyes being widened and she doesn't know how to react. But soon, that's all slowly going away the more Serana calms down and accepts the fact that she was having her first kiss. Moaning and finally relaxing, Serana closes her eyes and slowly moves her hands and links them to Vardall's neck. The Grey Warden smiles under the kiss and moves one hand to her neck and other to the side of her face. The softness of Serana's skin perfectly matched the softness of her lips...

The feeling of being kissed like this is... indescribable for Serana. It just feels so... right. At first, Vardall kissed Serana slowly, trying not to startle her as he patiently took the lead. He knows very well Serana never kissed someone like this before, and her confort is his priority. The vampire is overwhelmed by how good of a kisser Vardall is, on how he knows exactly what to do to make her feel good, which contrasts with Serana's total inexperience.

Deciding to make a risky move, Vardall holds Serana's hips and pulls her closer to him, then proceeds to run his hands all over the vampire's back.

Serana suddenly gasps softly against Vardall's mouth as she feels his hands running down her back, the sensation sending electricity to her core, something she can't help but crave more of. Vardall honestly feels more desperate as the kiss deepens, desire flooding his system as he hears Serana moan. He feels ashamed at how her sounds spark something deep inside him, something... wild. But now, he couldn't be bothered, not when he was finally showing Serana how much he cared about her.

Truth is, they could keep themselves like this for hours. Even being able to breathe, Serana didn't need that to live, as mortals do. Now Vardall, thanks to being a Dragonborn, can hold his breath for as much as he wanted. But still, both parts slowly separated from each other at their own wills.

Serana stares at Vardall and her state was something to behold. Vardall had no doubt that, if she could, Serana would be visibly with a deep red splashed across her cheeks. Her perfectly manicured hair was also slightly disheveled while her eyes looked like they were glowing even more.

Not giving the Dragonborn time to react, Serana quickly and suddenly hugs him and rests her head on his broad chest. At first this takes Vardall by surprise, but he quickly smiles and also wraps his arms around her.

"That was..." Serana had one huge smile outside Vardall's gaze. This entire situation, being with Vardall like this… it made her feel so good, so happy… Vardall was the only one who gave her a choice, who treated her with kindness and saw her as more than a tool or a monster. Being next to Vardall always made Serana feel more alive than any type of blood she drank in her entire life. The release of such a volatile combination of strong feelings, all at the same time, was too much for Serana to handle, and so, at that moment, she felt something inside her finally snap.

"Incredible, that I can tell." Vardall giggles, completely unaware of what was happening. "Being honest, I... I wanted to do that for quite a while, Nightshade. But I knew you wouldn't be comfortable back then, so I waited for a better opportunity to-" Vardall immediately stops talking the moment he notices Serana staring at him. But the thing was the way she was staring at him, very different from her loving gaze from moments ago. Now, she was looking at Vardall no more as her friend, but as a prey she had just cornered.

The Dragonborn doesn't have the time to fully process what was going on before Serana simply lunges at him, knocking him down and holding him tightly against the ground.

"I… I don't want to stop now, Vardall. I… want this." The vampire's voice was dripping with pure, unrestrained lust.

Looking deeply inside Serana's bright eyes, Vardall could only see both desire and lust totally unleashed behind them.

Serana then advances and takes Vardall's lips into her own, using her tongue to explore Vardall's mouth. Vardall tries to react and at the same time tries to comprehend Serana's sudden loss of control.

Grabbing Serana by her shoulders, Vardall manages to move her away from him without any problem, given he was much stronger than her. That however, didn't stop the vampire from trying to uncontrollably kiss Vardall again, now trying to move to his cheeks and neck.

"Don't be like my parents! Don't deny me what I want!"

"Nightshade, you don't truly want this! Snap out of it! SERANA!" Vardall violently shakes the vampire in an attempt to free her from the lustful trance she lost herself into. That seems to work, as while heavily panting, Serana blinks as her countenance changes back to normal and she slowly realizes what she was doing.

"W-what...? Vardall... What have I..." The vampire watches as the Grey Warden has a worried expression all over his face. But what she didn't know was that the expression wasn't for himself, but to Serana.

Realization seems to slowly come to Serana as she starts to pant more and more, growing to the moment she quickly moves away and creates distance between her and Vardall, not being able to hold her tears anymore.

Bran and Greywing, who were both awakened by all the clutter on the tent and by Vardall's desperate shout, watch as Serana starts to cry uncontrollably at the tent's corner.

"What... What have I done? No... No… No… No… No... I didn't... It can't be..."

The vampire flinches, hiding her head between her legs, shaking as she lets the tears flow away.

"I'm not like him. I'm not like him. I'm not like him..." She keeps repeating that to herself, saying like a mantra, a desperate reminder.

"Serana..."

Serana stops when she notices Vardall was still there, and that he was slowly approaching her.

That makes her retreat even more. "No! Don't approach me! It's for your own sake!"

The Dragonborn quickly stops and raises both hands as a sign of surrender. His breathing was too irregular and he had a worried countenance. He and Serana stared at each other for a few more seconds that felt more like hours. Serana then returns at hiding her head between her legs, still crying.

This time, Vardall didn't hesitate. Moving quickly, he takes the desolated and shaking figure of Serana into his arms, hugging her tightly as he knew she needed. Serana was caught by surprise by such an act. She tried to protest, to get Vardall away... but she couldn't do it. Instead, she merely hugged him back in desperation, holding him with all her strength, now crying with her face buried in Vardall's chest.

Vardall himself couldn't hold back the tears any longer. To see someone who he cared deeply suffering like that, someone he loved... It was too much for the Grey Warden.

"Shhh... It's okay, Serana. It's okay... Just focus on letting it all out."

The vampire sniffed while still crying. "Please... forgive me. I'm not like Molag Bal! I'M NOT LIKE HIM!"

"You did nothing wrong, Serana." The Dragonborn whispers at the vampire's ear, while also softly stroking her hair.

"And please... don't compare yourself with that demon."

They both continued hugging this for the next few minutes. Vardall kept stroking Serana's hair while whispering soft and kind affirmations in her ear, doing everything he could to make her feel better. Serana stopped crying after a while, with just an occasional sniffle here and there.

Vardall then took Serana's face into his hands, using his thumbs to clean away the remnants of tears from below the vampire's eyes. She had a broken countenance, staring at Vardall like a sad puppy. The Dragonborn moved and gave Serana a chaste, slow kiss at her forehead, making sure she would not feel overwhelmed by it.

Looking through his backpack that was close by, Vardall takes a vial full of elven blood and offers it to the vampire. While Serana was who carried lots of vials with the blood of defeated enemies to sustain herself, each member of Vardall's group also carried some with them to feed the vampire in case of emergencies.

"Here, drink it. You didn't feed yourself with blood for quite a while." Vardall would offer his own dragon blood to Serana if it wasn't for the Darkspawn Taint that also ran through the Warden's veins. A mere drop of his tainted blood was already enough to kill a regular vampire, so Vardall was definitely not taking any chances, even with Serana being a pure-blood vampire.

Without saying a word, Serana takes the offered vial and drinks every last drop of blood from it, feeling slightly better.

"You're staying with me tonight. There's no way I'm leaving you alone while you're like this." The Dragonborn said with conviction in his voice.

Serana was too tired to even question Vardall's decision, so she just silently accepted.

Laying down in his sleeping bag, Vardall brings Serana with him before covering both their bodies with the bag's blanket.

"You're comfortable enough, Nightshade? You need me to give you more space?"

Serana does not answer with words. Instead, she just snuggles deeper into Vardall's embrace, resting her head upon his chest.

"I see."

Even though things were better than before, Vardall felt how frightened Serana still was, giving she still was shaking a little. He couldn't sleep until he ensured she was totally fine or that she slept first. Fortunately, he already knew what to do.

He swallows a little as he prepares himself, recalling the lyrics perfectly.

"Mana fyana sulin..."

Serana once slightly opens her eyes once she realizes what Vardall was doing. Even in her current situation, she dares to open a small smile. Vardall had a beautiful voice, and hearing him singing something had become one of her favorite things, even after hearing him just once. So she just snuggled into Vardall even more and enjoyed the beautiful music.

"Da'el aeon lahkin"

"Elan dililenan"

"Heratu ethirin"

"Nia kyleia revas"

"Valla ma'el alyra"

"Nia kyleia revas"

"Valla ma'el arl kyleia revas..."

Opening his eyes and looking down, Vardall sighs in relief once he finds Serana already sleeping so peacefully in his embrace. Now it was his turn.

He and Serana would need to have a serious conversation tomorrow about what happened tonight. He wasn't going to let this pass, not when he could help her, just like she helped him. He owed Serana more than he could ever pay, but still he would try his best to reward her.

Moving and gently kissing Serana's head one last time, Vardall could finally close his eyes and relax, letting the sleep take his mind into the Fade while he cuddles with someone that, unlike Leliana, he could feel his love wasn't a mere fabrication, he could feel it was something real.

"Lost pruzah vulon, Vulonhokzii. Dreh ni uful, Zu'u fen kos viilut het fod hi vopraan vok. Zu'u fen neh lif hi…"

---

One of the many things I decided during the last ten months is to give my story a more... show-off and even exaggerated approach when it comes to fights, battles and the powers and capabilities of characters; taking great inspiration from the God of War games and Dragon Ball Z/GT/Super. I'll start with a more God of War approach and then proceed to something more akin to Dragon Ball as we progress. I'm doing this to better demonstrate the lore power of many Elder Scrolls characters, something the games don't do that well. I understand it is because of gameplay and even God of War has those limitations, but come on... the fight between the Avatar of Akatosh and Mehrunes Dagon destroys just a building and the final battle against Alduin is what it is... That's just disappointing, taking what really happens in lore.

Changing the subject more to Dragon Age. First, the song Vardall sings to Serana is yet another one from Dragon Age 2 OST called Destiny of Love. Another one, like many from that game, that I highly recommend you all to give it a try.

Second, I know that BioWare already confirmed that, unlike Hawke and the Amell Warden (who are second-grade cousins), the family of the human Inquisitor and the Amells (Hawke/Mage Warden family) aren't related in any way, but I'm ignoring that. And given that we literally know nothing about the father of the Amell Warden, he was the perfect way to link both families.

And as a final fun fact: I've taken the names of the majority of Vardall's family from Dark Souls 2. Yahin, Ricce and Alessia are the names of the Ruin Sentinels, a trio of bosses you fight in DS2. Alsanna is the name of a central character in DS2's final DLC (Crown of the Ivory King), and Vardall, Sylvain and Alinoth are the names of the very first three characters I created in Dark Souls 2.

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Translation from Dovahzul to English:

Nahlot = Silence

Dreh ni hi krilon kosmey hi los pruzah monah nu! = Don't you dare to play the good mother now!

Zu'u mindok nunon vir folaas hi vahraan Rezaren, pah riilkei sod hi drey wah hin meyar slen ahrk sos! = I know just how bad you treated Rezaren, all the wrong deeds you committed against your own flesh and blood!

Joriin med hi dreh ni qaariv wah lahney, rinik jos wahl kiir! = People like you do not deserve to live, much less raise a child!

Zomaar lafaan med hi los osos do zok lum banaak ko usnutiid, ahrk Zu'u fen wahl bek enook gein do hi aus nol dez ful zomaar tol hi pah fen draal fah zey wah ofan hi nel dinok! = Terrible parents like you are some of the lowest scum in history, and I'll make sure each one of you suffers from a fate so terrible that you all will pray for me to grant you quick deaths!

Mal Peyt= Little Rose

Firok = Bastard

Lost pruzah vulon, Vulonhokzii. Dreh ni uful, Zu'u fen kos viilut het fod hi vopraan vok. Zu'u fen neh lif hi. = Have a good night, Nightshade. Do not worry, I will be right here when you wake up. I will never leave you.

All translations were made using the thuum org translator.