Answers to reviews:
Guest: Thanks.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It belongs to Bethesda Studios.
-1st of Hearthfire, 4th Era 201-
"So, how are we to begin?" Rahgol asked as he stood in the courtyard with the Greybeards the following morning, Lydia sitting nearby while having some breakfast as Rahgol had already had his before getting started on his training.
"Patience, Rahgol. We must see and test your knowledge on what you know first." Arngeir said calmly, which made Rahgol grunt in annoyance but he did see the point. They wanted to make sure what Paarthurnax taught him hadn't gone lax. "As you know, we are here to guide you in that pursuit, just as the Greybeards have sought to guide those of the Dragon Blood that came before you."
Rahgol frowned as something came to mind. "Do you think I'm the only Dragonborn living?" He asked curiously.
Arngeir ran a hand down his beard, a thoughtful expression on his face. "There have been many of the Dragon Blood since Akatosh first bestowed that gift upon mortalkind. Whether you are the only Dragonborn of this age... that is not ours to know. You are the only one that has been revealed thus far. That is all I can say."
"Right." Rahgol exhaled and nodded. "I'm ready to learn."
"You have shown that you are Dragonborn. You have the inborn gift. But do you have the discipline and temperament to follow the path laid out for you? That remains to be seen." Arngeir said. "You are well versed in the Dragon Tongue thanks to Master Paarthurnax teaching you it, and without training you have already taken the first steps towards projecting your Voice into a Thu'um. When you Shout, you speak in the language of dragons. Thus, your Dragon Blood gives you an inborn ability to learn Words of Power. All Shouts are made up of three Words of Power. As you master each Word, your Shout will become progressively stronger. Master Einarth will now teach you "Ro," the second Word in Unrelenting Force. Ro means "Balance" in the dragon tongue. Combine it with Fus - "Force" - to focus your Thu'um more sharply."
Einarth looked at the ground and quietly said. "Ro..." The energy shot from his mouth and struck the ground, which formed the Word in the Dovahzul. Rahgol approached and stood on top of it, closing his eyes as he felt the Word and it's power.
Arngeir had a small smile on his face as he watched. "You learn a new word like a master... you truly do have the gift. But learning a Word of Power is only the first step... you must unlock its meaning through constant practice in order to use it in a Shout. Well, that is how the rest of us learn Shouts. As Dragonborn, you can absorb a slain dragon's life force and knowledge directly. As part of your initiation, Master Einarth will allow you to tap into his understanding of "Ro.""
Rahgol began to concentrate, while looking at Einarth, and again that energy appeared, just like when he approached the Word Wall in Bleak Falls Barrow. He suddenly felt the meaning forming of Ro.
"Now let us see how quickly you can master your new Thu'um." Arngeir said, catching his attention. "Use your Unrelenting Force shout to strike the targets as they appear."
Rahgol stepped back, as Master Borri inhaled then Shouted. ""Fiik Lo Sah!" A Spectral figure appeared, strikingly similar to Borri.
Rahgol inhaled deeply, then Shouted. "Fus Ro!" The energy shockwave shot from his mouth and blasted the spectral Borri.
"Your Thu'um is powerful… not as strong as ours, at least not yet, but you master it so quickly. Eventually the power of your Thu'um will definitely exceed ours. Now, let's try again. Master Einarth will do the same as what Master Borri just did." Rahgol watched as Einarth used the same Shout, and a spectral copy of him appeared.
"FUS RO!" Rahgol roared, while releasing another powerful shockwave. The same thing happened again. Then he had to do the shouting again, which made his throat begin to feel sour.
"Impressive, your Thu'um is powerful and precise. You show great promise, Dragonborn." Arngeir said.
"Will your throat ever get accustomed to this?" Rahgol asked, while rubbing it. Arngeir began to chuckle.
"Our throats are not made to Shout like that, but eventually you won't feel it anymore. Until you Shout too much of course, then you will feel it, but eventually you don't feel pain anymore." Rahgol nodded. "We will perform your next trial at the gate. Come."
Rahgol followed them over to the gate.
"Now let's see how you learn a completely new Shout. Master Borri will teach you 'Wuld', which means 'Whirlwind'." Borri did the same as what Einarth did, Shouting the word at the ground to which Rahgol stepped on it and absorbed it into his being, unlocking his use of it. Then he learned Borri's meaning, understanding and knowledge of the Word. They then walked towards the closed door with the small path and Rahgol had to follow Wulgar's example in using the Shout to get through the gate that closed down quickly.
"All right, let's see. WULD!" Suddenly with amazing speed, Rahgol ran towards the door and heard it close behind him.
"That can be useful." Rahgol muttered with a small smirk before he walked back over to the Greybeards.
"Your mastery of the Thu'um is… astonishing. I'd heard the stories of the abilities of Dragonborn, but to see it for myself…"
"It just feels so natural for me." Rahgol replied, crossing his arms.
"You were given this gift by the gods for a reason. It's up to you to figure how best to use it. You are now ready for your last trial. Retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, our founder, from his tomb in the ancient fane of Ustengrav. Remain true to the Way of the Voice, and you will return." Arngeir said, then noticed a doubtful look on Rahgol's face as he looked off. "SOmething troubles you, Rahgol."
"It's just..." Rahgol sighed and looked at him. "Why me? Why was I chosen for this? Why couldn't it be some actual hero that people often dream and speak off to come sort out their problems? I'm no hero, nor am I anyone's errand boy. Is this power why Paarthurnax took me in?"
"No, I doubt that's why he did." Arngeir said calmly. "Did he know what you were when he met you? Most likely. But I do not think that is why he taught you the Way of the Voice and looked after you like his own. I cannot speak for him, this is something you will have to ask him yourself when the time comes. I understand your uncertainties of being Dragonborn, but I advice you that you should train your Voice and listen to us. We know things that you do not. That doesn't mean that you are ready to understand it."
Rahgol exhaled at that, a little annoyed but not as much as he would've been had it been anyone else. The Greybeards and Paarthurnax were all he had growing up since he was seven. He nodded. "I understand. I'll go to Ustengrav and get the Horn. Lydia, let's go!"
-10th of Heartfire, 4th Era 201-
The sun was setting when Rahgol and Lydia arrived at Ustengrav on horseback, having bought a pair of steeds from Whiterun stables seeing as their path to Ustengrav took them into Whiterun Hold and past the city itself, so Rahgol pointed out it would be best they ride the rest of the way rather than walk. They had already encountered groups of bandits, Sabre Cats, Trolls, Giants, Frostbite Spiders, being on horseback would quicken their pace to their destination.
When passing Morthal, they did notice something going on in which a few people were angrily yelling at the Jarl's Steward, something about wanting a wizard out of town. Rahgol had just ignored it, as it was not his problem despite Lydia claiming they should investigate but Rahgol firmly denied it. It was their problem, and he was not being roped into it. He despised those who can't handle their own problems and instead wish for others to do it for them.
Getting off their horses, Rahgol approached and jumped down into the ruin before the door, Lydia soon following with a grunt. "This is the place?" She asked, looking around.
"Yes." Rahgol nodded, then glanced at her. "Tread lightly. Last ruin I went into... well, let's just say I discovered a couple of things I doubt you'd believe."
"Like what?" Lydia asked curiously as they entered.
"Oh... just that a couple of friends happen to be Werewolves." Rahgol said with a small, secret smirk. He did not know if Lydia was aware of the Circle being Werewolves, as she seemed to have a friendship with Aela when she came to join him at the Skyforge, the huntress beside her that day.
"That's-" Lydia stopped and frowned. "Do you hear that?"
Rahgol stopped and narrowed his eyes, his hearing picking up the sounds of... fighting? He looked at Lydia and they shared a nod, silently unsheathing their weapons and crept into the next room, where they found a few bandits clashing with several mages.
"Well, what do you know, we're not the first ones here." Rahgol remarked dryly, watching with some amusement as one of the bandits were struck with an ice spike, impaling him into the wall. It wasn't long before his two friends joined him. The mages did not get a chance to attack Rahgol and Lydia, however, because Rahgol had strode right up while they were distracted and cut them down with his Ebony Swords.
"You couldn't have left one for me?" Lydia pouted, with Rahgol flicking the blood off his swords, sheathed them and gave Lydia a blank look.
"There's going to me more things in this ruin for you to cut down with your sword. Don't get whiny on me already." Rahgol said, grunting when Lydia thumped him on the back.
"I'm not whiny." She growled as they walked on.
They came across a few more mages, battling Draugr this time, and charged. Rahgol unsheathed his Ebony Swords and swung both for a decapitation on a Draugr while Lydia rammed her Steel Sword into the stomach of a mage with a war cry, then kicked the corpse off her blade before spinning around to block a Draugr's lunge at her, with the undead corpse soon getting a deep slash across it's chest, ending it's life. Rahgol parried a Dragur's War Axe, then stabbed it through the head while slashing another across the throat, then ripped his blade free from the corpse, looking back to see Lydia take care of the last mage.
"Happy now?" Rahgol remarked dryly.
"Much better." Lydia grinned, making him roll his eyes with an amused scoff.
They entered another chamber, and encountered more Draugr that they were quick to dispatch and move on through the ancient halls and chambers, getting up the stone stairs until they came across a door. When Rahgol opened it, they saw bluish light at the end of the small path. There were vines that blocked their view a bit, but they saw a deep valley with a lot of stone bridges.
Rahgol let out a whistle at the sight before continuing on with Lydia. They passed through a dining area, killing more Draugr, and soon enough they arrived in a large room with a stone bridge and a path that lead towards the bottom of the valley. Rahgol looked around and spotted a Word Wall below, near a river, or a pond from the looks of it... perhaps a lake.
"Now there's something." Rahgol smirked as he made his way down, followed by Lydia. Even as he approached, he could already hear the chanting. Upon being close to it, the began absorbing the energy and the Word into his being, closing his eyes while Lydia watched with wide eyes at the sight. "Feim... Fade. This is the first Word in the Become Ethereal Shout."
"Ethereal?" Lydia asked with wide eyes.
Rahgol nodded. "If I find the other two Words, I'll be able to become spectral in appearance, unable to be harmed. Useful." He said. They went back up to the other platform, dispatching several skeletons, and came upon what was clearly a puzzle with three small stones glowing red upon them passing, each one opening a gate up ahead but as soon as the red light turns off, the gates shut.
"This must be something the ancients who built this place put in." Lydia commented, a frown on her face as she worked on how to get past this. "Passing each of these opens those gates, so... you need to be-"
"Fast." Rahgol realized, then nodded. He took several steps back then charged, running past the small stones that lit up, opening the gates ahead. He inhaled then Shouted. "WULD!" and reappeared on the other side of the three gates, with them now remaining open since someone passed the puzzle. Lydia jogged over to join him.
"Not bad." She commented.
"Your smart brain helped." Rahgol said with a smirk, getting a roll of the eyes before she playfully elbowed him, making him grunt before they continued onwards. However, they came to a halt upon entering another chamber with a trap, this one with pressure plates. "Oh come on..."
"You didn't think it would be easy, did you?" Lydia smirked at him. He shot her a look.
"Pressure plates... who knows what they'll do if we step on the wrong one." Rahgol sighed. He looked at her. "Let's take this slow."
It took a while, but they managed to navigate through the pressure plates through a strange pattern after checking out the symbols. Both of them sighed in relief and continued onwards, only to come into another chamber with a similar problem... and also giant Forstbite Spiders.
"I'm starting to get fucking sick of this." Rahgol growled, unsheathing his Ebony Swords as Lydia took out her Steel Sword.
"Agreed." Lydia nodded.
The two quickly dealt with the spiders, though froze when one stupidly went onto the pressure plates and fire shot out, roasting the insect to a burning corpse while Rahgol and Lydia stared with wide eyes, realizing that could've been them if they stepped on the wring plate. Despite that, they continued on, carefully crossing the pressure plates and through to the other side. They soon came into another chambe, with a small alter up ahead. As they approached it, pillars burst and rose out of the water on either side of them.
"Do you think that is happening just because of you, or it'll happen for anyone?" Lydia asked, noting the undead Draugr. "Someone's been here."
"I know." Rahgol said. "And to answer your question... I'm not sure. I doubt the traps all reset themselves, though it's possible since we didn't kill these Draugr and..." He trailed off as he noticed something.
There was no Horn. Just a note.
"What?" Rahgol frowned, his expression turning a little dark as he picked up the note and read it's contents.
-Dragonborn,
I need to speak to you. Urgently. Rent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood and I'll meet you.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Rahgol growled, crumpling the note into his fist and incinerated it with a fire spell, opening his hand to watch the cinders fade and burn away into nothingness. "All of this was for nothing!"
"So someone has beaten us here and taken the Horn... just to get your attention." Lydia stated. "Think it's a friend?"
"Friend or not, they've gone to a lot of trouble to get my attention... and I don't like having my time wasted nor do I like being toyed with." Rahgol said in a dark tone. "We make for Riverwood and find out who wishes to meet with me."
And that's it for this chapter. I could've made it longer, but... meh, I feel like this was a good place to end this chapter.