Sorry for the wait, originally planned to post this one a few days ago but then things happened.
Now a guest asked the following question "no levitation spell?" which is a fair question, as there is no such thing as a levitation spell in skyrim. Now the question has two answers.
1: 'The Levitation Act' a law passed throughout the empire in 3E 421 banning the use of levitation magic. Mainly because it posed several security issues and made walls kind of obsolete (the empire loves walls). However no such law existed before that (that we know off) so everyone where free to float around as they saw fit.
2: Bathesda (probably) decided not to make levitation a thing because it would make map design complicated.
The answer to the riddle is a a river
We passed 10 followers, and 10 reviews which may not sound like a lot. But it is really awesome and it means a lot to me to know that people like the story.
Anyway, chapter 5: Little talks
Koraaviik let the book fall from his hands, from there it tumbled onto the cold rocks with a dull thud. The text 'A Dance in Fire, v1' seemingly taunting him from its place by his feet.
The time was around early evening judging by the sun, the wind was cold and sky was dark. It was late in the season, it had snowed during the early morning hours but then stilled off around midday with only a thin white layer covering the surrounding mountains and forests. He hadn't slept after he returned, he felt like a walking corpse but Midwahgein had said nothing. Something he was thankful for, he didn't want to have an argument about it, he just wanted to know where they were. The books had proven mostly useless, he had acquired five books, none of which he could read as the words were unrecognisable, though Midwahgein somehow could. He had asked her about it, but had only received a half shrug in response. Another added to his mental list of amazing things that dragons could do.
One of his finds was a book by the name of 'The Warriors Charge' a poem that had burned nicely on the small campfire they had made. The second she read was named 'Cats of Skyrim' a book regarding the Khajiits and Sabrecats of Skyrim, it met the same fate. The third book, by the name of 'The Refugees' had proven interesting but painfully vague. It was about refugees fleeing 'The Camoran Usurper' and his conquest. Unfortunately Koraaviik didn't recognise the name, that along with the complete lack of any dates was something that only unnerved him further.
Then there was 'A Tragedy in Black' a tale of a foolish kid who summoned a daedra, only to get himself killed. Midwahgein had actually found that one slightly amusing. The fifth and last book was the first to mention a solid date, he looked down at the book once again, muttering the date Midwahgein had found for what was probably the sixth time. "7th Frostfall, 3 era year 397"
Midwahgein paid him little attention he knew, she was deep in thought, staring out over the great landscape below. The date was neither useful nor useless. They did not know the calendar that was used, they had no idea when it began. They did not know how long an era was, it could be anything between a few hundred to a few thousand years. They didn't even know if it was still the third era...the book didn't look that old but it might have been a copy of an older text, they simply didn't know. Reading the book had brought them more questions than answers, he realised. He let out a tired sigh, dragging himself to his feet, his body screaming with exhaustion.
"You should get some sleep" Midwahgein said in a soft tone from where she laid behind him.
He wanted to say no, that they hadn't found what they needed. The thought of taking another trip to the village crossed his mind, but it was a foolish thought he knew. The place would be more active and on the lookout after his first visit.
He felt a lump starting to form in his throat, his body was shaking a bit, stress and exhaustion no doubt.
They knew no one, they were alone.
They didn't know the world they lived in. He didn't know what to do. He had always had a plan, find this book, learn this, go here, avoid that guy, make friends with those people. Learn , train, sleep, repeat. It seemed like something had always been there to guide him. But now...
His plan may have worked, they may have gotten a second chance, but it was looking more and more bleak by the second. He couldn't even talk to people, he didn't know the language, it should've been obvious really that it would've changed along with everything else, but at the moment it just seemed like another nail in the coffin.
He let himself fall to his knees.
He had given them a second chance but what did it really matter?
He felt a tear slowly making its way down his cheek, then another, and another.
Hopeless, he realised, it all felt hopeless.
He saw her wings moving on both sides of him, he felt her hot breath washing over him and her long neck pulling down, pressing him against her scaled chest. He felt her mind wrap around his, like a protective cocoon, keeping him warm and safe from the unknown that resided just outside. "Rest now little one, we will think of something tomorrow"
He couldn't really muster up a reply.
He fell asleep like that, in the warm embrace of the only one he hadn't lost.
His mind slowly left the sweet embrace of sleep and drifted towards consciousness.
The comfortable warmth was still there but it was joined by hunger. A burning hunger that he hadn't really seemed to notice the day before. Perhaps the feeling just got drowned out in all the other things that were going on. He supposed it made sense that he was hungry, after all he hadn't eaten in… Well he didn't actually know. Thinking about it he didn't even know if whatever food he had eaten at the time, was considered 'part' of him by the enchantment when he was brought back. But judging by his stomach that didn't seem to have been the case. He slowly pulled himself up, slightly wincing from the pain still present in his side, I really need to do something about that he thought to himself. But his entire body felt drained as it was, making him doubtful about doing any type of magic right now.
As he rubbed his eyes he took note of his surroundings, or rather the wall of scales that was still coiled around him. Suddenly his still sleepy mind seemed to catch up as the memories of the night before came flooding in.
And with it followed a strange mix of feelings, anger, hope, desperation and shame.
He shouldn't have lost it like that.
"I...I'm sorry about last night, I just…"
"You do not need to apologise" she whispered softly moving her head closer, lightly pushing it into his chest in a familiar embrace. "I understand".
She breathed in before pulling her head back and once again letting in light from the outside, as well as the cold air.
"I didn't want to leave you here alone but we both needed something to eat" she said, gesturing with her head to two large deer lying in a small pool of blood a short distance from where they were sitting. Deer, that meant she had been hunting...a pang of worry crossed his mind, but Midwahgein settled his fear before he could even voice it.
"Do not worry, I was careful not to be seen" And he believed her, he had never actually seen her hunt, but she had on more than one occasion managed to sneak up on him while he'd been working. How Midwahgein had managed it he still didn't know but he suspected some kind of magic was involved.
No matter the way he was grateful for the food she had gathered.
Though there was one thing that was continuing to bother him. And for that one he kept his thoughts close, careful not to let them wonder down the bond. He was a dragon priest, the sole purpose of his existence was to help the dragons keep the humans in line, make sure the order was held and everyone did as they were supposed to. He was supposed to be a servant of the dragons. Obey their every word and take care of their every need- And here was Midwahgein taking care of him.
It was a strange thought, even though she had only shown him kindness through the years, since she found him. She had, as would've been expected, been a ruthless teacher, but time and again she had shown patience no other dragon ever seemed to have with a human outside of a few of the Ancients.
Even though they shared magical bond, it still felt wrong somehow. She was a dragon, a child of Akatosh himself. An immortal being with magic capable of moving mountains, a myriad of natural defences from nearly impenetrable scales to wings and claws. Greater beings could not be found outside of a divine pantheon.
Midwahgein ripped a chunk of meat off one of the deer, throwing it in his direction before tearing into one of the corpses.
And he, a mere human, was now being taken care of by one. Midwagein would have protested he knew. He was no mere human. She would say, though he still wasn't quite sure what she saw in him that made him stand out from the rest.
Koraaviik blinked, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, before looking down at the bloody piece of meat, wondering briefly if she expected him to eat it like that. He shook his head slightly, deciding that she was just too hungry to care. With a flick of his hand he cast a simple cutting spell and watched with satisfaction as the large chunk was sliced to bits, before he carefully roasted them with a fire spell. It was admittedly primitive, some parts were more cooked than others and few places were blackened, not to mention the lack of spices made it bland as hell. But despite the simplicity of it, the bland half raw meat it was the best meal he'd had in a long time.
As he hungrily dug in he found his mind wandering, past the strange new land and their last stand in the temple. Past the endless political intrigues and the judging glances he'd received one too many times. Back to some more happy times.
He cracked a smile when his mind arrived at a certain event.
Midwahgein looked questioningly in his direction, blood covered most of her face and she had bits of meat and bone stuck between her teeth.
He chuckled a bit to himself at the image, before answering the silent question he knew she had.
"You remember my crowning ceremony?"
She swallowed loudly, licking some of blood off her scales before giving him a nod "Of course I do."
"You were the youngest one to ever be crowned a dragon priest" she continued, a hint of pride in her voice.
"seventeen" he mussed, it felt like a lifetime ago.
Midwahgein was the reason he was even considered for the position. Strength, both physical and magical was one thing, but influence and politics was a whole other kind of path, one he had never walked before she had found him. She had vouched for him, he didn't even know such a thing was an option. But thinking back the dragons could pretty much do what they wanted, so if she wanted him in the position then who were they to disagree?
That didn't mean they had made it easy for him though.
A smile once again sprung to his lips as he remembered some of the 'entertainment' that had been arranged for the event.
"And the throat singers of the reach?" They had apparently been doing it 'the old ways'. He hadn't thought it too bad, perhaps a bit exotic? Midwahgein however did not share his thoughts.
She huffed, taking a break from the bloody carcass in front of her "Those howling dogs? How could I ever forget" She finished, in the same tone one would use when talking about a particularly bloody conflict.
He laughed, it was short but pleasant. He still wasn't quite sure how he had managed to pull the whole thing off. seventeen, he thought, though it had only lasted four years before the war broke out.
He took a deep breath, having eaten for the first time in a week felt wonderful, but they still needed to address the question that had hung over him since he woke up. He let out a small sigh, "What are we going to do?"
Midwahgein looked towards the endless stretch of forests and the horizon beyond that. "Only real option for us is to find a human, one from this time, one we can trust"
She was right he knew, they were fumbling around in the dark as it was and without someone to answer some of the many questions they had piling up it would only get worse. The question was, how would they go about finding such a person?
He briefly entertained the thought of just kidnapping someone and forcing the information out of them. It would be quick and easy, however there were a few glaring issues. They wouldn't know who to take and knowing his luck they would kidnap a random dimwit who didn't know anything, in which case they would have to get another one.
Not to mention the consequences of what would happen if they were discovered, he did not wish to spend the rest of his life on the run because they poked the wrong people.
No, he realised with a bid of disappointment, they would have to take a more careful route. They could not re-introduce themselves to the world with mass murder and kidnappings.
"We could go to Bromjunaar" he suggested after a while. He didn't expect it to still be standing as the last message they had gotten from the outside mentioned it was under heavy siege. But perhaps they would find some clues as to what happened to the rest of the dragons, maybe even word from one of the other priests, assuming they weren't all put to the sword.
"If there's anything left it's got to be be there". He continued, a bit of hope creeping into his voice.
She looked him over "You should not get your hopes up, you know as well as I, that it was the centre point of the war. I would be surprised if there's still any of it left standing"
He nodded sadly, she was probably right, but he felt like it would at least be a place to start.
He looked over as Midwahgein stood up, stretching her wings, legs and her long neck. Before lowering her right wing a bit looking at him expectantly as she did.
Koraaviik only stared at her blankly, wondering what she was doing.
"What are you waiting for? Get up" She said, gesturing with her head to her back like it was the most obvious thing ever.
"Wait...You... You want me to...?" He stuttered unsurely while halfway pointing at her back, she wanted him to ride her there? Koraaviik was very much wondering if she was serious or if he was misunderstanding something. He had to be.
Humans didn't ride dragons, no one did.
"Unless you want me to carry you in my claws?" she asked with a bemused glint in her eye.
Was it sad? I tried to make it sad, never really wrote sad stuff before but hopefully it went alright.
Next up is the college.
When young I am tall. When old I'm small, with life I do glow, yet the breath of men is my foe. what am I?