[AUTHOR'S NOTES: I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read and enjoy my stories!I hope you enjoy the read, and interest to see a new Dawnguard story which coincides with the Companions.
I have been working on this hefty novel since March of last year, and finally finished it last October. I'll be uploading it casually through the weeks till it is all finished. Really no time frame, it'll be random submits but there won't be a lengthy wait. I've done my utmost to stay true to the characters so it feels like Elder Scrolls penmanship. But if you feel like I didn't capture a character as it should be please don't shy from letting me know.
Thank you all and please don't shy from any critique or advice!]
Prologue
The coldest of nights gloomed over the Pale in the high reaches of Skyrim's long winter. It was the 23rd of Evening Star, and the brittle cold under a clear night sky could crack the glass of Nightgate Inn's oriel windows. In the late hours of the evening, a young woman emerged from the Inn. She was ghostly pale and fair, her long dark hair kept in neat, frilling braids. The young woman pulled her cloak over her shoulders and pulled her fur-rimmed hood over her chilling ears.
"Are you certain you want to be travelling in this treacherous weather?" Harding asked in concern, "The chill could cripple a frost atronach…"
"I'll be just toasty with the warming mead and fine foods in my belly, thanks to the generous hospitality of your charming little inn. What a gem, I'm happy I stopped here when I did," the young woman replied. The innkeeper of the remote tavern returned a smile.
"You're too kind. I just don't feel right watching you leave into this bitter cold. Wait till the morning, at least. The sun rays can keep you warm."
"Oh no, I'm far too behind as it is. I've travelled in worse than this! I'll be just fine, I'm almost to Dawnstar anyway. Frida will need her ingredients before they spoil."
Hadring grinned, "Ah, good ol' Frida," he had a chuckle in his throat, "I suppose she'll give you a thrashing if you don't make haste!"
"So I best get to it, shouldn't I? Ha-ha!" She pattered down the frosty steps of the inn and onto the snow trail. She called back to the innkeeper, "Farewell! Zenithar's blessings to you!"
"And to you! Safe travels!" He closed his doors at her departure. The woman began to trudge through high, heaping snow. It generously drifted across her path as the chills grew more piercing out of the shield of pine tree groves. She ambled into the plains and the winds snapped a bite. She shrouded into her cloak, pulling the fabric across the bottom of her chin and to her chest. She headed into more reaching groves through The Pale. The pine trees blot the night sky and dwindled the thrashing winds. With a small bit of relief, she picked up pace. Then the forest was deafening silence. Eerie and abrupt silence. As if the warblers, snow owls, foxes and even the winds were paying close attention to her passage.
Suddenly she heard a soft crack of a twig in the vast darkness of the woods. She slowed her pace to gawk into thick shadows. There was nothing distinct in the grove. She stayed hopeful it was merely a rabbit grazing. She continued her trek, cautiously examining the walling darkness of woods to her sides. She fetched a readied torch from her knapsack and knelt down over the cobblestone path to light it. She pried for her flint and steel.
Before she had a chance to strike the fire; footsteps came from the bush. The woman dropped her tools and shot up with a gasp. Then her shoulders were gripped and pushed to the cold floor of the trail. The woman unleashed a horrified squeal at a pair of red eyes. Slivers of famished scarlet. Her neck was throttled and the monster parted its jaw, revealing four razor sharp fangs. A hiss that was acrid in blood. The woman bellowed a wail, trying to force off her attacker but to no avail.
Then a dim light from behind the monster's head. It gave light to the creature, revealing a man. Or what appeared as a man. The distortion of his face proved otherwise. The wrinkles pulling at his nose. His cheeks protruding in bone, and his eyes sunken into his skull, only reflecting the daring red from within his sockets.
Suddenly there was a rip in his chest. A tip of blade pierced from overhead. The monster jolted and gurgled. The blade sliced down through the monster's chest and down its spine and belly. Blood came pooling down from the wound and bathing the terrified woman. The body was kicked off and to her side. She sat up in panic as she heaved from the blood.
The light was from torches held by two Nords, donned in sky blue cloaks draped over silver, glistening armour. The man before her wielded the blood-smothered blade. She stayed petrified on the ground for a moment. Gawking up to the silver knights helplessly.
One Nord spoke, "Good evening, ma'am. We are the Vigilants of Stendarr. A moment too late you would have been a meal for this blood-sucking fiend here."
The woman stammered and pouted; struggling to find a word to utter amongst the shock.
His partner made a righteous declare, "Do not fret. You are safe now. Please continue in your travels. We do not expect gratitude or compensation. Your life to be lived in its full- away from these heathens, is all we pursue."
She blubbered defeatedly, "But…I… I'm," the woman stammered with tears swelling in her eyes. Then a sudden mewl, "I am covered in blood!! You couldn't have gotten him off first?!"
The Vigilants went stunned as the woman grunted and pressed herself off the floor of the trail, "Now I have to walk in this blistering chill coated in this filth! Disgusting!"
The Vigilant sheathed his blood-soaked blade, "Ma'am, this vampire would have killed you or turned you. Either way, you'd be dead now, do you understand? Savour your rescue. Learn to be grateful for the mercy of Stendarr now. If not for us, for his grace."
The woman scoffed in a petulant shrill, "Bah! At least the vampire wouldn't have made a mess of my favourite, custom-made blouse! Damn fanatics." She stuck her nose up and pattered down the path, grumbling under her breath. The Vigilants stared and startled for a moment longer, disappointed by the unexpected reaction.
"Don't worry. It's a thankless job most days. At least we got this bastard before he killed anyone else. Gratitude is the least of our expectations." A Vigilant instilled.
"Still," his partner moaned, "Some gratitude would be nice. You ever feel like we are doing more harm than good? Like our efforts are in vain?"
"That's hopeless thinking. The people of Skyrim may be too dim to realize it, but we are protecting them from the damnable evils of the daedra. This beast," the Vigilant kicked the body of the fallen vampire, "His death is everything we are doing right for Skyrim. Stendarr's mercy guides us as we share none to those who oppose it. Do not falter now. We may celebrate in our own rights when we get back to the hall. Come, let's go let Carcette know of our success!" The Vigilant patted the other on the back and lit their way home to the Hall of the Vigilant residing in The Pale.
Inside the two were greeted by warmth and comradeship. It was a hub of those in priesthood to Stendarr, one of the Divines who instructed mercy. However, the Vigilants of Stendarr had none to spare to those of daedra or any affiliated with the beings. Which included vampires, werewolves and witches. They sought any of these creatures out and would stop at no force to destroy them.
As the two Vigilants entered the hall through the wind whistling door, a comrade greeted gladly to the pair, "Ah! You two are finally back! So, what news then? Did you finally kill it?"
One proudly stated, "Of course! Tried to feed on a poor girl along the trails. We gutted the beast before he had a chance to sink his fangs in."
"Ah, well done, brothers. You sure she wasn't bitten? You know the procedure for when an innocent is turned."
"No, we saw the whole thing. She gets to live another day under Stendarr's gaze," he assured then perked his head to the side, "Where is Carcette? I need a word with her if she can spare the time."
"She's in her quarters, studying these recent vampire attacks, as far as I know."
The Vigilant nodded in thanks and made his way to Carcette. He knocked and a woman called from behind, "Come in!"
The doors creaked open and the Nord Vigilant made his entrance, "Stendarr's greetings, Carcette."
Carcette beamed from her desk riddled in scrolls, books and ink. A room lit by generous candlelight. "Ahh, Adalvald. You've returned. How was the hunt? I hope the vampire lays ravaged…"
"He's fallen by the Vigil. These vampires are starting to become a problem," the Vigilant lamented, "We've had numerous deaths by these attacks. Some we can help, others we only haplessly hear of. During our trek we heard of at least two more incidents in Skyrim. A vampire slew a whole family in The Rift. Then a whole brigade exterminated a Fort of Imperial soldiers in Falkreath Hold! We do not have enough of the Vigil to spare to these corners. I fear what's to come. This can't be normal."
Carcette sighed, "No, it's not. These are not planned, either. They are almost random. It's because their numbers are rising. This attack would be the twelfth incident this month."
"By Stendarr's horn!" The Vigilant Adalvald exclaimed, "The vampires have never been this brazen before!"
Carcette explained, "I have received word from a former colleague. Old fool is reassembling the Dawnguard and he's requested our council in handling the vampires. He claims it's a crisis. There could be any number of causes, so we shouldn't assume it's a crisis just yet. But yes, I agree, Brother Adalvald, it's certainly not good. We must tread our next steps with extreme care."
Their conversation was cut short to frantic shouting in the main hall; catching the attention of Vigilant Adalvald and Keeper Carcette. They stormed out the quarters to arid smoke building inside. The strong smell of smouldering wood and stinging fumes watered their eyes as a herd of Vigilants clamoured at the front door.
Carcette demanded, "What is happening?!"
"We are under attack!!" One Vigilant bellowed, "They barred the door!" The flames began to catch along the walls.
Adalvald ran to a chair and threw it through a window. The glass shattered and he broke away the remaining shards, letting the smoke vent out.
He covered his mouth with his arm before demanding, "Through the window! Now!!"
He pried through the narrow opening. He cried as he was pulled through by something on the other side. The Vigilants were met with the horror of his agonized screams from outside. A head peaked through the window where flames grew by the oxygen allowed to vent. It made a fanged grin with eyes like the fire surrounding them.
"Stendarr's mercy, they've found us!" Carcette wailed in dread. The flames from within scoured higher. The walls along the Vigilants began to cave. The screams of the Vigil echoed harrowingly through the near reaches of The Pale. A crowd of vampires slowly gathered to behold the destruction of the hall and the Vigilants inside it.
As hours went into the midnight, the fire dwindled and the crumbling hall was left in smoulders. The vampires crept inside the extinguished hall, flattening charcoaled bodies into dust with their boots. Their leader smirked, enjoying a cackle in his throat.
A vampire behind him said, "By the blood, what a show. The Vigils screamed like pitiful infants— such cowards. Vingalmo will be most pleased with our success here, Lokil."
Lokil glowered, "My success, you nitwit. I do not answer to that arrogant High Elf, I answer to our lord, and him only. But yes, he will reward me greatly. Stendarr's puppets lay in crumbling ash, as it should be. Without their interfering, our lord's vision will be made a reality."
The vampires could hear heavy panting from under a crumbling table in the centre of the hall. They approached the noise which began to wheeze and whistle with every breath. Lokil flipped the table revealing Carcette barely breathing from the black, scalded burns across her body. Her hair was incinerated off her golden scalp. She breathed haggardly and pried her red veined eyes up at the vampires above. She gripped a Stendarr's amulet in her scorched hand.
"If… ahh. If not by our hand. Sten… ugh... Stendarr will drag you… to the ligh—AGH!!!"
Lokil's boot stomped her chest. She writhed and wheezed in despair. He knelt down to her unsheathing his sword, "Your light won't last long, Vigilant. Neither will the light that protects your fellow mortals. Not for long."
Carcette shivered with one last breath before his blade pierced straight down into her neck. He ripped his blade out and her laboured breathing ceased. The fellow vampires alongside Lokil gathered behind him, their yellow and red eyes glowing ominously among the shadows of the crumbling hall they ruefully destroyed.
"Our reign starts here," Lokil grinned, "We will live in fear no longer. The burden of the sun will cease to exist. Vampire hunters will flee in terror and the tender civilizations will quake at our sight. Our lord will guide us to be the dynasty of Tamriel, and our insatiable hunger for blood will always be slaked! Soon no force can muster to stop us!"
The vampires hissed and hailed in celebration. The midnight sky cleared as Masser and Secunda glared over the Hall of Vigilants. Which was now a swarm of scarlet eyes. The smoke from the hall drifted into the air over the reaching mountains. A grim victory had prevailed, where a far more horrendous eagerly anticipated feat brought by the monsters soon approached.