Guess who finally got around to writing another chapter! That's right, my two snakes - They were the true authors all along.
Really struggled with this chapter, making it hit just right, hinting at the future without giving too much away. I'd call it a success, but let me know what you think.
Tons of horrifying grammar errors as always.
Chapter uhm... *checks notes* gosh, we at 13 already?!
Well then.
Chapter 13: Distant lights
There was a pleasant warmth, like the comfort of an old friend. Only Koraaviik couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. It coiled around him, slow and steady in it's rhythmic movement.
The world around him was a void, empty and full.
But there was a faint glow...a pinprick of golden light he'd never noticed before. It seemed strange, formless almost.
A tingle ran across his mind, and with it followed understanding.
It came from the bond, but... it was not of the bond. Separate and yet connected, or at least it might once have been. He hesitated, not understanding what it was, or if it even was at all.
But as the tingle disappeared the light started to fade, like a fire running out of fuel it flickered.
A sudden sense of desperation filled him, but he couldn't even begin to understand what he was supposed to do.
The light dimmed before settling into a faint orange and red blur.
Embers.
Embers that seemed to reach out, reinvigorated as it spread out with fiery tendrils in every direction.
The desperation increased, a burning sense of urgency followed as they spread, buried and embedded themselves, grasping for anything they could reach. Koraaviik's breath quickened as pain shot up his back, he couldn't move - only watch.
His hands tingled, warm... too warm.
Then everything twisted in a bright golden flash.
Midwahgein watched in horror as the shout impacted Koraaviik from behind, throwing him into the unmoving cliff face. The dull thud of his body impacting the rock echoing across the mountain top. She felt the jolt of pain wreck it's way through her body, a quick flinch too, from the pain or the sound she didn't know. For a moment she heard nothing, the raging winds, the sizzling heat of his beautiful magic already fading as the cold returned.
There wasn't any blood on the rocks, but his small limb form laying in the snow burned into her mind.
Midwahgein took in a breath, not noticing until now, that she'd been starved for air.
Then she turned her head, almost in a trance, the turmoil of emotions so strong that it boiled into nothing.
A single eye of molten gold locked onto the old, grey robed figure standing alone in the icy winds. Then another as her long neck turned fully towards the mortal. A long clear path of stone was between him and where Koraaviik had stood. The unrelenting force shout having all but cleared the snow off the path. Then with barely a thought she flicked her spiked tail, the mortal eyes widened, he spoke words but she didn't hear them. The impact was swift, it tore through the thick fabric before cleaving flesh and bone. His arm flew off, with his body tumbling across the snow in a spray of blood.
Then, without another look she bolted to Koraaviik. He was alive, but hurt - his mind felt strange and yet normal, like he was somehow more himself. His body was sprawled out in the snow, a tangle of limbs, but none seemed broken.
She flicked out her tongue, almost hesitantly, and then froze. There wasn't any blood. The scent that flooded her senses was familiar, however there was a subtle shift, something... new.
The dread and pain, retreated ever so slightly as it was replaced by a hesitant joy. A slow careful movement as she nudged him out from the rock. Another tongue flick, as she almost instinctively cleared away the snow before curling around him in a protective cocoon of black scales. His scent lingered in her mind as she sought out the bond. It burned with a pleasant warmth, but the depth of it confirmed what she suspected.
Midwahgein curled up a little tighter, pressing his small form against her. He would be ok, better even. He just needed rest, time for his mind to settle.
When she felt confident that he was safe and sleeping, she retreated her wing - just enough for a single of her glowing eyes to look at the world outside. Paarthurnax lay still, chest slowly rising with a low wheeze of pain. The fire had burned him, melted his scales in some places, but he would live.
The weather stood unchanged, the strong winds battering the mountain, ignorant of the happenings on the peak. Her attention shifted to the painted snow.
Almost black against the white fluffy blanket that covered this place.
Midwahgein couldn't see the body of the old mortal, but she hoped he was dead. He deserved that and more for hurting Koraaviik. She cursed herself for not having seen it, for not expecting the attack - but Koraaviik's blazing mind had taken all her focus. For that one moment...
She let out a content sigh, relaxing the muscles in her neck and getting comfortable. Her great scaled form was all but impervious to the raging winds, if anything it provided her some further happiness since no human could hope to scale the peaks in weather as harsh as this.
For now she would wait, wait for the winds to settle, wait for Koraaviik to wake up.
A single eye lazily watching Paarthurnax as her mind settled in to a half sleep.
...
...
"You take insult where none is intended..."
Midwahgein let out a long, frustrated sigh. Her golden eyes locked on the stars of the now pristine, cloudless night sky.
The temperature had fallen even more, surpassing the cold of the billowing snow earlier on the day. Hours had passed, and yet Paarthurnax managed to be as bothersome as the first time Midwahgein had met him.
"Then speak clearly."
Midwahgein did not take her eyes of the stars, the old dragon was battered, barely able to stand - he would be no treat. However even after what happened he insisted on a peaceful exchange of words. Koraaviik had scorched him with his fire, the scars would be deep and the pain even more so.
But he didn't care, he held no grudge, and showed no sign of anger, only pained grunts every time he moved.
Midwahgein had lightly dismembered one his little pets, and even that had barely rubbed his scales.
His lack of response was getting on her nerves. The old dragon should've been furious, boiling in anger at a dragon priest wounding his pride - deserved or not. He cared for the so called greybeards, but if anything he seemed relieved when they finally scuttled off the mountain back to whatever hole they crawled out off.
Paarthurnax had barely reacted.
Midwahgein had torn the arm of the man who shouted Koraaviik into the cliff face. Not that it had helped dissipate her anger, or Koraaviik's for that matter. It was only a later that his mind had finally settled along with his breathing, the wound was minimal, and the pain was barely noticeable through the bond. She'd considered finishing off Paarthurnax a few times since the incident, Midwahgein had understood what Koraaviik hadn't - but even so his anger at the betrayal nearly drowned her mind.
Ignorant as he had been of the role of the dragonborn... Midwahgein had to concede that he did have a point. Paarthurnax was a traitor, a traitor largely responsible for the success of the rebellion. A rebellion that, regardless of the fools intentions, had as it appeared, whipped out all but a few dragons. She shifted slightly, making sure Koraaviik's unconscious form was close against her chest, blocking out the freezing winds. She let out another long breath, the shimmering stars providing no answers, only silence.
Then Paarthurnax spoke up again.
"I know it is your nature...your will, to close the wound. But I ask that you delay, it will likely be... necessary in the time to come."
Midwahgein finally levelled her gaze to the old crippled dragon who - despite the fiery golden glare didn't so much as flinch. Now, after all that had happened he dared to command her? To stop her from fulfilling her task? "Do not pretend you have part in this. It is by our mercy that you still live." She spat out the words, cold and apathetic.
At this the old dragon averted his gaze for a time. Looking to the streak of scorched stone, that had been covered by a thick layer of snow only a few hours ago. His gaze was far away, Midwahgein could see almost see the thoughts running through his mind.
Maybe Midwahgein should leave, fly off back to the college before he started another attempt at explaining his past actions. The old dragon would likely talk her to death sooner rather than later. However before she had the chance to act on the thought, Paarthurnax turned his eyes back to her, looking briefly to where he knew Koraaviik's unconscious form was resting.
"His strength is undeniable, but this change... This path is beyond both of us - we would be wise to-"
And that's when she cut him off with a snarl.
"We?"
"We, are not doing anything. You should be thankful I even stopped to hear your words!"
Paarthurnax lowered his head submissively, eyes squinting slightly- from pain or weakness, maybe both. "I am not... asking for forgiveness, I am asking, hoping... that you and Koraaviik, will be here. When the times comes..."
Midwahgein was about to retort, but the old dragon seemed to notice and caught her to it.
"Alduin has returned. You know this, as well as I."
She maintained the glare, but remained still, waiting for him to finish.
"You also know what he will do, should the mortals respond as we know they will."
Midwahgein was unsure where he was going, though he spoke the truth. They knew Alduin, how he thought and what he would inevitably do. An ancient dragons pride, wounded and cast away by a pack of humans... Alduin would do what his nature demanded. The mortals however where more akin to ants, scuttling about with their own little lives, ignorant of the greater world. One thing she knew, however was that it didn't take much to put them in a panic, not then- and not now.
Connecting the dots from there was easy.
"You wish to assist the dragonborn. And are asking us to do the same."
A slow, pained nod was the only response she got. However it was all she needed. Paarthurnax claimed the dragonborn was still unknown, that their nature had not yet been revealed. But, as Alduin was bringing back dragons, it would only be a matter of time before the fated hunter manifested themselves.
Midwahgein scowled at the thought of assisting such a creature. But even so she felt the weight of his words, the truth of what he predicted the future to hold. She eyed the time wound again, the tugging sensation resurfaced, but she pushed it back as she shifted her gaze back to the old battered dragon.
"You think this dragonborn able to battle Alduin? To stand against him and succeed where so many failed?" Her voice was low and seeking, but even so she couldn't hold back her scepticism.
Paarthurnax had slumped to the ground, no longer able or willing to hold himself up. Long slow breaths drifted over the snow, melting small streaks ahead of his nostrils. When the response finally came it was little more than a whisper, low and unsure. "I believe... That the dragonborn, is the only one... the only one who can."
Midwahgein didn't say anything, instead she settled for observing the wounded dragon. Looking him over now she wasn't so sure about his chances. The burns seemed deeper than she thought, his breathing had slowed even more too. Even so she saw no reason for him to lie, and his knowledge far outshone her own - least when it came to the rebellion and everything that followed. It seemed unlikely to her, that the best chance at stopping Alduin and his never-ending cycle, was in the flimsy hands of a mortal... The rebellion had been a success, that much was true, but only because of sheer numbers and the betrayal of - and then it hit her.
The humans had succeeded once against Alduin. It was momentary, their desperation to defeat Alduin had their little mind seeking tools they did not understand - they tore a whole in time itself. Their determination was absolute, if nothing else.
But maybe, with help and guidance...?
No
No, it's not going to happen.
Midwahgein tore the thought to shreds. She would not betray her kind, she would not join Paarthurnax and assist the dragonborn in hunting them to extinction. It would be foolish to trust them, to join the traitor just to fight Alduin... It was weakness.
Even if a small part of her recognised it might be their only chance. Midwahgein would not so easily put her life in the hands of a mortal. She never had, and she never would.
"I understand..."
The words pulled her back to the present, the old dragon lay flat on the ground. He seemed defeated, eyes barely open as his body was sprawled across the snow, burnt and lightly bleeding. It was a pitiful sight. Paarthurnax was a traitor, but to see such a great dragon reduced to little more than a defenceless mess... It felt wrong. But killing him would be foolish. If one thing had become clear to her, it was that he still had a part to play in things. He knew more than he said. Both of the past and of the future.
Midwahgein hadn't even been sure the dragonborn was anything more than a myth before now.
She looked to the side, the realization of what she had to do tumbling through her mind with all the grace of a mammoth. She hissed at the thought, but found some comfort in how great an insult it would be to Paarthurnax.
She had to heal his wounds.
Poor Paarthurnax, I promise he'll be given a break now.