~ Sky Haven Temple ~
Fire engulfed the ruins of the temple and burnt the corpses of the dead Blades that littered the ground all around. Perched upon the caved in roof were dragons looking around for any survivors to eat, and at their head was a black and gold dragon.
Below, four warriors were walking among the bodies. They were all elves; an altmer, dunmer, orsimer and bosmer, and they were all clad in strange armor that resembled a dragon priest and were holding golden weapons.
Among the bodies was Brelyna who opened her eyes and made out the dragons above from her blurry vision. Adrenaline had rushed through her body when she fought and so when she was hit with a firebolt from the high-elf she had not initially felt it and had passed out. Now though, it had worn off, and she was barely resisting the urge to scream from the pain of her burnt left arm. As still and lightly as she could, she moved her head and looked around.
The bodies of dead Blades surrounded her. Some burnt to a crisp from dragonfire and others bloody and mauled by the warriors who were looking for any Blades still alive and killing them mercilessly.
Whilst the other warrios walked, the high-elf levitated much like a dragon priest above the bodies. He had long white hair and orange eyes and was dressed entirely in enchanted mage robes with dragon priest insignia encrested across it. He held a long golden staff with a dragon's head on one end and a spike on the other, a spike that was tainted with the blood of several of Brelyna's friends. He had also not yet noticed that Brelyna was still alive to her relief; she stood no chance of winning or even fighting in her current state, and hoped to maintain that deception for as long as she could.
"Hear me and rejoice," began the high-elf, "you have had the privelege of being apart of our great conquest."
The dunmer who wore light black and gold armor and donned a black hood above his red eyes plunged a golden glaive into a Blade who was crawling away, killing him instantly.
"Smile," continued the altmer, "for your death is a small price to pay for the salvation of Skyrim and the victory of your savior, Lord Zarys."
In front of Alduin's Wall, there stood a fifth warrior, clad in black and gold armor that Brelyna could see was enchanted and embroidered with millions of scratches and marks from what must have been a lifetime of war. He was as large as the mythical Tsun, and despite facing away from Brelyna, she could see that he was built like an ox and his skin was a pale grey color. Beside him, a long bloody double-bladed sword that was made of some strange dark metal was rested in the chest of a fallen blade and it glowed dark red and blue. The warrior was not moving. He simply stood, admiring the remnants of the wall. Then, slowly, he turned around.
"I know what it is to lose," he spoke in a deep voice, "to feel the desperation, the hope that you will win… only to fail, and see your whole world die before you. To watch those you love perish, and all you had worked so hard to uphold, shattered to pieces…"
He looked down at the corpses, and his orange eyes met Brelyna's, "and yet, despite every remnant of your time long past, the world having completely forgotten you… it no less needs you, and you will do everything in your power to save it."
He could see that Brelyna was alive. She had no choice but to stand now, and so, despite the overwhelming pain of her burnt arm, she moved and tried to push herself up onto her feet.
The warriors dispersed around her, as if leaving her to the fifth, who pulled his dark sword out of the Blade corpse and began walking forward. Brelyna summoned lightning to her right hand and raised her arm, ready to shoot.
"Who are you and what do you want?!" she demanded.
"Decimation, girl. Decimation," he said as he raised his double-ended blade in one hand, when suddenly another voice chimed in.
"Stop!"
Both turned to the voice that came from behind Brelyna and she immediately recognised Esbern limping forward, injured, with blood leaking down from his forehead; he must've been knocked out too.
"Spare her life, in place of mine," he said.
The warrior scoffed, "I sense that you don't know who you're dealing with."
"Oh I do. Lord Zarys. The great Konahrik," began Esbern, "warlord of the dragon order, Alduin's fist in the smiting of human rebellion. Feared by many as the only mortal Alduin has ever trusted."
Esbern stepped forward, in front of Brelyna, "despises Nords with every fibre of his being."
The warlord, Zarys, raised his eyebrow and smiled, "if you consider Nords to be worthy of any kind of respect. Or deserving of life."
"Then kill another, I am right here, but spare her. She is innocent," Esbern moved in front of her, and looked back, "don't worry my dear, you will be alright."
A tear ran from Brelyna's eye just as Zarys scoffed, "your optimism is misplaced, old man."
"Perhaps, but I am an old man. Our hope is usually foolish," said Esbern just before he launched a firebolt at Zarys who brought up a ward faster than Esbern had seen, and the bolt exploded.
Esbern then immediately turned back to Brelyna and with his other arm, he shot some purple spell at her and magic began to encircle her.
"Go, my dear! Find Nero! Warn him!"
Brelyna could feel herself being teleported away, and imediately reached out, "Esbern! No!"
Esbern continued firing bolts with his other hand at Zarys, until a hand reached through and grabbed his throat, pulling him up off the ground.
"Very amusing, old man," said Zarys before he plunged his double sword through Esbern's chest and watched blood cough out of his mouth.
"NOOO!" cried Brelyna as she disappeared.
Esbern saw her go and smiled, but when Zarys saw that she was gone he frowned. Zarys threw Esbern to the floor from his sword.
"That was a mistake."
Zarys stomped on Esbern's chest who grunted. Then he raised his off hand and began throwing flames at Esbern to make his passing even more painful, until the screaming stopped.
The other warriors then came around, "shall we look for her, father?"
"No," answered Zarys, "we will not deviate from the plan. You all have your orders, and it is nearly dawn. Go my children, and I will see you when the day is done."
The four warriors bowed their heads to Zarys just as Vulthuryol peered his head through the ceiling.
"Vulthuryol, al daar golt."
The dragon, Vulthuryol, then roared to the sky and the other dragons then roared with him. They carried the five warriors out and then, in unison, they wreathed the temple in flames and burnt it to the ground.
Author's Notes:
Happy Anniversary! It has officially been 3 years since I posted my first every chapter! What a long time, feeling as nostalgic as Nero, and I can honestly say I've enjoyed the ride! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me this long! I hope I'm still somewhat entertaining even after the couple of months I've been away, but nonetheless glad to have come this far :)
So, Sky Haven Temple has been destroyed, and I've introduced our main antagonist: Lord Zarys. I'll give a broad profile on him but I feel his character will be better explored in the story, although Esbern did a pretty good job of summing him up.
Characters:
Zarys - the main antagonist in this story. He is the dragon priest known as Konahrik (Warlord) which is the ninth dragon priest mask you can find if you have all the others and take them to Labyrinthian. He's not wearing that mask in this chapter but that will be explored. A bit taller than Tsun and he is so large for certain reasons. He is technically a Snow-elf, but he and the other warriors have been changed somewhat and all have orange eyes. Once again, that will be explored. He has a deep hatred of Nords and is a devout believer in the supremacy of dragons.
Brelyna Maryon - A mage you meet at the College. She turns you into a horse. No joke. Was recruited by Nero into the Blades as a battle mage.
Esbern - One of the last remaining Blades, he helps you along with Delphine in stopping the dragon crisis. Once Delphine was kicked from the Blades by Nero, he took over the position as acting Grand Master.
Dragon Language:
Konahrik - warlord
Al daar golt - destroy this place