Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.
Chapter 1
Solstheim - Morndas 17 of Last Seed of 202 of the Fourth era
Edzard's day had started quietly. He had risen at dawn and donned his Morag Tong armor, a black variant of the light chitinous armor. This armor was made from Netch leather and plates crafted from the chitin of ash hoppers, reinforced with a special resin.
After dressing, he headed to the shaman's hut, where he usually had breakfast and conversed with Frea.
"So, Frea, do you think Solstheim will return to normal now that Miraak's influence is gone?" he asked as he took a seat.
Frea, a Nordic woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, wore armor carved with eagles on the shoulders. She was a firm warrior, but at that moment she was relaxed, holding a cup of mead in her hands.
"Yes, Ed. I think Solstheim and the Skaal will regain some normalcy." she replied, taking a sip of her mead.
Edzard listened attentively while drinking a cup of canis root tea. He wasn't accustomed to drinking alcohol in the mornings.
"Although… I don't know how long this peace will last. I feel in my bones that another great calamity is coming." Frea added, with a touch of concern in her voice.
Edzard sighed. Despite having defeated Alduin, Harkon, and Miraak, he knew the world remained under threat. At any moment, some lunatic could get hold of a powerful artifact and endanger Tamriel. There was also the possibility of a Daedric invasion, though unlikely, given that the barrier erected after Martin Septim's sacrifice kept Nirm separate from Oblivion. But something seemed inevitable: the second great war between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. A conflict that would cause great losses for both sides.
When they finished breakfast, Edzard bid farewell to Frea and headed to the village's great hall. After gathering his gear, he walked to the horse he had rented, a strong palomino.
He placed all his belongings: an enchanted bag with provisions, water, gold, and the items collected during his adventures, along with a tent and two sleeping bags, on the horse.
"Good luck on your journey. May the Creator protect you." said Frea, approaching to give him a hug.
Edzard warmly returned the hug and, as they parted, added. "Thank you, Frea. And may the Nine prevent the Thalmor from attacking your people again."
Mounting the horse, he took the reins and, with a slight movement of his legs, made the animal start walking. His plan was to follow the coast, pass near Thirsk Mead Hall, and later ascend a nearby mountain where he planned to camp for the night.
The stars were already illuminating the night sky when Edzard reached a clearing near the mountain. He decided to set up his camp there, taking out his tent and placing it next to the fire he had previously lit. He unrolled his sleeping bag and tied the horse to a stake driven into the ground next to the tent.
After dinner, a simple meal of dried meat, two loaves of bread, and some mead, Edzard lay down in his sleeping bag. He stayed awake for a while longer, contemplating the starry sky, until sleep finally overcame him.
Solstheim - Tirdas 18 of the Last Seed of 202 of the Fourth era
The sun was at its highest point as Asia Argento walked through a wasteland covered in ash. Upon opening her eyes, after not feeling the pain from the impact, she realized she was no longer in her hometown.
'Where am I?' thought Asia, completely bewildered, as she advanced through that desert of ash and sand.
She found herself on the side of a mountain, high enough to allow her to see the sea in the distance. Further down, she noticed a lake and, a bit farther, a river flowing in the opposite direction. She decided to walk in that direction, hoping to find some sign of civilization. However, after walking for several hours, she found nothing. Fatigue began to affect her, and her body started showing the first signs of dehydration: she had nothing to drink or eat.
'I must find water soon.' she thought, increasingly worried. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the ash beneath her feet starting to move.
She stopped when she heard some growls behind her. Slowly, she turned her head to see what was happening. What she saw left her paralyzed: several humanoid creatures, made of ash, were advancing towards her. They carried axes and short spears, all forged from the same material.
"Hello, could you tell me where I am?" Asia asked, innocent as always, trying to start a conversation.
But the beings did not respond. Instead, they growled menacingly and came closer.
Asia slowly backed away, noticing their ill intentions. Then, suddenly, she turned and began to run as fast as her legs would allow.
"Help! Please, someone help me!" she screamed as she fled from her pursuers.
As she ran, something brushed her face. Turning, she saw that they had thrown a fireball at her. Panic overwhelmed her, but she kept running, not noticing that she was quickly approaching the lake she had seen from the mountain. Just a few meters away, a fireball exploded near her, throwing her into the air. The impact left her badly injured, and although she desperately tried to get up, her body ached, and her vision became blurry. She knew she was on the verge of passing out.
"Help…" she whispered weakly, beginning to pray to the biblical god, in a final act of hope. But just before losing consciousness, she heard a muffled growl.
She opened her eyes and saw a shadow launching itself against the ash beings, eliminating them one by one. Unfortunately, she couldn't see more, as darkness finally claimed her.
Edzard had woken up at dawn and, after a simple breakfast of dried meat, bread, and an apple, decided to continue his journey. He mounted his horse and proceeded at a leisurely pace, not in a hurry to reach Raven Rock. He had already covered a good distance when he arrived at a lake near an old ruined trading post of the East Empire Company. His plan was to replenish his water supplies and give his horse a drink, as it hadn't drunk properly since they left Skaal Village.
Near the shore, he heard a scream. It was a female voice. Without wasting time, he spurred his horse and galloped towards the sound. Upon arrival, he saw a group of six ash spawn chasing a young woman. Knowing the danger of these creatures, he didn't hesitate to intervene. He quickly dismounted and ran towards the girl, drawing his sword in the process.
Just as he was approaching, a fireball struck near the young woman, throwing her into the air. Seeing this, Edzard quickened his pace. Extending his left hand, he conjured an ice spear that flew through the air and pierced the head of the ash spawn that was about to finish off the girl. The others, alerted, turned towards him, no longer paying attention to their previous prey.
The ash spawn approached menacingly, but Edzard remained unfazed. He knew that although these beings were dangerous, he was much more so.
When they were within reach, he charged at them. With a single movement, he decapitated the first one. The second tried to stab him with its spear, but Edzard dodged the blow and quickly took it down with his sword. The last two attacked simultaneously, but he dodged them with agility. Crossing his arms in an X shape, he began to concentrate his magic. Small lightning bolts danced over his body as the energy enveloped him. In a burst of power, he released an explosion of lightning that, ironically, reduced the ash spawn to ashes.
With the enemies defeated, Edzard sheathed his sword and ran towards the girl. Upon reaching her side, he noticed she was unconscious and showed signs of dehydration and heatstroke, as well as some burns on her dress, which was torn in several places.
Without wasting time, he began to heal her. His hands glowed with a golden light as the girl's superficial wounds closed. Fortunately, she had no serious injuries. Once he finished healing her, he decided to build a temporary shelter.
He whistled to call his horse, which arrived quickly. He took out his tent and set it up near where they were. He placed two sleeping bags inside and, carefully, carried the girl, laying her gently in one of the bags. Then, he went to gather firewood. Upon returning, he lit a campfire, boiled water in a small pot, and began to prepare a simple dinner. He made an extra portion in case the girl woke up soon and was hungry.
Asia's eyes began to open as she perceived a slight smell of food reaching her nostrils.
"Where am I?" she wondered. Then she remembered what had happened before she fainted. Quickly, she sat up and checked herself all over, letting out a sigh of relief when she noticed she wasn't injured. Observing her surroundings, she saw she was inside what seemed to be a tent. Moving cautiously, she got up and went outside.
Outside, she noticed it was night and that, near a campfire, there was a figure dressed in black armor.
"Hello." greeted Asia, catching the stranger's attention.
"Jeg ser at du er våken. (I see you're awake)." said the man, turning towards her.
Asia blinked, confused. She hadn't understood a word.
"Sorry, what did you say?" she asked, even more bewildered.
"Jente, jeg forstår deg ikke. Du kan ikke snakke det tamilske språket. (Girl, I don't understand you. You don't speak the Tamrielic language)." repeated the stranger.
Worry began to invade Asia, and her frustration grew as she realized she couldn't communicate with the person who had probably saved her life. After thinking for a moment, she remembered she knew another language.
"I said, hello. Can you understand me?" she tried again, but this time in Latin.
The man remained silent for a few seconds, which made Asia feel even more anxious. But just as she was starting to feel depressed, she heard something that surprised her.
"Hello… I… can… understand you." replied the stranger, though his voice sounded clumsy and forced. It was evident that speaking Latin was difficult for him.
Relieved, Asia smiled. Her idea had worked.
"Thank God. My name is Asia Argento." she introduced herself, still smiling. "What's your name?"
"I… am… called… Edzard Rolandson." he said while raising his left hand and creating a small sphere of light.
Asia watched the ball of light in amazement. She had heard of magic but had never seen it in person. The light revealed more details about Edzard: his black armor seemed to be made of animal shells, and he was at least half a head taller than her. However, she couldn't distinguish his face, as it was covered by a helmet.
'He must be a mage.' thought Asia. But before she could say anything else, she saw Edzard begin to remove his helmet.
Her eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed upon seeing Edzard's face. By Earth's standards of beauty, he would be considered very handsome. His face lacked any trace of youthful innocence. His hair, black as a moonless, starless sky, fell elegantly. His eyes were heterochromatic: the left one a steely gray and the right one an emerald green. The most peculiar thing was that his pupils were like those of a reptile.
"You… should… close… mouth… or… flies… will… get in." said Edzard, smiling slightly.
Asia blushed even more, stammering a response as he let out a laugh. However, his laughter faded when he heard a growl. In an instant, his right hand went to the hilt of his sword as he scanned the surroundings for danger.
Asia, wishing to disappear from embarrassment, immediately knew the growl didn't come from any creature. It was her stomach.
"Edzard, do you have any food?" she asked, embarrassed.
Edzard looked at her, blinking several times, before letting out a shaking laugh. Asia couldn't help but feel even more embarrassed.
"Yes… I… have… food… Come… I… prepared… extra… portion… for… you." he replied between laughs.
Relieved, Asia followed Edzard to the campfire, where he took a pot hanging over the fire. With a ladle, he served a portion of stew into a bowl and offered it to her.
'Is this a stew?' thought Asia, grateful. She had been worried about what she might eat in this strange place, remembering stories about cultures that ate insects, which always made her stomach turn.
She began to eat calmly when she noticed something moving in her field of vision. She looked up to find a canteen. She took it and drank eagerly, as if there were not tomorrow. After emptying it, Edzard handed her another. In total, Asia ended up drinking three full canteens.
Night had already fallen, and Edzard was sitting by the campfire. He had finished his dinner a short while ago: a stew of venison with potatoes and roasted leeks, accompanied by a sip of mead. Although tempted to drink more, he decided not to; he needed to keep his senses as alert as possible. Despite having erected a protective barrier around the area, there was still a risk of being attacked.
'Where could this girl be from?' Edzard wondered. The clothes she was wearing didn't resemble anything he had seen before. The material was strange, and the design even more so. He couldn't recall seeing such an outfit in any of the places he had visited or in the books he had read.
"Well… that doesn't matter." he murmured, sighing.
The girl had been asleep since noon, and although it was already night, Edzard didn't know the exact time because the barrier completely blocked the view of the sky.
"Ciao…" he heard a female voice.
Edzard turned his head at the sound. The barrier made the darkness obscure the girl's features. Although he had healed her, he did so so quickly that he barely paid attention to her details. After placing her in the tent, he had been busy raising the barrier and preparing dinner, so he hadn't had time to observe her closely.
They tried to start a conversation, but she spoke a language he didn't understand. He asked if she knew Tamrielic, but it seemed she didn't understand that either. Just as he was beginning to resign himself, he heard her speak a language that sounded vaguely familiar: a variant of Ehlnofex, an ancient language from which many others derived.
'Ha! In your face, Onmund. In the end, learning that ancient language was worth it.' he thought with satisfaction. His companions at the College of Winterhold used to mock him for studying a practically extinct language, but now that knowledge had been useful.
After breaking the ice, they both introduced themselves. Edzard created a small ball of light and removed his helmet. As he did so, he noticed that Asia blushed, though he did too. To him, Asia was one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. She seemed to be around his age, with long blonde hair and green eyes. Her hair reached down to her back, and she had bangs divided over her forehead, with a rebellious strand sticking out in a peculiar way.
'What kind of hairstyle is that?' Edzard thought, puzzled, as he had never seen anything like it among the races of Men, Mer, or Beasts.
Just as he was about to ask her about her hair, a roar, like a strange fusion between a bear, a dragon, and a sabre cat, broke the silence. He scanned the surroundings but detected no creature. Then Asia asked if he had any food, and he finally understood what was happening: the roar came from Asia's stomach. Unable to help it, Edzard began to laugh.
After calming down, he offered her a plate of food. She began to devour it quickly, which reminded Edzard that Asia showed signs of dehydration, so he handed her a water skin. By the end of dinner, Asia had drunk three full water skins.
'Looks like I'll have to go fill the water skins at the lake tomorrow.' Edzard thought as he took a scroll from his bag.
This scroll was special; he had "borrowed" it from Neloth's library. Supposedly, it allowed for quick and easy language learning, which would be very useful in this case. Although Edzard and Asia could communicate minimally, she wouldn't be able to speak with anyone else, which would be a problem. The solution was to use magic so she could learn the Tamrielic language.
'If this scroll fails, I'll have to turn to Master Neloth… but I'd rather avoid that.' he thought anxiously. Neloth was a powerful mage, but eccentric and tyrannical. The fact that he had implanted a stone heart in one of his apprentices was proof enough of his danger. Edzard really didn't want to have to ask him for help.
'I hope this works. Despite my knowledge in magic, I don't have spells for languages… that branch of mysticism is no longer taught at the College of Winterhold, not even with me as Arch-Mage.'
Determined, he entered the tent.
"Asia, we need to be able to communicate better." he said.
Asia looked at him and nodded.
"We can't go on like this, so I'm going to use a magic scroll so you can learn the Tamrielic language."
"Alright, I trust you, Edzard." Asia replied with a smile.
She had decided to trust him. After all, he had saved her, healed her, given her food, and now also shelter. And a bad person wouldn't do that.
Edzard nodded and positioned himself in front of her. He unrolled the scroll and began to read the spell. Asia watched in amazement as several tendrils of multicolored light emerged from Edzard and moved towards her. To her surprise, she also saw similar tendrils coming from her own body, moving towards him.
The tendrils were absorbed by both of them, and Asia began to grimace in pain. A sharp pain in her head made her hold her temples, but it was useless. The pain increased until she screamed and fell to the ground.
Edzard dropped the scroll, feeling an unbearable pain in his head, as if a hundred giants were dancing in it.
'Damn Neloth… your experiments always bring me trouble.' he thought as darkness enveloped him.
Both Asia and Edzard fell unconscious inside the tent, victims of the spell's effects.
Author's note:
To those who have made it this far, Thanks for reading. The truth is that this is not the original chapter, since I have almost completely rewritten it. I hope this one has been better for me and that it does not have as many errors as the original. Because being honest, I don't know how to write much in English and I'm relying on Google translators and the dictionaries that come with office 2019.
holosagewolf32: It is true that according to the lore nothing is known about the Dovahkiin after the battle against Miraak, but it is understood that the Dovahkiin will become a servant of Mora. Not knowing what happens next is the good thing, because it allows those who want to write a fanfiction to use their imaginations more openly to create new events that require the need for a Hero of the Elder Scrolls.
Well, I apologize for any misspelling. Do not forget to leave a review if you liked the chapter or if there is something that needs to be improved. With nothing more to say, until the next chapter.