Under the cover of darkness, the group made their way through the forest, until they came close to the edge of Falkreathe. There, Nero stopped at a tree and spied out the draugr wandering there. There was still quite a few, although it was clear that the horde had moved on. Nero motioned for them to continue and led them on around town.
Julia was extra careful not to step on a twig this time, as was Valerica who stayed close to her.
Finally, at the top of the hill, Nero began to see the silhouette of a house, but not a full house. As they got closer, the light of the moons illuminated the true form of what was left of Dragons-bane Manor.
The roof had completely caved in; either from burning or from brute force, something had destroyed it, along with some of the walls around it. Most likely a dragon's work, Nero surmised.
Nero looked to the others, "secure the perimeter first," he told Delphine, "me and Julia will secure the house."
Delphine looked like she was going to argue, but realising that Nero couldn't have any ulterior motive, she agreed and commanded her men to do as he said.
Nero, Julia and Valerica headed up to the front door which, miraculously, still stood. First, Nero used his detect life spell and saw that no one was inside.
"You can see if anyone's around? Why did you tell Delphine to secure the outside then?" asked Julia.
"This moment should be for us," answered Nero as he held out his hand and Julia took it.
Hearing this, Valerica stayed back a moment and allowed them both to go in first.
Together, they placed their palms on the doors and lightly pushed them open with a gentle creek. As they swung open, loosened dust and ash fell and the dead insides of their ruined abandoned home was revealed. The great dining table which had once seated Nero, Serana, Julia and all their Housecarls had been smashed. Pieces of broken wood and shattered timber from the table and barrels and chairs lay scattered across the stone floor. The wall sconces had fallen down as the wooden walls had burned away. Mess was everywhere. Nero's armoury was bare and the few pieces that remained were broken. He saw that his library had been burned down. Everything was in ruin.
"Our home," said Julia sadly as she recalled memories of great suppers and breakfasts she would spend with everyone; fun times she would have playing with her parents and the Housecarls and others who would come to visit.
Nero ran a hand over the dilapidated table as similar memories came to him. Times when Julia was younger where after food he and Serana would carry Julia up to bed. Thinking of it made Nero cast his eyes to the stairs where, despite the roof, the second level was still standing. Cautiously, Nero stepped toward the stairs and crept up them, followed by a weary Julia while Valerica came in but waited downstairs.
They made their way along the hall where the rooms either side had beams of moonlight shining out from the missing ceiling and broken walls, until Nero saw his room and Julia saw hers.
She hesitantly opened her door and saw the remnants of her bedroom; the bed was still there, although covered in ash and soot from the broken ceiling, and wooden planks were here and there. She went to her cupboard and opened it; her clothes were still there, although she'd gotten a little bit bigger. She saw in the corner of the room were her toy weapons as well. Hard to believe she was now using a real bow and arrows, and carried a real dagger.
Nero looked from her room to his own and, reluctantly, opened the door to it. Inside was much the same as Julia's room, although his and Serana's large king-size double bed was untouched save for the ash and splintered timber that lay across it and the floor.
He opened his bedside table and saw his old journal inside it which he took. In his wardrobe, he saw some of his old clothes, not that he needed them anymore. He walked around to Serana's bedside table and opened it, seeing her old elven dagger along with small random assortments. He took the dagger out, deciding on a better use for it. In her wardrobe, he found her old hooded cloak from her vampiric days, along with her clothes. He even found the wedding dress she wore all those years ago…
Nero opened his journal and leafed through some of the pages, stopping at one. A drawing of Serana. He sat on the bed and looked at it, just as Julia came in behind him.
Looking around, she remembered all the times she came in here, including the day where she woke her parents so she could start training. The bed looked smaller.
She came around and saw the page Nero was looking at.
"Mom," she said, finally seeing her face again.
Julia sat down on the bed next to Nero, remembering her Mother.
"When did you draw this?" she asked.
Nero smiled, "shortly after I first met her, actually."
~ Years Ago ~
Nero tried his best to capture her features while she stood, arms crossed.
"Are you nearly done?" she asked.
"Almost there," said Nero as he finished her eyes.
"Good," she said, "it's taken us long enough just to get here."
"It's good to keep a visual track of your adventures," said Nero.
"I know Dragon Bridge is one of the wonders of Skyrim, but it sort of loses its magic after an hour or so," moaned Serana.
"Aaaand… done," smiled Nero as he finished the drawing and closed his journal.
"Can I see?" asked Serana.
Nero panicked, "uhhh best not, I'm not the greatest artist."
"Oh come on, it's a bridge, how hard is it to draw a bridge," she said as she reached for it but Nero pulled away.
"It's not my best piece," said Nero, "besides, we've got work to do! Got to find that Moth Priest!"
"That's what I said twenty minutes ago before you started drawing so I'm sure we can spare a few seconds for me to see," she said as she tried again to grab the journal but Nero twisted and held it away from her.
"I know I said it was finished, but it's actually far from done and I figured I could work on it later and I can show it to you then," smiled Nero.
Serana placed her hands on her hips, squinted her eyes and nodded, "uh huh… hey! Look! A vampire!"
Nero turned, "what, where?!"
Serana took the opportunity and snatched the book out of Nero's hands before leafing through the pages.
"Hey! Wait! It's not ready!" Nero cried as he tried to grab it back but Serana placed a hand on his chest and held him back easily as she got to the latest page.
"Uh huh, 'Dragon Bridge', real good capture there Nero," she said as she studied the drawing of her.
Nero went red, "well I… the bridge didn't have the same magic it once did," he said to try and save face.
Serana looked back at him with an eyebrow raised and a half smile, "suuuuure," she said before tossing the book back to him.
Nero, still red, caught it and put it away.
"Now, shall we finally go and find that Moth Priest?" she asked.
Nero nodded dumbly and followed her as they walked away from the bridge, thankful that she was seemingly letting him keep it.
~ The Present ~
Nero giggled a little at the memory and Julia smiled, "I like that story."
"Me too," agreed Nero, "I'll tell you the rest when we get back."
With that, he closed the journal and put it away just as the sound of footsteps below echoed upstairs.
Julia made for the door but Nero stopped her, "hang on."
"What is it?"
Nero took out the elven dagger, "this knife… it belonged to your mother. Until we bring her back, I want you to have it."
Julia reluctantly took it from him; aside from arrows, this was the first real blade she now had.
"Use it only when absolutely necessary, just like I've been training you."
Julia nodded and fastened the dagger to her belt before Nero motioned for her to continue in going downstairs where they saw Delphine and the others waiting.
"There's no one around, "said Delphine.
Nero nodded before he went around to his armory and the others joined. Although the roof had caved in and debris was everywhere just like in the rest of the house, the armor and weapons were untouched.
"Okay, take what you need, you won't have another chance," said Nero.
Delphine and her men got to pillaging Nero's armory, taking what weapons they could which hadn't been taken on the day of the Battle of Whiterun.
Julia looked around; she wasn't usually allowed in there without her parents as she'd usually tried to take something off of the displays, but now she was there with more freedom, she explored what she could.
Aside from displays of the basic sets of armor and weapons, there were also unique sets on mannequins and special weapons on higher displays.
Nero however approached a mannequin at the front of the room which bore a set of dragonbone armor. Nero looked at it for a moment before he began taking off his studded-fur armor and donning the dragonbone set. It felt just like old times, and it still fit.
Julia and the others looked at Nero as he placed his helmet on, bearing his old armor.
Then, either side of the mannequin were two dragonbone swords: Toor Bah Su'um & Liz Krah Dinok.
Nero took his skyforge steel sword and plunged it into the ground before grabbing both dragonbone blades off their racks. They radiated ice and fire and they felt right in his hands. Then Nero sheathed them on his back.
Everyone looked at Nero as he slowly turned around in his old armor.
"Now that looks like the Dragonborn," smiled Tobias.
Delphine said, "okay, we have enough, let's get to this Vault."
Nero looked at her, "we're going in for the scroll. Nothing else."
Delphine said nothing.
Taking that as response enough, Nero led them around behind the fireplace which had also been smashed in and found the fur rug was still on the floor. Grabbing it, he hoisted it away, revealing a trapdoor.
"This is it? This is your super-secure Vault?" asked Delphine.
"No, this is my super-secure cellar," responded Nero as he tugged the trapdoor open.
Delphine looked unconvinced to which Nero added, "where inside is my super-secure Vault."
He summoned a ball of magelight and began climbing down the steps into the cellar, followed by Delphine, Julia and the others.
Inside, Nero threw his magelight ball across the room and illuminated everything; large casks and barrels extended across the room.
"By all the gods…" said Farkas, "is this… mead?"
Nero nodded, "yeah, a small collection, for events."
Farkas and Vilkas immediately went to a cask, picked up a flagon each and filled them. Then, with a clink, they each downed it and exhaled a long breath of satisfaction, "ahhhhhh."
Delphine looked unimpressed, "we're not here to get drunk."
"We haven't had a drink in a long while, woman. We're going to have a sip."
The others seemed to want one as well and so Delphine reluctantly agreed, "fine, one flagon, make it quick."
The others went to the casks and began filling their own while Nero went to a safe at the end of the room, put in the combination and opened it. Inside, he pulled out a special bottle. He opened the bottle and sniffed; it still smelt beautiful. Then he closed it and put it away for later.
Finally, when everyone had had some, Delphine urged them all, "alright, now let's get back to it. Nero, the Vault."
Nero returned to her and moved two casks away from one seemingly normal wall.
"What did you do that for?" asked Farkas.
Nero then placed his palm on the wall and it literally disappeared, revealing a circular metal door with several patterns across the front surrounding some pedestal in the middle.
"What kind of door is this?" asked Aela.
"I've opened a lot of very secure doors in my time; the dwemer door with Septimus, ancient Nordic doors, the blood seal door in Sky Haven Temple. I've taken things from each of them to make this. It took time, gold, and some of the best locksmiths I could find, plus my own magic."
Nero went up to the patterns on the door, "there's no picking your way in here. You need the right combination," he explained as he slid the circles around until the patterns were just right, "and you need the right blood," he added as he placed his palm on the centre where suddenly a small spike shot out through his hand, taking his blood.
Nero resisted the urge to swear and only let out a little grunt followed by, "I'll never get used to that."
Suddenly, the door began to spin around as the locks were released, and the door slowly rolled out of the way, revealing a grand darkness that was enlightened by braziers and sconces that each magically lit one by one inside.
The light revealed a long room, about the length of a Jarl's longhouse, where either side were locked displays.
Nero walked inside first, followed by Delphine and Julia and then the others.
Delphine laid her eyes on everything, "woah…"
The Mace of Molag Bal lay on a pedestal next to the Ebony Blade. On a rack nearby was the Ebony Mail beside the Masque of Clavicus Vile. Fastened to a pedestal was Mehrunes' Razor next to the Wabbajack. Delphine saw other things too; a Dragon Priest Staff of some kind, an oblivion sigil stone, and other artefacts and materials locked away.
"These are Daedric Artefacts," realised Delphine.
"Yes, but not all of them," said Nero, "only those too dangerous to be left out in the world."
She eyed the Ebony Blade which looked similar to her Blades sword, although larger.
"I could use this," said Delphine.
"No," said Nero, "we're only here for one thing."
As he said that, Nero laid his eyes on the item at the very end of the room. The Elder Scroll.
Delphine continued to study the sword. As she did so, she began to hear a faint whisper, at the very back of her mind…
The others also became more drawn to the daedric artefacts, while Nero and the Companions approached the scroll.
"You've come across other scrolls before though, haven't you," said Aela, "why do you only have one here?"
"Two I found with the Dawnguard I let go back to Cyrodiil in the hands of the Moth Priest, and the other one I encountered was in the protection of the Silver Hand."
"Are you sure they still protect it?" asked Aela.
"No," said Nero, "but I knew this one would most likely still be here."
Nero picked it up, it felt heavier than it once had. He momentarily remembered recovering it from Tower Mzark in Blackreach, all those years ago. He then placed it on his back, "alright, I've got it. Let's go."
Just as Nero turned around however, he saw that the others were very close to the weapons now; all of them were listening to the voices in their heads that they believed to be their own, including Delphine who grabbed the Ebony Blade and lifted it up off its display.
"Delphine," said Nero in alerted confusion.
"This weapon… it's powerful, Nero. It could be used against the dragons."
Nero looked from her to the others who were also grabbing daedric artefacts.
"Delphine," said Nero, "put the Blade down."
Delphine looked slightly irritated, "why do you shy away from power, Nero?"
Nero saw the others begin to reach out for the artefacts.
"What's happening, Nero?" asked Aela cautiously.
"It's the Daedra, they're invading their minds. Making them believe that they need the artefacts so that they'll take them out of the Vault and into the world."
Delphine grew angrier, "we can use these to defeat the Dragon Order, but you want to keep them locked away in here. Why?"
Nero, anxious now, spoke more carefully, "Delphine, this isn't you. This is a Daedra inside your head, making you believe that its thoughts are yours. Don't listen to it Delphine."
No one made an effort to return the artefacts to their places, although Delphine looked rattled a little, and then grabbed her forehead with one of her hands. Then she began to whimper.
Nero spoke up, "listen to me, all of you. These are Daedric artefacts you have, and the Daedra who made them are getting into your heads. They want you to listen to them, but you don't have to. Listen to me. Put them all back down."
Delphine shook her head, and began shaking violently, "get… OUT! Get… GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" she cried.
"Delphine! It's losing you! Fight it! You are stronger!"
The others began shaking too.
"Nero, what's happening?!" asked Farkas who pulled Wuuthrad off his back.
"The Daedric Princes, they're taking control of their minds, possessing them!"
"They can do that?! How?!" asked Aela.
"The artefacts, the Daedra's power is bound to them. They're enforcing their will upon them!"
Delphine continued to shake; Nero realised she was fighting it better than the others.
"Delphine! Listen to me! You are stronger than that thing! Don't give in to its will!"
Delphine looked up at Nero in painful sorrow before suddenly becoming still, and what looked back at Nero was not her.
"I hAvE tHIs bODy noW," said Delphine with a hoarse, evil voice.
The others became still too, and all faced Nero and the Circle.
Nero looked angry, "you demons will listen to me. You could not defeat my will. You couldn't take my body when I found your artefacts and they're not leaving this room. Release them!"
"I wILl bE fREe!" said another one hoarsely.
Suddenly, Delphine and the others with weapons came at Nero while the others made to leave the Vault. Delphine approached and made to swing the large blade at Nero who dodged it quite easily; although she was possessed, she was still in there fighting which meant little coordination.
Nero contended with Delphine although he knew it wasn't her, "let her go now!"
Delphine's face screamed at Nero and, in as gentle retaliation as he could muster, he head butted her hard, clearly sending a shock to her system which seemed to interrupt the daedra's control. He followed up by kicking her hard in the stomach which sent her to the floor and the Blade from her hand.
The others attacked as well but the Circle made short work of them, doing their best to knock the possessed resistance fighters out so they dropped the weapons and fell to the floor themselves.
Soon enough, all the artefacts were on the floor and the resistance were too, including Delphine who hadn't been knocked out but was holding her head with both hands, clearly feeling more pain up there.
Nero went to her, "Delphine, are you okay?"
She was holding her head but opened her eyes and laid them on Nero, "I think so… my head hurts."
"That daedra might have done a little damage, but you'll be fine. Just take it easy."
She nodded and slowly tried to get up with Nero's help.
"Having a demon in your head controlling you isn't too great, huh?" said Nero.
"They've done that to you before?" asked Delphine.
"They've tried. They make you want to say yes, but you have to say no."
Nero went to the Ebony Blade and carefully picked it up. As he did so, he felt the Daedric Prince try to eat its way into his head.
"Fuck off," he said to it and placed the Blade back into its place, "you are staying here."
Vilkas and Farkas both made to pick up the daedric weapons but as they did so they felt the entities try to invade their mind and so Nero simply took the weapons from them as he was used to their behaviour and he put them back where they belonged.
"Is everything accounted for?" asked Aela.
Nero scanned the room, "yes, everything's still here."
Delphine sighed, "I'm sorry, Nero… you were right… we shouldn't…"
"Some power is too dangerous for the world, Delphine. Some does more harm than good."
"What now then?" asked Julia.
"We have what we came here for, when we leave we seal this place back up. We can't let anything else out."
They turned to leave, but as Nero walked past, he saw the Dragon Priest Staff. His gaze stayed fixed upon it for a moment, and he decided to take it out of its case before joining the others.
Delphine saw this however and questioned it, "Nero, I thought you just said that nothing else can come out of there, we can't take that weapon."
"It's not really a weapon," said Nero, "well, not a very strong one. This is more of a tool."
"What does it do?"
"I'll tell you back at the Sanctuary."
Once they were all out, Nero sealed the door up again and cast the spell to conjure the fake wall up before moving the casks back into place. Now, there was no sign that the Vault was even here.
"Alright, we should get back. It will be daylight before long."
Delphine nodded and they all made for the Sanctuary.
~ The Sanctuary ~
The group arrived back and everyone turned to see Nero in his armor walking through towards the leader's room.
Nero turned down to Julia, "you can go and be with Grandma for now, Julia. I'll find you in a bit."
Valerica came over and took Julia, "what did you find?"
"Dad gave me this dagger that belonged to Mom."
"Oh my, now dear that actually used to belong to me before I gave it to your mother."
Julia left with Valerica while Nero headed up to speak to the Resistance leaders.
Up there, they all turned to see Nero in his armor.
"You're looking ready for a war, Nero," said Thrandonir.
"Not yet," Nero said as he took off his helmet, "but very soon."
Setting his helmet down, he then grabbed and took the Elder Scroll off his back, "as you can see, I've got the scroll."
"So what now?" asked Isran.
"At nightfall, I'm going to take it to Whiterun. It's close enough to the mountain that we can get there and do what we need to in one night."
Delphine nodded, "we have a good set of armor and weapons from Nero's armory. I'll get my best men and any volunteers ready; we leave at nightfall."
"In that case," said Thrandonir who came around and offered his hand, "best of luck Nero."
Nero placed the scroll back on his back and shook the elf's hand happily.
Tullius then came and offered his hand which Nero shook.
"You're one of the best men I've ever known, Nero," deciding to tell him the truth, "you'd make a fine General."
Nero smiled, "thank you, Tullius. You're not too bad yourself."
Tullius smiled before Brynjolf spoke up, "you'd best travel at nightfall. The cover of darkness will give you the best chance."
Nero nodded before finally turning to Delphine who offered her hand, but when Nero went to grab it she grabbed his forearm.
"I know we've had our differences in the past. But we've saved the world together before, I know we can do it again."
"For Esbern," said Nero.
"For Serana," said Delphine.
Nero smiled and nodded before letting her go and turning and leaving.
He returned to the area laid out for him and the Companions who were sat around a small fire, eating.
Nero sat down next to Julia, took his helmet off and set it aside. Then, he took out the special bottle that he'd recovered from his house.
Seeing it, all the Companions sat forward, including Valerica and Julia.
"Nero," stuttered Farkas, "is that-"
"Mead, my own brew. It has ingredients from Cyrodiil mixed in," said Nero as he unclogged the bottle and let the sweet aroma fill his nose.
Every Companion sat closer, like a pack of dogs wanting a treat.
Valerica questioned it, "Nero, why have you-"
Then Nero held it down to Julia, "I was saving it in my cellar for a special occasion, but since tomorrow might just be our last day, then we celebrate a journey's end now."
Julia looked from the bottle to her father who nodded to assure her he gave permission. Then she reluctantly took it and smelt it; it did smell sweet. Then, with everyone watching, she put the bottle to her lips and drank. She coughed slightly after.
"That's a weird taste... but it's kind of sweet," she said.
Nero smiled and took the bottle before having a good gulp himself and savouring the taste.
Then he offered it to Farkas who also took a swig and then gave it to Vilkas who did the same followed by Aela. Tobias also got a good mouthful. He offered the bottle to Valerica but she put a hand up to refuse.
"No thank you, my dear. I'm more of a wine drinker."
"Red or white?" asked Nero.
"What do you think?" she glared at him.
Nero chuckled a bit before the bottle came back to him, empty, so he set it down.
"Alright, Julia we had best get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow."
Julia obeyed her father and joined him in leaving the group to retire to her bed.
Nero removed his armor and weapons and Julia did the same before both laid down on their beds next to each other.
Nero closed his eyes, but he heard Julia fidgeting a lot.
Eventually, she spoke, "Dad... could you continue the story? Of you and Mom?"
Nero opened his eyes and looked at her before sitting up and taking his old journal out.
He flicked forward pages until he came to whereabouts he was in his own telling and he continued the story of his adventure with Serana; saving the Moth Priest, learning they had to recover Auriel's Bow,
"That's the bow that Aela uses!" realised Julia.
Nero nodded before continuing; journeying to the Soul Cairn to find Serana's Mother Valerica,
"Grandma!"
and recovering the third scroll that incidentally Nero had to read himself.
"You've read an Elder Scroll?" asked Julia.
Nero nodded, "oh yeah, several times actually, and with this one, we learned where to find Auriel's Bow."
"Where was it?" asked Julia.
~ Years Ago ~
Nero and Serana were riding in the wilderness, searching for the location of the cave that Nero had been given by reading the elder scroll. As they rode, Nero was continuing to bring Serana up to speed on current events which had become a regular occurrence while they travelled, and was currently testing her on everything he'd taught her.
"So... the Empire signed a concordot-"
"The White-Gold Concordot," corrected Nero.
"Right, the White-Gold Concordot, and the War between the Empire and the Thalmor was ended?"
Nero nodded, "and the Thalmor were allowed to roam the Empire, including Skyrim-"
"To enforce their ban of the worship of Talos, which caused Ulfric Stormcloak to kill High King Torryg and begin his rebellion."
Nero nodded, "exactly."
"And the Civil War went on for a while until you joined the Empire and defeated the Stormcloaks and killed Ulfric yourself."
Nero nodded, glad to see that Serana now had her history down pretty well.
"So, what was the world like before you went to sleep? Was it still Jarls and wars and dragons?"
Serana didn't answer straight away; she didn't seem to register that he'd spoken.
Nero pressed her again, "Serana?"
She began to lean sideways and suddenly fell off her horse.
Nero, shocked, immediately jumped off his horse and ran to her side, "Serana? Serana?!"
Nero pulled her over onto her back and saw that her eyes were barely closed and she wasn't responding to him. She also looked very pale, a lot more pale than usual. Nero instinctively thought to get her out of the Sun and picked her up. He carried her to an old abandoned shack nearby and set down with her in his arms. No matter how much he tried, she wouldn't respond to him.
"What is this," he thought hard, "why is this happening?"
Then he remembered the most integral part of vampirism: drinking blood. Which Serana hadn't done at all since Nero had woken her up. He didn't know if vampires could starve to death from a lack of blood... but he wasn't going to find out.
Nero unbuckled his gauntlet, took Serana's dagger and slit a cut along his wrist. The scent of blood seemed to open her eyes somewhat and she came back, if still a bit out of it. Nero pressed his bleeding wrist to her mouth but Serana grabbed his wrist and tried to push it away weakly. Nero pushed his wrist down harder and looked her in the eyes.
"Drink it," he said.
Serana looked at him but, after a bit, she closed her eyes and drank.
She drank for a long while, making up for all the blood she had clearly been abstaining from.
By the time she was done, Nero felt faint, but he kept himself awake as Serana had colour return to her skin (at least less pale than before). Nero pulled his wrist away and held her cheek,
"There she is," he smiled.
Serana smiled but the reality of what had just happened hit her and she sat up by herself in front of him.
She wiped her mouth and looked at Nero with a look of sorrow, "Nero, I'm so sorry."
Nero got to healing his slit wrist and shook his head, "don't be, Serana."
She threw herself onto him with her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug.
"You shouldn't have done that, I didn't want you to do that."
Nero wrapped his good arm around her, "it's alright. I don't think you would have woken up again if I hadn't."
After a long moment, she finally let him go but now realised that he looked slightly pale, "Nero, you're-"
"Don't worry," he said as he buckled his gauntlet back on, "I'm fine. A few potions and I'll be right as rain."
In truth, Nero was quite a bit faint and weak, but he didn't want her to feel any pain about it. He took out a small red and green potion and, holding his nose, downed the pair of them immediately before suddenly he sprang back into life.
"Ahhh much better! Aside from the putrid taste," smiled Nero, "right, should we get going?"
Serana was still sceptical about Nero's health but decided not to press the matter; instead, as they returned to the horses and continued their journey, she kept an eye on him.
~ The Present ~
"You gave Mom your blood to save her?" asked Julia.
Nero nodded, "oh at the time, she wasn't a fan of the idea. Neither was Aela... but those two didn't entirely get along back in the day."
"They didn't?" asked Julia bewildered.
Nero suddenly realised that he'd never told Julia about his past with Aela and decided to return to the story.
"No but we'll get to that. Anyway, after coming across bandits, wild bears, saber cats and all manner of other animals, we eventually reached the location of the bow, which was in some cave that at the end of was a Snow-Elf Sanctum."
"Snow-Elf? Like the Falmer?"
"Oh yeah. We even met a surviving Snow-Elf, one that didn't look like the usual falmer but more like an elf.
Nero told Julia the story of him and Serana making their way to the inner sanctum, fighting the two dragons that came out from under the ice, defeating a whole horde of Falmer and finally reaching the inner sanctum where they faced the snow-elf's brother who had become a vampire.
Nero recalled having a ceiling dropped on him which had really busted him up badly. Finally, they defeated the vampire snow-elf and recovered the bow.
"And let me tell you, I don't think my body had ever been beaten up so badly, except maybe when I fought Harkon... or Miraak... or the Ebony Warrior... or-"
Nero stopped at the next name and also realised that Julia was now sound asleep.
He pulled the cover over her more and tried to sink down to sleep himself, but a bad thought invaded his brain.
Zarys.
He was still out there. He wasn't in Skyrim anymore, at least to the best of everyone's knowledge, but what he was doing was anyone's guess. Some believed he was with the dragons, fighting in their conquest. Others said he was at the top of the mountain, acting as a General directing the dragons. Perhaps he had returned to Wyrmstooth to continue sleeping. No one knew for sure.
Nero knew his plan meant sooner or later he would face Zarys again. But he intended to have an edge; the word of power to bring nords back to life. With that, it wouldn't matter how many nords Zarys or the dragons killed. But Nero wasn't too sure that the word of power would work for him. If he died, the word would be useless.
Nero sat and thought for a long while, and his thoughts turned into another plan, a back-up plan. And with that plan in mind, he finally relaxed down and tried to sleep.
Time passed, and Nero felt himself falling into unconsciousness, except... this was different...
He sat up immediately, and realised that he once again wasn't in the Sanctuary.
He looked around and recognised the fields of Sovngarde.
He was here again?
"Nero?"
He turned around and saw Serana, sitting next to him.
"Serana?"
She placed a hand on his cheek. Nero gently took hold her hand.
"This feels real," he said.
"Don't go," she said.
Nero shook his head, "I won't."
She leaned in and they kissed. Her lips felt real.
After a long moment, Nero spoke, "Serana. I'm going to bring you back. Whatever it takes... I'm going to bring you back."
Serana looked at Nero, her emerald eyes shining in the Sovngarde lights.
"How?" she asked.
Nero smiled, "with good old-fashioned nord stubbornness."
She smiled a solemn smile and rested her head against Nero's chest.
Nero held her close for a long while, until eventually, he began to be pulled into the sky again.
"Not again!" he cursed.
"Don't go!" Serana beckoned.
"I will bring you back, whatever it takes!" he promised as he floated upwards, into the white light of the Sovngarde sky, "I promise!"
When Nero awoke, Julia was next to him. She had heard him talking in his sleep, like he was talking to her mother. Close to their beds was Aela, come to wake them.
"It's time," said Aela.
Nero turned to his daughter, "Julia, go and get something to eat. I'll be along shortly."
Julia nodded and joined Aela in going for some food.
Nero got up and got his things in order before he began putting his armor on.
One more ghost haunted him however.
"You really think you can make a difference, Nero," taunted his father behind him.
Nero didn't answer and continued donning his dragonbone armor. The ghost hadn't left him from Portus Delphini.
"You will lead these people to slaughter. Everyone who follows you ends up dead. Anyone who you profess to love in the end dies for you. Just like Gwen. Just like Serana. Just like Julia."
Nero looked at his father at that for a moment, showing hatred in his eyes, before returning to his armor.
"You will get everyone you love killed. You are the reason so many are dead already."
Nero picked up his blades, "you're right. I am the reason they're gone. And you know what else, Dad?" he turned to his father, "I'm the reason they're all coming back."
"You will die in the end, son. You will pay for their lives with your own. Is this quest really that much to you?"
Nero faced his father fully, no longer a boy.
"My life is a small price to pay, Gnaeus," said Nero, "and yours won't haunt me anymore."
Nero walked through the ghost of his father and sheathed his blades on his back.
~ The Throat of the World ~
Dragons circled above the peak of the mountain, landing here and there across it.
In the midst of their conquest, a roar across Tamriel had summoned many of them back to the mountain.
Several dragons who landed began conversing, but some of the dragons who had joined this legion were previously part of the peaceful faction led by Paarthurnax, and some had used to follow Nero. But now, they were all one side. Only they still didn't all get along. It was not long tempers were getting hot and dragons were beginning to turn against each other.
This was silenced however when a black and gold dragon cascaded across the sky and perched itself upon the very peak of the mountain.
All other dragons bowed their heads to this one, along with the rider on top who looked out across the army of dragons before he dismounted and landed hard on the snow of the summit.
The warlord plunged his great and bloody double-bladed sword into the snow, took his helmet off and placed it on the tip of the sword. He then sat on a rock and held some snow in his hand.
Vulthuryol began speaking to the dragons, "I have gathered us here to take council of the progress of our great conquest."
Another dragon spoke up, "the realms beyond Skyrim still resist us, but soon they will all be within our grasp."
The dragons roared in victory except for Vulthuryol and Zarys who both listened to their arrogant roars of victory.
"I had not thought a dragon to be a fool," said Zarys which silenced the dragons all around him.
The one dragon he'd insulted looked at him in shock and anger. It flared its neck and looked about to attack Zarys who wasn't moving. Just before it did attack, however, Vulthuryol suddenly landed on him and plunged his teeth into the dragon's neck. The dragon writhed and roared but Vulthuryol bit firmly and snapped the neck of the dragon before spitting its lifeless head out onto the snow.
All other dragons bowed their heads as the dead dragon began to burn and its soul was absorbed by Vulthuryol who looked across the army.
"The very fact that they still resist is a testament to our failure! Though we burn those that defy us, our example here in Skyrim should have burned their spirits! What we do in the lands beyond must echo this victory! They must know that to challenge us is to die!"
Another dragon spoke up, "is it not our destiny to restore the lordship of the dov? To finish what Alduin started?!"
The other dragons roared again, agreeing.
Zarys however stood to make a speech.
"I have fought for the glory and order of the dragons since Alduin first freed me from the sadistic nords of my island. And when I was awoken, I did what had to be done to defeat the Dovahkiin and take Skyrim back for the dragons. Now, I still fight with you in the lands beyond for your conquest. And do you know what it is I see, everywhere? Resistance. No matter what, they continue to fight back. And I have learned of the resistance here in our very land. I have begun to see that, no matter our efforts, the people of this land, of this world… they will never stop fighting us."
Zarys looked about, "no matter how much we conquer, they keep fighting back."
As the dragons listened; they knew he was right.
"Perhaps our destiny was not to rebuild the Order as it once was. Alduin's destiny was not to take over this world. That is why he failed. Our true destiny, it is not to conquer, but to destroy. This world will never accept us."
The dragons looked around at each other.
"So it must burn."
A gasp of sorts went across the mountaintop
"We shall burn everything and everyone. We will burn this world down to its core. And from the ashes of this unholy world, we shall build a better one. A world not of chaos, but of order, where those that live will know us as their gods. And there shall be no more pain. It is our destiny to destroy this world, so that the next may be born."
Some dragons began to roar in agreement with the Konahrik.
Vulthuryol landed next to him, "you have known the right path for us since you awoke, old friend."
Zarys smiled, "I remember learning that Alduin had passed from this world. I spent so long waiting for him, only to learn he had been vanquished. His destiny was never to conquer, but to destroy. Now he is gone, it is clear to me that that is our true purpose here, to destroy the world and allow the dragons to truly rule the next."
"The dragons… and yourself?"
"No… my destiny will be to destroy this world with you… but this is my world, and I shall pass with it. This shall be my final war, old friend."
"They will unite to stop us," said Vulthuryol.
"Let them. Even if the Last Dragonborn appears again to fight us, despite being a broken man by now no doubt, we shall vanquish them all."
"Where do we start?"
"Here. There are still survivors in this land that resist us. We will burn them, and then we will burn the rest of the lands beyond. Summon the dragons. Every one of them. I shall call upon my draugr army. Once the resistance strikes again, we will find them, and slaughter them all."
"Our final war," smiled Vulthuryol, "I will remember you, old friend."
Zarys smiled before Vulthuryol shouted to the sky, summoning all dragons. The other dragons on the mountain did the same and called to the sky; a tremendous roar echoed from the mountain across all Nirn. To return to Skyrim. For the final war.
Author's Notes
Surprise! Another chapter! I did actually have this one mostly written already, I was just moving things around and taking stuff out/adding stuff in between this and the last chapter. I've written quite a bit of the next chapter too, just going to do some more edits before getting it out.
So, Nero has the elder scroll and is nearly ready to do the reading! We're coming into the final parts of his plan.
I hope you all enjoyed reading. I do want to get the next one out soon but again no comment as to exactly when. But I am excited for it!
Remember to drop me a review to let me know what you think!
