Chapter 7: Way of the Voice
Frozen winds howled as Drago and Lydia made their way back to High Hrothgar to present the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller to the Greybeards and complete his training in the way of the voice.
The large Argonian was still rather peeved that it took him the better part of three days to get back to the mountain after having to take a detour into Riverwood that was honestly unneeded, but it couldn't be helped.
At least they were back at High Hrothgar now.
"If any of this is true, then I'll hopefully get stronger from this." Drago mused as they stepped through the doors.
As they entered the main hall, the Greybeards started to congregate in the same four pointed circle that they usually stood in, Arngeir approaching him first.
"Ah, you have obtained the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, good." He nodded. "With this step complete, you can now complete your training and be properly acknowledged as Dragonborn." He told the lizard man.
"What needs to be done?" Drago questioned, not particularly caring for how simple this all seemed.
"Master Wulfgar will now share with you the final word of the Unrelenting Force Shout, Dah, which means Push." Angeir replied as the monk in question stepped forward.
"Dah." Wulfgar uttered before a word carved itself into the floor.
Looking at it, Drago felt his mind absorb the word and integrate it into his Shout. This would definitely help.
"With this your shout will be far more powerful." Angeir said as the Argonian absorbed the knowledge from Wulfgar. "You have completed your training, Dragonborn." He nodded as Drago faced him. "We would speak to you, in the tongue of the dragons. But brace yourself, few can withstand the full might of the Greybeards." The monk said.
Lydia decided to get out of the way since she did not want to be blasted against the wall in the process.
That ended up being a smart choice since when the Greybeards began speaking in the Dragon's tongue, the force behind it made the building shake, possibly the entire mountain.
"Lingrah krosis saraan Strundu'ul, voth nid balaan klov praan nau. Naal Thu'umu, mu ofan nii nu, Dovahkiin, naal suleyk do Kaan, naal suleyk do Shor, ahrk naal suleyk do Atmorasewuth!" The men boomed in unison between the shaking.
Drago, despite being at the center of the blasts of force, was very much unscathed–in fact–it seemed as if the towering lizard didn't even move a muscle as he stood there with a stoic stance, arms crossed.
After a bit, it finished. They'd just unloaded their full power on the man, and he just stood there, unphased.
"You have taken the full force of the Greybeards and come out unscathed. You are Dragonborn." Angeir acknowledged. "Dovahkiin, you have completed your training, High hrothgar is open to you." He nodded.
Drago simply grunted as he looked down at the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, and remembered that a scribed set of writing on the wall said that returning the horn would grant the Dragonborn more power.
Deciding it was worth a shot, he turned and took Lydia by the waist.
"Come, my love. We have one last stop to make on our way to Kynesgrove." He told his lover as they left.
"Right behind you." Lydia nodded.
(Timeskip)
Placing the Horn back where it belonged, Drago gave a respectful bow to the grave of Jurgen Windcaller, before a sudden rush of power hit him–another Dragon soul.
'Well what do you know, the story was true.' He mused mentally. But as he began to leave, he heard the same stomping and chanting that usually led him to a word of power.
Going to the back of the right wall, he found another word.
It read Qah, or Armor.
"Hm… Curious." The Argonian hummed.
Maybe he'll test it out in a more open space.
But now, it was on to Kynesgrove.
(Timeskip)
As the duo made their way to their intended second destination, Drago soon took notice of what looked to be a group of Necromancers using magic to defile what looked like a statue of the goddess of light, Meridia.
"I don't think so!" He growled as he brandished his axe and ran at them, Lydia close behind.
It didn't take long for the mages to be blindsided, allowing the Argonian to cut them down with strong swings of his ax, even beheading one of them.
Lydia got her fair share as well, beheading a few as she dispatched them.
When all the Necromancers were dead, they had a look at the statue to see how bad the damage was.
"It seems like we managed to stop them before any serious damage could be done." The Housecarl noted.
"Good. Meridia has a lot of good going for her, so I feel a need to defend her image wherever I can." Drago nodded. However, before they could go, the Argonian took notice of a cylinder of gold with a sunstone in the center laying at the foot of the statue.
Curious, he picked it up and looked it over, seeing what he figured were Daedric inscriptions on it.
"Curious." He hummed as he stashed it away for later.
(Later)
Upon reaching their destination, the two saw that Delphine was waiting for them with torch in hand on account of it getting dark.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." She remarked dryly at how long she'd waited.
"We had other obligations." The man said as he walked past her, Lydia following atop Freya. "Now let's not waste time with all this pointless Banter, let's get moving." He added as they began walking towards the burial mound.
When they arrived, the locals were–rightly– in a panic. One of them, a woman, rushed up to them.
"Hey, you do not want to go up there! There's a dragon flying around!" She exclaimed.
"Where?" Drago questioned.
"At the old burial mound. And I'm not sticking around!" She replied before running off, causing the three to see the same black dragon that stopped Drago's execution with Zunkaniir.
"Sahloknir, Ziil gro dovah ulse." The dragon uttered as it flew over the mound before shouting at the tomb several times. "Slen Tiid Vo!" He boomed.
Then… the dragon buried within burst out, fully alive.
"Alduin, thuri! Boaan tiid vorkriiha suleykesjun kruziik?" The smaller, grey and dulset toned dragon question as it quite literally stepped out of the grave.
"Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir." The giant dragon, Alduin, seemed to nod in reply.
Drago couldn't understand what they were saying, but really felt like he was supposed to. It was like he forgot what language he was supposed to speak.
"Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov du hi." Alduin said as he looked directly at Drago as he, Delphine and Lydia hid, showing that he'd known they were there. "You don't even know our tongue, do you?" The beast scoffed. "Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah." He spat, before turning to Sahloknir. "Sahloknir, krii daar joorre." He ordered before flying away.
Sahloknir reared on the three fighters and let out a roar, causing them to brandish their weapons.
"I AM SAHLOKNIR! HEAR MY VOICE AND DESPAIR!" He boomed as he took flight and blasted Delphine with fire breath.
Lydia and Drago immediately took out their bows and started launching arrows at their adversary, causing him to cease his attack and evade.
"I see mortals have become arrogant as I slept!" The beast barked as he made his way to Drago, who was now holding Dragon's Bane, his fire absorbing Great Sword. Blasting more fire at the argonian, the Dragonborn blocked it and slowly started walking towards him–.
Before the lizard man struck the dragon across the face with his sword the second he stopped blasting, causing the flying creature to become dazed—before attempting to bite down on Drago–only for his snout to be caught with one scaly hand, and clamped shut.
"Your name is Sahloknir, right?" The Argonian giant questioned, getting a snarl in response. "My name is Drago Fimbulwinter. Feel the bite of my frost." He hissed as his frost breath and Winter's Curse started showing.
"W-What? What is this cold?!" Sahloknir questioned as his body began to involuntarily shiver.
"An early winter." The lizard man hissed as his maw opened, glowing an icy blue. "FO KRAH DIIN!" He boomed as he breathed cold ice on the beast.
Then various parts of the dragon's body began to freeze over, especially the wings, feet and tail. This left Sahloknir immobilized, but the ice was weak enough for him to shatter if Drago didn't act quickly.
"Fus… RO DAH!" The reptilian dragonborn boomed like a crash of thunder–shattering the giant dragon's scales as if they were glass, and leaving him as a dead skinless corpse on the cold mountain snow–black blood pouring from frostbitten muscle.
"Wow… That was actually brutal." Delphine whistled as she looked at the carcass, which began glowing a moment later. "Get back!" She exclaimed, thinking it was gonna explode.
As the beast's soul entered his body, Drago let out a deep, heavy sigh as an ice cold mist escaped his mouth.
"It is done." He snarled.
"So… you really are the Dragonborn. I thought I was hearing things before, honestly." The member of the Blades admitted.
"I've seen that dragon before, the one Sahloknir called Alduin." Drago hummed, looking off into the distance. "At Helgen, he burned the village down with another dragon, stopping Ulfric and myself from being executed." He added.
"Really?" Delphine blinked.
"Yeah. I get the feeling I'll be seeing more of him." Drago nodded. "If that's all then I'll be returning to my home in Whiterun, should you need me, I'll be there." He told the woman.
"Thanks for saying. I'll report this to the Blades. I'll be in touch." The woman nodded before she walked off to parts unknown.
Drago hummed as he took Lydia into his arms and hoisted her onto Freya, before he hopped onto the horse himself and started riding to Whiterun.
"Is something the matter, my love?" Lydia asked.
"I'll explain when we get home." The lizard man replied as he kept himself focused.
(Timeskip)
Drago left Lydia to get settled in Breezehome now that it was completely renovated and as the woman slothed off her armor and went for more comfortable attire, the Argonian went to the main square, where he found the orphan girl Lucia, still curled up in a corner, trying to stay warm.
Frowning at the sight, he walked up to her.
"Are you alright?" He asked, leaning down to her level.
"Thane Drago?" The girl asked with a yawn, rubbing her eyes. "What're you doing here?" She questioned.
"I'm more concerned about you. This isn't exactly the best weather to sleep outside in." The Argonian told her.
"I know, but I don't have anywhere else to stay." Lucia told him, causing the man to place a hand on her shoulder.
"Come with me." He said simply.
"H-Huh?" The little girl uttered, surprised but obeyed as he led her to his home.
Inside, Lydia could be seen in a simple brown night dress cooking what looked like a pot of potato and cheese soup with bacon in it, a hearty soup that she supposedly had many a time on her family's old farm.
"Hmmm? Oh, Drago, dear." The woman smiled as she approached him, her engagement amulet of Mara glistening in the firelight of the home's hearth as she embraced him. "Who's this?" She asked as she looked at Lucia.
"Lucia, an orphan I've decided to adopt." Drago replied.
"She was on the streets?" The Housecarl questioned with a frown, seeing that Lucia hasn't been in a warm place for a long while.
"I met her not long after arriving here, she used to live on a farm with her parents, but they passed and her aunt and uncle didn't want her, so she came to Whiterun and has been living on the streets ever since." The Thane nodded, rubbing Lucia's head. "Would you be willing to accept her as our daughter?" He asked.
"More than willing." Lydia smiled as she knelt down and pulled Lucia into a hug, which was reciprocated.
"Mommy!" Lucia carried in joy.
"It's lucky that I made sure this place was ready." Drago nodded. "Though I may try to find a home in the other keeps as well, should this one get too small." He amended.
"Fair enough." Lydia nodded in agreement as Lucia went to look around the house. Then the Housecarl frowned. "What Lucia's aunt and uncle did can't go unpunished. We'll need to address that." She stated.
"I wouldn't want to stoop to their level." The argonian told his bride, holding her close. "Let ours and Lucia's revenge be that of her having a good life, while theirs stays miserable." He added as Lucia mad herself at home in the children's room on one of the left side bottom bunks.
"Well, I mainly meant professionally. Child abandonment is considered a crime." Lydia clarified.
"Fair point." Drago nodded, kissing her. "We can leave it up to Jarl Balgruf in the morning." He told her before sitting down at the dinner table. "Meantime, we've all had a long day and a miserable one at that, so why don't we have our warm soup for dinner, and then I'll make us all some warm spiced milk with honey and a sweet roll?" He offered.
"You might want to make some extra for Lucia if she smells that." The Nord woman chuckled in reply.
"Very true." Drago chuckled as well before he got to work.
Dinner and dessert went off with very little issue, and as Lucia drank down the last of her milk and honey, she climbed into bed and her new parents were quick to tuck her in.
"Sleep well, my little one." The argonian smiled as he kissed her on the forehead.
"Thank you… papa." Lucia yawned before she was fast asleep, comfortable for the first time in a long time.
Drago nodded as he let her be, before joining Lydia in their own bed upstairs.
"If the Divines don't grant us our own child, then I would be more than happy to adopt more of the children we meet in our travels." The housecarl mused as she hugged her lover close under the furs and blankets.
"Agreed." Drago nodded as he laid next to her. "I've been meaning to go to other holds anyway to establish roots in various areas so that if we need to move, we'll always have a home, no matter where we go." He mused. "What do you think, my sweet? Where should we look first?" He asked.
"I like to take pride in both my Nord and Imperial heritage, so why not try Solitude?" Lydia offered. "You mentioned that you have a friend there, did you not?" She asked, head on his chest.
"That will do just fine." Drago nodded as he felt himself start to drift off. "Good night my dear." Je told her.
"Good night." Lydia smiled back as she too fell asleep.
Fighting and killing a dragon was definitely an exhausting day…
But as they slept, a feminine figure from the realm of the Daedra seemed to smile down on them.
They wanted children of their own? Perhaps she'd give it to them.
ThermalsniperN7: Man, it's been a while since we updated this. Glad we haven't lost our step.
Dragon Emperor0: That is true, though it makes me equally glad that I actually got two bottles of mead from my local meadery, Two Warriors. Really helped set the mood, as did the large Sweet Roll I made today. Speaking of which, Two Warriors ships to most states if either of you wanna try their mead. Anyway, as you guys can probably see, we're not planning on letting any of these kids stay orphans any longer, hence Breezehome being larger than in game and having bunk beds.
ThermalsniperN7: None of these kids deserve the lives they've gotten so far. Drago and Lydia are adopting as many as possible. Anyway, Dragon Emperor0 came up with an original Shout for Drago, the full nature of which will become known over a period of time.
Dragon Emperor0: It's called Unbreakable Armor, hopefully you guys like it. Anyway, see you all next time.