Shadows of the Past
Chapter 3
They found Farengar the next morning deep in consultation with a hooded figure in leather armor.
"You see?" the mage gloated. "The terminology is clearly First Era or even earlier. I'm convinced this is a copy of a much older text. Perhaps dating to just after the Dragon War. If so, I could use this to cross-reference the names with other later texts."
The figure, a woman, Kaidan could tell, barely glanced up as they came in. "Good," she told the wizard. "I'm glad you're making progress. My employers are anxious to have some tangible answers."
There was something vaguely familiar about her, but Kaidan couldn't put his finger on it.
"Oh, have no fear," Farengar assured his companion. "The Jarl himself has finally taken an interest, so I'm now able to devote most of my time to this research."
"Time is running, Farengar," the woman insisted urgently. "This isn't some theoretical question. Dragons have come back."
Kaidan threw a glance at Edna, but she was staring at the hooded figure intently, and the other woman ducked her head back down to the papers she was studying. She murmured to Farengar, "You have a visitor."
At this point, the mage looked up as if finally noticing Kaidan and Edna for the first time. "Hmm? Ah, yes, the Jarls' protégé! Back from Bleak Falls Barrow; you didn't die, it seems."
"Disappointed?" Edna snapped. "Here's that stone you were looking for." She took it from Kaidan and handed it off to the wizard.
Oblivious to Edna's sarcasm, Farengar showed it to his compatriot. "So your information was correct after all!" he crowed. "And we have our friend here to thank for recovering it for us."
Kaidan gave an internal snort of disgust that suddenly the wizard considered them 'friends.'
The hooded woman barely glanced up. "You went into Bleak Falls Barrow and got that?" When Edna nodded, still not taking her eyes off the woman, she turned away to face Farengar. "Just send me a copy when you've deciphered it."
Voices rose in the great hall just beyond the mage's study, and Irileth, the Jarl's Housecarl, burst into the room.
"Farengar!" she called. "You need to come at once. A dragon's been sighted nearby." She noticed Kaidan and Edna standing nearby and turned to them. "You should come, too."
Instantly blithering with excitement, Farengar followed her out of the room, running off at the mouth about the dragon; Where was it seen? What was it doing? Would they get a chance to examine it?
Their voices faded as Irileth scolded him about taking it more seriously.
Kaidan waited for Edna to make a move, but she stood for a moment in contemplation.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she assured him, "but did you notice the person Farengar was talking to?"
Kaidan looked around, but the woman was gone. She must have left when Irileth and Farengar did. He said as much to Edna, but she shook her head.
"She kept herself turned away from Irileth until she could escape out the door," Edna replied. "She practically bolted as soon as she was able. And I'm pretty sure I know who that was. I've seen her before."
"You have?" Kaidan blinked. "Who was she?"
"We'll talk about it later," Edna deferred. "Right now, we're expected upstairs." She led him out of the mage's study and up the wide stairway that led to the lesser hallway outside the Jarl's private quarters. Double doors at the back led to the Grand Porch of Dragonsreach, where Olaf One-Eye was said to have captured a dragon.
Jarl Balgruuf was giving instructions to Irileth, and denying Farengar the privilege of going with her to fight the dragon, saying he was 'needed to help find ways of defeating the dragon.'
Edna snorted and murmured, "Trained battle mages couldn't take that bastard down. What makes him think he'd be of any use?"
Jarl Balgruuf turned to her and spoke. Whether he heard her muttered comment or not, he kept his thoughts on that matter to himself.
"There's no time to stand on ceremony, my friend," he began. "I need your help again. I want you to go with Irileth and help her fight this dragon. You survived Helgen, so you have more experience with dragons than anyone else here."
"Surviving them, Balgruuf," Edna pointed out. "Not really fighting them." Kaidan noticed she didn't address him as 'Jarl.'
"That may be true," he allowed, "but your insight here will be invaluable, and I already know your skill in battle, old friend."
So, they had known each other before, Kaidan realized. Most likely during the Great War.
"I haven't forgotten the service you did for me in retrieving the Dragonstone for Farengar," Balgruuf continued. "As a token of my esteem, I have instructed Avenicci that you are now permitted to purchase property in the city. And please, accept this gift from my personal armory."
He walked over to the table where an Imperial longsword lay. Picking it up, he presented it to Edna.
"Balgruuf," Edna protested. "This is your sword. I remember you using it during—"
"It's yours now, Edna," he said gently. "I'd be honored if you'd carry it into battle. I've always preferred an axe, anyway. Now, go. See if you can't stop this dragon from destroying my city."
Helplessly, Edna accepted the sword, and Kaidan could see the despair written all over her face. If what's she'd said about Helgen was true – and he had no doubt it was – a handful of city guard, a Housecarl, an old war veteran and her bodyguard would likely not be enough to take down a dragon who could raze Helgen to the ground.
Grimly, Edna set her face into an impassive resolve and gestured to Kaidan. "Come on, my boy. Let's catch up with Irileth."
They hurried through the streets of Whiterun towards the main gate, where Irileth had told her men to muster. Questions burned in Kaidan's mind, but Edna was clearly not in the mood to discuss them. If they survived this ordeal, maybe there would be time later.
As they ran, Kaidan noticed the people in the market area closing up early. Shop keepers were bringing their goods inside, and windows were being shuttered in the homes and businesses they passed.
As if that could stop a dragon from burning the place down, Kaidan snorted to himself. He did notice, to the Jarl's credit, that scores of the city guard were being organized near the wells and waterways and retention ponds into bucket brigades, should it become necessary.
The western watchtower was where the dragon had been spotted, Irileth was telling her men as they joined the group. She challenged them to help her 'fight this monster,' calling them out as cowards if they allowed the beast to destroy their homes and families.
Brave words, Kaidan thought. Or foolish. She has no idea what she's getting into. All she sees is glory and winning.
Then they were off, running again, out of the city and down the causeway that led to the main road running east-west between the farmlands that supported the population. The watchtower was a couple of miles away, and as they approached they could see the destruction that had already been done. Fire and smoke was everywhere, and part of the tower had collapsed. There was older rubble here as well, Kaidan could see. Perhaps part of a larger fortification that had never been rebuilt.
"No! Get back!"
A guardsman rushed out of the broken tower towards them, waving his hands. Panic was in every aspect of his voice and posture, but in particular, his eyes. The same look of horror Kaidan had seen in Edna's eyes, when she'd told him about Helgen.
"It's still here somewhere!" he babbled, nearly incoherent. "Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!"
"Guardsman," Irileth scowled, "what happened? Where's this dragon?"
"I don't know," the man cried, looking around wildly. Suddenly his eyes focused on something in the distance, to the south. "Kynareth save us," he moaned. "Here it comes again!" He rushed back to the meager protection of the tower.
Kaidan stared off to the south, and suddenly he saw it: sunlight glinted off wings of red. It glided effortlessly towards them, growing larger every second. Didn't Edna say the dragon at Helgen was black?
"Here he comes, everyone!" Irileth called. "Find your positions and make every arrow count!"
"Kaidan, this way!" Edna called. She led the way around to the east side of the tower. The broken arms of rubble stretched eastward from their position to the right and left of them, leaving them in what might once have been a courtyard – an area too small for the dragon to land comfortably. Patches of fire burned brightly here and there, and Kaidan couldn't help but notice the charred remains of two bodies amid the flames.
"With the tower at our back we can shoot him from here," Edna said.
"What if he gets around the other side of the tower?" Kaidan asked as the dragon loomed closer.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Edna replied. "If he lands to the north, I'll have your back. If he lands to the south, you watch mine."
Kaidan nodded. There was no more time to talk, as the dragon was upon them, roaring out to challenge them.
"You are brave. Balaan hokoron. Your defeat brings me honor."
"Those things can talk?" one of the guards exclaimed, ducking behind a shoulder of stone as the dragon belched out a column of fire at him.
"They have a language of their own, as far as I've read," Kaidan called back. He took aim and let fly with his bow, hitting the dragon in the joint between the shoulder and the wing. The dragon snarled in rage and practically doubled against himself to turn and face one who had actually dared to hurt him.
"Zu'u los Mirmulnir! Faas dii zul!"
Somewhere deep inside himself, Kaidan felt something resonate to those words. He couldn't understand them, but something inside him wanted to understand. He shot with his bow again, but the dragon swerved and flew off around the tower to the other side where Irileth and a few of the other guardsman were. They all heard the roar, and saw the area light up as the dragon strafed them with fire, before flying back around to the east side of the tower.
"Fuck this shit!" Kaidan muttered, leaving the safety of the tower to taunt the dragon into making a mistake.
"Kaidan, NO!" Edna called. But he ignored her and advanced further out into the courtyard area. "Dammit, boy!" she muttered, and hefted her own bow as she followed after him. There were a few scraggly trees in this area, and a lot of tumbled half-walls and boulders. Enough cover, if it was needed. And she still had her shield.
The ground quaked underfoot as the dragon landed not thirty feet away. It turned its head towards her, and a cruel gleam entered its eyes. The chest puffed out, and Edna knew what was coming next. She heard Kaidan scream something, but it was lost in the dragon's roar as fire billowed her way, and she put her shield up, crouching behind it.
The heat licked all around her, and the smell of scorched leather permeated the air. Her skin blistered where it was exposed, and she gritted her teeth against the pain, but she survived. This was not the same dragon she'd seen at Helgen, and while part of her was relieved, she was still terrified of dying from its teeth, its claws, or its breath.
But Edna was a soldier, and soldiers didn't leave a job undone. She couldn't kill the dragon at Helgen, but with some help from these others – especially Kaidan, who was now laying into it like he was butchering meat – maybe she could kill this one. She stood and advanced, ignoring the pain she was in, and moved right up to the dragon, bashing it in the face with her shield. It recoiled, and she slashed away with the Imperial longsword that Balgruuf had carried through most of the Great War. His courage then lent her strength now, and she shield-bashed again as the dragon painfully lifted itself into the air.
"Son of a bitch!" she heard Kaidan swear. He sheathed his nodachi and switched back to his bow, intent on bringing down the dragon single-handedly, it seemed.
But the guards were also firing away, and Irileth was casting lightning bolt after lightning bolt. Edna made her arrows count, as the Housecarl had advised, trying to hit areas that might be considered vital on a creature no one had seen in centuries. She almost wished Farengar was here to advise where those points might be. At the very least, the dragon might rid them of one irritating mage.
Unworthy, Edna, she admonished herself. Concentrate!
"Brit grah," the dragon called. "I had forgotten what fine sport you mortals can provide!" As he spoke, he swooped down and grabbed one of the guards who had made the mistake of climbing on top of a pile of rubble to get a better shot. The dragon lifted him high in the air as he screamed; he screamed as the dragon let him go, and was still screaming until he hit the ground.
"Enough of this!" Edna muttered, and launched a series of shots with her bow that she had practiced over the years. Two arrows launched at once, at the same point on the target. Once. Twice. Three times she shot. She reached back a fourth time, but realized her quiver was empty.
Damn, blast, bother, knickers and spit! she grumbled to herself. But the trick had worked. The dragon staggered in the air, about to breathe again, and choked on its own attack. It glided around, losing altitude until it landed on the road not far from Edna. She put up her shield and fired off a healing spell before drawing her sword and advancing.
Kaidan charged forward and slashed at its wings, staggering under the buffet of that appendage when the dragon kicked it out at him. While it was distracted, Edna raced forward, dropping her shield. Without thinking she leaped and grabbed one of the horns on its head and swung herself up to the top where she hung on for dear life, striking down again and again with the Imperial longsword until, with an enormous shudder, the dragon cried out, "Dovahkiin! No!" before collapsing entirely as it died.
Gasping with the effort, Edna leaped down, and suddenly Kaidan was there, leading her away.
"Nice shooting, boys," they heard Irileth say.
"Something's happening!" one of the guards exclaimed. Kaidan and Edna turned back to see the dragon ignite. Flames seemed to combust from inside the dragon, burning away the flesh; but instead of smoke, tendrils of energy flowed outward.
As if hypnotized, Edna stood there as the energy flowed into her, filling and absorbing. Kaidan stared in awe. What was happening? Edna stepped away, glassy-eyed, lifted her head to the skies and gave vent to her voice.
"FUS!"
The guards came rushing, crowding around, proclaiming her to be Dragonborn, and Kaidan suddenly remembered the old tales, when one of the guards mentioned it, of the heroes of old who were said to have the bodies of mortals, but the blood and soul of a dragon. Could Edna be one?
Irileth discounted their stories as imaginations, and warned them to trust in what they could see and do, and not in old tales, but Kaidan was troubled. By her own admission, Edna was no 'spring chicken'. If she truly was Dragonborn, would she be able to be the hero the Dragonborn were said to be? And even if she was Dragonborn, where would it lead?
The Housecarl insisted they return to Whiterun to give their report to Jarl Balgruuf, and Edna merely nodded and began walking back. Kaidan fell in beside her. He said nothing, waiting to see if his companion would talk. Halfway back, Edna found a large boulder by the side of the road, and sank down on it, as if her knees would no longer hold her up. She looked stunned, Kaidan thought, and no wonder. Not only had they actually killed a dragon, but something had happened back there that no one could explain.
"Hey," he began lightly, "that was one monstrosity of a dragon, eh? Thank fuck that's over!"
"Language, Kaidan, please," Edna complained. "And that wasn't the one I saw at Helgen. This one was smaller, and red. Its name was Mirmulnir."
"It had a name?" Kaidan asked, surprised. "How do you know that?"
Edna shrugged. "I-I'm not sure. I just…know." She spread her hands helplessly. "Look, I…" She took a deep breath. "I'm not sure what just happened. And I think perhaps I was wrong to try to take cover near the tower. It's just…" She stopped.
"You've already been through one fight with a dragon that didn't end well," Kaidan said softly. "I understand."
"I'm not a coward, Kaidan," she said defensively. "In spite of what…what it might have looked like." He had the distinct feeling she was about to say something quite different, but he let her talk. "This is just something so completely outside of what I know. Something I've never faced before – or rather, rarely faced, that is. There was Helgen."
"There's a lot we don't know yet, Edna," Kaidan soothed. "Like, for example, why are dragons coming back now when they've been gone for so long? Just know that whatever happens, I'm there for you."
Edna smiled. "Thank you, my dear," she beamed. "Honestly, I'm not sure I could have fought that dragon if you and all the other guards hadn't been there. It was a team effort." Her smile faded. "What worries me is what might happen if I have to face one of those alone, on my own. What does it mean, if I'm this Dragonborn the guards called me? I'm no Nord! And why me? My best years are behind me!"
"I wouldn't say that," Kaidan replied, shaking his head. "You gave as good as you got out there."
"Well," Edna sighed, getting to her feet, "Balgruuf is waiting for our report, so let's get moving."
As they walked along, Kaidan ventured, "You knew the Jarl of Whiterun before?"
"Oh, yes," Edna nodded. "We fought in the Great War together, as most people my age did. I didn't even know he was the son of the Jarl, then, because I never troubled myself about politics at that time – especially the politics of a different Province from Cyrodiil. I just knew he was an accomplished warrior, and there were so few of our regiment left after the war that we just sort of hung onto the friends we'd made that survived. I heard later, after he returned to Skyrim, that he had become Jarl and gotten married. I lost touch with him after that as I had…other things on my plate."
She lapsed into silence until they reached the livery stable, where Bjorlam parked his carriage.
"DO…VAH…KIIN!"
A peal of thunder rolled across a cloudless sky, and the carriage horse reared and whinnied. The horses in the paddock nearby bolted and ran around their limited area in panic as the ground rumbled beneath their feet.
"What the fuck was that?" Kaidan exclaimed, and Edna threw him a pained look.
"We really need to do something about your language, boy," she muttered. "I don't know what that was, but I'm sure we'll find out," she continued. "They can't have failed to hear that up at Dragonsreach. Perhaps that court mage will know."
The Jarl's palace, as it happened, was a-buzz with activity, and the fussy Steward, Proventus, came forward to greet them.
"Good!" he exclaimed with relief. "You're finally here! The Jarl has been waiting for you."
"I'm sure he was waiting for a report," Edna muttered in an aside to Kaidan, "whomever it came from."
The Jarl, Kaidan saw, was deep in conversation with a burly younger man who looked enough like Whiterun's ruler to be related; a fact that was confirmed a few minutes later when the man turned to them.
"My brother needs a word with you," he said, stepping aside to allow them to approach.
If Balgruuf was surprised to find his old friend delivering the message, he never commented on it, but merely demanded to know what had happened at the watchtower.
"Was the dragon there?"
Kaidan saw Edna suppress a visible shudder, but she answered in a professional manner. "The dragon was there, and it destroyed the tower. But we managed to kill it."
"I knew I could count on Irileth," Balgruuf replied, then threw a shrewd look at Kaidan. "But there must be more to it than that."
It was Edna who answered. "When the dragon died, I absorbed some sort of energy from it."
Balgruuf's eyes widened. "You, Edna?" he breathed. "It was you the Greybeards were summoning, old friend?"
"Greybeards?" Edna frowned. "Who are they?"
"Masters of the Way of the Voice," the Jarl replied, as if that explained everything. "They live in seclusion high on the slopes of the Throat of the World."
"Didn't you hear the thundering sound as you returned to Whiterun?" Hrongar, his brother, said. "That was the voice of the Greybeards, summoning you to High Hrothgar! This hasn't happened in ... centuries, at least. Not since Tiber Septim himself was summoned when he was still Talos of Atmora!"
This prompted an argument between the brother and the Steward, as Proventus dismissed it all as 'Nord nonsense' which mightily offended the burly Nord to the point where Kaidan was certain they would come to blows – which would not have ended well for the pompous Imperial Steward. The man looked like he could barely lift a quill, let alone a sword. Hrongar would have made mincemeat out of him. But Balgruuf stepped in and calmed both men and explained that, if Edna was indeed Dragonborn, the Greybeards at High Hrothgar would be able to help her with her new-found 'gift.'
"Balgruuf," Edna said now, "what does it actually mean, to be Dragonborn? And why me, an Imperial?"
Balgruuf sighed. "Edna," he said gently, "being Dragonborn is something given to you by Akatosh himself. It's not a matter of heredity, or where you were born. Don't you remember the stories I told you back when we were foot soldiers, about King Wulfharth? He wasn't technically a Nord; he was more Atmoran. And Talos, who became Tiber Septim? Some of the stories say he was from High Rock, a Breton. And then there's the whole line of Septim Emperors. Most of them were Imperials. So when you ask me, 'why me?', I say, 'why not you?' You can do this, my friend. Go to High Hrothgar. Learn what the Greybeards can teach you."
He drew himself up, then, as if to make an official proclamation.
"You've done a great service for me and my city, Dragonborn," he intoned formally, and Kaidan felt a stirring inside at the pronouncement of Edna's new status. "By my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. It's the greatest honor that's within my power to grant. I assign you Lydia as a personal Housecarl, and this weapon from my armory to serve as your badge of office. I'll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now would we? We are honored to have you as Thane of our city, Dragonborn."
Edna had straightened upon hearing her title – Dragonborn – for the first time. She bowed formally to her old battle companion as he presented her with an enchanted steel battleaxe as her 'badge of office.' As soon as they were dismissed, Edna turned to Kaidan.
"Well, I guess I can't have a Housecarl if I don't have a house, eh?" her eyes sparkled with humor. "Let's see what the Steward has available."
What he had was a run-down shack near the smithy that had well and truly earned its nickname of 'Breezehome.' It had taken most of Edna's hard-earned money to purchase, but even in its empty state, she sighed and smiled.
"I haven't had a real roof over my head for a long, long time," she said. "Usually I've slept in tents or inns, or sometimes right out in the open. Maybe it will be nice to put down some roots for once."
"Would you like me to arrange for repairs and furnishings, my Thane?" Lydia asked. Her room upstairs, oddly enough, seemed to be the only room that was completely furnished.
"I think that would be a good idea, Lydia, dear," Edna replied. "Try not to spend too much, if you can help it. I'm not made of money."
"You're a Thane of the city now, my lady," Lydia pointed out. "They should have offered you a home in the Wind District."
"Don't worry about it, dear," Edna soothed. "This will be fine. Kaidan? What do you think?"
"I like it here," he replied. "This house has potential. But the defenses of the city are worrying. No battlements on the walls, and most of those tumbling down in places. Makes the strategic location of the castle all but useless."
"You're not wrong," Edna agreed, "but that takes money, and I doubt Balgruuf's coffers are that deep. If they were, he'd have offered the Dragonborn a house completely free out of gratitude, and completely furnished as well!" She looked around and blew out a breath. "Well, we've got a lot of work to do here, young 'uns. Let's get to it."
"You're not heading up to High Hrothgar then?" Lydia blinked in surprise.
Edna shrugged. "Eventually. They aren't going anywhere, near as I can tell. And it's too late to start that journey today. Besides, I don't know about the two of you, but I fought a dragon today and I'm beat. Kaidan, see if you can't lay in a supply of firewood. Lydia, head to that general store and get a cookpot we can use temporarily, and buy some food from the green-grocer and the butcher I noticed down at the market."
"See if they have horker!" Kaidan interjected. Edna chuckled and shook her head.
"What will you be doing, my lady?" Lydia asked curiously, as Edna set down her backpack and began digging through it.
"I'm going to find my work clothes and start dusting and sweeping this place top to bottom!" she exclaimed.
"I thought you said you were tired," Kaidan grinned.
"I am tired," Edna shrugged. "But I'm not dead. Besides, we have work to do, so march to it, you two!"