Chapter 5: Exposition About the Dragonborn and the Daedra
"Are we there yet?" Erik innocently asked.
Ralof simply groaned into his hands. "Oh, not you too."
Erik raised his eyebrow. "What? What do you mean by that?"
"Subaru and Patches were doing that on our way to Bleak Fall Barrows." Emilia explained with a sigh.
"And we'll do it again!" Patches said, his expression maniacal.
Erik scratched his head. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine, just please… never again."
The rest of the walk was pretty quiet, as everyone was in their own minds, from Emilia's curiosity about one of her new companions, Subaru's need to make sure that all of his secrets stay secret, Ralof's need to return to his Jarl, and Patches desire to watch the world turn to his amusement. But all Erik thought of was…
Gee, I really like these people. I hope they'll be my friends! We can go on all sorts of adventures together!
Soon enough, the gang made it back to Whiterun.
And with it, Subaru decided to break the silence. "Well… now what?"
"Now, we finally make our way to Windhelm," Ralof answered, walking up to a carriage driver.
"Finally! We're done with these side quests! Back to our main objective!"
Preparing to leave for the village, Ralof talked with one of the carriage drivers, who told them to get in as they finally prepared to head for Windhelm. But not before…
"Wait up!" Erik shouted, waving them down.
Patches stared at the boy, confused. "Ehh? Whatever for?"
Instead of answering, Erik called out to a man walking down the road, who happened to be a courier. Erik quickly wrote a letter and gave it to the courier, before sending him off.
"What was that about?" Subaru asked.
Erik thought about it, before saying, "I wanna come with you guys."
Emilia was surprised by what she was hearing. "Huh? Why?"
"Well, it's simple," Erik said, showing off his biggest smile. "I always wanted to be an adventurer, and after what I saw earlier, I knew that destiny was calling!"
"You do know we could die, right?" Subaru asked, in all seriousness.
"And that's another reason why I wanna come." The other four blinked a bit before the young man clarified. "I'm one of the best healers in Rorikstead and my water magic is top notch, so I can patch us up if something happens!"
Ralof sighed, but allowed it. "… All right, hop on."
"Yes!" Erik cheered, jumping into the cart. "You guys won't regret it!"
"All right, next stop, Windhelm," Ralof said mostly to himself as he got on the carriage.
"Erik, what was that letter about?" Emilia asked.
"Oh right, it's for my dad in Rorikstead. He runs the Inn there. The letter is to let him know I'm okay, so hopefully he won't worry," Erik explained.
And with that, the carriage left Whiterun, heading straight for Windhelm.
If there was a universal truth about the nature of planets, it was that, the less light reached the poles, the colder they would be. So, it would make sense that, the further north or south someone went from where they were, the colder it would get.
Subaru, despite being an advocate of science, still didn't like the concept.
Probably because his tracksuit wasn't the best for snow-ridden mountains.
Sure, he wasn't gonna die, but it didn't mean it wasn't uncomfortable.
Even after an hour or two of riding, with the group even finally arriving at Windhelm, all Subaru could think of was how it looked like a snow-ridden Whiterun.
Thankfully, the guards recognized Ralof immediately and let them through.
"Huh. Pretty lively place ya got here… for being in the North Pole," Subaru said.
"Trust me, this is a breeze compared to Atmora," Erik said with a deadpan expression.
"When the hell did you go to such a place?" Patches asked.
"I didn't. No one has been to Atmora in thousands of years. There are legends that say you can't even get close enough to see the shore before you freeze to death," Erik explained. "And that's even if you could get a boat across."
"Huh. This place suddenly became a lot more cozy," Subaru said, rubbing his arms together to keep warm.
Emilia merely shrugged in the cold. "I grew up in a cold environment, so this place is just right for me."
Ralof smiled. "For a chilling village, I'll take that as a compliment."
"So, where's the resistance leader?" Emilia asked, prompting Ralof to start walking to their destination.
"Follow me," Ralof said, as he walked towards the direction.
Ralof then led the group to the Palace of the Kings in Windhelm, a massive fortress-like building made of dark stone, but the inside was… oddly fancy.
The throne room itself was bizarrely fancy, with a mix of stone architecture and interior decorating that made Subaru think of 18th century Europe. Bright blue rugs, blue-and-golden flags, and some really fancy chandeliers for a place like this. The room seemed to resemble a Norse banquet hall, with a long table with lots of food in the middle of the room.
Regardless, once the party was inside, they came face to face with Ulfric Stormcloak himself. A blond bearded man, wearing a fur-like jacket, that deep in Subaru's mind somewhat reminded him of a generic isekai protagonist.
Not that he would ever say that out loud, of course.
"My Jarl, I have returned," Ralof said, bowing before his leader.
"As I live and breathe…" Ulfric remarked, with a gracious-sounding voice. "It is good to see you again, Ralof. A part of me believed you perished in Helgen. I'm glad to know I was wrong. Who are these people you brought with you?"
The black-haired Undead noticed that Ulfric was addressing them, and he quickly answered. "Oh, um, hello there. I'm Subaru Natsuki, the Half-Elf next to me is Emilia, Erik, and the bald guy is Patches. You can ignore him."
"Me or Patches?" Erik asked, pointing at himself and Patches.
"Patches," Subaru instantly answered.
Ulfric's attention was drawn to Subaru and Emilia. "Ah, I recognize you two. You were at Helgen. The silver-haired Half-Elf and the Undead captured by the Imperial scum."
"Don't forget I also insulted his mom!" Subaru added on.
"I take it you wish to join our rebellion? To put an end to the hold the Cyrodiilic Empire has on our home for good, and allow Gusteko's people to reclaim the right to rule our home once again?" Ulfric asked with some anticipation.
Emilia shook her head. "Actually, no. Aside from bringing back Ralof, we came here in search of knowledge."
Ulfric was a bit disappointed, but it was quickly replaced with curiosity. "I see, and what sort of knowledge might that be?"
"The knowledge of the Dragonborn," Emilia said, her gaze unwavering.
"The Dragonborn?" Ulfric repeated.
"Yes, you heard the pretty lady," Patches sassed, which earned him an elbow from Subaru.
"Why would you want to know about that?" Ulfric asked, his tone making it clear he had some knowledge of the subject.
"While we were traveling here, a Dragon attacked us. We managed to kill it, but then… something, maybe its spirit, entered my body, and I suddenly felt more powerful. I could use my voice as a weapon, and Subaru said something about the Dragonborn," the silver-haired half-elf explained. "Perhaps you know something?"
Ulfric got off his throne, and walked over to Emilia, examining her from top to bottom.
"Shout."
That threw Emilia for a loop. "Pardon?"
"Prove to me that you are truly Dragonborn," That was all Ulfric said.
"Oh. Alright…" Emilia cleared her throat a bit, and said the same word she said earlier.
"FUS!"
Just like earlier, Emilia let out a powerful force from her mouth.
Ulfric's eyes widened. "Then it is true... the Dragonborn has returned."
"Hold up, hold up! You mean her…?" Patches gestured at Emilia.
Ulfric nodded, as he looked back towards the amethyst-eyed woman. "She is indeed the Dragonborn. Although inexperienced, her power is visible, I can feel it.."
Subaru noticed one small detail. "The Dragonborn. As in only one."
Ulfric nodded. "There have been others in the past, but only Dragonborn is made known per generation."
"And it's Emilia-san? Amazing!" Erik said, his eyes wide in awe.
Ulfric walked back up to his throne and sat back down. "I'm afraid I am not the one to tell you what it means to be Dragonborn. Although I know more than most, the ones you will need to speak to are the Greybeards."
"Great!" Subaru smiled, before asking, "And who are they?"
"They sit atop High Hrothgar, at the Throat of the World. The highest mountain in all of Gusteko."
"Great! Another wild goose chase!" Patches shouted.
Ralof interjected. "Luckily, you can take a carriage to Ivarstead, and there's a path at the village that will take you to High Hrothgar in no time."
Erik groaned, "Wait, we have to hike the rest of the way up?"
Ralof chuckled at that. "Unfortunately, yes."
"Guess we're heading out right away… or are we staying the night?" Subaru said, looking at both Ralof and Ulfric.
"You are free to stay in Windhelm for as long as you need. Ralof, show them to the Inn." Ulfric ordered, with Ralof following the command.
Ralof nodded in response. "Understood, Jarl Ulfric."
After heading to the local inn, the group waited out the night (while dealing with Patches' complaining), and then prepared to leave as soon as the morning came.
"What was your problem with the inn?" Emilia asked Patches.
"It was wood! One of the most structurally unsound materials! It could let a draft in, get caught on fire, have a termite infestation, or worse, I could get a splinter!"
"Is… he always like this?" Erik asked Subaru with a concerned expression.
Subaru merely chuckled, as he asked, "Do we have everything?"
Erik gave the cart a look-over. "I think so."
"Great," the black-haired Undead said, before turning back to look at the other blond man. "Ralof, it's been great talking to you. Maybe we'll see each other again?"
Ralof smiled, as he shook Subaru's hand. "Perhaps so. Should you ever need somewhere to retreat to, you are always welcome in Windhelm."
"Thanks," the Japanese man said, as he turned to everyone else. "All right, guys, since I'm the oldest, I guess I'm the leader, for now at least. Are you all ready to head out?"
Emilia nodded. "I believe so. Thanks for everything, Ralof-san."
Ralof simply smiled at her. "Good luck, Dragonborn. I pray that you find the answers you are looking for."
The silver-haired girl smiled, as the cart left Whiterun.
With that, the group had headed out to Ivarstead, with the ride itself actually being pretty pleasant, for the most part. The smell of fresh air, the singing of birds, it was an overall nice experience.
"Ahh, nature," Patches smiled, before instantly frowning. "How disgusting."
Emilia frowned a bit. "Come on, it's not that bad."
"Yeah, Patches, lighten up," Subaru said, looking over his shoulder and to the driver. "Anyways, how much longer till we get there?"
"Not long, but we do have to pass by Riften in order to get there, due to the terrain," the driver said, keeping his eyes on the road, and his hands on the reins of the horses.
Emilia's eyebrow raised. "Riften? What's that place like?"
"It's infamous for being the home of the Thieves Guild, a group of thieving mercenaries that can pickpocket you in your face, and you would be none the wiser," the driver answered.
That caught Patches' attention. "And they're all greedy… right?"
"Pretty much, but they do have a code of some kind, from what I know. They don't kill unless they don't have a choice, and they don't just loot whoever they feel like," the driver said. "Like I said, they're mercenaries, they take jobs no one else wants to."
"Hmm… they sound rather interesting. Might be my kind of people."
"Huh?" Emilia squinted to see something in the distance. "Is that... a Giant?"
True to Emilia's word, a Giant, easily two to three times as tall as a Human, with a thick beard and bald head, walked along another path, holding some kind of club on its back.
"A Giant? I haven't seen one that size since before the Demi-Human War," Subaru remarked.
"Oh right, those are a subspecies of Giant called the Jotnar," Erik said. "They don't have the same intelligence of other Giants, but they are incredibly strong."
"That's some handy information. Guess I'll add that to the database…"
"You don't have to worry about them," Erik reassured everyone else. "They're actually rather peaceful, so long as you respect their personal space."
"Doesn't that apply for most people?" Emilia asked.
"Eh, not in the same as most people," the boy with dirty blond hair explained. "If you get too close to a Jotnar, they perceive it as hostility, and will try to drive you off."
"Can't even strike a conversation?" Patches asked.
Erik shrugged. "Not sure, but they do have some kind of social interaction with fellow Jotnar and their mammoths."
"Mammoths?" Subaru repeated. "As in big hairy elephants?"
"I... don't know what an elephant is, but they are big and hairy," Erik said.
"Do they have a trunk? Tusks?" Subaru asked for clarification.
Erik wasn't sure where he was going with this but answered, "Yes."
"Oh," Subaru said, before sitting back down. "Then, yeah. Hairy elephants."
"So, elephants are hairless mammoths?" Erik asked.
"Yeah, imagine them with gray, leathery skin, and with way bigger ears."
Erik hummed at that piece of info. "I've never heard of elephants before."
Subaru waved him off, saying, "Eh, they probably don't exist here."
Erik looked confused. "What does that mean?"
"Like, on this plane of existence?" the black-haired Undead said.
Emilia shook her head. "Subaru is from beyond Nirn."
"Wait, for real?!" Erik was shocked that he was meeting an otherworlder.
Subaru shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not from this world."
"So, what's your world like?"
"Huge cities with buildings made of steel and glass reaching the skies, machines capable of allowing you to reach other continents in mere hours, and all the world's information, right at your fingertips," Subaru said, earning the attention of those in the carriage.
"Heh, bet Echidna would be drooling at that last one," Patches chuckled.
Subaru snorted in response. "Oh, trust me, dude, she was."
Emilia and Erik just looked confused. "Echidna?"
"Just some lady I met four centuries ago. A real bookworm."
"So, by how many years would you say your world is more advanced than ours?"
"Two to three centuries, at the very least," the nasty-eyed Undead answered.
"Okay, so we're not that far off."
"You guys have indoor plumbing, right?" Subaru asked. "And maybe oil-based lamps?"
Emilia hummed as she thought. "From what I know, they had that in Lugnica, but Gusteko is a bit…"
"Yeah, we're a bit lacking compared to the other kingdoms." Erik said with a sigh.
Subaru gave Erik a funny look. "That's… odd. I figured that the colder climate would have forced you to be more innovative to survive in your environment."
Erik shrugged in response. "Well, I guess it's because of the constant fighting going on in Gusteko. Between the Civil War, the Thalmor, and the people still following the more... nasty Daedric Princes, then you can see why technological development is still a bit stagnant right now."
Patches shook his head. "Every age is tainted by fools…"
"Preach."
"The Thalmor?" Emilia asked.
This took Erik by surprise. "You haven't heard of them?"
"I think I did, back in Lugnica, but I was… always afraid to ask."
"They're a group from the Aldmeri Dominion stationed here in Gusteko. A bunch of Elven supremacists that managed to strong-arm the Empire into a stalemate, so much so that they had to sign a "peace treaty" with a bunch of rules. One of those being banning the worship of Talos," Erik explained, while Subaru and Emilia recalled Ralof explaining something similar.
"Yeah, that's a damn shame. From what I heard, Tiber was a pretty nice guy, but there will always be idiots."
"Wait, is it Talos or Tiber Septim?" Emilia asked for clarification.
"Technically both," Subaru explained. "As a human, Tiber Septim was his Cyrodiilic name while Talos Stormscrown was his Nordic name. When he somehow ascended to become a God he switched back to Talos."
"Yeah, that's why the Thalmor banned the worship. They saw a human becoming a God as "offensive", which is complete dragon crap," Erik said quite bitterly.
"Blah, blah, blah…" Patches was dying of boredom. "How much longer, anyway?"
"We just passed by Riften, so we're over half way there," the driver said.
Patches clapped his hands with giddiness. "Excellent, excellent!"
Emilia also remembered something she heard earlier. "So, who are these... Daedric Princes?"
"Probably some usurpers, I reckon," Patches guessed.
Erik tried to think of his knowledge regarding them. "I don't know much, but you could say that. The Daedra are a powerful race of beings from a plane of existence called Oblivion. The Daedric Princes are essentially Gods that have amassed quite a bit of followers, but I can't imagine why…"
"Do they have a good dental plan?" Subaru asked.
"Doubt it."
"Promises of wealth?" Patches suggested.
"Not that I know of."
Now, Subaru was getting a bit more desperate. "Health insurance?"
"Are you kidding me?" Erik looked at Subaru as if the man was insane. "I'm pretty sure at least half of them couldn't care less whether their most loyal followers live or die."
"Yeah, but like any good soul-crushing corporation, you gotta make sure your employees remain physically capable, so they can still work till their graves!" Subaru said.
"Then they just get more followers, and the only way I can see them doing that is with rumors about their artifacts.' Erik said, catching the other's attention.
Now, that grabbed Patches' attention. "Artifacts? Are they valuable?"
"From what I know, they're pretty much priceless. I don't know how many there are, but there are quite a few of the legendary Daedric Artifacts in Gusteko right now. Almost all of them are crazy powerful weapons, but I don't know where any of them are," Erik explained.
Emilia thought about it for a bit, before coming to a decision. "Well, if we come across them, we'll make sure that they don't fall into the wrong hands. Right, Subaru? Patches?"
Subaru pumped his fist in the air, and shouted, "Absolutely!"
"Or we could use them for ourselves. Or better yet, sell them!" Patches suggested.
Emilia glared at him. "We are not selling them. We can't risk them falling into evil hands."
Patches defended himself, saying, "I never said sell them to evil hands!"
"Maybe, but we might end up selling them to secretly evil people, or selling them to people who could be targets or they end up giving the artifacts to evil people." Emilia explained her reasoning.
"Alright, alright!" the bald Undead relented. "Option one, it is."
"Luckily…" Erik grinned a bit, as he pulled a book out of his bag. "That's why I brought this!"
Emilia just looked confused. "A book?"
"It's a book about the Daedric Princes and their Artifacts."
"Well that's awfully convenient," Subaru said.
Erik shrugged. "Yeah, another one of my goals is collecting them all."
"Well, what does it say?!" Patches said, full of excitement.
Erik flipped through the pages as he found them. "Okay, let's see... the first one is Dawnbreaker: the Artifact of Meridia, Lord of Light and Life."
That peaked Subaru's interest. "Sounds like a destructive weapon."
Erik nodded. "It's supposedly a holy sword, made to eradicate the undead."
Subaru and Patches gave Erik a blank stare, like he just said something offensive.
Erik sweated a bit as the two kept staring at him. "What?"
Subaru blinked for a second, before saying, "Wait, did we never tell you?"
Erik looked confused. "Tell me what?"
Subaru awkwardly coughed, before saying, "Patches and I… we're Undead."
It suddenly hit Erik as he realized what they meant. "Ohhhh... I see. I should rephrase that. From what I learned, Meridia created the Dawnbreaker to destroy undead like Draugr, which are reanimated corpses of fallen warriors."
"Oh, so like spooky scary skeletons?" Subaru asked for clarification.
Erik tilted his head. "We also have those, yes. They're considered weaker Undead due to losing all their flesh."
"Then what does that make Ghosts?" Patches asked.
Erik didn't know how to answer that. "Just... Ghosts."
The bald Undead shook his head, saying, "No, I mean, how would you fight those?"
"Oh... well, I'm not sure. Rarely anyone's ever encountered Ghosts before, so there's no text on how to fight them."
"I would say use holy magic, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Subaru suggested.
"Next up is the Wabbajack, created by the lord of Madness, Sheogorath."
"Heh. Wabbajack," Subaru chuckled at the funny name.
"According to the book, the Wabbajack is a staff that casts a completely random effect on its target. From the sounds of it, there's no limit to what can happen to someone struck with the effect, from healing them, killing them in who knows how many ways, or changing their body entirely."
"Changing your body entirely…?" Emilia needed clarification.
"According to the book, there was one instance where someone was turned into a wheel of cheese," Erik explained.
"I'll take my chances."
"Next, we have Mehrunes' Razor, created by Mehrunes Dagon, the Lord of Destruction and Change."
Subaru went out on a limb and said, "Let me guess… it's super sharp?"
Erik nodded at Subaru's correct assessment. "Yep. It's a dagger with a very... deadly effect. If you are cut with the blade, it has a very small chance to instantly kill you."
"It probably can cut rock like it's made of paper, huh?" Subaru remarked.
"Is it poisoned?" Emilia asked.
Erik shook his head at that. "I don't think so. There's nothing about poison, but even the smallest cut is sufficient enough for the blade's power to take effect. So, it's probably cursed."
"Jesus, talk about overpowered," Subaru grumbled.
"Next is the Skeleton Key, Artifact of Nocturnal, the goddess of Night and Darkness."
"A key?" The resident thief of the party perked up. "What does it unlock?"
"Anything, apparently." Erik stated. "It's said to be indestructible, and can accommodate nearly any lock."
Subaru placed his thumb on his chin. "That sounds oddly familiar…"
Emilia looked at her black-haired companion, curious. "How so?"
"I once had something called the Master Key, that could unlock unreachable areas, and while not as universal as the Skeleton Key, it was still pretty nifty," Subaru explained.
"Anyways, there's also the Mace of Molag Bal, named after its creator, the lord of Domination."
"I bet it causes earthquakes," Emilia said. That title was no good!
Erik shook his head. "Not really... The book doesn't list what its abilities are, but it is said to drain the target of its life energy and mana."
"That could be just as bad, in the right situation," the Japanese man said. "Sounds like a real mage killer, if the life drain doesn't kill you first."
Erik flipped the pages again. "Last one for now is Spellbreaker, Artifact of Peryite, the lord of Pestilence."
"Charming title," Subaru sarcastically said.
"Spellbreaker is a shield said to be able to flawlessly block any magic attack." The young man explained.
"Now that's a real mage killer," Patches snorted.
Subaru nodded. "Especially when you combine it with that mace."
"I guess we know what we'll be doing after meeting with these wizards," Emilia said.
"Alright, let's just be careful. According to the book, the Artifacts hold a connection to their creators."
"Well, they were made by them," Patches said. "Doesn't that qualify as a connection?"
Erik tilted his head a bit. "That's why I said we should be careful."
Subaru's eyes shifted at that statement. "What, is this like a Sauron situation?"
"Who?" Emilia asked.
"Super old and evil guy. Basically, he made a powerful ring, and whenever someone wore it, Sauron could see through it, and know where the ring was," Subaru explained.
"Huh, well I'm not sure they can do that, but you never know…" Erik said.
"We'll proceed with caution," Emilia said, nodding along with Erik.
"Alright, we're here," the driver said, stopping the carriage.
"Finally!" Patches said, leaping out. "I was dying of boredom."
"Alright, we've got a mountain to climb, so let's go!" Emilia shouted.
After arriving in Ivarstead, the four proceed to walk to the other side of the village, and begin to climb the mountain, up to the home of the wizards, and their answers.
Author's Note: No joke this week. We're just gonna head into the comments right away. (Blame school.)
Wicked.A: Glad you like the story so far. Also, for your question regarding General Radahn, the rest of the Soulsborne games do exist, but not in this universe. Trust me, it will make sense when Patches (or someone more evil) explains it.
aqdas33: We're happy you love this! Please keep reading!
Zera93: It's good to hear that you find this interesting. It just means we're doing good.
silver count: Okay, so, Subaru not trying to save Emilia during the first chapter has two explanations: The real one is that Infinite and I didn't think about it, and the in-story version is that Subaru has lived for so long and seen so many people he cares about die that he doesn't even bother trying to make new friends. We'll be showing it in the future, but at this point in Subaru's life, he's kinda given up on being a hero. You'll see. (Yeah, that's mostly our B.)
5queso: Yes, I am fully aware of who you are, and I thank you for being such a loyal reader for so long. Glad you liked the last chapter, see you in the next one! (We appreciate it!)
VinHD15: Okay, so I just looked it up, and apparently, "overlord" is a gender neutral term. So, a win for both of us. I've learned something new, and you've been proven right.
Mogustard: Glad to see that I successfully landed that joke.
Kifhjoofff: Satella with a brother? Wow, what an interesting theory… (...)
Sadchild: Wasn't the King of Pride story discontinued? (Sorry, I don't think that's an option anymore.)
Anyways, that's all the comments we have for this week!
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That's all for today, thanks for reading, and we'll see you next time!
- Ernalore and Infinite the Celestian