Beta'd by Mega Lorandto
chriswillis0923: I guess I never did truly describe his appearance, huh? Good catch honestly. Folklore changelings are indeed hideous little creatures, however the changeling race in my story look like the changelings in D&D 5e. So mostly human, just the bluish-grayish skin and white hair. As for his apparent age, he looks to be about twelve. That will be addressed later, but he is in fact a child vampire.
Salutations readers!
Seeing as my mental health has been on the rise, I feel like posting a chapter. We'll see about some more soon.
The air flowing from the cave entrance was less than savory. It positively stank of death. Hell, the plants around the entrance were even withered. Said entrance was more or less just a slit in the rocks about the width of a man. Weathered stone steps led up to the entrance with a brazier that was cold and empty. My nerves weren't too terribly happy with the idea of entering this place, but I didn't have much choice.
"Ain't no time like the present though..." I muttered as I slipped into the cave. The entrance would have been pitch black if not for my natural night-vision. Jagged rocks stuck up at all sorts of angles, some even looking like they'd been shaped by a tool. As I walked, I worked at my shawl, lowering the head covering down as to allow my natural senses to fully breathe.
The walk actually took surprisingly long. The tunnel seemed to go on and on for multiple minutes until it opened suddenly into the first cavern. It was precisely how it was in-game. Snow was piled up around from holes above that let moonlight shine down into the cave. A small stream ran through, dividing the ground into a few parts. A small tower of stone bricks sat in the corner of the cavern, presumably with the lever to open the gate which was currently closed. It actually looked remarkably similar to the stone around it. So much that I would have missed it if not for my enhanced vision.
The stream began with a small waterfall from the ceiling of the cave, causing icy water to splash the area around it. Stone pillars all around rose high towards the ceiling, yet stopped about mid-way for some reason. Moss spread around onto the rocks near the stream, some even crawling up the walls. The air was thick with dust and the aforementioned stench of death.
Paths around the edge traced the stream, leading to the gate that guarded the actual crypt.
Skipping the tower entirely, I walked up to the gate and got down low, hooking my hands underneath it. With more than enough force to rip a man in two, I wrenched the gate upwards forcefully into the ceiling. I held it up as I stepped underneath and let it drop after with a mighty slam. With some difficulty, I could hear the grinding of stone. I reckon the gate was driven by a pulley system or something. It was substantially lighter than I thought.
The slam of the gate echoed so far it was out of my range of hearing.
I let out a quick cough as I waved away the dust from my face. It was more annoying than anything.
'Oh, how lovely.' I scoffed mentally as the groans of the supposedly dead from within the area I'd just entered reached my ears.
There was a coffin in front of me at the entrance, but rubble prevented the corpse within from escaping. That same rubble also completely blocked the left path. Bricks, rotten wood support beams, and soil all filled the hall.
With a shrug, I continued on, eyes wandering over the intricate swirl patterns all over the stone bricks. I followed the path on the right, heading down into another cavern. The familiar heavy stone coffins of the draugr littered the area. Pillars supporting the roof of the cavern actually went all the way up this time, empty braziers hanging onto their sides. They were placed at irregular intervals along the stream, braziers resting atop bird-shaped extrusions that had what seemed to be an eagle looking straight into the dirt.
The stream from before ran through some sort of natural drainage system, forming a small stream bed through the soil that had evidently eroded easily eight or nine feet of soil down and perhaps fourteen feet across all the way across the room. Said stream ran into a man-made drain that went off to whereever else. I followed the stream, not minding the icy water that splashed over my shoes and legs as I walked.
In-game, I believe there was a leveled vampire that revived some skeletons in this room. Though, since obviously no one had been in here for...what? A thousand years at least? Regardless, since no one was here, I was able to simply walk through and up the steps next to the drain. From there, I took a sharp left and ended up in front of a gate similar to the one before.
Behind it was a chamber with those coffins in it. Four were inset in the floor and four were just lain on the floor.
And two of the inhabitants had left their confines, presumably when I dropped the first gate.
They were withered, their skin like leather. Their lips were withdrawn from the complete lack of moisture. Their mid-sections were alarmingly thin, like they were deflated.
Or their organs extracted in some burial ritual. I find that more likely. They weren't balloons after all.
"Huh, you're one ugly bastard." I mused as I examined the two draugr standing at the gate. They were waiting patiently, one with a mace in hand and a closed left fist. I could feel the buzzing of magicka from him. He wore some sort of mage's robes, though they were tattered and basically just rags at this point. Must have rotted away in the tomb here. I doubt their original enchantments, if any, were still effective.
The other draugr wore heavy plate. Swirls ran over the metal that was arranged in strips and riveted to a solid metal piece over the sternum. Metal pauldrons covered the corpse's shoulders with plates over the upper and lower arm as well as the back of the hand. Brittle old leather that was faded and patchy seemed to be what it was attached to for lower arm and hand plates. Chain mail connected everything. Leg plates covered the draugr's thighs and calves alongside sectional metal that formed boots, all secured with that leather and chain-mail combination. A loincloth made of dark fabric decorated the corpse but its sigil was long-faded. A helmet topped it all off. It held a rather large greatsword that looked to be about my height.
So, a mage that wasn't hitting me with magic for some reason and a heavy draugr. Light work.
I swiped my right hand at the two, aiming at neck-level.
A crescent of razor-sharp blood launched away from me. Instantly, I felt a drain on my magicka as the attack cut clean through four of the bars of the gate and severed the heads of the two undead cleanly. It went through and buried itself into the ceiling, chunks of stone raining down from the bricks above.
'Good to know.' I whistled, looking at the metal bars that had basically been ignored. The spell didn't look like it had even slowed down. It was...impressive to say the least.
Further groans signaled the approach of more draugr from the crypts ahead. I reached down and lifted the gate up with a single hand unlike before. To be honest, I thought it'd be heavier. I won't argue with a win though.
The gate slammed shut behind me as several more heavy draugr stumbled in, their weighty armor clearly making them struggle through the door. Each had a greatsword in their hands. It looked precisely as it did in-game with the hooks and sharp angles. An odd construction to say the least. There were six of them with more steps from the crypt below signalling the approach of more.
I blitzed forwards, placing my hand over the first draugr's face. They hadn't even responded to my movement yet as I slammed the draugr's head into the stone brick floor. The room shook, dust raining down from the ceiling as its head was flattened, metal crunching. The second hadn't even moved its sword towards me as I lunged upwards, sending a fist into its chest. The metal warped around my hand as I launched the corpse into the ceiling.
A savage grin formed over my face as I dropped low onto my hands, evading the third draugr's painfully slow strike. I swung around and upwards, driving my feet into the draugr's chest. It was thrown into the wall, chest having practically exploded from the force of the attack.
The other three all raised their blades in sync, swinging directly down onto me. Their glowing eyes emanated some fading embers of intelligence. It was a bit eerie to see. How long had these people been just...rotting?
My whole body jerked to the left, evading every strike. I popped up in a crouch and punched my hand through the closest draugr. It struggled for a moment, trying to swing on me as I violently twisted, bisecting the corpse and using the upper body as a weapon. I swung it by the wrist into the fifth draugr, knocking it into the gate where it slumped over on the floor.
I looked at the sixth, grin in full as I kept eye contact. I dropped the bisected draugr which struggled for a moment before my foot came down on its head, flattening it. The metal crunched beneath my foot.
The draugr's face tightened, the first bit of proper expression I'd seen from any of them. It leveled its sword at me with one hand, displaying a decent amount of strength as it spoke.
"Dur gein! Zu'u, Svornir fin Kril ahrk fent kriin hi!" The corpse groaned, voice raspy and not dissimilar to sandpaper. It then brought its sword into both hands and approached at a steady pace. This one was significantly more coordinated than the others.
My brows furrowed as I attempted to decipher what it had said. 'Gein' meant one as in the pronoun. I wasn't totally sure about 'dur' though. Curse maybe? Cursed?
I know it was apart of the thu'um to summon Durnehviir and his whole thing was being cursed to never die. Practically a zombie dragon in that sense. 'Kril' was brave and 'kriin' was...kill? Perhaps slay in this context since I think this corpse was trying to challenge me or something.
"'Scuse me?" I asked, oddly polite for the situation. The draugr thrust its blade forwards at my guts but I slapped it aside easily. I moved forwards and seized it by the throat, other hand on its wrist to prevent it from moving its sword, "You're a bit different from the others."
The draugr struggled in my grip, kicking at me but failing to actually hurt me, "HAAL ZU'U, DUR GEIN!"
"Cursed One? Really?" I rolled my eyes, "Oddly sentient for a corpse..." I added with a mutter, looking closely at its face. Its eyes were a bit brighter than the others alongside a slightly different shade of light blue. It was darker.
"Naak klo!" The draugr wheezed, punching me in the face with significant wind-up. It withdrew its hand after the strike, shaking it like it had hurt. I had hardly felt a thing though.
They felt pain?
I squeezed the draugr's wrist harder, causing to writhe in my grip.
Huh.
"You fascinate me. The others didn't seem to feel anything at all." I mused, moreso to myself than to the draugr in my hands. If I'm not mistaken, he had called himself Svornir, right? A shame I had no soul gems. I'd love to keep this guy with me to study. I'd never seen a smart draugr, much less one this vocal.
What made him different?
"Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything about this joint, would you?" I nodded to the door he had come from. The draugr who instead of answering, merely glared at me harshly. Ah well.
"Good talk, bud." I shrugged, closing the hand around his neck and easily separating his head from his shoulders. Said head rolled across the floor for a moment, eyes now dark.
Right.
Given that he hadn't called me a vampire, I reckon he probably had no idea what I was. At least, that's my theory. His insults weren't great. One could do much with the innuendo associating with sucking on people for their fluids.
Bargain bin succubus for one.
Meat-sucker.
There was more no doubt, but that's just what I had on hand.
Just then, another draugr shambled in.
'Hoh?'
It was dressed in robes like one of the draugr at the gate, but this time had stepped into the room with its arm raised, left pointed at me with palm out. An ice spike flew out.
'Slow.' Was my first thought. It was maybe the speed of an arrow.
I leaned to the side, weaving out of the way of the projectile. I then grabbed onto it, spinning on one foot with my arm fully extended as to preserve as much momentum as I could. In a flash I had thrown it back at the draugr mage who hadn't even charged up a second spike.
Crack!
The ice spike flew straight into the corpse's face and blew apart its head. It kept going after that, embedding itself in the wall behind the mage. Well, former mage. Now just regular corpse. Nothing remotely noteworthy.
I sniffed as I walked forward, stepping over the body and down the stairs. It led down into a much larger crypt area with walls lined with stone beds with bodies in various states of norse mummification. Some were just straight up skeletons. others were draugr wrapped in thick layers of cloth surrounded by jars. Probably certain organs of theirs.
Pillars stretched up to the ceiling, which had stone carvings of well, a lot of things. I saw a notable theme of what looked like a central figure with wings and clawed fingers and many slightly smaller figures bowing the central figure. Some sort of holy leader?
Wait.
Holy shit.
These guys weren't apart of the dragon cult!
They were ancient servants of Harkon!
That was quite fascinating. It also made them traitors to Harkon as his wife had sealed Serana here. That meant all of these guys were loyal to her, not him.
Speaking of these guys...
"No hard feelings, right you guys?" I chuckled lightly, looking at the group of perhaps thirty or even forty draugr who had risen from their stone resting places. Each was adorned with heavy armor and held a great sword in their hands. Each one also did not seem to be very receptive to my breaking-and-entering scheme.
The group collectively groaned as they readied their weapons.
"I plead the fifth? No? Nothing?"
"I...did not expect this." Inigo coughed, caught off-guard by the sheer number of high elves bustling around in the mountain fort before them. They were sitting in a treeline, watching the fort. It, much like their current abode, was carved into a mountain. It was evidently a repurposed Nord fortress. Though, they'd moved completely in. Altmeri Dominion banners hung from the walls proudly, sentries patrolling the walls, bows in hand. Braziers burned brightly with blue flame, signalling the use of magic.
The patrol they had trailed for miles had slipped into the fort and disappeared in its confines awhile ago.
"Yeah, I had no idea they were this deep in Skyrim." Itarus responded dully, a dark look on his face. It was fair. As a Skyrim native, he'd feel a bit more personally about their activities.
Inigo bumped him, "This is serious though. Alerting Thaion as soon as possible will be the move. He'll be able to take care of this blacksite they have here."
Itarus's lip slowly curled, fist clenching, "I hate them."
Inigo nodded in agreement, they were quite the annoying bunch.
"They took her from me..." He practically snarled with a clenched jaw.
The man made to move from the treeline, to approach the fort directly.
Inigo lunged quickly, pulling him back before they could be spotted, "You fool! What are you thinking? You'll get both of us captured!" He growled urgently.
Itarus merely glanced at Inigo, allowing himself to be pulled.
"Damn Nord zombies..." I grumbled, kicking my leg to loosen a severed hand that had grabbed ahold of my ankle. The limb went flying across the room. That whole interaction would been a death sentence if I wasn't a vampire for sure.
I was more than fast enough to evade all their attacks though.
With the corpses down, I continued on in my expedition, walking through the mass crypt room and almost heading left before stopping at a gate with a chain next to it. I then turned to my right.
"Ah! I'd nearly forgotten." I chuckled as approached another gate that was somewhat hidden behind a pillar. It was at an angle such that someone only following the natural flow of the room would likely miss it. Kind of like how I nearly did.
These old nords were actually pretty clever. It made these rooms accessible yet out of the way enough to that any potential looters would probably miss it if they weren't careful.
I pulled the chain, the gate rising into the ceiling with the grinding of stone. It opened into a hallway with a pedestal at the end. The path was entirely covered by some metal cage for whatever reason. I honestly couldn't think of a reason for it to be this way but whatever.
I walked all the way to the end and examined the item on the pedestal. It was a simple ring with a small sapphire embedded in it. To be honest, it was a rather innocuous item that wouldn't look out of place as some family's legacy.
My hand closed around it as I braced for some hazardous effect-
Nothing.
I stared lamely at it for a moment before shrugging. It'd be too risky to actually put it on, so I'd just pocket it until I could get it appraised at the college or something.
A groan alerted me to a new presence.
I...had killed all the draugr already? Did I somehow miss one that also somehow didn't wake up in the commotion?
Heavy steps caused me to turn around quickly to a draugr wearing a robe. This one was far more intact. It even glowed a small bit, a dull dark blue to be precise. Hell, it was almost imperceptible. Otherwise, it was just like any generic draugr. Leathery skin, bit of a raggedy beard, and those same glowing eyes.
"FUS."
Oh-
A wave of force hit me, throwing me back into the pedestal with a mighty slam. The stone of the pedestal at my back gave way, the structure over-turning as I went head-over-ass into the wall behind the thing!
I coughed up blood, pain radiating like I'd been hit with a warhammer from my back. That was significantly stronger than it was in-game.
Fuck.
My upper body came up stiffly. Something felt broken for sure. Not that I could let it stop me.
The draugr had walked in with me when he'd shouted, preparing to shout again, "F-."
My hand flashed out, seizing a chunk of stone and hurling it directly into the draugr's mouth. It completely obliterated its jaw, preventing it from talking ever again.
"Damn asshole..." I strained, struggling to stand. When I finally did get up, there was something in my back along my spine that hurt like a bitch. Broken vertebrae?
Crackling ice emanated from the draugr who had charged up some kind of frost spell. It wasn't ice spike though. That came out much faster than whatever this guy was doing. Whatever. No reason to let him sit there and do it.
I threw another stone and like a cannon, it caved in the draugr's face, positively destroying its head. It fell over with a dull thump, the gathered magicka dissipating into the surrounding area harmlessly.
"Aw man...think I'll just...lay here for a sec..." I groaned, sitting on the ground gingerly and laying down. My natural healing factor will have that vertebrae fixed right up soon...hopefully.
An undead moan emanated from deep within the tomb. The scent of death wafted outwards, ancient flesh devoid of moisture twitched on its seat. A restless soul stirred within its confines, unable to move on to its well-deserved rest.
Whoever the person may have been when they were sealed within the tomb was now long gone. Their identity faded away in the torrents of time. Now they were simply...no one. A corpse. A prison for a tortured soul.
Until something...changed.
'...An intruder?' The stiff corpse shifted in its seat, dull blue orbs looking up to the door across from it in the amphitheater it had been locked within for so very long. A presence it had not felt since...when? It could not recall. But it was familiar. Almost like their dark mistress. But she was locked away, never to be seen again.
As they were actually.
Eventually, the draugr stood, bracing itself on the arms of its throne. It grabbed the naginata waiting at the side of its throne. It glowed a faint light green. Tassels of a faded crimson red dangled from just beneath the head of the weapon. Once upon a time, they bore symbols identifying its bearer's allegiances, but now, they were faded and unidentifiable. Dust coated the weapon thinly. Only the fact that the air was stagnant saved it from being fully obscured.
The corpse's segmented armor rattled quietly as it moved around. For being so ancient, it actually moved quite deftly. Disturbingly so actually.
It would be wise to investigate this disturbance.
Shuffling noises emanated from it and its followers. All dried out husks of people they used to be.
I rubbed my back as I stood up. The pain was gone, as I had hoped. Moving was also unrestricted now! Perfect.
'Time to push onward.' I thought with a hum, stepping over the positively mangled draugr bodies and took a sharp right to the door I was at earlier. The chain pulled easily enough and I stepped through. It led down a staircase and into a tunnel that was made completely out of natural earth. Not sure why they decided to just not continue with the brick, but alright.
It turned left and opened into a cavern with two waterfalls on either side. The one on the left had some vampiric architecture at the top though. Guardrails.
The water cascaded down the rocks to the bottom where it seemingly had flooded a bit. Headstones peeked out of the water, stones that covered the bodies just visible beneath the murky water. Braziers dotted the sides irregularly, cold and empty. Namira's rot mushrooms appeared in patches around the room.
I walked through the water, eyes scanning warily. I don't need a jump-scare thank you very much! It didn't take long for me to reach a steep soil slope that led up to the next door. Whoever designed this damn place was definitely on skooma.
The door at the top of the slope had actual structure in it once again. Specifically some stairs with a large burial urn just past a door. Odd place for it really. Was it for pets or something? It was oddly unsecured. But then again, I don't think they built with people getting this far in mind. At least, unauthorized.
I came to a hard stop at the door, blinking as I peered in.
Spiders.
I hate spiders.
With all their legs and hair and eyes and-
"OH MY TALOS ITS COMING TOWARDS MEEEEE!" I screeched, much like...a little girl, leaping up to the ceiling as what I presumed to be a juvenile frostbite spider leapt at me. It crashed into the wall behind me and I dropped down on it, crushing its sternum easily. Green blood squirted out from it, coating my boots and the ground around it.
I blinked hard, setting my jaw.
The area ahead was covered in cobwebs and spider nests. Not to mention the creepy crawly bastards themselves. Thankfully the draugr seemed to have been eaten or something long ago, so I didn't have to contend with them at least.
With a deep breath I braced myself on the back wall before exploding forwards, propelling myself like a missile through the hall all the way to the end. I had the layout completely memorized. I skidded to a stop at the top of a small set of stairs, performing the exact same routine. I had just barely avoided a glob of spider venom that had been spit at me. Instead, I rocketed down the next hall.
It opened to the stream that flowed through that vampiric stone guardrail. Not that I cared very much. Instead I channeled my blood magic, two of my [Crimson Spike] spell lashed out, going completely through two spiders. They had holes through their faces. Since they had been running at me, all their momentum continued, causing them to slide and roll to a stop in the stream.
I threw the lever open and slid under the gate along the ground beneath the gate. I wouldn't be caught dead spending more time than I had to around spiders. A particularly large spider crawled along the ceiling of the next room but I didn't even slow down. I crashed into the door, throwing it open then slamming it shut behind myself. I drew a large sigh of relief as I slid to a sitting position against the door. There was an aggressive scratching on the other side, but it couldn't open the door thankfully.
Without the immediate threat of giant spiders the side of a horse, I could actually examine my surroundings.
The architecture had switched over to that high gothic style the vampires in Skyrim were fond of. Lots of high arches, concave ceilings, and the oddly well-made brick. There was an empty pedestal directly in front of me with Three arches ahead of it. The one in the middle had a gate made of metal bars with the other two being windows made of metal grate. For some reason, the two far corners on the opposite side of the room from me were just bare rock. Why they hadn't finished constructing it was a mystery. Two gargoyle statues flanked the door.
Again, whoever built this whole joint was on skooma.
I stood up, now eyeing the two gargoyle "statues" by the door. Walking over, I wrenched the thing into the ceiling just like before, though this one was noticeably heavier. I let it fall with a slam.
With a tense pause, I looked around to the various gargoyle statues, but found no movement. Perhaps some were just statues? Entirely possible. That would make sense. Better to keep intruders on their toes and asking questions.
I stepped up to the rail, looking down at Serana's tomb. To be honest?
It was a bit bland. It looked like one of those things some medieval rule would have built to try to assert their supposed superiority. A touch gaudy too.
The stacks of arches sat upon a foundation made of stone brick that went down into the still water. Where it had come from, I hadn't a clue. It wasn't rain water. All this part of Skyrim got was snow and it'd be too cold for it to just melt in here. Maybe there was something beneath? Not that I'm going to just dive in.
My vision then shifted to the...beams of moonlight pouring in from the ceiling of the massive cavern.
Really? Holes to the sky outside in a vampire tomb? Where vampires were likely to return to one day?
Maybe Valerica secretly wanted to kill Serana or something. This was pretty dumb.
Regardless, I got walking, descending down the stairs to my right and along the small bridge to the platform itself.
A handful of skeletons littered the platform, but I paid them no mind as I walked up to the button and slapped my hand down on it. The spike shot out from within, piercing my hand. I let out a hiss as my blood flowed over it. Interestingly, the spike was a shiny black. Ebony perhaps? It withdrew a few seconds later, freeing up my hand which healed in short order. It was only a flesh wound after all.
I turned, eyes drawn to the purple barrier that emerged from the floor. The grooves between each of the sections allowed it to pour up in a thin, sheet-like layer.
Wait. Are the braziers silver?
My curiosity grew as I walked up to one and pressed a single bared finger to it. I didn't feel much but when I withdrew it, a distinct burn mark was on the tip of my finger. So it was probably impure silver, but it still had some.
Were vampires not meant to open this? If so, why not have the button just not accept vampire blood? Probably the easiest solution. Most vampires don't travel with mortals.
Valerica was...a bit dumb. For being smart enough to break into the Soul Cairn, she really sucked at designing tombs. Harkon was also extraordinarily stupid, but I'd covered that already. What a dumbass.
I grabbed my shawl and put it over one of my hands and used it to push the braziers without an issue. The purple flames erupted as the braziers were put in their proper places, the whole structure eventually rumbling. All the braziers moved to the far ring and each section fell down slightly, the button's being the lowest. The stone slabs that made the button's section's floor slid out, revealing a swirling purple vortex from which a tall stone coffin rose upwards. Once at its full height, the slabs slid back into place, reforming the floor.
It was...exactly like the game. In fact, it was exactly as cinematic and breathtaking. Though the thing with the braziers sort of soured my mood, I still greatly enjoyed the experience. This was a dream of mine come true!
The coffin's front slowly slid down, revealing-
'Oh.' Was my only thought. She...looked exactly as she did in game. Short black hair with a few braids going down the sides. Dark lips that contrasted with alabaster skin. She was pale, but not ugly pale. On the contrary, her skin appeared to practically glow. Her face was as a royal should look with high cheekbones, angular jaw, even proportions, and more. And her eyes! They were a bright golden yellow that the moonlight bounced perfectly off of.
Her clothes were similarly identical to that of in-game. Red tunic covered by a black leather corset and a cape. Though, it lacked the cleavage window seen in-game. Good. It was horribly impractical. Instead it continued up into a tight collar that hugged her neck. It was secured at the neck by a pin bearing a symbol I presumed to be of Volkihar. A pin-wheel design in a way actually with one large bar going through it.
She stared at me for a moment, stepping down and out of the coffin.
"I-" She began before she collapsed. I moved forwards, catching her and setting her down gently. Now that hadn't happened in-game. Why could that be? Blood-starvation perhaps? I sort of assumed whatever magic was sealing her had her frozen in time. Maybe not? Maybe she willingly entered some sort of hibernation and she was starving?
I examined her face a bit closer. She looked a touch gaunt and there was a thin layer of sweat over her skin. The more gargoyle-y features of vampires seen in unmodded ones were showing through in certain aspects. That must be it. Her nose was too pointed, fingers too claw-like, and her cheeks were a bit sunken-in.
Well shit.
The sound of rustling armor alerted me to three new arrivals. I looked over to where I would have to go to exit the tomb spotting-
"Is that fucking Akaviri armor?" I exclaimed, staring agape at the individual in the middle. The other two were the same heavily armored draugr I've been fighting.
The middle was wearing Akaviri segmented armor, the stuff the Blades wore. Specifically the torso armor alongside plates over its upper arms. It was over-top some faded blue tunic that now had tears and holes in it from the passage of time. It revealed the dried out skin of the wearer beneath. Rust painted the armor faintly, but it still looked serviceable.
Metal plates were sewn into the forearms of the tunic. Metal bands were around the wrists. They were a dull gold color and bore designs of dragons and serpents all the way around. This led into a thick metal plate on the back of the hand which had three metal claws sticking out, a bit like the Stormcloak general's gauntlets actually. Would probably be pretty gnarly to get hit with really.
There was some sort of robe beneath it. One layer had a scale pattern in a dull, faded brown that had worn through. Holes dotted it like buckshot. Threads hung loosely. The outer layer was scale but larger and a dim blue like the tunic. Its waist was wrapped in fur that was positively ancient by now, but had held up pretty well all things considered. It was certainly dusty though. A rotten leather belt held it all together.
It wore some sort of dark metal mask. It had eye holes that allowed the corpse's blue orbs to stare outwards at the world. It had a broad jawline and a sharp chin with-
'Now that's oddly familiar...' I squinted at the mask's mouth. It...looked exactly the style of a dragon priest mask. And the rest of it...
'Is that not a dragonbone helmet?' I scrunched up my nose. That was quite the coincidence. It had no bone, but had similar style to a dragonbone helmet in-game.
Regardless, it had a hood that was a darker blue than the tunic with one central seam.
The real showstopper was the weapon in its hand. It was a naginata with a blade in the style of an Akaviri katana atop the shaft. Dark red leather ran up and down the body of the weapon, providing what must have been a comfortable grip. Tassels that I presumed were a much darker red once upon a time were now faded and tattered. They hung from just beneath the blade, fluttering gently in the downdraft of the cave.
The tsuba and guard were a dull golden color, likely made from some kind of brass. The butt of the weapon had a rather shiny stone embedded into it, that brass material wrapping around it protectively in a dragon design.
"So, who are you supposed to be? Some enthralled Akaviri Blademaster?" I asked, rolling my left shoulder as I charged up two of my [Crimson Spike] spell.
The middle draugr tilted its head at the term I called it. Seems I was right on.
It jerked its head at me, the two draugr at its side shuffling forwards. A moment later and my spells ripped their heads clean off, hitting them in their necks and severing their heads. The metal of their armor clanged against the stone of the tomb. The Akaviri draugr didn't react very much, just looked at me oddly. What was it doing?
Eventually, I made the first move, striding forwards before-
SCHLICK!
I couldn't even react as the draugr sunk its weapon clean to the guard into my midsection. Pain pulsated out dully, but it wasn't awful. Guess vampires had their pain response suppressed.
My hand latched onto the shaft of it as the draugr attempted to withdraw it. Seeing as it couldn't, it simply jumped up, lunging at me. It landed a solid kick to my face, snapping my head back, the neck kick landing on my chest, launching me away into Serana's coffin. A plume of dust came up when I landed. I coughed violently for a moment.
God damn! This fucker was faster than me! Not to mention pretty damn strong too.
I gripped the naginata once again, pulling it out with a grunt. My face scrunched up as I did so. That expression rapidly morphed into surprise as the weapon shot out of my hand and into the hands of my enemy.
Said enemy appeared in front of me in a flash, weapon poised to decapitate me. My spine rolled, folding to the side, allowing me to dodge as I bent to almost a ninety degree angle sideways at the spine. The stone where my head had been screeched in protest as a groove was carved out of it. Chunks of stone tumbled out the side.
'Close.'
I then braced a hand on the ground and spun my whole body along the ground, evading a downwards stab. This was followed by me launching up at the draugr who had no hesitation in abandoning his weapon to engage me in hand-to-hand.
He slammed a fist into my teeth. I felt my jaw pop painfully as I was knocked back into the coffin once again. The next strike came before I could even open my eyes. My opponent buried his fist right into my liver, deep. Pain exploded in my side, stars swimming in my vision as I keeled over only for my face to be thrown down into a rising knee. A crunch rang out as my nose was smashed, blood spraying out.
Despite my state, the draugr didn't stop.
An elbow met my chin, this time dislocating my jaw to my right. But I was learning.
When the next strike came, a left straight to my temple, I caught the draugr's fist in my hand. It went to pull away but I was much stronger than it. That didn't matter though. My instincts shrieked at me, alerting me to the draugr's weapon which shot back to him. I was forced to let go and disengage with a side-step as my opponent regained his weapon.
If not for my quick evasion it would have impaled me through the heart.
The draugr lunged at me immediately, blade poised to slash open my chest. When I stepped back out of range, it didn't hesitate to fling its naginata forwards while in a heavy sprint towards me. The stone crunched beneath my feet as I leaned backwards and my legs pumped powerfully, throwing up dust. I had launched myself across the platform with one quick movement.
I dropped my shawl from my hand and slipped my shirt off, my transformation dropping soon after and revealing my brilliantly pearl white plumage. I'm sure some of the moonlight was reflecting off of them.
My opponent skidded to a halt, a wary look in its eyes.
One beat of my wings and I was well above the platform, hand massaging my jaw. There was a crack as I forcefully pushed it back into position.
"Fuuuuuuuuck." I growled, baring my fangs. I moved my jaw a bit with my hand, then on its own. The muscles and tendons seemed mostly alright. Just a touch sore.
I then fixed my searing gaze onto my opponent who had leveled its weapon against me. That was the first time anyone had hit me.
It hurt.
A snarl built in my throat as I swept forward suddenly, hand moving in a strong arc. In a flash, a blood spike with the added momentum of my flight shot out towards the draugr.
...Who spun out of the way and chucked its naginata at me again, despite the distance. I caught it and much like the ice spike, gave it a wide arc to preserve as much momentum as I could while adding my own strength and sent it back, easily twice as fast.
The draugr smartly moved out of the way of its weapon as it returned like a bullet. The stone gave way easily, burying the weapon half-way up the shaft.
'Not fast enough.' I noted with elation as the weapon clipped its right arm, the sheer force ripping the limb fully off at the elbow. It spun off and slapped to the ground with a metallic clang.
I didn't wait for the draugr to figure out a way to retrieve the naginata yet again, nor assess its wound. With two beats from my powerful wings I was swooping down onto the draugr like a diving bird of prey.
It tried to dive out of the way, but I caught it by the ankle as it went, quickly ascending towards the ceiling of the cavern.
"MY TURN!" I called, winding up and heaving the draugr into the jagged stone above us. It made a sound somewhere between annoyance and pain. The dark rocks above our heads crumbled, debris falling down to the water with splashes. The corpse's armor was a bit dented from the impact but otherwise fine.
Seeing as it was still airborne, I swooped in again just as it began to fall, seizing it once more, this time by the head and began to rapidly soar upwards towards the roof.
It didn't take long. The draugr slammed into the stone again.
And again.
Again.
An undead hand briefly grasped my face, but I swatted it aside only to catch a glimpse of a blade.
It was oddly beautiful. A graceful curve with a groove along the backside of each side of the blade. The tsuba was a pair of dragons while the hilt was a dark thread wrapped all the way around. A gorgeous ying-yang symbol stylized with what seemed to be blood drops, or perhaps tear drops, made up the guard. The way the moonlight from the large holes above reflected off it was positively enrapturing.
I couldn't help but release an unholy screech of exceptional pain as the knife plunged deep into my chest. The blade burned.
My hands released the draugr who entered a free-fall.
"AAAGGHHH!" I cried, clawing at my chest. A burning sensation was spreading throughout my form. It was simultaneously creeping like the chill of winter wind, yet hotter than even a stove-top. The worst part? It was spreading.
My hand grasped onto the weapon- a tanto- and yanked it out, casting it down into the water below.
A heave left me as I writhed mid-air in utter agony. It was more excruciating than any pain I'd ever gone through prior- emotional and physical.
Just then though, a faint searing sensation clawed at my hand. I struggled to even open my eyes but I did.
'Silver.' I realized, noting the burn mark on my hand from where it had contacted the guard. It was only burned there, not where I had held the hilt.
That motherfucker had a silver weapon?! Why?!
How I remained in-flight was a miracle but I slowly drifted down towards the platform, hand clutching my chest wound. I'd probably feel that in the morning.
As soon as I touched down I fell to my knees, dry heaving. My wings tucked up close to my back, allowing me to roll over. Luckily the accursed bastard hadn't been able to land the blow properly. It entered just beneath my collarbone and slid against it, just above my heart.
Once again, I was only able to lay there while I attempted to recover.
"Fuuuuuuuuck..." I breathed, staring upwards through a hole in the cavern's ceiling.
I promised action! Let me know how this felt you guys! Also, going to be exploring the older parts of Elder Scrolls lore too! Not one of the stories I've ever seen have gone much deeper than Skyrim. On top of that, we will also explore other parts of Tamriel!
Anyways, yadda yadda yadda. Insert excuse for long upload here. Love you guys and I hope to get more soon!
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