- Location
- Elsewhere
You think some old men can climb all the way up that stupid frozen stairway?
They set up shop at the town at the bottom of the hill, Shade didn't think to check.
My Older Siblings Cannot be the Dragonborn (Skyrim SI)
- Thread starter shadenight123
- Start date
You think some old men can climb all the way up that stupid frozen stairway?
They set up shop at the town at the bottom of the hill, Shade didn't think to check.
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
My personal headcanon is that while paarthunax and the greybeards wouldn't be able to DEFEAT alduin, they had enough power to make it entirely to costly for him to actually go and fight them.
Impartial Panic
unbiased hysteria
- Location
- Padded cell
We haven't checked the back courtyard yet.
they sometimes go to that small tower and shout from it so maybe they are meditating there.
Probably one of the reasons why he was busy raising all the other dragons so he can throw them at the greybeards first to tire them out.
Alduin is probably more cautious about hitting a foe head on after getting thrown through time.
paarthunax and the other races have had a lot of time to gather strength and power so best to let the others test their defenses then move in for the kill.
If you recall the bit where the Dovahkiin peeks through the cracks in time to learn Dragonrend, Alduin got his ass whupped before getting put in timeout. Alduin likes to hideout in Sovngarde and feast on the souls there to recover from such things.
Odds are if he tried to start shit, the Greybeards and their dragon Sensei could have slapped his shit.
Given the lack of overall devastation, there was no exchange of Thu'um.
Assuming they arn't napping, preparing a dramatic welcome or having a quick chat with Paarthurnax my next guess would be a Thalmor Assassin(via poisoned food/throat slitting).
Outside of Alduin the only ones who might be of harmful intent to the Greybeards are the Thalmor. It would be a smart move for those assholes to kill off some highly respected and dangerous fellows before they can teach anyone else the Thu'um or be used the defuse the tensions of the civil war(as in canon).
Or OldShade did something foolish.
Science
If you're reading this, omae wa mo shindeiru.
- Location
- Killeen, TX
Is this Jenova going "Puppets, we're all puppets in a game!" all over again, except that this time the meta is part of the lore?
- Location
- Wisconsin
They aren't exactly just npcs anymore. Maybe they had to go on a food run or something? Maybe old age is starting to set in and they've fallen and they can't get up?
I think this may be a reference to some form of Schrödinger's cat situation, wherein one is able to gain true freedom and agency by stepping outside of the view-able reality.
And the reverse being true, that by being within reality you are then a slave to it.
...huh.
By the effect of the Elder Scroll, that could have happened to Alduin. Maybe.
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Possible, but it fails to explain the absence of the Greybeards after they recently acted to summon Berry.
There is a simple but horrifying answer.
When the Greybeards shouted for the Dragonborne, Alduin investigated.
When the Greybeards shouted for the Dragonborne, Alduin investigated.
Raviollius
...but what happens afterwards?
- Location
- .
No, he didn't. They tried to fight him head-on, he killed one of the three, the other two couldn't defeat him and because of that they used the Elder Scroll.
Chapter Thirty-Four - The Seven Thousand Steps - 3rd of Hearthfire 4E 201 - Umbra
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Thirty-Four - The Seven Thousand Steps - 3rd of Hearthfire 4E 201 - Umbra
The inner courtyard wasn't as easy to reach as the game had made it to be. This was mainly due to the increase in size, and the presence of walls where there hadn't been any before. The place never shook off its abandoned feeling to my senses, even as I witnessed melted candles that had run their courses, and books left half-open with words written in ancient tongues I could not understand.
"Where did your pet vampire go?" Berry asked, and I shrugged in reply.
"She's probably following us from the shadows, ensuring that if anything or anyone creeps on us, she can counter-creep them," I quipped, receiving a tiny giggle in reply that told me I had been right in my belief. "Though she shouldn't have giggled to give away her position like that."
There was the sound of a tongue clicking against teeth, and then silence once more settled in the hallway we were walking in, trying to find the door that lead to the inner courtyard of all things. It wasn't supposed to be hard to find it, and yet here we were, still looking for it.
"I think this is the door for the courtyard," Berry said after a short while, pointing at a door who had traces of ice at its bottom, and as I nodded and grabbed hold of one of the metal circles, I pulled it open with ease. Uh, so the only difficulty was with the door at the entrance? Seriously, speak about being inhospitable folks.
The blast of cold air that assaulted my body nearly froze my blood, but as I managed to power through it and step outside, I realized that the courtyard had been transformed into some sort of macabre field covered in mounds of snow. The winds blew loudly in the area, far more loudly than they had any right to howl. Thick columns of ice ha formed from the sides of the walls, and stalagmites, or stalactites, whichever of the two grew from the bottom upwards, formed sinister looking pylons in the courtyard's midst.
"Something's not right," I said, thumping my blade's hilt against my shield as I took a few steps forward, descending the few steps that led upon the fresh snow of the courtyard. "It's not supposed to be like this."
I neared the center of the courtyard, my eyes narrowing as the biting winds did everything they could to freeze my eyes into my own sockets, but they didn't manage. There was something within the icy pylon, and as I wiped the frozen snow off the side, I stared into the wide-opened mouth of a robed man whose eyes were wide in pure terror. I took a step back and breathed deeply, hearing the ground tremble beneath my feet.
"The Greybeards are dead!" I yelled, turning quickly as I witnessed Berry's expression, her eyes upwards to the top of the mountain. I turned too, and witnessed a pair of wings wide and strong. There were cruel eyes, of a deep oceanic blue, and a body cast in ice and frost. The dragon spoke, and his voice reverberated across the land to cast away the snow and shatter the icicles, sending the shattered corpses of the Greybeards to tumble down their path down the mountain.
"Zu'u los Sahloknir! Naal fen do dii thur Alduin, hi los gronzul wah dinok, Dovahkiin!" it growled as its wings widened and it began its descent. The maws of the dragon opened as powerful flames rushed forth from its jaws, the heat melting the courtyard's entire snow and transforming it into a thick mist, which exploded and cracked the stones it was made of. The ground beneath my feet trembled as I rushed to where Berry was, grabbing hold of her just as a pair of hands grabbed hold of me and pushed me down, a strong gale passing over my head as the mists seemed to part, revealing the dragon perched upon the far edge of the courtyard, its tail swishing right and left.
"Sahloknir!" I yelled as I caught my breath, catching his attention, "Let's talk about this! Paarthurnax! Where is he?!"
Sahloknir laughed, eyes burning with cold embers of ice as flames left his jaws. "You dare sully my name with your mouth, mun," he narrowed his eyes. "He lies at the summit. Wuth, sadon, sahlo." Power rolled off the dragon's tongue as I felt my body threateningly creak beneath the strain of my armor's weight, and as I fell down on one knee, my vision swam in blurs and lines.
A crackling bolt of lightning struck the dragon's side of the face, the electricity rippling across the scales as the white figure of Babette did her best impression of Emperor Palpatine as she zapped the dragon with everything she had. The dragon laughed, flickers of magic forming across his skin as it spoke once more, "Vasik lah." Babette's scream was shrill as pale motes of blue energy left her frame abruptly, forcing her down on her knees as the dragon's tail slammed into her sides, sending her to fly and strike the ground repeatedly like a skipping stone, landing on the opposite side of the courtyard.
I grimaced as strength returned to my limbs in the same way a sleeping foot starts to shiver and itch as blood flows once more into it. "We're going to need a miracle to get out of this one," I said as I bit my lips, my eyes on the floor rather than on the dragon. Etchings spread in front of me, my eyes belatedly blinking harshly as I saw the marks for what they were. "Berry!" I snarled next, catching the girl's attention, "Read the floor!" I pointed at the crude stone pavement beneath our feet, where countless decades had gone by in which the Greybeards had used the grounds to speak and show the words of the Thu'um to those who would be their students. "Find a word that might work! I'll hold him back!"
As I said that, I knew fully well I wouldn't be holding him back as much as bullshit my way into gaining time for Berry to read a word that might work.
Sahloknir widened his wings again, casting us in the shadows as his smile showed off all of his fangs. In the darkness, there was no light to read. "I am Sahloknir! Hear my voice, and despair!"
"I am Umbra!" I yelled back, sword pointed up towards him, "And I am Hatred incarnated! Despair made manifest! If you want true despair, then know you are but a whelp compared to my darkness!"
Sahloknir laughed. He laughed and rushed forward with his massive muscles and sharp teeth. In an instant, he was over me, and in a second, my blade met and shattered against his teeth as I found myself hitting straight against his right wing, clutching on to it as he flapped the limb up and down, my hoarse screaming accompanied by him suddenly changing his direction, which made my fingers slip on the hold I had and send me to hit the mountain's side with enough strength to shatter every single bone I had in my body.
Sahloknir laughed once more and turned, his tail swishing and picking me up in the blast as my body rag-dolled not unlike what would happen if a giant struck it, and as I hit one of the stone columns, pain had already left the equation because there was nothing else for me to feel. You can't feel pain if your entire being is made of pain, and you can't do anything if your vision is swimming in a multitude of colors none of which make sense.
I hissed as I felt my body tremble, the snow matted red with blood that seemed to seep out of the wounds I had on my back. This wasn't how I planned on dying, but then again there was no way I'd survive something like this to begin with. Hopefully ten seconds were all that Berry needed to find some of the words of power she needed in order to fight evenly against Sahloknir.
"Sahloknir," I croaked out. "Sahloknir," I hissed as the dragon's attention abruptly changed from Berry's form to mine. I gritted my teeth as I spoke his name, again and again, "Sahloknir, Sahloknir!"
"Cease calling me," the dragon snarled, "You sully my name!"
I laughed in return as I watched his maws widen to reveal an inferno of flames. "Sahloknir!" I roared just as the dragon's maws expelled the infernal flames. A figure of white appeared in front of me, twin hands cast in unearthly green glows as a magic ward shielded us from the flames, Babette's expression one of pure determination.
"Nibblekins!" Babette exclaimed, "Are you all right?"
"No," I croaked back as I laughed, tears of pain rolling down my cheeks, "but I'll survive!" I laughed madly as I tried, and failed, to stand. I was so tired I wanted nothing more than sleep. Defeat lurched into my core like an angry snake, hissing words that seemed to beg for me to stop trying to fight, and just accept the end for what it was. I refused, of course, because I would only be defeated in death, and as long as I refused to die, then there was no way for the world to make me lose. If you try at something until you die, you never lose, because you're not around to witness your defeat in the first place!
It's screwed up logic, but it's logic all the same!
My breathing hitched as my muscles finally decided to obey me, my body rising up to the shuddering breaths of my rib-cage in pieces. "Bring it on, you worm of a snake!" I snarled loudly, "Sahloknir! I dub thee worm! I dub thee inferior and weak! Come on and get me, you craven!" I slammed my blade's hilt against my shield, "A lonely Nord defeated you! A single man, not dovahkiin nor mage, struck you down! You failure of a hunter!" as I laughed at my own words, Babette rushed towards me as the gusts of fire waned, grabbing me by my midriff and jumping with strength and grace out of the way of the dragon's charge.
"Nibblekins," she whispered, "Do you have a plan?" she asked as the dragon turned abruptly towards us, utterly ignoring Berry in his fury. I simply smiled as I watched it flap its wings and rush towards us.
I had but one word to tell Babette.
"No."
Babette smiled. "That's just like you!" she giggled as she threw me aside, before jumping in the opposite direction to summon forth a bow from Oblivion itself. Sahloknir landed on the spot we had been a second before, and as he turned his neck towards me, my body laying in a mound of fresh snow, twin arrows of streaking blue energy hit him in the back of it, causing angry crimson lines to form where they had hit. The dragon turned its head, and I snarled just as it did.
"Sahloknir!" as I called him, he turned his head once more towards me, his fangs bare as he ignored Babette in favor of murdering the one who had been calling his name incessantly in the past minutes.
"Fo Krah Diin," the dragon snarled with conviction, the Thu'um rippling in the air as winter itself came to cast the world in a blizzard that had no end, in a cold frozen tundra of death, in a realm where nothing moved for nothing could move.
"Yol Toor Shul!" the flames of the infernal sun burned in answer, a figure emitting such a powerful heat that the snow mound I was on melted as the breath of fire met that of frost, and both exploded at the point of contact, casting haze and mist that soon turned into rain which fell and crystallized the moment it touched the ground. Berry stood amidst the words carved upon the rock in the countless decades that had come before, and as she tensed, Sahloknir's eyes turned towards her.
"Dovahkiin, your voice is no match for mine," Sahloknir spoke darkly, "Come then and face me!" and as it lunged forward, the Thu'um brought into existence the strength of the force that could not be stopped.
"Fus Ro Dah!" Berry roared next, and the dragon's charge stopped abruptly as its neck swung back, its body shuddering to a halt as its claws dug into the stone, grating and shattering most of them. Its tail instead swung, and I watched as Berry gracefully dropped down to avoid it, before rolling on the floor to avoid a downward swipe of the Dragon's claw. She had a sword, and she was unafraid of using it to swing against one of Sahloknir's paws, blood spraying out of the wound as she yelled with each strike she made.
She overstepped, swinging once more than what she should have, and Sahloknir took advantage of that by swinging its other paw against her. She hit the ground and skidded a short distance away from the dragon.
"Sah—" I did not finish, because this time, I pulled the rope too hard and for too long. In what could only be considered a roar brought forth by madness itself, the dragon spun angrily and rushed, pouncing on my body with its left claw, slamming me straight through the snow mound as the ground below gave way, weakened and broken. I landed roughly on my back, one floor below the courtyard.
I coughed as I realized the dragon had literally punched me through a wall, and couldn't help but chuckle even as I felt darkness swim into my vision, the last vestiges of strength sapped away from my body. I could hear the dragon's roars, and Berry's Thu'um answering it. I could hear the noises of the battle overhead as the ceiling shook over my head.
I turned my head to the side, and gurgled. This must have been the room of a Greybeard, abandoned and left to the spiders and rats. A dark grey cloak hanged against a wall, and an old and rusty blade was by its side. I shuddered as I tried to turn around, but my body wouldn't have it.
Perhaps Babette had been right. Perhaps I really couldn't die. It would explain why I wasn't dead yet. It was either that, or something was definitely wrong with my body. Whatever the reason, even if it was something as silly as the Void not wishing to claim me because I would out-chuuni Sithis himself, I still wasn't going to look at a gifted horse in the mouth, even if it came pregnant with facehuggers.
The cold dusty air I breathed made me nearly choke as I crawled away from the broken bed I had landed onto, which was made of stone and thus didn't really help my poor back anyway, and towards a shelf upon which some bottles left to age stood.
Technically, one of them could be a potion of health.
I grabbed hold of the closest one I could reach from the ground, and took a deep breath before drinking it down in one gulp. It had the consistency of jelly and tasted like sour eggs. I wheezed as I felt my stomach lurch against the invader to common sense and good taste, but refused to threw it up. The second and the third met the same end of the first one, and as I finally felt my muscles willing to stand up, I emptied the rest of the outdated potions.
I heard the ceiling tremble, Sahloknir's roar echoing once more. I turned my attention to the dark grey robe and the rusted sword.
"Nine Divines, so help me I hope you know what you're doing," I grumbled as I grabbed hold of the robe and spun it around my back as a makeshift cloak, the rusted sword clutched into my right hand. It had all of the markings of an ancient Nordic Sword, which kind of made it better than a normal iron sword because only the Divines knew why the game made them like that, but still there I was, standing on my feet, striking an imposing form as I neared the door of the cell and opened it, just to watch the avalanche on the other side of it clearly remark on how no, that would not be the exit I was looking for.
"Ah," I said, nodding as I began to pull the shelves away from the walls and towards the bed, gritting my teeth as I crafted a makeshift ladder to climb up and out straight into the courtyard. "An adventure-platforming with puzzle-solving elements," I grumbled as I climbed up to the summit, before hopping off in order to grab hold of the courtyard's stones and push myself up the rest of the way.
My breathing was short, but I could see that Berry hadn't died, that Babette was nowhere to be seen, and that the Dragon was busy swishing his tail back and forth trying to smash Berry to pieces. I grumbled as a form materialized by my side, candid as snow and with a bright, cheerful smile.
"Nibblekins!" she whispered, "I knew you'd return. The cloak suits you."
"Yeah," I grumbled out, passing a hand through my hair. I turned to look at Babette. "Say," I remarked. "You're an alchemist, yes?" Babette nodded as a small smile formed on my lips. "Do you want to build a snowman?"
Her answer made my tiny heart expand thrice over.
It would be enough.
It had to be enough.
"Sahloknir!" I roared after a few tense minutes had gone by in which I hoped Berry didn't lose her focus on the dragon. "Sahloknir!" I chanted once more, "Sahloknir!" I roared with my hands cupped around my mouth. "Sahloknir!"
Homicidal fury was the default expression of a dragon's eyes.
Sahloknir's gaze could have killed the dead ten times, the living a hundred, and myself perhaps a thousand times over. There I stood, rusty sword in one hand and robe fluttering to the winds like a cloak. "Sah," I said with the smile of a cat that had eaten a dozen fat chickens, "Lok," I teased with the voice the trollest of them all upon internet forums, "Nir!" I said in the end, smiling and widening my arms wildly.
He rushed forth as I expected him to.
He rushed forth and slammed his maws down straight against my form, snapping his teeth against my body and swallowing it whole. The moment he did he screamed as something punctured his eye, his maws opening as snow fell from them. The sword in my hand was matted with blood, and as he lost one of his eyes, he stared with his other one at my form, now lacking the cloak-robes, but still standing utterly whole and just a few meters away from where he had brought his mouth down.
"Chew properly!" I said with a bright smile, "Taste the nightshade! And the Deathbell! And everything else that was thrown into your supper!"
Sahloknir roared as he sluggishly shook his head, blood and froth spewing out from his mouth together with his bile. He choked, and then he swallowed. He closed his eye and then stumbled backwards, away from me and straight towards Berry who was rushing forth with her sword clutched in both hands. She jumped, landing roughly on one of the dragon's wings before rushing her way towards his spine, tumbling forward and thrusting her sword through the membrane.
The dragon screamed in pain, blood copiously leaving his wounds as arrows of energy departed Babette's bow, this time doing more than merely glancing off the dragon's skin.
With the last vestiges of its strength, the dragon rushed for the cliff's edge and propelled himself beyond it, before taking off in a hurry. I watched as the mighty and prideful dragon flew away from the fight and actually sighed in relief as I crashed down on the cold stones, all forms of strength leaving my body. Bubbling laughter escaped my lips as I pointed a finger at the dragon's retreating back, my other hand clutching the side of my face as my vision doubled over, the stress of the battle taking its toll as all I wished was to merely crash and sleep down on the ground for years.
"Are you all right?" Berry asked as she neared, her body covered in soot and her knees somewhat dirty with blood and scrapes, where she had needed to roll perhaps. She looked quite weary, but there was also pride in her voice.
"That I am," I replied with a giggle, "That...I...ah," I exhaled loudly. "We lost the Greybeards," I whispered, wincing. "Paarthurnax...is at the summit," I turned to look at the top of the mountain. "We have to climb it before Sahloknir returns," I struggled to stand, but my muscles refused to budge. They locked in place, as if proclaiming to the world that this was it, that they would no longer move no matter what happened next. "We have to..." my grip faltered on my sword, and I took a deep breath. "Clear Skies," I said, turning to look at Berry. "There should be words...somewhere...about Summer, and Spring, and the Sky...perhaps not in that order but...you'll need it to climb past the fog...past the barrier..." I gestured to the end of the courtyard, where howling winds still remained.
A pair of hands gripped my shoulders and hoisted me up, the lithe form of Babette holding on to a strength I knew could but be unnatural in origin. "I will find a place inside where my Nibblekins can rest," she continued gently. "Though he never dies, he always suffers," she continued as if that explained everything.
Maybe I needed to have another talk with her. I had thought it was just a mere saying that I could never die, but...but I had been thrown against a mountain, and then punched through a floor, and while I had suffered, and my body was still suffering...I wasn't dead.
I wasn't dead, and that didn't make any sense.
Not that I was complaining, but...
I needed answers.
"Paarthurnax is a dragon," I managed to grunt out last, "Careful of...ice wraiths, trolls...wolves maybe...or...nothing," I winced. "Careful."
"I'll be careful," Berry promised, "You go rest. You look a step away from Sovngarde's halls."
I chuckled. "It's funny...cause that's where we're going in the end," I exhaled loudly, my eyes closing as I crumbled to sleep.
My stomach lurched as I opened my eyes after what felt like seconds, but must have been minutes.
The floor was soon welcomed by the splattering of old potions and my breakfast, and as I finished heaving the toxic poultice out of my system, I felt a hand gingerly pat my shoulders, Babette standing by the side of the bed I was apparently resting in.
"It's going to be all right, Nibblekins," she said gently, a small smile on her face. "I'm here now, and I'll never leave you ever again."
I coughed, and then closed my eyes again.
The hand caressing my hair, somehow, made me feel at ease.
Hopefully, by the time I opened my eyes, Berry would have returned.
Hope wasn't always the first step on the road to disappointment, after all.
The inner courtyard wasn't as easy to reach as the game had made it to be. This was mainly due to the increase in size, and the presence of walls where there hadn't been any before. The place never shook off its abandoned feeling to my senses, even as I witnessed melted candles that had run their courses, and books left half-open with words written in ancient tongues I could not understand.
"Where did your pet vampire go?" Berry asked, and I shrugged in reply.
"She's probably following us from the shadows, ensuring that if anything or anyone creeps on us, she can counter-creep them," I quipped, receiving a tiny giggle in reply that told me I had been right in my belief. "Though she shouldn't have giggled to give away her position like that."
There was the sound of a tongue clicking against teeth, and then silence once more settled in the hallway we were walking in, trying to find the door that lead to the inner courtyard of all things. It wasn't supposed to be hard to find it, and yet here we were, still looking for it.
"I think this is the door for the courtyard," Berry said after a short while, pointing at a door who had traces of ice at its bottom, and as I nodded and grabbed hold of one of the metal circles, I pulled it open with ease. Uh, so the only difficulty was with the door at the entrance? Seriously, speak about being inhospitable folks.
The blast of cold air that assaulted my body nearly froze my blood, but as I managed to power through it and step outside, I realized that the courtyard had been transformed into some sort of macabre field covered in mounds of snow. The winds blew loudly in the area, far more loudly than they had any right to howl. Thick columns of ice ha formed from the sides of the walls, and stalagmites, or stalactites, whichever of the two grew from the bottom upwards, formed sinister looking pylons in the courtyard's midst.
"Something's not right," I said, thumping my blade's hilt against my shield as I took a few steps forward, descending the few steps that led upon the fresh snow of the courtyard. "It's not supposed to be like this."
I neared the center of the courtyard, my eyes narrowing as the biting winds did everything they could to freeze my eyes into my own sockets, but they didn't manage. There was something within the icy pylon, and as I wiped the frozen snow off the side, I stared into the wide-opened mouth of a robed man whose eyes were wide in pure terror. I took a step back and breathed deeply, hearing the ground tremble beneath my feet.
"The Greybeards are dead!" I yelled, turning quickly as I witnessed Berry's expression, her eyes upwards to the top of the mountain. I turned too, and witnessed a pair of wings wide and strong. There were cruel eyes, of a deep oceanic blue, and a body cast in ice and frost. The dragon spoke, and his voice reverberated across the land to cast away the snow and shatter the icicles, sending the shattered corpses of the Greybeards to tumble down their path down the mountain.
"Zu'u los Sahloknir! Naal fen do dii thur Alduin, hi los gronzul wah dinok, Dovahkiin!" it growled as its wings widened and it began its descent. The maws of the dragon opened as powerful flames rushed forth from its jaws, the heat melting the courtyard's entire snow and transforming it into a thick mist, which exploded and cracked the stones it was made of. The ground beneath my feet trembled as I rushed to where Berry was, grabbing hold of her just as a pair of hands grabbed hold of me and pushed me down, a strong gale passing over my head as the mists seemed to part, revealing the dragon perched upon the far edge of the courtyard, its tail swishing right and left.
"Sahloknir!" I yelled as I caught my breath, catching his attention, "Let's talk about this! Paarthurnax! Where is he?!"
Sahloknir laughed, eyes burning with cold embers of ice as flames left his jaws. "You dare sully my name with your mouth, mun," he narrowed his eyes. "He lies at the summit. Wuth, sadon, sahlo." Power rolled off the dragon's tongue as I felt my body threateningly creak beneath the strain of my armor's weight, and as I fell down on one knee, my vision swam in blurs and lines.
A crackling bolt of lightning struck the dragon's side of the face, the electricity rippling across the scales as the white figure of Babette did her best impression of Emperor Palpatine as she zapped the dragon with everything she had. The dragon laughed, flickers of magic forming across his skin as it spoke once more, "Vasik lah." Babette's scream was shrill as pale motes of blue energy left her frame abruptly, forcing her down on her knees as the dragon's tail slammed into her sides, sending her to fly and strike the ground repeatedly like a skipping stone, landing on the opposite side of the courtyard.
I grimaced as strength returned to my limbs in the same way a sleeping foot starts to shiver and itch as blood flows once more into it. "We're going to need a miracle to get out of this one," I said as I bit my lips, my eyes on the floor rather than on the dragon. Etchings spread in front of me, my eyes belatedly blinking harshly as I saw the marks for what they were. "Berry!" I snarled next, catching the girl's attention, "Read the floor!" I pointed at the crude stone pavement beneath our feet, where countless decades had gone by in which the Greybeards had used the grounds to speak and show the words of the Thu'um to those who would be their students. "Find a word that might work! I'll hold him back!"
As I said that, I knew fully well I wouldn't be holding him back as much as bullshit my way into gaining time for Berry to read a word that might work.
Sahloknir widened his wings again, casting us in the shadows as his smile showed off all of his fangs. In the darkness, there was no light to read. "I am Sahloknir! Hear my voice, and despair!"
"I am Umbra!" I yelled back, sword pointed up towards him, "And I am Hatred incarnated! Despair made manifest! If you want true despair, then know you are but a whelp compared to my darkness!"
Sahloknir laughed. He laughed and rushed forward with his massive muscles and sharp teeth. In an instant, he was over me, and in a second, my blade met and shattered against his teeth as I found myself hitting straight against his right wing, clutching on to it as he flapped the limb up and down, my hoarse screaming accompanied by him suddenly changing his direction, which made my fingers slip on the hold I had and send me to hit the mountain's side with enough strength to shatter every single bone I had in my body.
Sahloknir laughed once more and turned, his tail swishing and picking me up in the blast as my body rag-dolled not unlike what would happen if a giant struck it, and as I hit one of the stone columns, pain had already left the equation because there was nothing else for me to feel. You can't feel pain if your entire being is made of pain, and you can't do anything if your vision is swimming in a multitude of colors none of which make sense.
I hissed as I felt my body tremble, the snow matted red with blood that seemed to seep out of the wounds I had on my back. This wasn't how I planned on dying, but then again there was no way I'd survive something like this to begin with. Hopefully ten seconds were all that Berry needed to find some of the words of power she needed in order to fight evenly against Sahloknir.
"Sahloknir," I croaked out. "Sahloknir," I hissed as the dragon's attention abruptly changed from Berry's form to mine. I gritted my teeth as I spoke his name, again and again, "Sahloknir, Sahloknir!"
"Cease calling me," the dragon snarled, "You sully my name!"
I laughed in return as I watched his maws widen to reveal an inferno of flames. "Sahloknir!" I roared just as the dragon's maws expelled the infernal flames. A figure of white appeared in front of me, twin hands cast in unearthly green glows as a magic ward shielded us from the flames, Babette's expression one of pure determination.
"Nibblekins!" Babette exclaimed, "Are you all right?"
"No," I croaked back as I laughed, tears of pain rolling down my cheeks, "but I'll survive!" I laughed madly as I tried, and failed, to stand. I was so tired I wanted nothing more than sleep. Defeat lurched into my core like an angry snake, hissing words that seemed to beg for me to stop trying to fight, and just accept the end for what it was. I refused, of course, because I would only be defeated in death, and as long as I refused to die, then there was no way for the world to make me lose. If you try at something until you die, you never lose, because you're not around to witness your defeat in the first place!
It's screwed up logic, but it's logic all the same!
My breathing hitched as my muscles finally decided to obey me, my body rising up to the shuddering breaths of my rib-cage in pieces. "Bring it on, you worm of a snake!" I snarled loudly, "Sahloknir! I dub thee worm! I dub thee inferior and weak! Come on and get me, you craven!" I slammed my blade's hilt against my shield, "A lonely Nord defeated you! A single man, not dovahkiin nor mage, struck you down! You failure of a hunter!" as I laughed at my own words, Babette rushed towards me as the gusts of fire waned, grabbing me by my midriff and jumping with strength and grace out of the way of the dragon's charge.
"Nibblekins," she whispered, "Do you have a plan?" she asked as the dragon turned abruptly towards us, utterly ignoring Berry in his fury. I simply smiled as I watched it flap its wings and rush towards us.
I had but one word to tell Babette.
"No."
Babette smiled. "That's just like you!" she giggled as she threw me aside, before jumping in the opposite direction to summon forth a bow from Oblivion itself. Sahloknir landed on the spot we had been a second before, and as he turned his neck towards me, my body laying in a mound of fresh snow, twin arrows of streaking blue energy hit him in the back of it, causing angry crimson lines to form where they had hit. The dragon turned its head, and I snarled just as it did.
"Sahloknir!" as I called him, he turned his head once more towards me, his fangs bare as he ignored Babette in favor of murdering the one who had been calling his name incessantly in the past minutes.
"Fo Krah Diin," the dragon snarled with conviction, the Thu'um rippling in the air as winter itself came to cast the world in a blizzard that had no end, in a cold frozen tundra of death, in a realm where nothing moved for nothing could move.
"Yol Toor Shul!" the flames of the infernal sun burned in answer, a figure emitting such a powerful heat that the snow mound I was on melted as the breath of fire met that of frost, and both exploded at the point of contact, casting haze and mist that soon turned into rain which fell and crystallized the moment it touched the ground. Berry stood amidst the words carved upon the rock in the countless decades that had come before, and as she tensed, Sahloknir's eyes turned towards her.
"Dovahkiin, your voice is no match for mine," Sahloknir spoke darkly, "Come then and face me!" and as it lunged forward, the Thu'um brought into existence the strength of the force that could not be stopped.
"Fus Ro Dah!" Berry roared next, and the dragon's charge stopped abruptly as its neck swung back, its body shuddering to a halt as its claws dug into the stone, grating and shattering most of them. Its tail instead swung, and I watched as Berry gracefully dropped down to avoid it, before rolling on the floor to avoid a downward swipe of the Dragon's claw. She had a sword, and she was unafraid of using it to swing against one of Sahloknir's paws, blood spraying out of the wound as she yelled with each strike she made.
She overstepped, swinging once more than what she should have, and Sahloknir took advantage of that by swinging its other paw against her. She hit the ground and skidded a short distance away from the dragon.
"Sah—" I did not finish, because this time, I pulled the rope too hard and for too long. In what could only be considered a roar brought forth by madness itself, the dragon spun angrily and rushed, pouncing on my body with its left claw, slamming me straight through the snow mound as the ground below gave way, weakened and broken. I landed roughly on my back, one floor below the courtyard.
I coughed as I realized the dragon had literally punched me through a wall, and couldn't help but chuckle even as I felt darkness swim into my vision, the last vestiges of strength sapped away from my body. I could hear the dragon's roars, and Berry's Thu'um answering it. I could hear the noises of the battle overhead as the ceiling shook over my head.
I turned my head to the side, and gurgled. This must have been the room of a Greybeard, abandoned and left to the spiders and rats. A dark grey cloak hanged against a wall, and an old and rusty blade was by its side. I shuddered as I tried to turn around, but my body wouldn't have it.
Perhaps Babette had been right. Perhaps I really couldn't die. It would explain why I wasn't dead yet. It was either that, or something was definitely wrong with my body. Whatever the reason, even if it was something as silly as the Void not wishing to claim me because I would out-chuuni Sithis himself, I still wasn't going to look at a gifted horse in the mouth, even if it came pregnant with facehuggers.
The cold dusty air I breathed made me nearly choke as I crawled away from the broken bed I had landed onto, which was made of stone and thus didn't really help my poor back anyway, and towards a shelf upon which some bottles left to age stood.
Technically, one of them could be a potion of health.
I grabbed hold of the closest one I could reach from the ground, and took a deep breath before drinking it down in one gulp. It had the consistency of jelly and tasted like sour eggs. I wheezed as I felt my stomach lurch against the invader to common sense and good taste, but refused to threw it up. The second and the third met the same end of the first one, and as I finally felt my muscles willing to stand up, I emptied the rest of the outdated potions.
I heard the ceiling tremble, Sahloknir's roar echoing once more. I turned my attention to the dark grey robe and the rusted sword.
"Nine Divines, so help me I hope you know what you're doing," I grumbled as I grabbed hold of the robe and spun it around my back as a makeshift cloak, the rusted sword clutched into my right hand. It had all of the markings of an ancient Nordic Sword, which kind of made it better than a normal iron sword because only the Divines knew why the game made them like that, but still there I was, standing on my feet, striking an imposing form as I neared the door of the cell and opened it, just to watch the avalanche on the other side of it clearly remark on how no, that would not be the exit I was looking for.
"Ah," I said, nodding as I began to pull the shelves away from the walls and towards the bed, gritting my teeth as I crafted a makeshift ladder to climb up and out straight into the courtyard. "An adventure-platforming with puzzle-solving elements," I grumbled as I climbed up to the summit, before hopping off in order to grab hold of the courtyard's stones and push myself up the rest of the way.
My breathing was short, but I could see that Berry hadn't died, that Babette was nowhere to be seen, and that the Dragon was busy swishing his tail back and forth trying to smash Berry to pieces. I grumbled as a form materialized by my side, candid as snow and with a bright, cheerful smile.
"Nibblekins!" she whispered, "I knew you'd return. The cloak suits you."
"Yeah," I grumbled out, passing a hand through my hair. I turned to look at Babette. "Say," I remarked. "You're an alchemist, yes?" Babette nodded as a small smile formed on my lips. "Do you want to build a snowman?"
Her answer made my tiny heart expand thrice over.
It would be enough.
It had to be enough.
"Sahloknir!" I roared after a few tense minutes had gone by in which I hoped Berry didn't lose her focus on the dragon. "Sahloknir!" I chanted once more, "Sahloknir!" I roared with my hands cupped around my mouth. "Sahloknir!"
Homicidal fury was the default expression of a dragon's eyes.
Sahloknir's gaze could have killed the dead ten times, the living a hundred, and myself perhaps a thousand times over. There I stood, rusty sword in one hand and robe fluttering to the winds like a cloak. "Sah," I said with the smile of a cat that had eaten a dozen fat chickens, "Lok," I teased with the voice the trollest of them all upon internet forums, "Nir!" I said in the end, smiling and widening my arms wildly.
He rushed forth as I expected him to.
He rushed forth and slammed his maws down straight against my form, snapping his teeth against my body and swallowing it whole. The moment he did he screamed as something punctured his eye, his maws opening as snow fell from them. The sword in my hand was matted with blood, and as he lost one of his eyes, he stared with his other one at my form, now lacking the cloak-robes, but still standing utterly whole and just a few meters away from where he had brought his mouth down.
"Chew properly!" I said with a bright smile, "Taste the nightshade! And the Deathbell! And everything else that was thrown into your supper!"
Sahloknir roared as he sluggishly shook his head, blood and froth spewing out from his mouth together with his bile. He choked, and then he swallowed. He closed his eye and then stumbled backwards, away from me and straight towards Berry who was rushing forth with her sword clutched in both hands. She jumped, landing roughly on one of the dragon's wings before rushing her way towards his spine, tumbling forward and thrusting her sword through the membrane.
The dragon screamed in pain, blood copiously leaving his wounds as arrows of energy departed Babette's bow, this time doing more than merely glancing off the dragon's skin.
With the last vestiges of its strength, the dragon rushed for the cliff's edge and propelled himself beyond it, before taking off in a hurry. I watched as the mighty and prideful dragon flew away from the fight and actually sighed in relief as I crashed down on the cold stones, all forms of strength leaving my body. Bubbling laughter escaped my lips as I pointed a finger at the dragon's retreating back, my other hand clutching the side of my face as my vision doubled over, the stress of the battle taking its toll as all I wished was to merely crash and sleep down on the ground for years.
"Are you all right?" Berry asked as she neared, her body covered in soot and her knees somewhat dirty with blood and scrapes, where she had needed to roll perhaps. She looked quite weary, but there was also pride in her voice.
"That I am," I replied with a giggle, "That...I...ah," I exhaled loudly. "We lost the Greybeards," I whispered, wincing. "Paarthurnax...is at the summit," I turned to look at the top of the mountain. "We have to climb it before Sahloknir returns," I struggled to stand, but my muscles refused to budge. They locked in place, as if proclaiming to the world that this was it, that they would no longer move no matter what happened next. "We have to..." my grip faltered on my sword, and I took a deep breath. "Clear Skies," I said, turning to look at Berry. "There should be words...somewhere...about Summer, and Spring, and the Sky...perhaps not in that order but...you'll need it to climb past the fog...past the barrier..." I gestured to the end of the courtyard, where howling winds still remained.
A pair of hands gripped my shoulders and hoisted me up, the lithe form of Babette holding on to a strength I knew could but be unnatural in origin. "I will find a place inside where my Nibblekins can rest," she continued gently. "Though he never dies, he always suffers," she continued as if that explained everything.
Maybe I needed to have another talk with her. I had thought it was just a mere saying that I could never die, but...but I had been thrown against a mountain, and then punched through a floor, and while I had suffered, and my body was still suffering...I wasn't dead.
I wasn't dead, and that didn't make any sense.
Not that I was complaining, but...
I needed answers.
"Paarthurnax is a dragon," I managed to grunt out last, "Careful of...ice wraiths, trolls...wolves maybe...or...nothing," I winced. "Careful."
"I'll be careful," Berry promised, "You go rest. You look a step away from Sovngarde's halls."
I chuckled. "It's funny...cause that's where we're going in the end," I exhaled loudly, my eyes closing as I crumbled to sleep.
My stomach lurched as I opened my eyes after what felt like seconds, but must have been minutes.
The floor was soon welcomed by the splattering of old potions and my breakfast, and as I finished heaving the toxic poultice out of my system, I felt a hand gingerly pat my shoulders, Babette standing by the side of the bed I was apparently resting in.
"It's going to be all right, Nibblekins," she said gently, a small smile on her face. "I'm here now, and I'll never leave you ever again."
I coughed, and then closed my eyes again.
The hand caressing my hair, somehow, made me feel at ease.
Hopefully, by the time I opened my eyes, Berry would have returned.
Hope wasn't always the first step on the road to disappointment, after all.
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RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
Top fucking chapter mate. Have a hug.
Seriously though, his thinking is insane. He needs to think logically.
Will he and Berry, fondue?
Seriously though, his thinking is insane. He needs to think logically.
Will he and Berry, fondue?
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- Pronouns
- They/Them
I disagree; it's nice that for once the Shade Insert isn't literally a god. Moreover, he's plenty good enough, it's just that it's in social instead of swording.
- Location
- Italy
I didn't mean for him to become a super powerful god, just obtaining his previous mastery of magic would be enough to stand up to his enemies. In previous chapters he is described as a jack-of-all-trades, knowing a bit of each branch of magic, just that is enough. I don't expect him to start one-shotting dragons.
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
...Y'know while I like this story, and i like this chapter, I find it pretty fucking hard to believe the SAHLOKNIR, a single, non-alduin dragon, took out the GREYBEARDS. Men who are so strong in the voice that they cannot speak, lest they kill everybody around them from the power of their words. And that was in the game, where they were weaker than they were supposed to be.
Honestly, it kinda snaps my SOD pretty fucking hard. I mean seriously. What the actual fuck shade? I could maybe buy him killing Arngeir, the weakest, but all of them? At the temple? Near Paarthunax's perch?
Quite frankly, it reads like you just killed them off for the sake of pointless drama.
Honestly, it kinda snaps my SOD pretty fucking hard. I mean seriously. What the actual fuck shade? I could maybe buy him killing Arngeir, the weakest, but all of them? At the temple? Near Paarthunax's perch?
Quite frankly, it reads like you just killed them off for the sake of pointless drama.
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RichardWhereat
Feanor did nothing wrong.
- Location
- Australia
It may not have been Sahloknir who killed them. It wasn't explicitly stated that it was. Wait for him to confirm it, or, if he never does, headcanon it as someone else having done it. Alduin perhaps.
Not that hard.
Not that hard.
- Location
- Dodging chaos dragons in Limbo
This was an awesome chapter. Your work is always superb, but this was special. Couldn't put it down from the moment I saw the notification. Eagerly awaiting the next chapter! Thanks for an amazing story!
Science
If you're reading this, omae wa mo shindeiru.
- Location
- Killeen, TX
They caught a cold, sore throat and all. Greybeards are still mortal.
Nah, Alduin killed the Greybeards. He left Sahloknir behind to kill the dovakin when she showed up to learn.
Chapter Thirty-Five - The Seven Thousand Steps - 3rd of Hearthfire 4E 201 - Berry
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Thirty-Five - The Seven Thousand Steps - 3rd of Hearthfire 4E 201 - Berry
Lok Vah Koor. Sky Spring Summer.
The Sky that is born of Spring and dies at the end of Summer. The Sky meant to be clear and pure, sunny and welcoming. The Sky on which tired wings tread with ease. The powerful nostalgia of the whelp that grew into the dragon, nurtured by the winds and the Voice deep within its core.
Berry swallowed as the fog parted in front of her, the last part of the trek arduous, but not impossible. The Ice Wraiths were something every Nord knew how to battle. A pinch of Fire Salts thrown at them would make them run away, and a pinch of Frost Salts ingested would aid against their cold nature. When all else failed, a simple torch slammed against their faces could make them change idea quite quickly on whom to eat, and a mace to the face worked wonders.
They shattered in ice crystals when dying, but the ice never bothered a true Nord.
She reached the summit where a wall of stone stood etched with words that had long since faded and been replaced with long scratches. There was no dragon waiting for her, not that she could see. The winds howled around her as she turned quickly, straining her ears, widening her eyes to take in as much of the land as possible. Did she have to climb further? How much higher would she need to go?
The top of the mountain trembled as a piece of ice seemed to crack and shatter, a long elongated limb emerging from it with broken scales melted together. Half a dragon's face showed itself through the mountain's side, a loud and pained rumble emitting from the dragon's throat.
"Drem Yol Lok," it growled out, its voice reverberating with gentleness even as the frame seemed to have been melted into the mountain, the never-melting summit a cruel prison made of ice and cold. "I heard your voice, Dovahkiin," he whispered. "Tinvaak. Speak to me, we do not have time for pleasantries, but your Thu'um is proven or the Dov that guards my remains would be here still."
"Y-Your remains?" Berry asked, and the dragon half chuckled in reply.
"We are eternal. Unahzaal. Our spirit clings to us, and we cling to it. Only the Dovahkiin may render us anything else. Diivoniik do sil. Swallower of souls." The dragon's singular eye burned with intensity, even as it became clear there was no other half of the dragon's face to witness, for it had been cruelly smashed until only pulp remained. Its wings had been ripped, and there was nothing left of it if a deformed half of its body, good only to crawl.
"What happened?" Berry asked.
"My Zeymah, older brother, came," Paarthurnax spoke, "And he came not alone." The eye stared past Berry, at the horizon, "But he left to recover. My jailer remained, but you fought him. I heard the Thu'um. I heard the call. I heard the Nok—" he stopped speaking, and turned his gaze back on her. "We do not have much time. Speak. Rest. Go."
Berry swallowed, "I need to know how to defeat Alduin," she said. "He was defeated once believing the legends, what happened? How can this be done once more?"
"There is a shout," Paarthurnax spoke. "One that may be learned. Krosis. Not by me," he blinked once, with a scrap of eyelid to close his lonely eye burning with strength. "Before you depart, answer me this. Why do you seek to defeat him?"
"Why...why do I want to defeat him?" Berry balked, blinking. "He's...he's Alduin, isn't he? Isn't that reason enough? He'll end the world if he isn't stopped."
"And...would that be a bad thing?" Paarthurnax replied. "Zeymah, elder brother, he does as foretold. Perhaps, for the first time he does not seek Rel, to Rule, but to destroy. He is the World-Eater."
Berry clenched her fists, "If the world's destroyed...then everyone dies."
"Indeed that is the case," Paarthurnax spoke. "But a new world would be born. So what of it, Dovah Sil? Dragonblood? Should that world not have the right to be born?"
"It doesn't matter," Berry snapped, "I didn't come here to discuss philosophy! Tell me how to stop Alduin!"
"A pity," Paarthurnax whispered. "Tinvaak los grah. To Talk is to Battle. There is reason...we fight with our Voices. Alduin believes that he will prevail, with good reason. Rok mul. And he is no fool. Ni mey, rinik gut nol. Far from it. He began as the wisest and most far-seeing of us all. You are goraan, young, and mortal. Yet you would try, all the same, for everyone?"
"Someone has to help," Berry said. "And I'm the only one who can, so I must." She swallowed. "Please, answer me. What must I do?"
"Akatosh foretold to believe in the Nok Tol Paagol," Paarthurnax replied. "He knows the path to take. He knows the road to travel. We meet here and thus for me to teach, and you to learn. Krosis. Our time runs out." His body slowly lurched downwards, the rocks grating and breaking under his weight as the remaining half of the dragon came to a halt right in front of her. "Ask him all with straightness, and he will answer all without fault. He is Vonik, Unwise, Vaarnu, Unrelenting, Vorohah, Mad." Paarthurnax's lower half of the mouth twitched. "He is bahlaan fahdon, a worthy friend."
"He? Who's he?" Berry stressed out, and Paarthurnax exhaled, loudly, from the half of his mouth that remained.
"Tafiir tol gahrot hil do angaar, the thief that stole the hearts of the towers, find him where gol vug nau lom, stone curves over water," Paarthurnax spoke as his body began to burn, his scales breaking into ashes that lifted in the air and swirled mightily, "Zeymah comes and the storms shall not stop him. Go now, hurry. Seek my knowledge within you to aid along your path." The last bits and pieces of his body dispersed into twirling energies, which shot out and greedily were absorbed by her body. She felt her insides twist, her breathing uneven as she turned to look at the horizon that Paarthurnax had been watching until then.
Dark clouds loomed over the horizon, and she was sure that the lightning that accompanied them was hitting something amidst them.
Something with dark wings and crimson eyes filled with hunger.
She hoped Umbra had slept enough, because they had to go.
They had to go, faster than they had ever gone before.
Lok Vah Koor. Sky Spring Summer.
The Sky that is born of Spring and dies at the end of Summer. The Sky meant to be clear and pure, sunny and welcoming. The Sky on which tired wings tread with ease. The powerful nostalgia of the whelp that grew into the dragon, nurtured by the winds and the Voice deep within its core.
Berry swallowed as the fog parted in front of her, the last part of the trek arduous, but not impossible. The Ice Wraiths were something every Nord knew how to battle. A pinch of Fire Salts thrown at them would make them run away, and a pinch of Frost Salts ingested would aid against their cold nature. When all else failed, a simple torch slammed against their faces could make them change idea quite quickly on whom to eat, and a mace to the face worked wonders.
They shattered in ice crystals when dying, but the ice never bothered a true Nord.
She reached the summit where a wall of stone stood etched with words that had long since faded and been replaced with long scratches. There was no dragon waiting for her, not that she could see. The winds howled around her as she turned quickly, straining her ears, widening her eyes to take in as much of the land as possible. Did she have to climb further? How much higher would she need to go?
The top of the mountain trembled as a piece of ice seemed to crack and shatter, a long elongated limb emerging from it with broken scales melted together. Half a dragon's face showed itself through the mountain's side, a loud and pained rumble emitting from the dragon's throat.
"Drem Yol Lok," it growled out, its voice reverberating with gentleness even as the frame seemed to have been melted into the mountain, the never-melting summit a cruel prison made of ice and cold. "I heard your voice, Dovahkiin," he whispered. "Tinvaak. Speak to me, we do not have time for pleasantries, but your Thu'um is proven or the Dov that guards my remains would be here still."
"Y-Your remains?" Berry asked, and the dragon half chuckled in reply.
"We are eternal. Unahzaal. Our spirit clings to us, and we cling to it. Only the Dovahkiin may render us anything else. Diivoniik do sil. Swallower of souls." The dragon's singular eye burned with intensity, even as it became clear there was no other half of the dragon's face to witness, for it had been cruelly smashed until only pulp remained. Its wings had been ripped, and there was nothing left of it if a deformed half of its body, good only to crawl.
"What happened?" Berry asked.
"My Zeymah, older brother, came," Paarthurnax spoke, "And he came not alone." The eye stared past Berry, at the horizon, "But he left to recover. My jailer remained, but you fought him. I heard the Thu'um. I heard the call. I heard the Nok—" he stopped speaking, and turned his gaze back on her. "We do not have much time. Speak. Rest. Go."
Berry swallowed, "I need to know how to defeat Alduin," she said. "He was defeated once believing the legends, what happened? How can this be done once more?"
"There is a shout," Paarthurnax spoke. "One that may be learned. Krosis. Not by me," he blinked once, with a scrap of eyelid to close his lonely eye burning with strength. "Before you depart, answer me this. Why do you seek to defeat him?"
"Why...why do I want to defeat him?" Berry balked, blinking. "He's...he's Alduin, isn't he? Isn't that reason enough? He'll end the world if he isn't stopped."
"And...would that be a bad thing?" Paarthurnax replied. "Zeymah, elder brother, he does as foretold. Perhaps, for the first time he does not seek Rel, to Rule, but to destroy. He is the World-Eater."
Berry clenched her fists, "If the world's destroyed...then everyone dies."
"Indeed that is the case," Paarthurnax spoke. "But a new world would be born. So what of it, Dovah Sil? Dragonblood? Should that world not have the right to be born?"
"It doesn't matter," Berry snapped, "I didn't come here to discuss philosophy! Tell me how to stop Alduin!"
"A pity," Paarthurnax whispered. "Tinvaak los grah. To Talk is to Battle. There is reason...we fight with our Voices. Alduin believes that he will prevail, with good reason. Rok mul. And he is no fool. Ni mey, rinik gut nol. Far from it. He began as the wisest and most far-seeing of us all. You are goraan, young, and mortal. Yet you would try, all the same, for everyone?"
"Someone has to help," Berry said. "And I'm the only one who can, so I must." She swallowed. "Please, answer me. What must I do?"
"Akatosh foretold to believe in the Nok Tol Paagol," Paarthurnax replied. "He knows the path to take. He knows the road to travel. We meet here and thus for me to teach, and you to learn. Krosis. Our time runs out." His body slowly lurched downwards, the rocks grating and breaking under his weight as the remaining half of the dragon came to a halt right in front of her. "Ask him all with straightness, and he will answer all without fault. He is Vonik, Unwise, Vaarnu, Unrelenting, Vorohah, Mad." Paarthurnax's lower half of the mouth twitched. "He is bahlaan fahdon, a worthy friend."
"He? Who's he?" Berry stressed out, and Paarthurnax exhaled, loudly, from the half of his mouth that remained.
"Tafiir tol gahrot hil do angaar, the thief that stole the hearts of the towers, find him where gol vug nau lom, stone curves over water," Paarthurnax spoke as his body began to burn, his scales breaking into ashes that lifted in the air and swirled mightily, "Zeymah comes and the storms shall not stop him. Go now, hurry. Seek my knowledge within you to aid along your path." The last bits and pieces of his body dispersed into twirling energies, which shot out and greedily were absorbed by her body. She felt her insides twist, her breathing uneven as she turned to look at the horizon that Paarthurnax had been watching until then.
Dark clouds loomed over the horizon, and she was sure that the lightning that accompanied them was hitting something amidst them.
Something with dark wings and crimson eyes filled with hunger.
She hoped Umbra had slept enough, because they had to go.
They had to go, faster than they had ever gone before.
Dragonskyt
Ashen one, hearest thou my voice, still?
- Location
- Kiln of the First Flame
What about the guy you've been traveling with?