I, Draugr chapter 47

Kara's awakening is like causing a loud ruckus high up in the snowy mountains.

First, nothing. Then the avalanche makes itself known and threatens to sweep your ass along.

In this case, the avalanche swept the whole College without giving it a chance to resist.

For all of her playful personality, Kara is a woman of purpose and pure management skill.

Savos Aren swiftly stepped down as the Archmage of the College and was appointed as her assistant by Kara herself, and all the other Masters were swiftly gifted a book tailored for their skills.

Lah's presence quelled any possible questions or even complaints there might have been, especially when Kara announced that she'd pay the Holds a visit so to find possible students to recruit for the College.

She is like a storm, but one of change. Skyrim is her home, and she instantly showed how hard she was going to work in order to protect it, doing everything while she is still sick and recovering from her recent awakening.

Having her around instantly relieved a great deal of my worries, and it makes me think that Kara is doing it on purpose. Either as a way to repay me for my help in reuniting her and Lah, or just because.

Hence, since her return two days ago, the College has been constantly active and full of movement unlike the past few months.

It has been… Calming, so far. Relaxing, even. It allowed the others to finally calm down for a while after all the excitement of the recent days.

I hum, my gaze flying past the words on the Folium Discognitum while the clawed fingers of my free hand brushed through Gretel's messy hair as she napped on my lap with her head against my chest.

While in front of me the ladies are training under the watchful eye of Deinmaar, who sometimes coaches them both. Mostly Aurelia, since the two wield the same kind of weapon and have a similar fighting style.

I flick my gaze upward momentarily when another clash causes the training room to shake. Dawnbreaker slams against a white-hot flaming blade coating a slab of cracked obsidian dripping with lava, and wielding it is an equally armored knight.

Clad in roaring explosive flames and that pitch black slag, Hildr wielded a one-handed sword and used her Magic, plus Reinforcement, to work around Aurelia's pure physical might.

Using Smoke Magic to cut sight, using Fire Magic to create explosions so to drive off the blade backed by way too much strength. So on and so forth, all because Hildr is very creative in her methods.

The air in the room was also visibly twisting and warping due to Hildr subtly raising the heat through the training match, leaving Aurelia's face drenched in sweat, though it barely affected her that much.

It affected me more than her. I am trying to study here, but instead I am just… Staring. Yeah.

"I am starting to hate Fire Magic." Aurelia grumbles, letting out a loud huff while twirling Dawnbreaker, "With a passion."

Hildr tilts her head, her face covered by Rahgot's glowing mask, her long hair tied in a hair ponytail and cloaked in bright flames, "Aren't you a Fire Mage yourself?"

"I am a Holy Fire Mage!" The Dragonborn blows a raspberry at Hildr, who laughs at the pale beauty. "Ugh… Rahgot was nowhere near this level, I swear…"

From the side, Deinmaar nods in agreement, "He was never the best at Magic." The Atmoran states, gaze slightly distant, "He excelled more with the Thu'um."

Aurelia winces slightly at that, "Yeah, his Unrelenting Force Shout flattened a great deal of land outside Riften…"

Hildr whistles, her armor of obsidian and flames falling apart and dispersing, revealing her lovely form beneath, "His Mask is good, but it does take a bit of Magicka to keep it running." She states, removing the Artifact from her face, "Now I can handle it, but if it was when I first got it then I'd have barely been able to keep it active for five minutes."

"Dragon Priest Masks do tend to require quite a bit of Magicka to use." The former Dragon Priest points out, "In fact, even with my reserves, I still wouldn't be able to use Konahriik's Mask."

I perk up at that, "Seriously?" Deinmaar's red eyes flick towards me as he nods, "What the hell does that Mask even do?"

At that, the giant falters slightly, his face going slightly pale, "Ah, that…" He coughs into his fist to recover his composure, "When one becomes a Dragon Priest, they do a ritual where they place a part of themselves within a certain Mask."

"And that Mask is only worn by the High Priest, who always inherits the name 'Konahriik', which means Warlord."

"A 'Konahriik' is only appointed by Alduin himself. And as far as I am aware, only three people wielded that title before the Konahriik I know of."

So they must be some obscenely powerful individuals that gain the recognition of the World Eater himself, huh?

That's interesting.

"And what the Mask does is… It conjures phantoms of each Dragon Priest that has ever existed and has gone through the ritual."

Aurelia and Hildr audibly hiss at that, faces blanching in pure horror while I whistle at the reveal. That's… A literal pocket army of some of the strongest individuals in history.

It also means that the previous High Priests are also summoned by the Mask. Definitely much better than in the game.

Though, I believe that the Konahriik Mask in the game also had a small chance of summoning a Dragon Priest phantom, aside from its healing power.

Still, I wonder why Krosis reacted so badly when I brought Konahriik up. Had she already been declared a traitor and somehow disposed off by Alduin at the time, so she became a sort of taboo?

I am pulled out of my thoughts when the door to the training room opens, revealing Kara's minute form. She was still quite pale, but the bags under her eyes had disappeared by quite a bit. Another week or two and she should be back to normal.

"Good morning, boys and girls." The daughter of Shalidor yawns out, stretching her back and arms as she walks in, visibly looking like she just walked out of bed.

Hell, she is even wearing a white gown over her body, though what attract my gaze is Lah.

Or at least, his Astral Projection. Which is himself, but small enough that he can laze on top of Kara's head like a fat cat.

The mightiest Great Sage, some say.

A chorus of 'Good morning' ring out as we all greet the sleepy Archmage, who rubs her eyes a few times before inspecting the room, "What are you all training for?"

Aurelia sheathes Dawnbreaker with a smile and moves to support the woman, who refuses to just sit down and rest and instead keeps moving around.

Even Lah tried to make her rest, but Kara just glared at him and the big guy went quiet and audibly whimpered.

"I was helping Hildr test out Rahgot's Mask." The pale beauty informs Kara, who hums sleepily as she is led to the bench me and Gretel are on.

At that, Lah stirs from his spot within Kara's wild hair, his small Dragon head popping up out of the curls, "I believe it was a suit of flaming armor, yes?"

Hildr nods, twirling the Mask in her grasp with a satisfied smile, "Yes. It makes having learned swordsmanship in my youth worth it."

I tilt my head at that, "I didn't even know you knew how to wield a sword."

Her lone eye throws a flat stare my way, "We are in Skyrim. You either learn how to wield a weapon, or how to throw a punch. Or both." Yeah, that's my bad. It was a stupid question.

Kara yawns again from beside me before a warm smile spreads across her face at the sight of Gretel napping on my lap, "So, when are you folks going to Saarthal?"

I shrug softly at her question, "Soon. Probably later today or tomorrow." I drawl out, "While I am still nervous about what we'll find there, I know we can handle it." Especially since I'll have Deinmaar and Aurelia with me. Not that Hildr is to be underestimated.

"Me and Lah will be here in case you need support, so don't worry too much." Kara reassures with a pat on my shoulder, making me chuckle softly.

Having her and Lah on my side really dashed away a great deal of worries I had for the future.

"Speaking off…" Deinmaar suddenly speaks up, and turns his attention towards Lah's Astral Projection, "Sage Lah, do you perhaps know how many Dragons Alduin has currently under his rule?"

The Great Sage perks up, then tilts his head in thought, "Roughly three hundred or so, last time I checked. A dozen of them were Sages."

Deinmaar crosses his arms with a hum, "Not too bad, but not too great either." The good thing is that we still have time on our side. He is too weak to bring back Great Sages and keeping them under his control.

Plus, his recent defeat to us most definitely is still causing him problems.

"The majority of Dragon corpses are buried beneath Skyrim's soil and beneath its waters." Lah rumbles out, closing his eyes and cuddling himself deeper into Kara's curly hair, "My presence here will be deterrent enough for Alduin. It shall keep him from bringing back thousands of Dragons."

I hum and turns towards the Dragon, "I sense a 'But' coming."

The Great Sage nods, "Once his strength reaches a certain point, he won't need to be close to the corpses to bring them back." He reveals, sending visible chills down the spines of the others, "His Thu'Um will reach across Mundus itself to bring his kin back."

"The moment Alduin reaches my levels of power is the moment the true World Eater shall reveal himself."

I flex the hand holding the book, causing my frozen bones to audibly crack, "Hence why going to Saarthal is important. We need to undo what crippled all the Mages across the world."

So that, hopefully, they can offer a greater fighting chance against what is to come.

A part of me does not wish to have the Thalmor gain this boon, but honestly? If they start any bullshit, I'll just go and take a trip to their land and turn it into a frozen landscape.

"Yeah, we need a lot of Restoration Mages." Kara drawls out, fighting back another yawn as she rubs her with her fingers, "I'll work hard to spread simple Healing Spells. A group of capable Healers in each Hold is a must."

Kara is handling the return of Magic, while Julspaan is handling the return of the Thu'um.

Skyrim will soon slowly return to being that horrifying powerhouse it used to be during the Merethic Era.

"You could ask the Emperor for assistance too. He is in still in Whiterun, I believe." Aurelia states, and I pause at that.

"The Emperor is in Whiterun…?" Aurelia flinches, then gives me an adorable smile.

"Sorry, I kept it hidden from you on purpose."

I gasp. It is a very horrified, and hurt gasp. "How could you..."

Hildr snorts, "Jarl Balgruuf basically begged us to keep it a secret."

"You betrayed me too!?"

Aurelia's lips twitch as she fights back a smile, "Leo, we can't have you go and start some kind of national incident just because you wanted to amuse yourself."

"Bah, body-slamming the Emperor through a table ain't a national incident!"

Kara audibly cackles at my words.

"Brother…" Deinmaar asks, nearly gaping at me, "Would you have truly done that?"

"Without an ounce of hesitation." Is my instantaneous answer.

Hildr snorts again and gives Deinmaar a look, "Told ya we had to keep it a secret."

Another horrified gasp flows out of me at the reveal of Deinmaar- "Yeah, I can always expect Deinmaar to protect others from me."

"I shouldn't have to, brother…"

"I'm keeping your life interesting, ain't I?" The giant Atmoran can only sigh and palm his face just to hide his grin.

"By the Eight, I adore you guys…" Kara laughs, leaning back against the wall with a low hum and satisfied smile, "Watcha reading there, by the way?"

I look at the Daedric Book, where lines of words moved so they were right in front of my gaze, and were always what I wanted to read. After all this time, I truly believe that Sheogorath gifted me this book and removed the Monkey Paw aspect of it.

Having this drove others to insanity. And while I am sure I am going insane little by little, I know it isn't because of the book.

"I am trying to reverse engineer your pops famed 'Shalidor's Mirror'." I inform her, bring Kara to a pause.

I half expected her to blow up, but instead she narrows her eyes in confusion, "Shalidor's Mirror… Is it the Ward that reflects Spells?" I nod, slowly. She sniffs, "Right, can't ever tell with his shitty Spell names…"

I tilt my head at that, "...What do you mean?"

Lah is the one who answers, and his voice sounded like he was holding back his laughter, "Shalidor would always place his name within his Spells. Shalidor's Fireball, Shalidor's Healing, so on and so forth."

I snap the book shut and hold it against my forehead while Hildr is looking downright horrified at the reveal.

The creator of the College of Winterhold gave his Spells absolutely cringe names. Fascinating.

"Shitty names aside…" Kara snorts, "Why do you wanna learn that Spell?"

I shrug again, "It's powerful, but I also wish to turn it into an Array that can be placed around each Hold."

Skyrim is brimming with Magicka, so placing powerful Arrays around each Hold is entirely possible, and they can sustain themselves off the Magicka naturally present in the atmosphere.

Thing is, I want the Arrays to be very, very powerful and nigh-impenetrable. Boosting, healing, protection, all the good stuff in one package.

Lah sits up on Kara's head at my words, his golden eyes glowing with interest, "A fascinating idea indeed… Though it won't help against the Thu'um, since it is not Magic."

I nod in agreement, "Hence why I want to reverse engineer it and change it." A single Dragon Soul should be more than enough, I believe. "Turn it into an Array that can protect against both."

Lah hums, clearly very fascinated and interested to the idea, "This used to be one of our old projects, was it not? Finding a way to protect against the Thu'um with Magic." He questions, turning his gaze down to his lover, who perks up with a warm smile on her tired face.

"Yeah…" Kara sighs out, visibly nostalgic as Lah winces softly, guilt filling his gaze, "I think we put it aside for… What was it again?"

"Using Wards for physical harm, I believe."

Okay, what?

"Oh, yeah!" Kara perks up, a feral grin on her face, "I enjoyed beating the shit outta that two-bit Mage with a hammer-shaped Ward!"

She pauses when she notices our stares, "What? He said I couldn't do it, so I did. And broke his knee-caps with the fuckin' thing."

I sigh and raise my hand towards her, and Kara swiftly grins and gives me a high-five, "I am so happy to have you around…" I nearly sob, making her cackle as Lah huffs out in amusement.

Fighting back against another yawn, Kara shakes her head, "Right, me and my hubby decided on something." She starts, "Once the whole Saarthal thing is over and done with? You folks are becoming our students. For both Magicka and the Thu'um."

Hildr and Aurelia perk up at that, with Hildr looking downright ecstatic at the reveal, her lone eye glowing with happiness.

Deinmaar instead tilts his head in confusion, "I am not much of a Mage though…" He points out, earning a faint chuckle from the Great Sage chilling on Kara's head.

"I shall still try, but I will mostly focus on your Thu'um. Is it still as mighty as it used to be in the past, or have the years dulled it?" Oh right, Deinmaar never used the Thu'um in our fight. Neither against me, nor against Alduin.

"I guess I do need some training myself…" Deinmaar sighs out with a smile, earning a nod of approval from the Great Sage.

Now I really want to see what Deinmaar at his most powerful is capable off… Though it is best not to experience that anywhere near civilization.

"I will have to do something else right after Saarthal, though…" I muse aloud, tapping the Daedric Book on my leg in though.

Aurelia perks up at that, "Is it that… Serana thing?" I nod, and give her a playful kick when she throws a cute pout and glare my way, trying and failing to act jealous.

"Who is that?" Kara questions, and I hum. How much should I reveal about her past?

"A vampire that was sealed away with an Elder Scroll during the early Second Era." I start, making Lah perk up at the mention of the Elder Scroll, "Her father is also a Vampire. Powerful and crazy one at that, and he has a group of vampires hiding away in a castle slightly north of Solitude, far into the waters."

The Great Sage narrows his gaze towards me, "Why does a Vampire desire an Elder Scroll?"

"Because of Auri-El's Bow." Lah instantly sits up on Kara's head.

"Father's Divine Artifact!?" The Great Sage growls out, "A filthy maggot of Molag Bar dares to covet it?!"

Kara has to reach up and pull Lah in her embrace to quell his rising rage. Though he also did confirm that Auri-El and Akatosh are the same being.

Guess it is probably the same thing as the Greeks and Romans. Same Gods, different civilization, different names.

"He wishes to acquire it, drench its arrows in the blood of a Pure Vampire, and shoot them at the Sun so to create eternal night." Lah's growl shows just how furious he is at the prospect of having an impure being sully the Artifact of his Father.

Hell, he might even go and pay Harkon a visit himself and leave behind another tunnel to Blackreach.

"Do we need the Elder Scroll to find Father's bow?" Lah questions, and I shake my head, surprising and delighting him at the same time.

"There is a lost Snow Elf civilization to the west of Skyrim, far into the snowy mountains." I point out, and Deinmaar perks up too, "There is a temple there, guarded by a Snow Elf Vampire who created the whole 'prophecy' that made the Vampires about this whole 'covering the Sun' thing."

Lah flares his nostrils, "I will come with you, so that I can have words with that filth." I chuckle and give the Great Sage a thumbs up, before perking up when I remember about the existence of another Artifact within the Forgotten Vale.

"Right, Auri-El's Shield should also be there?" I muse aloud. In the game, the player will find a Falmer wielding the Shield in a secluded spot. Easy to miss.

It was actually quite powerful too, I think? Able to absorb and return damage, if I remember right.

The Great Sage hums softly, "It is possible that Father's armor and sword are there too, in fact." He points out, mostly to himself, before shaking his head and giving me a grateful look, "You have my thanks for making me aware of this."

I wave off his thanks with a chuckle, "I'm just removing mild concerns so that we can focus on the Dragons."

Kara snorts, "I really want to know how you know all this stuff." She states, then throws me a look, "Any other super powerful artifact that you know the location off?" She teases with a grin.

Said grin falters when I nod without shame a second later. "I know where the Oghma Infinium is."

Absolute silence.

Hildr, Lah and Kara are all gaping at me.

And then they are on me, shaking me wildly – or biting and pulling at my hood while flapping their wings, when it comes to Lah – and waking up poor Gretel in the process, "You know where the book of Xarxes is!? The book written by the 'Ageless One'?!"

I cackle at their sheer panic, desire and hysteria, then notice that Aurelia is very confused, so… "Xarxes is the Elven variant of Arkay, my dear!" I point out.

And a second later she is shaking me harder than all the others, and my cackles grow even louder.

"Oh man, you're gonna be so mad when you learn where it is…" I state through my laughter while staring at Kara, who grows pale and fearful.

"Where is it…?"

I hold back another cackle as I answer, "Oh, just north of here, and west of The Chill. Buried in a large box on a small island."

Kara and Lah nearly start sobbing on the spot while Hildr is unresponsive. Poor cutie, she broke.

"What did I miss…?" Gretel questions as she yawns in her small hand, looking around with sleepy eyes as she does so.

I go to answer, but someone beats me to it, "Daggah." I pause. We all do. Then we all look to my right.

And there, sitting right beside me, is Poopdaggah. Scratching his back using my Folium Discognitum.

Surprisingly enough, Lah is the one to snap.

"How the fuck did he get here without me noticing…?"

Poopdaggah's wise answer is a very loud and long fart.

It took Kara, Aurelia and Deinmaar to stop Lah from tearing the Riekling apart.

….

"I found it."

My feet come to a stop, the snow crunching below my boots as I stare at the glowing white valley.

Lah flaps his wings, clearing away the snow that had gathered around the old excavation site, which was abandoned around the time the Falmer showed themselves in Winterhold.

Now that all resources are being put in the elevator to Blackreach, this site has mostly been forgotten. Not that they had gone that deep.

"Saarthal is below us, brother?" Deinmaar questions, gazing around the pit that is the old excavation site.

"Yeah…" I answer, stretching my Mind's Eye as wide and as deep as possible, until I find it. Or at least, I find something. "You sense it too, Lah?"

The Great Sage hums, golden eyes out of focus, "Indeed… That is a Pocket Dimension."

Below me, roughly two dozen meters deep underground, is a massive sphere of absolutely nothing.

I know it's there. I know it's massive. My Mind's Eye just can't penetrate within it.

A Pocket Dimension… The only one I know that can do such a thing is Shalidor. Perhaps Kara can too, but she hasn't bothered to have one for herself.

"It is an enormous one, at that." Lah muses softly, "Are you sure you still wish to go? A mage of terrifying capabilities might be waiting for you."

I sigh softly, "We have to, unfortunately." I am tired. I really, really want to sleep. I want to sleep so badly.

"They'll be alright, love." Kara reassures, reaching down to pat Lah's scales from her spot on his head, "We'll be here just in case, after all."

Lah relents and nods, "Then best of luck, my friends."

I breathe in, then step forward so to look down the excavation site. My right hand stretches out, and space warps and whines as a miniature star rumbles to life within my palm.

Since I've evolved, my Draconian Howl has become truly horrifying. So might as well use it to make a tunnel down to Saarthal.

The valley rumbles as a sonic-boom blooms forth, a localized earthquake shaking below my feet as the Spell hammers into the earth and digs deep below.

I freeze the tunnel created so to not let it collapse, then use another Draconian Howl so to finally reach the wall of Nothing I feel with my Mind's Eye.

Once done, I let my arm fall by my side and turn to look at the group. Deinmaar, Hildr and Aurelia.

Gretel is with Poopdaggah back at the College so that they are safe, as Poopdaggah is sort-of acting as her bodyguard. A very sneaky and ugly bodyguard.

"Everyone ready?" I ask, receiving tense but eager nods in turn. Aurelia and Hildr are clearly very happy that they'll soon help me take a much needed rest.

Once that is done, I'll spend plenty of time with them. As is right.

"Alright then…" I turn towards Kara, who is looking much better compared to yesterday, and give her a thumb's up, "We'll be going then!"

She smiles and waves at us as we descend into the excavation site, and into the frozen tunnel I dug into the earth.

The walk is quiet, but also tense, as we do not know what we'll be facing. But it is also something that we are doing for me, and for a Daedric Prince.

Deinmaar is mostly tense because this used to be the home his people built when they landed in Skyrim. I guess he wishes to learn more about the culture of his people.

And soon, we reach it. The wall of Nothing. A wall of darkness that did not shift, did not move nor reflect light. It just remained there.

Slowly, I reach out with my hand and watch it phase through the darkness. "Looks like we can walk through…" I turn my head towards Aurelia and Hildr, "Hold each other, just in case we get separated."

They nod and hold each other's hands as I step forward with Deinmaar, then walk through the wall of darkness without a second of hesitation.

Darkness turns into radiant light in a split second, forcing me to pause and… Take in the city around me.

The still standing city. Tall buildings, long roads, no sight of ruins or the effects of time on a city that was slaughtered to the last.

Deinmaar is nowhere to be seen as I stand in the empty street by myself, telling me that we've been separated, so I-…

I feel my hands go slack as I stare up, at the colossal object floating above the city, bound in massive chains that disappear into space itself.

The Eye of Magnus. It floated there, above me, nearly as tall as a mountain, with ancient glowing golden runes inscribed on it.

Gargantuan amounts of jade-colored Magicka overflow out of the sphere bound in chains of the same color, the golden runes upon the Artifact seemingly being copied on the chains that bind it.

There are five chains in total, with four of them stretching out in each cardinal direction and digging into Reality itself, while the last one was attached to the bottom of the Eye of Magnus and went downward, to somewhere deeper into the city.

There is so much Magicka here that I can't even use Mind's Eye…

I don't bother studying the tall buildings around me, or the road, or my surroundings. I start walking so to instantly reach the bottom of the Eye of Magnus, not willing to waste time.

The other will very likely head there too, so it is the best option to reunite with everyone.

Yet, my feet slowly come to a stop. I don't know why.

I turn my head to the street to my right, and the sheer silence allows me to hear it. Humming.

I glance at the Eye of Magnus one last time… Before walking away from it and towards the humming.

I walk past two large buildings, the doors tall and the windows wide, before the road keeps going right beside a large park.

Tall trees with fruits on them, tall green grass, and pond with fishes in them right in the middle of the large park.

Games for children, chairs and tables for people, and a clear view of the sky and the surrounding city.

And beside the pond, feeding the fishes, was a hunched over old man draped in a dark, dusty cloak. The source of the humming.

His shaky hand kept tossing feed to the fishes, his pale eyes staring into nothing, a small smile plastered on his aged, wrinkly face and hidden slightly by his long white beard and hair.

My approach brings the old man to a short pause, "Ah…" He starts, voice raspy and rough, "It has been long since this place received guests."

His other hand grabs the staff at his side, which he uses to support his aged body and turn towards me, his pale eyes meeting my own. "An Undead, I see…" His gaze then flicks to the side, "The Dragonborn… One of Hircine's… And an Atmoran too…"

His staff clicks on the ground below him as he turns to stare at me, "What might you all be here for, hm~?"

I don't answer, and just keep staring at him.

There's no way. It cannot be.

Yet… This has to be him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you…" I start, and the old man lift his head higher, "Ahzidal."

The hand clutching his cane stops shaking.

His hunched over body straightens itself without problem.

His pale eyes focus.

And the Embittered Destroyer stops his act.

"Ah…" The ancient Nord and greatest Enchanter in history starts, sighing low, "I really, really hate that name." He states with a smile. It is not a warm smile.

Then, he moves.

His staff cuts through the air.

The park evaporates as the old man blooms with heat akin to an exploding Nuclear Bomb.

So I answer in kind, and the darkness clinging to me expands forth as if the Sun suddenly started shooting down the horizon.

Billions of eyes peek open from within the abyss.

Millions of voracious snapping jaws reach for the ancient Mage.

And tens of thousands of demented howls herald the coming of the Asylums within Saarthal.

….

The sudden change of light blinded him momentarily, forcing Deinmaar to cover his vision with his massive arm for but a moment.

Then, when he came to, he found himself standing in an empty street.

His gaze moved upward first, where a colossal sphere lay bound in chains. His brother's target. It looked very close, just a leap away.

Yet Deinmaar did not jump towards it instantly, instead, he focused on the chain at the bottom. The closest to him.

It went downward, towards a large palace in the distance, right at the end of the road he was standing on.

Deinmaar started to move towards it, but faltered the next second. Not only because he noticed he was alone and away from the others, but also because his gaze strayed towards the surrounding buildings.

Tall doors – to match his build and height – and wide windows. Tall and wide buildings, made so the rain would flow down from the roof instead of gather, freeze and weight it down.

His gauntlet-clad hand brushed against the stone making up the closest building. Bright red bricks stacked on top of each other, some painted on for different colors, each home a certain distance away from the other so to create space between them.

So this was how his people used to live after coming from Atmora?

He almost could hear it. The playful laughter of children as they played outside their homes with their friends, as they ran around knowing that their mothers would watch after them from the windows, a hearty meal being prepared once they returned home, tired but happy.

And he could almost see it too. His dream. Building made to hold the weight of Dragons, so that they could nap on them while basking in the Sun, or use them to watch the children play below.

Where they could reach down with their long necks and snatch the food offered through the window.

Where they would make sure nobody harms the children.

That was the dream he and Konahriik worked so hard to achieve, and yet…

Deinmaar sighs deeply, then moves forward with purpose. It is still possible. It has to be.

A Human and a Dov love each other. A Dov seeks to protect the mortal races.

They cannot be unique cases. There surely are more Dragons like Lah and Julspaan.

His steps are heavy, his shoulders squared, and his eyes burning with determination.

But his dream aside, now he had to help his brother. Repay him for opening his eyes and giving him hope once more.

Deinmaar walked down the street and towards the distant chain. He walked past open gates and into the large courtyard of a palace meant for the ruler of the city.

The palace stood at the same level as the rest of the city, instead of being high above. It told Deinmaar that the ruler of this city did not wish to look down on his people.

The chain drew closer and closer, until only a set of large gates stood between it and Deinmaar, so his large hands slammed against the massive gate and slowly pushed it open.

A gush of Magicka flowed against him and through the opened gates, but Deinmaar ignored it all and pushed through, walking through the gale of Magicka until he the chain stood before him.

Yet… Between him and the chain lay a throne. A massive throne.

A sitting upon it was a man clad in heavy dark armor made out of Ebony.

A long cape, a long beard of gray hair, and a helmet that stretched upward in what appeared to be two small Dragon Heads.

The man upon the throne slowly blinks his burning red eyes open, looks at Deinmaar up and down, then stands.

And for the first time in his life, Deinmaar has to look up to meet someone's gaze.

"Hm…" The titan of a man hums as he studies Deinmaar, "A young Atmoran stands before me once more. Surprising." The man's voice was deep. Powerful.

It sent tremors down Deinmaar's spine and made goosebumps rise all over him.

This man was powerful. His instincts screamed at him.

"What's your name, boy?" The titan asks, and Deinmaar gulps deeply.

"Deinmaar." The man that sat upon the throne hums deeply.

"Deinmaar… Guardian, huh?" The older man tested the word, then shrugged his shoulder, "What are you the guardian off then, boy?"

The man bearing the title Deinmaar pauses, and his eyes become lost.

And the titan before him sniffs.

Then punches Deinmaar in the stomach.

The blow shook the entire palace. The shock-wave ensuing from that swift, casual strike ripped the stone below their feet asunder, and Deinmaar forced out a gasp of pain as he was bent over that muscular arm, then shot down the street like a cannonball with laughable ease.

Buildings exploded a second after his form flew by, the very street being torn apart from the rampaging gales his flight caused.

His form only came to a stop at the very end of the street he first appeared in, a cough of pain flowing past his lips as he struggled to his feet while holding his stomach.

That blow… Hurt. It hurt him a lot. Deinmaar could taste the blood on his tongue… And he smiled.

No- He grinned.

Shrugging his shoulders, Deinmaar draws his blade and flares his nostrils as he stares at the distant figure still standing before the throne.

The titan who punched him turned around and walked back to the throne, then reached behind it and lifted a colossal two-handed pitch black war-ax with a single hand, and rested it on his shoulder like it weighted nothing.

Then turned, and started walking towards Deinmaar. And the former Dragon Priest started walking towards the older man in turn.

"And who is your name!?" Deinmaar yells, and the older man laughs.

It was a loud, arrogant and prideful laugh.

"Who am I?!" The titan's laugh grows deeper, "I am known as the First Man!"

"I am The Bringer of Words!"

"I am the Harbinger of All!"

Deinmaar's grin turned nearly maniacal. His steps turned into a run.

"I." The titan started running towards him too. "Am!"

Their weapons were drawn back.

"YSGRAMOR!"

Their blades clashed with the might of two colliding stars.

And the whole city of Saarthal buckled beneath the might of two Atmorans.

~~XXX~~

"I thought we were going to stay by the ruins the whole time?"

Kara questions, smiling as she feels the wind caress her face. How long had it been since she last flew with Lah?

How long had it been since she sat on his head and let him fly fast while they enjoyed each other's presence?

Too long. She had yearned for these moments for so long, and now she had them back.

She still wasn't in tip-top shape and likely needed another week of rest, but already she was starting to feel better.

The seal Lah had put her in had somewhat malfunctioned. His array and Spells were overcharged beyond belief, kinda making her younger.

No white hair, no wrinkles, no back pain. All gone, and she felt much, much better.

And while she was still a bit mad about being sealed, she understood why Lah did it.

He loved her dearly, and she loves him right back. Yet, he could live for eternity, while she can't.

Magicka could help in making her live a bit longer, but past the two centuries it would become nearly impossible.

And replicating the seal wasn't going to work, as she theorized that the reason it made her younger is because it was active on her for thousands of years.

"There is something I wish to check now that I am here." Lah states, flying across the ocean below them at immense speed, with Skyrim having long since disappeared minutes ago.

"What, exactly?"

Lah hums softly, the sound loud enough to be heard through the rushing and howling winds. "Atmora."

Kara blinks at that, "Why now though?" She knows that Atmora is a fallen continent that is now completely frozen, and the reason behind that ice age is unknown.

It is so powerful, though, that it reaches across the ocean and attacks Skyrim itself. It is the very reason why Skyrim is even cold, else it would be always have a very lovely temperature.

The only reason it isn't fully cold is due to the mountain chain behind Dawnstar that stop the glacial winds from going further, else they'd probably take over the whole of Skyrim.

"Do you remember how I told you that during the Dragon War, I was but a spectator?" Kara raises a brow at that.

During the early relationship, Kara always asked a lot about the Dragon War, about the time Dragons used to rule. It was all so fascinating and interesting, after all!

"Yeah…" Her gaze flicks ahead, towards the distant Atmora that still had to come into view, "Wait, you want to check on the Dragons that were stationed in Atmora?"

Lah had also told her about the group of Dragons that settled in Atmora.

It was born due to a dispute between several Great Sages, where instead of coming to blows, three Great Sages left Skyrim with their own groups and went to Atmora to settle down there.

That group was massive, according to Lah. The force left-over in Skyrim wasn't even half of it.

"Yes." Lah confirms, "Back then, Atmora was a thriving place. It was not frozen, but it was abandoned. There weren't that many Atmorans in the first place."

His wings flapped, and his form sped up through the sky. The winds became colder, but Lah shielded Kara from them with an after-thought, "During the war, I always believed that Dragons would win."

"That the moment the main force on Atmora was summoned back by Alduin, the resistance would fail."

Lah fell quiet after that, and Kara grew curious, "And…?"

"...And then the cold winds came." Is Lah's chilling answer just as Atmora finally appeared within view.

The cold somehow became colder. It penetrated the barrier Lah had conjured, and much to Kara's horror, even the Great Sage shivered in the face of it.

"We had lost contact with the Dragons in Atmora not long after they left. Roughly a few years later." Lah continues, "We believed it was because they wished to seclude themselves, still harboring anger towards the fight that caused the split."

The ocean finally disappeared from below them, replaced by miles and miles of ice. Dense, eternal ice.

Kara shivers in horror, for she could feel that Magicka itself had been frozen across the whole continent.

"But deep down I knew." Slowly, Lah flapped his wings and landed before a colossal mountain of clear ice. "Deep down, I knew that He had done something."

Kara shivers as Lah stares at the mountain of clear ice in front of them- No, he stares at what is inside it.

"H-Honey… What the hell is this?" Kara questions, now shivering from the cold that could not be warded off or fought against with any form of magical fire.

"The Great Sage of Spirits." Lah states, staring at the amethyst Dragon frozen solid within the mountain of ice, a look of pure horror eternally etched within its now dead face.

Then Lah turns to another mountain of ice to his left. "The Great Sage of Fury." Within that mountain of ice was a smaller, light blue Dragon, wearing an equally horrified look upon its frozen face, jaws parted as if to Shout. Or scream.

"And the Great Sage of Life." Then, Lah turns to his right, where a black Dragon was frozen within a spire of ice, just as horrified as the other two.

"Three Great Sages. Hundreds of Sages. Thousands of Dragons and tens of thousands of Dragon Priests. All killed within an instant by the one man that made me love studying Magicka."

Kara pants out, eyes wide in horror as she stares at the eternally frozen continent in realization.

"And this is the Spell he used to end them all…"

"Cocytus."

A.N. Ysgramor really is an absolute fucking chad. Not only did he know how to fight, but also how to read.

So what did he do? He genocided the Elves, stole their language, and changed it into his own.

This man is the Goat.

Lots of headpats to the one dude that guessed that Ysgramor was gonna be in Saarthal!

Hope y'all enjoyed this chappy!

Toodles!