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shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
CHAPTER NINETY SEVEN: THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY...
Dimhollow Crypt was an ancient Nordic ruin; older than any Wyldfyre had seen. It wound its way deeper down into the earth levelling out every now and then with huge burial chambers. Wyldfyre and Aiden encountered the occasional vampire and dealt with them as quickly and quietly as they could. At one stage they came upon a vampire and two of the black dogs. Alive, Wyldfyre could see their eyes glowed red and they moved with an otherworldly grace. Her Were senses were on high alert and she could smell an icy death emanating from the animals. Aiden growled beside her.

Take them out quickly” she sent to him, aiming her crossbow at the nearest dog as it patrolled the hallway in front of them. She hit it in its side and the dog yelped, alerting the others. But instead of cowering away, the wounded animal turned and raced up the hallway towards the two Weres. Wyldfyre and Aiden both backed up quickly, giving them more room as they unsheathed their swords. The dog took a flying leap at Aiden and he brought his sword down in a wide arc, severing the head, sending splatters of blood everywhere. Aiden was a formidable foe, even with just one eye and Wyldfyre knew she didn’t need to worry about him in a fight. She focused on the vampire as the second dog raced past her to attack her brother. The vampire held back, hurling magical attacks down the hall. One of them hit Wyldfyre and she felt a sudden draining of her energy. Wyldfyre growled and charged down the hall swinging her blade at the vampire who unsheathed a dagger. It was no match for the Harbinger’s sky-forged steal and soon the vampire crumpled to the ground.

They cleaned off their swords and continued on through the ruins until they came to a room that opened out into a massive chamber. They could hear people talking and so crept silently down the stairs to investigate. The cavern had a large structure in the middle, surrounded by water. It was a curious rounded platform and the siblings could see three to four people gathered there. On a level below them was another dead Vigilant.

Wyldfyre tested the expanse by sighting down her crossbow. She focused in on one of the vampires as they stood there arguing with one another.

“Can you make the shot?” Aiden asked her.

“I think I can. I know I will at least be able to wound it.”

“Then you take the shot Sister, or we engage them with swords, it is up to you.” Wyldfyre stopped breathing and stood statue like as she focused on the vampire. Just before she fired she raised her bow ever so slightly, to allow for the fall of the bolt. She released the bolt and it sailed through the air to hit her target squarely in the side of the head. The vampire slumped to the ground. The others unsheathed their weapons and scattered, not knowing exactly where the attack came from.

“Nice!” Aiden said with pride.

“Better than I expected” she flashed a grin at him and together they raced down the stairs and across the bridge to the platform to deal with the others. There were two more vampires and a human. The human looked to be a common bandit, but his eyes were glazed over and he moved mechanically as he ran to attack them. Aiden gritted his teeth, a stony expression on his face.

“I have seen this before. He is enthralled” he grunted as he dodged a swipe from the bandits mace “You will get no mercy from him, take him down” Wyldfyre came in from behind and ran the bandit through before quickly turning to engage the vampires. She expected at least one of them to be an Old One but the two they face looked to be nothing more than common vampires. Still they put up a fight and Wyldfyre and Aiden were both almost drained of their energy before Wyldfyre used her fire shout at the pair. The vampires screamed and tried to run but the siblings cut them down. The last of them slumped to the ground and the two Weres stood there, panting. All was quiet in the great chamber.

“Well, that was easier than I thought it would be” Aiden sheathed his sword, grinning. Wyldfyre shook her head and then remembered something he said earlier.

“That bandit. How did you know he was enthralled?” Aiden’s face grew stony again and he turned and examined a strange pedestal. She watched him as his shoulders slumped ever so slightly.

“Back when I was...captured. I saw some of our people who had disappeared for a time. When they came back they had that same look. Eyes glazed, stoic, like they weren’t even there. The Falmar had thralled them to do their bidding.”

“Were they able to be..un-enthralled?” Wyldfyre asked; her eyes wide. But Aiden sighed.

“No. Please sister, I don’t want to talk about it. This thing moves...” he said then, causing Wyldfyre to look confused. He turned and pointed to the pedestal he had been examining. “It moves, and I suspect the others do as well”. Indeed there were other pedestals placed in a circle around a central one that was slightly different. Wyldfyre approached it and studied it for a while before she reached out to touch the smooth surface of the top dome.

“Do you think that wise?” Aiden asked from behind her. Wyldfyre hesitated, her hand hovering over the dome.

“I feel I should do this. I don’t know why” she said. Aiden frowned but then nodded, indicating her to continue. Wyldfyre placed her hand on the dome and was surprised of the warmth emanating from it. Suddenly a metal spike pierced her hand right through. She yelped in pain but was unable to move. Aiden rushed over to help but was reluctant to move her hand off the dome. Her blood oozed from the wound and painted the dome, dripping to the floor in a seemingly random pattern. Then slowly the spike returned back into the dome and Wyldfyre stagged away, holding her hand. Aiden held on to her as the smaller circular pedestals shuddered and the carved lines at their bases glowed with a purple light. Each line looked like a track of some sort that pointed towards the middle pedestal. Some of the glowing lines were broken though. As Wyldfyre wrapped her hand in a cloth, Aiden frowned in contemplation.

“Do you think we need to move these things?” Wyldfyre stepped around the perimeter. They seemed to be in a random placement at the moment. “What if they need to be in some form of pattern?” Aiden placed his hands on one and moved it forward one notch. As it clicked into place the glowing purple line grew more solid.

“I guess they do. Move the others” he said. They had to work some of the pedestals back and forth until they were in their correct positions, but soon they clicked the last into position.

“Now what....” Wyldfyre began but was interrupted when the floor underneath them shook and moved. “Careful!” she cried and they backed away as the floor sank down. The middle opened out and a large metal box rose up from some hidden room underneath. When it was fully raised, one of its sides fell to the ground with a resounding boom. Inside the box was a young woman dressed in fine clothes. She appeared to be asleep or dead, until she sighed and fell to the floor. Aiden rushed over to help her and brought her into a sitting position. She opened her eyes and he suddenly stepped back.

“By the Maker!” The siblings unsheathed their swords and pointed them at the woman on the floor.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Wyldfyre demanded “Speak Vampire!”

*****​

There was silence while the vampire composed herself. Wyldfyre studied her in that short time. She was dressed in fine flowing armour, opened at the neck with a short black hooded cape. Her skin was like snow and her hair black like ebony. Her eyes glowed like a vampires but Wyldfyre felt she was more than just a common vampire. Despite her young appearance, she was definitely an Old One. Powerful and dangerous. She also had an Elder Scroll strapped to her back. The vampire shifted and Aiden placed his sword at her neck.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t run you through, vampire” he said.

“What..?” she shook her head in confusion “Why am I awake? Who are you?” she slid back away from Aiden’s sword and the two siblings looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

“I am Wyldfyre, Harbinger to the Companions, and this is my brother Aiden. Now we’ve introduced ourselves it’s your turn. But I warn you, make one move and I let my brother skewer you”

“He could try” the woman flashed her eyes angrily. “My name is Serana. That’s all you need to know”

“Why do you have an Elder Scroll?”

“It’s mine” she said, slowly getting to her feet. Her nostrils flared at the smell of Wyldfyre’s blood. Her eyes seemed to glaze over for a second before she shook her head in frustration.

“The Elder Scrolls belong to no-one” Wyldfyre said.

“How long have I been in here?” Serana frowned, ignoring Wyldfyre’s comment.

“How are we supposed to know that?” Aiden frowned at her “When did you get in there?”

“I didn’t get in; I was put in by my Mother.”

“Why did she do that?”

“That's... complicated.” The vampire hesitated, reluctant to talk “And I'm not totally sure if I can trust you. But if you want to know the whole story, help me get back to my family's home.”

“You want us to escort you..home?” Wyldfyre asked incredulously.

“Where do you need to go?” Aiden asked her then, causing Wyldfyre to cast an angry look in his direction.

“What are you doing?” she sent out.

“I think we need to do this” he sent back. Serana watched the silent exchange between the two and stepped back slightly.

“You’re Werewolves? Both of you” she asked, slightly worried.

You have a problem with us being Werewolves?” Wyldfyre asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Right” Serana nodded, with a sneer “I’m a vampire, you are Were; kind of puts us on equal footing does it not?”

“No, it doesn’t” Wyldfyre shook her head. “I’m still wondering why I haven’t killed you yet”

“Because you are curious” Serana said then, her smooth voice soothing Wyldfyre to the point where she lowered her sword “You want to know about me, why I was in here and why I have an Elder Scroll” she slowly walked towards Wyldfyre as she spoke in her soothing voice. Wyldfyre’s eyelids grew heavy and she swayed on her feet.

“What in Oblivion are you doing?” Aiden cried out. “Stop it now!” he pointed his sword at the vampire. She turned to Aiden and flashed him a look and he to lowered his sword, powerless against her thrall. She turned back to Wyldfyre and reached out a hand, caressing her face, tracing her tattoo.

“You are quite lovely” she said softly, then took Wyldfyre’s injured, wrapped hand in hers, lifting it to her face, drawing in a long breath and exhaling slowly “And you smell like no other human I have ever had the pleasure of... well, you know what I mean. But right now I need to go home and you are going to take me”.

“Where do you need to go?” Wyldfyre found herself asking, moving closer to the vampire.

“My family used to live on an island to the west of Solitude. I guess they are still there” She blinked and suddenly Wyldfyre felt herself being released from the invisible grip that Serana held over her. But instead of being angry, like she knew she should have been, she was sympathetic.

“Fine then. Any idea on how to get out of here?”

*****​

They stumbled out into the snow, the light blinding them temporarily. Serana winced and covered her head with the hood from her cape.

“Brilliant” she wrinkled her nose up as the snow swirled around them. “That great Skyrim weather they always talk about” The two Weres looked at each other, not really affected by the bitingly cold winds. They got their bearings, mapping out a course to Serana’s home in their minds. It would take a week at least to make their way west.

Wyldfyre and Aiden escorted the vampire, keeping to the shadows so the sunlight would not bother her so much. They travelled mostly at night, their Were sight helping them to move quickly through the darkness. They both felt, deep down that what they were doing was wrong, but they could not fight the compulsion to help her. At one stage Wyldfyre woke up to find her hatred of the vampire had returned and she had scrambled to her feet in search of it, dagger in hand. They had made camp for the night, all three of them needing to rest. She had found Serana sitting on a rock, staring out into the Sea of Ghosts with a look of utter despair on her face.

Wyldfyre had approached her cautiously, a wave of sympathy washing over her that she tried to push away, but then it consumed her and she sheathed her dagger and joined the vampire on her rock.

“I find that the ocean is very soothing” she said. “What troubles you Serana?” The vampire looked at her, searching her eyes.

“I... I have not been very kind to you and your brother I’m afraid. I compelled you to take me home. I don’t normally like to do that but I was desperate. I’m sorry”

“I knew you did it. To be honest at first I was angry with you, but now I think this is something I have to do. I have been in a lot of situations where my instincts have been the only thing standing between life and death. I don’t know why, but I feel that somehow, we were meant to meet.”

“I thought only I felt that way. After you woke me up, I was confused but the one thing that was blindingly clear was you.” She shifted on the rock.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just a little weak”

“Why?”

“Because I haven’t...you know” Serana said uncomfortably.

“Oh” realisation dawned on Wyldfyre’s face. The vampire hadn’t fed since they had rescued her. The Maker knows how long it had been since she had fed. Wyldfyre frowned.

“Can you make it until we get you home?”

“I...no. I don’t think so. Don’t trouble yourself over it. I will figure something out” They sat in silence for a while before Wyldfyre stood and untied the laces of her tunic top and holding it open at the neck.

“What are you doing?” Serana asked; eyeing the smooth skin Wyldfyre exposed. The woman was beyond beautiful. If Serana had not known any better, she would have sworn that the Were had her in thrall and not the other way around.

“Listen. I’m not going to carry you all the way across Skyrim. This is how we are going to do it. I don’t want to do it but that’s how it is” she stepped closer to the vampire.

“I don’t want to feed from you!” Serana stood angrily then swayed and sat back down heavily. “I.. your blood.. it’s different”

“I know it’s different. Believe me I know. But it’s either me or my brother and there is no way in Oblivion I am letting you near him.”

“You are a very stubborn human” Serana flashed her eyes. Wyldfyre’s eyes flashed back.

“I know. It’s one of my many charms. Now, feed. I won’t make the offer again.” She sat down on the rock next to her and tilted her head, waiting. Wyldfyre’s heart beat in her chest and she swore she and the vampire could hear it. Serana searched her eyes then nodded slowly. She leaned towards Wyldfyre but the Were quickly stopped her.

“Can you at least make it not hurt so much? I’ve been fed on by your kind and it was not pleasant” Serana smiled and touched Wyldfyre’s chin.

“Dear, you know nothing about vampires. It only hurts when we want it to. I can make it feel so much better”

“Oh. All right then. Umm.. carry on” Serana moved in closer, one hand moving slowly over Wyldfyre’s thigh, the other curving around her neck and threading into her red hair. Serana’s eyes grew a dark shade of orange and she licked a patch of skin on Wyldfyre’s neck, causing them both to shiver. The Vampire’s lips moved up to Wyldfyre’s ear and she whispered.

“Just relax. I would never hurt you” before her fangs closed over Wyldfyre’s neck, finding a vein. Wyldfyre gasped with shock then relaxed against the Vampire who held her in a strong grip. Serana suckled at her neck while stroking her thigh. Wyldfyre felt waves of pleasure running through her body as they both became more aroused. They slid to the ground, Serana pressing into Wyldfyre’s body, still clinging to her neck. Her hand delved under the waistband of Wyldfyre’s pants and her fingers found her mound. She worked at it while she continued to suckle at her neck. Wyldfyre was beyond any thoughts now. The combination of the vampire draining her blood and her busy fingers bringing her to the edge then toppling over and she cried out with pleasure.
 

shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
CHAPTER NINETY EIGHT: CASTLE VOLIKHAR

“This is your home?” Wyldfyre stared up at the castle that loomed up out of the ocean. A great swirling mass of clouds blocked the sunlight, casting shadows down the walls of the many towers and turrets that stretched towards the sky. It was a formidable looking building, and it reeked of death. Wyldfyre wrinkled her nose.

“Well yes..” Serana said, embarrassed. “I didn’t really think of it as being big. It’s just a house”

“More like Castle” Aiden snorted. He had been surly ever since Serana had stopped her compulsion on the two. He did not appreciate being thralled. Wyldfyre suggested he return to Whiterun but he refused to leave, saying he needed to stay and watch over the Vampire, in case it tried anything again, he had put it.

“Our family is old. We all lived in castles back then” Serana shrugged. She turned to Wyldfyre. “I want to thank you for bringing me this far. And for...you know” Wyldfyre blushed slightly when she remembered their night on the beach after Serana had fed on her. It had turned out to be a long night indeed. “Anyway, before we go in I wanted to tell you a few things”

“Oh? We are going in there?” Wyldfyre looked at the great doors at the end of the bridge. She didn’t think she would be setting foot in a Vampire Castle. “Can’t we just bid farewell here?”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. I suspect they already know we are out here and they would not let you leave until they know who you are.”

“What!” Aiden exclaimed “You never said anything about us being held hostage!”

“Calm down wolf” Serana said angrily “I won’t let that happen. They just want to know who you are. I’ll see that you are released as quickly as possible. That’s if you can control yourself and not kill anyone inside”

“Sister, we should leave, now” he turned to Wyldfyre who had been staring at the doors. A dangerous energy behind those doors spoke to her. It invited her inside, its voice smooth and calming.

“I trust Serana to keep her word Brother. You can wait out here while I go say hello”

“Like hell I am going to let you go in there on your own.”

“That could work” Serana nodded. “Aiden can stay out here and I will have you in and out in no time”

“Didn’t you hear me Vampire?” Aiden sneered “There is no way I am letting my sister go in there alone with you lot”

“This will not work with him like this” Serana said to Wyldfyre, ignoring Aiden’s protests. Wyldfyre sighed and nodded.

“Do what you have to do”

They left a happy and content Aiden on the boat as they walked along the bridge to the castle doors.

“I hope he forgives me” Wyldfyre said sadly.

“It had to be done” Serana said, putting a hand on the Harbinger’s arm. “The compulsion will not last for long and he won’t remember it” As they neared, the doors started opening. “I guess they were expecting us” She chuckled nervously. Wyldfyre held her breath as she entered the Castle behind Serana. She was immediately hit with the coppery smell of blood. They exited the entry and came out onto a balcony. Looking down into a large, ornately dressed room, she could see long tables on either side. Vampires sat at the tables, feeding from male and female humans. Their moans hit Wyldfyre’s ears. Some of them groaning in pure ecstasy as the vampires drained their blood.

“I see nothing has changed here” Serana mumbled, her nostrils flaring at the smell. Despite her repulsion, her eyes grew dark with hunger. They walked down the great stairs and towards a man standing in the centre. Wyldfyre peeked around Serana to study him. He was tall and had the same white skin and ebony hair as Serana. His eyes were stern and focused in on her companion.

“Ah, at long last, my daughter returns home. And with the Elder Scroll” His voice had that same deep smooth tones that Wyldfyre could hear outside the castle. Serana stopped, putting her hands on her hips defiantly.

“After all these years Father? That’s all you have to say to me?” The man walked towards her and lifted her chin, his eyes flashing dangerously.

“But of course I am glad that my only daughter has returned safe to us” he looked over her shoulder and pushed her gently to the side “But who is this? Who dares enter our home who is not one of us?” he stalked over to Wyldfyre who stood her ground even as he loomed over her.

“Father!” Serana said sharply. “This is the woman who rescued me. Would you show her a little more courtesy?”

“As you wish, Daughter” he stepped back and studied Wyldfyre, his eyes lingering on her for far too long. “My, my you are a beauty. Well picked Serana”

“She didn’t pick me” Wyldfyre then spoke up “I rescued her from that hole in the ground”

“Ah yes” Serana’s father smiled. It was not a pleasant smile, but filled with danger and malice. “The little hideout Serana’s mother found for you. I wish she was here to see this reunion. Then I could stick the traitorous bitch’s head on a spike”

“Listen” Wyldfyre said impatiently “I have no wish to intrude on your family issues. I brought Serana back and I wish to be on my way”

“But of course” he smiled again, sending shivers down Wyldfyre’s spine. “But first I need to reward you for bringing my daughter back to me”

“Father..” Serana stepped forward but was silenced as he held up a hand.

“That’s not really necessary” Wyldfyre said then, concerned by Serana’s worried look.

“Oh but it is. I do not let good deeds go without the proper acknowledgement. I can give you but one gift my dear. The gift of eternal life. No longer will you have to....”

“Wait up!” Wyldfyre held up her hand. “Sorry to interrupt your spiel but I already have eternal life thank you and I am only just warming to the notion.”

“What?” his nostrils flared in annoyance “What are you talking about human?” he strode over to her and sniffed the air in front of her then stood back. “You are a Were, but also something else... something I can’t quite place. Very interesting. Still, it is of no matter. I can purge that filthy beast from you”

“In exchange for becoming a vampire?” Wyldfyre sneered back. She did not like his attitude towards her kind.

“Wyldfyre” Serana stepped forward, placing a hand on her arm again. Her father noticed the gesture.

“Why Serana. Have you grown fond of this mutt? Really have I not taught you anything?” he shook his head. “I don’t think you realise what I am offering you. Behold the power I can give you!” he shouted and stepped back. He writhed and then floated up off the ground, his skin turned blood red and rippled, his clothing fell from his dripping limbs and then the skin turned a dark grey. Two great wings burst out on either side of his back and horns jutted out from his head. His fangs flashed, two times longer than a normal vampire. Wyldfyre stepped back, slightly frightened and repulsed.

“Now do you understand” he asked her as he floated a few feet off the ground. The other vampires that were in the room had gathered behind him and smiled and clapped, some of them with blood dripping from their fangs.

“I do and the answer is still no.” Wyldfyre said defiantly, her chin raised.

“I would kill the beast, Lord Harkon” one of the vampires said from behind. Lord Harkon’s face flashed with anger and he floated towards Wyldfyre. But Serana stepped in front, blocking him from her.

“Father please I beg of you. Do not harm Wyldfyre” She pleaded with him “Please for me. Let her go”. Lord Harkon hovered there for a moment before nodding.

“Very well Daughter. Because she brought you back to me” He turned to Wyldfyre “You refuse my gift. Normally I would rip your heart out right here but for my Daughter I will let you go. You are banished from this Castle. If I ever see you again I will not hesitate to drain every last drop of blood from your body. Now go!” his hands suddenly glowed and he threw a magical energy towards her and Wyldfyre slumped to the floor, Serana calling out her name before she blacked out.

She woke up on the boat next to Aiden. Just as she sat upright, he shook his head, his eyes clearing.

“Oh, sorry, I must have dozed off for a while. The vampire gone?”

“Yes” Wyldfyre answered shortly. “Let’s go” They rowed back to the mainland and headed southeast towards Solitude where they rented a couple of rooms for the night. For some reason Wyldfyre was beyond tired and she refused to sleep on the ground another night. Aiden had no arguments for her, looking forward to a decent meal and a cosy bed.

They sat at a small table in the Winking Skeever, the Inn closest to the city gates. They both ripped in to their meals with gusto.

“We will have to report this back to Isran” Aiden said. Wyldfyre swallowed. She was not looking forward to telling the Redguard of their findings.

“I know. He is not going to like what we have to say” She downed some mead, letting it warm her throat.

“Never the less we have to tell him. For Tolan and the other Vigilant’s sake. Someone needs to know of their fate”. They left early the next day and headed south-east towards Riften. It took them a few days to reach the cave that hid the small valley that housed Fort Dawnguard. When they entered the castle they found it was occupied by a lot more soldiers than last time.

“Isran has been busy” Wyldfyre noted. A young nord approached them, his face not quite ready to sprout hair.

“Companions” he nodded, trying to make his voice sound deeper “Isran has been waiting for you. You need to go to him immediately. Up the stairs” he indicated to a circular flight of stairs that spiralled up one of the castles towers. When they reached the top they could hear Isran, his voice low and angry. They followed the voice to a large room with a double bed and small table, a pile of books on its surface. In a small room off to the right they found Isran standing with his weapon drawn. His companion was none other than Serana. Wyldfyre started in surprise and was a little admiring of Serana’s bravery to walk into a Fort crowded with vampire hunters..let alone the most fanatical of them all, Isran.

“Serana? What are you doing here?” she asked. Isran turned to her.

“You know this thing? It said it knew you but I was not about to believe it. What’s going on here?”

“Her name is Serana and I have no idea” she approached the vampire and noticed she still bore the Scroll upon her back.

“Well if your friend here will let me speak I will tell you” she said angrily. “I had to leave the castle. My father. He’s gone insane”

“Tell me” she said as they sat at a table, lit by a single candle. Isran made an impatient noise but the women ignored him.

“I didn’t really understand it until you took me back home. But it has to do with this Scroll, and well, me. There is a prophecy about using my blood to somehow block the sun. My father found out about it and he’s devoted the better part of his life to finding out how it works. I don’t know all the details but my mother found out what he wanted to do. That’s why she hid me away with the scroll. To protect me from him.”

“This is all a very nice story but what has it got to do with us?” Isran sneered. Serana glared at him before turning back to Wyldfyre and continuing.

“So I fled here, even though I knew my life would be in danger, to tell you that my father is close to unlocking this prophecy” she turned to Isran “Don’t you get it? He wants to block out the sun, permanently! If that happens then Vampires can walk by day. Prey on humans as they wish. No longer be confined to walking the night.”

“That could be disastrous!” Aiden gasped. Serana nodded.

“See old man, even the wolf gets it. You let my father fulfil this prophecy and it could mean the end for human kind, forever”

“And what say I believe you? You think I have the resources here to fight this right now? No, I need more proof”

“How much proof do you need Isran?” Wyldfyre flared angrily. “The Vigliants knew. Tolan died trying to find out the truth and you let your hatred blind you to seeing the bigger picture.”

“Until I see that Scroll read I can not commit to this.” He pointed to Serana “You need to get this thing out of here and sort it out, until then, you have no further right in being here” and he strode off.

“That... By the Maker!” Wyldfyre swore angrily.

“We are on our own. Good, it’s how I prefer it” Serana stood. Wyldfyre shook her head again and also stood. She looked to her brother.

“I can’t ask you to follow me on this one. If you want to go back to Jorrvaskr then I won’t stop you”

“I would prefer he did actually” Serana said then. Aiden glared at her, his thoughts flashing across his face.

“You can handle this vampire?” he sent to her.

“I will be fine Aiden. She will not hurt me”

“Farkas will kill me if anything happens to you” he sent.

“I know, just tell him I ordered you” she smirked. He smiled, then surprised her by enfolding her in a fierce hug.

“Let us know what you are doing, just so we know you are alright”

“I will. I love you”

“Love you to, sister” he pecked her on the cheek and then turned to Serana. “If anything happens to her I will hold you responsible and will have a whole hoard of Companions at your feet” Serana could have been angry at that but instead she nodded slowly.

“You have my word, wolf” she said.

Outside they blinked in the afternoon sun. Wyldfyre watched the retreating form of her brother as he ran through the valley towards the cave. She was sad to see him go but felt that this new journey she was on with the vampire was one she had to make on her own.

“So where do we go from here?” Serana asked.

“Well the only place I can think of that would have any information on reading an Elder Scroll would be the College of Winterhold.”

“Ah so that got that started up did they?” Serana asked as they walked through the valley “They were just talking about it when I was still around. Hmm.. I guess we could try there. But I know of another. I have heard that the Moth Priests read the Scrolls”

“I’ve never heard of that order” Wyldfyre frowned. “They are not from Skyrim?”

“No, from Cyrodiil actually. But every now and then one or two of them will make a pilgrimage into Skyrim. The only problem is, is that was a very long time ago. I have no idea if the order is still alive”

“We can ask at the collage. If there are still these Priests around, then they will know.” They were silent for a while before Serana spoke again.

“Wyldfyre. I am sorry for what happened at the castle. With my father. I would never have let you...”

“It’s fine; Really. I think I am actually used to having my life threatened now. Comes with the job I guess”

“And what job is that exactly. What are you?” she stopped her in the cave, the darkness consuming both of them. Wyldfyre knew Serana had tasted something different in her blood and she couldn’t avoid not telling her the truth, so she told her everything. Rather than being amazed or frightened like some humans were inclined to be when they were in the presence of the Dragonborn, Serana was fascinated, even a little excited. She sat on the edge of the rock she had parked herself on.

“So you are Dragonborn, meaning you have Dragonblood, you are a Were, so you have beast blood coursing through your veins, and you have the blood of the World Eater in you as well. Fascinating. No wonder you tasted so delectable.” She licked her lips, remembering Wyldfyre’s blood. She could feel as it slid down her throat the power in it and it was intoxicating. She wanted more and thought of nothing since that encounter. But she held back. She didn’t want to offend the woman she had quickly grown so fond of. Wyldfyre was not sure how to take that statement.

“Well. Thank you. I think” she frowned “Now that I remember it, when I was captured by vampires, they did go a little crazy at the taste of my blood, and that was before I defeated Alduin.”

“You have no idea how good it is” Serana said, her eyebrow arching.

“Don’t get any ideas” Wyldfyre said, but then added “Unless you really need it” she smiled quickly then stood, re-adjusted her weapons and continued through the cave.
 

T. Rakinson

A Brute among Beasts
Nearly 100 chapters... what hasnt this woman done by now?
 

shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
CHAPTER NINETY NINE: TO FIND A MOTH PRIEST

Progress was slow as they made their way north towards Winterhold. Again they travelled by night and Wyldfyre called a halt when the first rays of sun peeked over the horizon. Her Were senses found a new cave for them to hold up in each morning and they rested the entire day inside. As they grew to know each other better their questions grew bolder and more personal.

“So do you look like your father when you go all vampire Lord?” Wyldfyre asked one day after they had consumed a bottle of mead. Serana frowned for a second before smiling slowly.

“No not really. I don’t like doing it to be honest. I don’t like the feeling. Plus I look hideous.”

“Not as hideous as me in my beast form” Wyldfyre snorted. She was lying comfortably on her bedroll, her head propped up on her satchel.

“I bet you are a very cute wolf” Serana smiled, causing Wyldfyre to snort in a fit of laughter.

“I am a furred, clawed, snarling killing machine. I am not cute!”

“What was it like, your first transformation?” Serana then asked.

“It was terrible. As you know I was a vampire at the time and I took the beast blood. I have felt more pain since then but that was the first time I really wanted to die.”

“Was it really that bad?” Serana asked quietly, her face in shadows.

“The pain...?”

“No. Being a..vampire. Was it really so terrible for you that you exchanged that for the beast blood?” she turned to Wyldfyre, her face serious.

“Serana.. I didn’t mean to offend you. It was a very quick decision, my mate was a Were and to become one was logical. Granted I probably would have put a little more thought into the decision but I was distraught and I was presented with the opportunity. I’m sorry but I didn’t like being a vampire. It changed me and I didn’t like who I was”

“It’s alright” Serana waved her hand. “You don’t have to explain that to me. Sometimes even I feel like...”

“Like what?” Wyldfyre urged her, but the vampire merely shook her head then changed the subject.

“Tonight, before we leave I need to... hunt”

“What will you feed on? There are no settlements around here and I would prefer you didn’t feed off innocents anyway.”

“Well what do you propose then? I am open to suggestions.” Wyldfyre thought for a moment.

“I could hunt for you. Kill a deer, we could both have a feed, the Gods knows I need to stretch my legs, so to speak” But the vampire wrinkled up her nose.

“You want me to feed on an animal?” she shuddered “No. I can’t do it, it’s just so.. ick!”

“I’ve eaten lots of animals” Wyldfyre laughed “Deer, goat, even bunnies”

“Rabbits?” Serana cried “You are a rabbit killer!” she teased then surprised Wyldfyre when she lunged at her with uncanny speed, pinning her to the ground. Wyldfyre laughed and made to struggle but the vampire was strong.

“I could just have my way with you” she whispered into Wyldfyre’s ear.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Wyldfyre said as Serana licked up the side of her neck, causing Wyldfyre to shiver. She drew her legs around Serana, pressing her closer to her. The vampire’s fingers trembled as they unlaced the ties of Wyldfyre’s top.

*****​

“Hmm.. Moth priest eh? Well now let me see” The Orc, Urag gro-Shub, keeper of the Arcanaeum stared at the pair and tapped his chin. In truth he knew the answer to the question the two stunning women had asked him. He just wanted a longer opportunity to ogle them. He was quite sure he had seen the redhead before, but that time she had been with a blonde. This new one had snow white skin and hair like a raven. Her eyes seemed none to friendly but that excited him even more. The red-head emanated a power he struggled to comprehend. She had indeed changed since she was here last. His eyes roamed over the Elder Scroll, strapped to the raven haired one’s back. He almost salivated, his fingers itching to touch it. The redhead seemed to take that wrong and moved to the side a bit, blocking his view. She frowned at him, impatient and moody; her yellow-green eyes flashing. He liked her; a lot. She had spunk.

“Come on Urag. I know you know something; I see it working on your face.”

“A moth Priest you say? Weellll.. just so happens one of them passed through here not too long ago. Seems like a big coincidence to me. One of them turns up and then you come here asking about him with that Scroll.” He leaned to the side and pointed at Serana’s scroll.

“Where did he go when he left here?” Wyldfyre asked. She could tell that Serana was getting impatient and hers was beginning to falter as well.

“I can’t say for sure, but I know he was travelling west. Being escorted by a small entourage of Imperials. Left a fortnight ago, so who knows where they are now. Try the other holds, Inns. Those people like to gossip. I’m sure you two fine ladies will eventually find them. They are on foot so travel will be slow.”

They left the college and walked back to their room at the Inn. It was just on evening so they left Winterhold and made their way towards Dawnstar and Solitude. They had no luck when asking about the Priest and his entourage until they came to the stables outside Solitude.

“Yes I remember that lot.” A burly dark-haired stable hand said as he forked fresh hay into the stalls. The horses munched enthusiastically on their meal. “They were headed to Dragon Bridge not a couple of days ago. Bought a cart from Geimund. If you hurry you might catch them there”. Dragon Bridge was an hour’s walk down the road and Wyldfyre and Serana checked into the Inn as dawn was breaking. Serana wasted no time in closing herself off inside the darkness of the room that Wyldfyre paid for. She questioned the Inn keeper about the Moth priest but the woman was tight lipped and refused to say anything, stealing nervous glances at the group of men sitting near the hearth fire. Wyldfyre was sure she knew something but was afraid to talk.

“Come see me later” she whispered and the Inn keeper nodded slightly and went about wiping the bar top. Wyldfyre entered their room to find Serana had already stripped off her armour and curled up on the bed in her undergarments. Her complete stillness told Wyldfyre that she was already asleep. Wyldfyre carefully peeled off her armour and climbed into bed, her last thoughts before she drifted off were of, strangly, Solstheim and the Frostmoon pack.

A quiet knock on the door hours later, woke Wyldfyre from her slumber and she padded barefoot to the door, not bothering to put on anything to cover her state on undress. Opening it a crack she saw the Inn keeper standing there with a tray.

“Here is the lunch you ordered M’lady” she said a little too loudly, for the benefit of anyone outside. Wyldfyre opened the door and the woman carried in the tray, blushing furiously as she caught Wyldfyre and her sleeping companion in their undergarments. She placed the tray on the table and turned as Wyldfyre closed the door.

“I’m sorry I could not speak before. Those men out there were Imperial spies.”

“It’s fine” Wyldfyre said, moving over to the lunch tray. Even though she had not ordered the lunch she found she was famished. She picked up a roasted chicken leg and bit into it. “What do you know?” she said in between bites.

“The Moth Priest you are after did actually come through here. They stayed the night and left yesterday. You are not far behind them.”

“Do you know which way they went?”

“Yes. South over the Bridge but that’s all I know” She said, obviously wanted to get out of the room.

“Thank you. You can go” Wyldfyre sat when the woman left and finished off her lunch and Serana’s share as well, as she figured the vampire didn’t need it. Serana stirred once or twice, mumbling in her sleep. Wyldfyre lay next to her, studying the vampires face.

“I feel your breath on me” Serana said without opening her eyes. Wyldfyre smiled and lay back.

“Just watching you sleep. It’s interesting. You looked dead at one stage. You don’t breath”

“I am aware of that” Serana chuckled “Were as you toss and turn and kick”

“I do not kick!” Wyldfyre said with mock indignity.

“And make little growling noises” Serana added as she rolled to her side and ran her fingers through Wyldfyre’s hair, finding herself again marvelling at its colour. It was like autumn leaves.

“Oh really?” Wyldfyre laughed. “Just wait until I really have to change, then you will hear me growl”

“I really want to get my teeth into your flesh...” Serana then said softly as she traced her finger down Wyldfyre’s neck and stopped it just above her left breast “...right here”. Wyldfyre indulged her by moving closer.

The sun finally lowered down over the horizon and the women set out from the Inn and crossed the famous Dragon Bridge. It spanned a great ravine, cut into the earth by the gushing river many feet below. Not too far from the bridge Wyldfyre saw something lying on the side of the road and her heart beat wildly. She raced towards the object and cursed as her fears were confirmed. It was obviously the cart that the Moth Priest had been travelling in. The cart was overturned, its contents strewn over the road. Three Imperial men were dead, as well as the horse. But there was no sign of the Priest.

“Over here” Serana said softly and Wyldfyre walked to where she was standing, looking down at another body. It was a vampire. The men had at least taken one of them down before being overcome.

“By the Maker...” Wyldfyre cursed again. It was too late. The vampires had snatched the Priest away from their grasp. She bent down and searched the body, her fingers closing on a piece of parchment. In the fading light she read instructions to intercept the cart and take the Priest to a cave called Forebears’ Holdout. Wyldfyre had never heard of it but she and Serana were able to follow a trail of blood. Wyldfyre hoped it was not the Priest’s. The cave was not far from the scene of the attack and they reached it after an hour of tracking. After a quick discussion of strategies they entered the cave.

Serana proved to be a formidable foe to her enemies. She was proficient in swordsmanship as well as using a few magic spells that Wyldfyre had seen older vampires use. Her great age made her very powerful and the lesser vampires they came across in the cave seemed to quake under her presence. Wyldfyre hardly had to step in at all except for when she fought off two of the death hounds. Still she did not find the need to change into her beast form but dealt with the hounds with her sword in one hand and her fire spell in the other. They found two more dead Imperials, drained of their blood. Wyldfyre was hopeful that they would find the priest still alive.

“Remember, my father needs him to read the scroll” Serana reminded her. They came out into a massive chamber with a river running through it and a small ruined fort on the far side. They could see a glowing orb at the top of the fort. On the lower level was a large fire with some people moving around it. Wyldfyre could see some of them looked like normal bandits but there were a couple of vampires as well.

“I can take some of those out with my crossbow” Wyldfyre said, leaning it against the stone balustrade and kneeling down. Serana nodded and watched as Wyldfyre took her time in lining up each shot. The first two, a vampire and a bandit, went down with ease. But the other two were now on high alert, looking for the invisible intruder that was taking down their number.

“They are staying hidden in the shadows” Serana observed.

“We’ll have to take them on down there then” Wyldfyre stood and placed her crossbow on her back, then unsheathed her sword. “Let’s do this as quietly as possible” They crept their way down into the chamber and over the small stone bridge that spanned the river. Upon entering the lower part of the fort they found the bodies of the two Wyldfyre had taken out with her crossbow. Serana sniffed the air.

“I smell the human over in that direction, the vampire that way.” She set off for the vampire, leaving Wyldfyre to deal with the human. The bandit, a female, was peering out into the darkness of the cavern. Wyldfyre crept up behind her and slit her throat before she could let out a cry. She felt a moment of guilt for killing the bandit that was obviously thralled but she knew if the roles were reversed the bandit would not hesitate in taking her out. It was kill or be killed in this situation. She was soon rejoined by Serana, who wore a satisfied smile on her face. They nodded in silence and headed up the stairs to the top level of the ruins.

Wyldfyre peered over the top of the last step to see what they were up against. There appeared to be only two vampires. One in normal robes, another dressed more ornately. Wyldfyre was surprised when she realised the well dressed Vampire was also an Orc. In the centre was the strange glowing orb and Wyldfyre could just make out a figure trapped within whom she assumed to be the Moth Priest. She strained her ears to listen.

"The more you fight me, the more you will suffer, mortal." The vampire drawled.

"I will resist you, monster. I must!" A weak voice came from inside the orb.

"How much longer can you keep this up, Moth Priest? Your mind was strong, but you're exhausted from the struggle."

"Must... resist..."

"Yes, I can feel your defences crumbling. You want it to end. You want to give in to me. Now, acknowledge me as your master!" the vampire seemed to be getting quite excited as he broke the priest.

"Yes. master." The figure in inside the orb submitted to his new master. Wyldfyre and Serana went back down the stairs a little way so Wyldfyre could ask Serana some questions.

“The Orc, do you know him?”

“I think so” Serana frowned “I think his name is Malkus. A lesser vampire in our court, but very efficient and strong. He will be a formidable foe.”

“Right” Wyldfyre nodded “What’s our plan then?”

“I have no idea, I usually just follow you”

“That’s not really helpful” Wyldfyre frowned. She thought about it for a while. “I think we need to take out Malkus as quickly as we can. I’m sure he is controlling that orb thing. We need to be able to turn that off before we can rescue the priest.”

“Who is now thralled to Malkus” Serana pointed out. “We lower that barrier; he will attack us as well, to defend his master”

“Great. Well let’s take out the vampires before we do that then” They agreed on a strategy and the Wyldfyre took out her crossbow and loaded it. She nodded to Serana who indicated she was also ready and they stood and raced up the steps. Wyldfyre stopped just long enough to let off a bolt into Malkus. It hit him in the chest, causing him to grunt in surprise, but he was soon firing off spells at his two attackers. Wyldfyre barely noticed Serana running towards the other vampire as she ducked and dodged Malkus’s spells. She gathered up her energy and shouted her dragon fire at him. It came out of her mouth in a fiery inferno, engulfing the vampire. He stopped and screamed, batting at his burning skin. It was a little gruesome to watch as his flesh burned and seemed to melt off his bones. Soon he was a pile of bones on the ground.

“Remind me never to get between you and that shout” Serana comment beside her. Wyldfyre was startled when she realised she hadn’t even thought to see if Serana needed help. Obviously she didn’t. She turned to the orb and frowned at it.

“Well now how do we break this thing?” She prodded the orb. Little jolts of electricity travelled down her arm. She pushed on it, but was unable to simply walk through the barrier. She searched the bones of the former Malkus and discovered a pretty stone with blue markings on it. The markings seemed to glow themselves.

“Do you think this has got something to do with it?” she asked Serana who came over to study the stone.

“No doubt. It has the same markings on it as those on the floor. See”

“Then whenever there is a stone, there is always somewhere to stick it” Wyldfyre said and began to search the area. She found a small pillar up on a balcony that overlooked the area that housed the orb. She placed the stone in the central slot and pushed it in. The glowing orb began to flicker and falter and soon vanished all together. Not confined by the magical barrier any longer, the priest sighed and slumped to the ground.
 

A.Auditore

maybe...
where's my like button?!? :mad:
 

shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED: THE ELDER SCROLL - SUN

“By the Gods girl!” Dexion Evicus said for the hundredth time during their trip back to Fort Dawnguard “Do you have to hit every hole in the road?” When the Moth Priest had regained consciousness he was no longer thralled but quite weak from his ordeal. Wyldfyre and Serana made the decision to carry him out of the cave and Wyldfyre waited with him while Serana fetched a horse and cart. He had grumbled the entire time and was now close to being thrown out of the cart by Wyldfyre as she steered the horse over the bumpy roads back towards The Rift.

“You can always walk the rest of the way” she half mumbled under her breath. Serana placed a calming hand on Wyldfyre’s leg as she sat beside her in the driver’s seat. Strangely, the vampire had been more sympathetic towards the old man and was Wyldfyre’s voice of reason. She sighed and said more sweetly. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to make this as smooth as I can. Not far to go now” She flashed a look at Serana that said happy?

They had travelled as quickly as they could, not wanting to meet up with any more ambushes. They were confined to moving through the night, Serana not being able to stand the glare of the sun. The priest had been fine with their strange travelling schedule, knowing full well what Serana was. Wyldfyre suspected he even knew what she was. He was a very knowledgeable man, once he stopped grumbling. He told them some fascinating stories while they camped out in caves during the day while they waited for the sun to set. Wyldfyre found his voice quite soothing and would often fall asleep while he was in the middle of one of his stories. This annoyed the Priest and he often called her impertinent. Serana he warmed to, despite his ordeal in the cave with Malkus and his throng of vampires. They often had rather excited discussions about things that happened hundreds of years ago.

“Good, then I can get out of this infernal cart!” the priest grumbled. They rode on in silence for a while before Serana pointed to a familiar landmark to Wyldfyre. She nodded, knowing that they were nearing the end of their journey.

“Dexion, we are almost at the cave that takes us through to Fort Dawnguard. I’m afraid we will have to leave the cart here and walk the rest of the way. We don’t want to leave the cart near the cave or it will look suspicious.” She called a halt to the horse and the cart came to a bumpy stop.

“Even better!” he exclaimed and stood shakily. Wyldfyre watched as he wobbled down the back of the cart and then stood for a while, wondering how to get down. She felt a moment of sympathy for the old man and so jumped down from the cart and headed to the back of it. She held out a hand to the priest who took it reluctantly. He winced as his old bones creaked as he lowered himself down from the cart. After recovering from his short moment of indignity he strode off towards the cave.

“It is best to just let him make his own way” Serana said as she came to stand beside Wyldfyre. She took Wyldfyre’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Let him regain his dignity and then he will be more willing to help us” Wyldfyre nodded and they followed the priest through the cave.

Isran welcomed Dexion warmly, offering him whatever he needed and fetched a young Imperial man to show the priest to his new quarters. The Dawnguard leader watched the men leave then turned to Wyldfyre and Serana.

“I didn’t think I would see you two again. Any problems?” Wyldfyre bristled.

“Any problems? Of course there were! We had to fight through a whole throng of Vampires to get to that priest. You need to take this more seriously Isran. The vampires definitely know about this prophecy and they had almost broken the priest.”

“We need him to read this scroll so we know what my father is up to” Serana said then. Isran narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing. He merely nodded.

“As soon as the priest is comfortable then you can ask him. For now he needs to rest. In the mean time I guess you two can stay here, just... find somewhere out of the way, up in the east tower” he strode away, not waiting for a reply.

“The more I deal with that man the more I dislike him” Wyldfyre said as she turned towards the spiralling staircase that would take them up to the east tower. Isran obviously didn’t want Serana close to his army and there was no way Wyldfyre was going to leave her alone in a castle full of vampire hunters. They found a room at the top sparsely furnished, but it had a bed and small table which was way better than a cave and rocks.

“I guess this will do” Serana said, sitting at the table. Wyldfyre wondered if she was as hungry as she was. Her stomach growled.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll go get something to eat and then you can..eat” she smiled. Serana’s eyes flashed with excitement. Wyldfyre made her way into the large dining area. A few Dawnguard members were in there, most likely coming off a guard duty shift. The rest were asleep in the dorms. A pot of something bubbled over the fire and Wyldfyre spooned a heap of it into a trencher of bread and sat at the table to eat. She received curious glances by the others and soon she was joined by a couple of them.

“So you are the Harbinger of the Companions?” the young Imperial from before asked her. Wyldfyre took a swig of mead.

“I am” she said simply.

“I always wanted to be a Companion” he sighed. “But father was adamant I join the Legion. That was before Solitude. Well, he’s not around anymore”

“I’m sorry to hear that” Wyldfyre said a little uncomfortably. She was in the thick of the fighting that day in Solitude. Had his father died by a Stormcloak’s sword, or from her dragon’s fiery breath?

“It’s all right” he shrugged. “I know you are the Dragonborn. I saw you that day. Riding that dragon. Everyone was frightened and screaming as they watched you from behind their curtains. But not me. I thought it was the most fantastic thing I have ever seen”

“Is that so?” Wyldfyre asked. He nodded earnestly. He was so young, barely able to shave. But Wyldfyre could see something in him; a fire in his eyes. Not that fanatical look she could see in others around the table, or in Isran’s eyes. This young Imperial had something more. “What is your name?” she asked him.

“Samuel M’Lady, my name is Samuel” he told her. Wyldfyre placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Samuel, pleased to meet you. I am Wyldfyre.”

“I know your name” he said, blushing.

“Well then Samuel. I have a proposal for you. I have seen the fire in your belly and I think I would like someone like you to be a member of my Companions”

“Really?” he said then, his eyes widening. Wyldfyre thought they were about to pop out.

“Yes. Come and see me at Jorrvaskr when this Vampire threat is done”

“I will! Thank you!” he stumbled to his feet, almost spilling Wyldfyre’s mead everywhere. “Sorry, thank you!” he rushed off, leaving Wyldfyre to finish her meal. She normally didn’t recruit Companion members. She had no idea why she just did, but she felt the boy would make a great Companion. Later, after pilfering a bottle of mead from the table, she made her way back up to the small room she and Serana were to share. Serana was already asleep, stretched out on the bed, fully clothed. Wyldfyre would not be undressing either. This place was way too volatile to get cosy and complacent. She did however take off her weapons, gauntlets and boots and placed them beside the bed before carefully climbing in beside Serana and settling down for the day. She stared at the ceiling for a while before her lids closed and she drifted off to sleep.

She was woken hours later when she felt fingers brushing lightly over her lips. Serana was awake and hungry. Wyldfyre smiled.

“I see you are a little hungry?” she asked as the vampire drew closer, her eyes flashing a deep orange colour. Not able to offer Serana her neck, being still clad in her armour, Wyldfyre held out her arm. Serana took it gently in her hands and lowered her head over it. Wyldfyre felt the tiniest of pin pricks before the sensation of Serana sucking at her skin. She lay there while she fed. When Serana finished she lay back, sighing with pleasure. Her skin seemed to almost glow a rosy pink after taking Wyldfyre’s blood.

“Better?” Wyldfyre asked. Serana answered by sighing again. By unspoken agreement they both got up and Wyldfyre put her weapons and the rest of her armour back on. “Let’s go see Dexion” she said. They found the priest sitting in a small room next to Isran’s. He was eating a bowl of stew and looked well rested.

“Ah, I was wondering when I would see you two again” he said somewhat happier. They chatted while he finished his meal and then he held out his hands. Serana handed over the Scroll. The Moth Priest took it reverently, almost cradling it like a new born babe. “I have not prepared myself properly for this” he said.

“You aren’t going to read it then?” Wyldfyre asked, worried. But the priest shook his head.

“Oh yes I am going to read it. How could I not? It’s just that normally, one would take weeks to prepare to read a scroll. You take on a great responsibility when reading an Elder Scroll. And a great risk. Those who do not take the proper precautions must also live with the consequences” Wyldfyre frowned. She had not had any time to prepare when she read the scroll up on top of the Throat of the World. Nothing bad had happened to her because of it. She was about to ask Dexion this when he suddenly twisted the scroll and it gave a little click. The priest opened the scroll and peered at it.

"I see a vision before me, an image of a great bow.” He squinted at the glowing paper “I know this weapon! It is Auriel's Bow! Now a voice whispers, saying "Among the night's children, a dread lord will rise". In an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men, darkness will mingle with light and the night and day will be as one.” He shook his head, struggling to read. “The voice fades and the words begin to shimmer and distort. But wait, there is more here. The secret of the bow's power is written elsewhere. I think there is more to the prophecy, recorded in other scrolls.” He nodded excitedly “Yes, I see them now... One contains the ancient secrets of the dragons, and the other speaks of the potency of ancient blood.” Wyldfyre and Serana looked at each other before the priest continued “My vision darkens, and I see no more. To know the complete prophecy, we must have the other two scrolls."

“Two more scrolls?” Serana said as the priest closed the Scroll. He stumbled back towards the bed and Wyldfyre helped him down. She took the scroll and handed it back to Serana.

“Yes” Dexion gasped, rubbing at his eyes “The scroll of the Dragon and the Scroll of Blood. We need both of those to complete the prophecy”

“Where in Oblivion do we find them?” Serana asked “They don’t exactly grow on trees...”

“Well..”Wyldfyre said with a smile “I know where the Dragon Scroll is. It’s actually mine... well not mine, but I found it and I read it”

“You read an Elder Scroll? How...How is that possible?” Dexion looked up, startled.

“I read it on top of the Throat of the World. In a time wound. I guess that protected me?” she shrugged. She did not mention Paarthurnax.

“Curious” Dexion said. “Well if you know where one is then that’s a start. I suggest you go get it and return it to me.”

“I think I may know where the other is” Serana said. She had been quiet for a while “But it’s...complicated”. Dexion swung his feet around and lay back on the bed.

“Don’t bother me with complications girl. Just bring me the scrolls when you have them. Now if you don’t mind. I need to rest”. Wyldfyre and Serana left Dexion and went back to their room, gathering up their supplies for their journey to the Throat of the World.

“So what did you mean by, it’s complicated?” Wyldfyre asked. Serana sighed.

“I told you that my Mother hid me away inside that ruin with the scroll. What I didn’t mention was that she also had or has a scroll.”

“Well we go to her and ask her for it” Wyldfyre said as she shouldered her crossbow. But Serana shook her head.

“And that’s the complicated part. My mother went into hiding as well. But I have no idea where. It was better that I didn’t know, in case my father ever...”

“...found you. Right. Well, we know for sure where one Scroll is. Let’s work out how to find the Blood Scroll while we go fetch it”

As Wyldfyre and Serana were leaving the valley they were stopped by a shout. Wyldfyre turned to see the young Imperial running towards them.

“Wait!” he yelled “Take me with you!” He caught up to them, his hands on his knees while he got his breath back. Wyldfyre frowned down at him.

“You are deserting the Dawnguard?” she asked him sternly. Maybe she had been wrong about him?

“Not at all” Samuel shook his head “Isran ordered me to accompany you”

“With a little bit of suggestion on your part?” Wyldfyre asked, eyeing him.

“Well, yes, maybe a little, but can you blame me? He keeps us cooped up in that old fort doing drills and shooting bolts into targets stuffed with hay. I don’t think Isran is ever going to make a decisive move on the vampires. You two have done more in a few weeks than what Isran has. Please let me come with you?” Wyldfyre looked at Serana who shrugged slightly.

“Fine, but you have to do what I tell you. No questions asked, and when I say run, you run. Got it?”

“Of course!” he nodded. Wyldfyre studied the wooden crossbow on his back.

“I assume then that you know how to use that, seeing as you have had ample practice?”

“I do M’Lady” Samuel said then. “Hopefully I will be able to show you soon” but Wyldfyre narrowed her eyes.

“Let’s hope not. I have no wish to be fighting my way back to Whiterun”. The party of three exited the cave just as the moon was peaking over the trees. It was a couple of hours before midnight. They travelled west to Ivarstead then through the mountain pass to Riverwood, then straight on to Whiterun. It took three days of hard travel and Wyldfyre pushed them to their limits. She was feeling agitated and wanted desperately to change into her beast form and go for a run, but their night time travelling schedule did not allow for her to indulge herself. They reached the outskirts of Whiterun on dawn. Wyldfyre directed Serana to the secret entrance to the Underforge and the vampire sped off towards the cave. She and Samuel entered the city by normal means. She communicated to Aiden that she had arrived and to not let anyone into the Underforge.

“Well now” she said to Samuel before pushing the door to the Mead Hall open “Now you get to see what the life of a Companion is all about” What they stumbled into was not what either of them expected.
 

T. Rakinson

A Brute among Beasts
100!
 

Truchses

New Member
"... a were ..."

This story is fascinating. I say this in advance to tone down the criticism I want to make which applies only to the shortening of the word 'werewolf' to 'were'. This is not correct when addressing the fact that a man is a wolf, more precisely, a werewolf, as 'were' means 'man', not 'wolf'; thus telling a man 'you are a were' is trivial and means nothing, compared to telling him 'you are a wolf', addressing an imanent wolf nature. This is ancient nordic/german/teuton mythology; every man could go berserk and at higher grades turn into a werewolf or a werebear. I found reports (just check Wikipedia) that they used hides, furs and skulls of wolfs and bears to help to elevate their spiritual berserk frenzy, but no reports that they really actually transformed physically. This has nothing to do with disease or curse but with shamanism and spirituality. The concept of disease is rather modern, and the curse is a completely new invention.

"... a wolf ..."

Check the Legend of Cain on YouTube:
"Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf."
There is a trilogy and a series with 9 parts, not yet complete. It focuses on the disease concept.
 

shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
"... a were ..."

This story is fascinating. I say this in advance to tone down the criticism I want to make which applies only to the shortening of the word 'werewolf' to 'were'. This is not correct when addressing the fact that a man is a wolf, more precisely, a werewolf, as 'were' means 'man', not 'wolf'; thus telling a man 'you are a were' is trivial and means nothing, compared to telling him 'you are a wolf', addressing an imanent wolf nature. This is ancient nordic/german/teuton mythology; every man could go berserk and at higher grades turn into a werewolf or a werebear. I found reports (just check Wikipedia) that they used hides, furs and skulls of wolfs and bears to help to elevate their spiritual berserk frenzy, but no reports that they really actually transformed physically. This has nothing to do with disease or curse but with shamanism and spirituality. The concept of disease is rather modern, and the curse is a completely new invention.

"... a wolf ..."

Check the Legend of Cain on YouTube:
"Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf."
There is a trilogy and a series with 9 parts, not yet complete. It focuses on the disease concept.
Thanks for the Info but I am basing this Fanfic on the game Skyrim where people DO actually transform into a beast. So pointing out other works or something you found on Wiki is totally irrelevant. Also, this is MY fanfic and I will call something as I see fit. I shortened Werewolf to Were to make it a more commonplace name. And you would also note that I didn't use the term Were all the time. I switched from Werewolf to Were to Wolf, depending how many times I had to use it in a chapter. Thank you for reading my work, but really, nothing I have written has been LORE breaking at all.
 

shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
CHAPTER 101: OLD FRIENDS AND NEW ONES

Wyldfyre opened the doors of the Mead Hall to find high pitched screaming hit her ears. A crowd of Companions circled someone on the ground, presumably the one making the terrible racket. She saw Farkas standing looking confused and Aela kneeling down, giving out orders to everyone. Some went running, others milled around. Wyldfyre thought there had been an attack on the Hall and strode over. Azaril looked up and his eyes lit up when he saw her.

“What in Oblivion is going on in here?” she demanded. Companions cleared the way for her as she strode through the crowd. Before Azaril could answer, something small hit her and immobilised her by wrapping themselves around her legs. She looked down to see Gisli clinging there.

“Mama have baby!” she screeched excitedly up at her. Lydia! Lydia was the one on the floor, making the noise. Wyldfyre shuffled over to her friend, still somewhat constricted by the toddler as Azaril tried to pry the youngling off her.

“Lydia! Are you all right?” she peered down at her friend who was red faced and puffing.

“I’d be a lot better if I didn’t have this audience!” she growled. Wyldfyre had never seen her friend so angry and immediately shooed everyone who wasn’t helping back down into the dorms. Vilkas cradled Lydia’s head in his lap and he stroked her hair.

“You’re doing great babe” he soothed her. Farkas came over to Wyldfyre and they embraced warmly.

“I missed you” he said in her ear softly.

“As did I” she answered him. It felt good to back in Farkas’s arms. They parted then both turned their attention back to Lydia.

“Err... I don’t think I want to be in here for this” Farkas said, looking uncomfortable. That was when Wyldfyre remembered her travelling companion. She turned to Samuel who looked to be utterly horrified. Wyldfyre made a quick decision.

“Farkas, this is Samuel, who wishes to become a Companion. Can you please take him out to the training yard and test him?”

“Gladly” Farkas nodded but before he strode off with the young Imperial she held his arm looking at him seriously and lowering her voice.

“I have another companion. She is in the Underforge.” She hesitated but then plunged on “She’s an Old One”

“An Old One?” Farkas frowned, confused.

“An Ancient Vampire” Wyldfyre whispered, looking around to make sure no-one heard. Farkas’s eyes widened and he grabbed her by the arm and led her outside, Samuel trailing after them.

“Wyldfyre!” he exclaimed “What are you thinking? Why is that thing here?” He glanced over to the stone entrance of the Underforge, the muscles on his arm bulging. Wyldfyre knew he wanted nothing more than to burst in there and kill Serana.

“It’s a long story. Believe me I wanted to kill her when I first met her as well. But she is the key to the vampire threat in Skyrim. Her father, Lord Harkin is a powerful and mad Vampire Lord determined to fulfil a prophecy that will blot out the sun and Serana is helping us to stop him.”

“What?” Farkas shook his head “You’d better tell me the whole story” So Wyldfyre filled him in while they walked around the outside of the Mead Hall into the training yard.

“And this Isran supports what you are doing?” Farkas asked while they watched Samuel firing bolts into a target. He did indeed seem to be more than capable with his crossbow.

“Somewhat” Wyldfyre answered him “Although he was pretty hostile towards us. I can’t really depend on him and his Dawnguard until we have some solid proof”

“You took a big risk allowing the Vampire to enter Whiterun” he said to her. Wyldfyre nodded.

“I know but she has been nothing but honourable and I know it sounds mad, but I totally trust her”

“Well” he said after a while “If you trust her that’s good enough for me. I will still watch her though. I’m not risking my mate to another Vampire” He said, stroking her down her arm. It sent little shivers through her and she wanted nothing more than to take him into their rooms and have her way with him.

“He’s taking too long to line up his shots” Wyldfyre observed the young Imperial. Farkas nodded.

“I noticed that. I’ll train him to learn to fire under pressure. If what you say is true, he is not going to have time to sit there thinking about a shot. He’ll be dead before he even fires that thing.”

“I might get Eorlund to look at the bow, make a few adjustments on it” Wyldfyre said. Farkas smiled.

“You’ve taken in another stray, haven’t you She-wolf?” she laughed and kissed him lightly before heading back inside the Hall. The crowd had grown once again but this time is was to admire the newborn. Lydia now sat, propped up in a comfortable chair; a beaming Vilkas beside her.

“I have a son” he said as she approached. Wyldfyre peered down at the tiny bundle in Lydia’s arms. One small hand protruded out of the linens and she stroked it gently. She looked at her friend.

“He is beautiful.” She said and gave Lydia a kiss on the cheek. Later, after everyone had settled down and dinner eaten, Wyldfyre checked on Serana. Farkas came with her.

“Serana, this is my Husband, Farkas” she introduced the two nervously. But she needn’t have worried, for they were both polite.

“Serana” Farkas nodded.

“A pleasure to meet Wyldfyre’s Mate” Serana said, which pleased Farkas immensely. “I know this is strange and your first instinct would be to kill me. But please know that I would never do anything to hurt your wife. If anything, I owe her my life.”

“I appreciate that” Farkas said. He sat against one of the stone alters. “Do you have everything you need in here?”

“It is fine. Actually it is quite pleasant in here. Cool but not damp, quiet and dark. The pallet bed helps as well.” She smiled.

“Sorry it took so long for me to come check on you” Wyldfyre apologised “But we had a baby, well, my friend had a baby.”

“Right on the dinning floor” Farkas added. Serana raised an eyebrow.

“I could imagine that was exciting. I never really had that much to do with babies. I always liked them though” she mused then looked at Farkas’s face. “Not to eat! What kind of monster do you think I am?”

“I... wasn’t..” Farkas stammered. But then Serana let out a peel of laughter.

“I was teasing. Sorry. Sometimes my humour is not very..well.. humorous.” Wyldfyre and Farkas left later after checking Serana was safe for the day. They went straight to their room to find the Circle members gathered there.

“So, Harbinger, would you like to tell us why we have a Vampire in our Underforge?”

*****​

“That went better than expected” Wyldfyre said later. The meeting had adjourned and Wyldfyre and Farkas had bathed and now they were relaxing in bed.

“They trust you” Farkas said as he stroked her bare back “You had Aiden and me to back you up as well”. He ran his hands over her skin relishing the flow of her curves. Wyldfyre propped herself up on her elbows and leant down to kiss him. Soon their kisses grew more passionate and heated. Wyldfyre wanted to be completely consumed by Farkas and she pulled him on top of her. He left trails of hot kisses down her body, her fingers threading their way through his hair. Soon they were both utterly consumed by the other.

Most of the Circle members had now met Serana and she was asked to join them in the Hall. Apart from her fine pale skin and otherworldly presence, no-one else could tell that she was in fact a vampire. Wyldfyre could tell a few suspected that she was some supernatural being, but no-one said anything. She was the Harbinger’s guest and was treated accordingly. The Circle members however, kept a watchful eye and Wyldfyre noticed that Lydia and the children did not visit the Hall.

“Your Pack is nervous” Serana observed one night as they sat in the lookout tower that overlooked the White River in the valley below.

“I know. I’m sorry for that but we are very protective of each other” Wyldfyre answered her.

“As it should be” she nodded. Wyldfyre stared up at the mountain they would soon be ascending. She wondered how her two companions would react to the old dragon. She had not communicated with him for a while but felt she should at least warn him of her coming.

“We leave tomorrow” Wyldfyre said then, standing and brushing off the seat of her leather pants. She then had a random thought. “Do you want some different clothes?”

“What?” Serana blinked then looked down at her ornate robes. The bustier fitted her shapely waist, covering her breasts so that just a hint of a swell peeked over the top. “Do you think I need to?”

“Well I didn’t want to say anything, but you do kind of stick out in those royal robes. I was only wondering if you’d be more comfortable in some light armour. You could still wear your hood” The vampire thought about it for a while.

“I guess it would be nice to get out of these clothes” she smiled “After all, how many years have I been in the same outfit? Seems very scandalous don’t you think?” Wyldfyre grinned and took Serana down to the dorms and they sifted through the various spare bits of armour. Serana was more conservative and liked any pieces that covered her arms and legs. She settled on some leather armour with long suede sleeves and a leather bustier woven into a chainmail- like pattern. The pants also bore the same woven pattern half way down her legs, the rest of it smooth leather. She kept on her boots and gauntlets as well as her hood. All in all Wyldfyre thought it looked pretty good. Serana looked pleased as well. She ran a hand over the woven leather.

“It’s been a long time since I wore anything like this. Not since.. well.. it’s been a long time” she said nothing further on the matter. Wyldfyre knew that no matter how well she knew the Vampire, she would only know a fraction about her life.

The next evening they set off from Whiterun and headed back towards Riverwood and the path that would lead them through the mountains and on to Ivarstead. Samuel was excitedly recalling his training sessions with Farkas and Aela.

“The Huntress had me running to and fro, throwing all sorts of things at me while I had to take shots at the target. She even threw a sweetroll at me!” Wyldfyre laughed. It would have been something Aela would have done. The young man sighed “She is amazing”

“Don’t get too attached” Wyldfyre warned him “Aela is with my brother Aiden”

“Oh I know!” Samuel nodded then blushed furiously “I.. I don’t know if I should tell you this. But I feel obliged because you are my Harbinger..I mean you will be my Harbinger...”

“Go on” Wyldfyre prompted him.

“Well after Lydia had her baby, a few of us went out and celebrated. They were all so nice to me. Especially one in particular. Well things got sort of..intimate” he turned an even darker shade of red.

“Who was it?”

“It was Ria, M’lady” Wyldfyre concealed a smirk. That Ria sure worked quickly.

“What the Companions do in their spare time is of no concern to me. Unless it affects their ability to do a job and keep themselves and others safe, that’s when I will have to step in. You have my blessing Samuel.” She stopped him and added something, because she liked the young man so much “Just, be careful with Ria. She tends to flit from one fascination to another in a heartbeat. Don’t lose yourself in the moment”

“Thank you” he nodded with sincerity. He studied his crossbow. Eorlund had worked on it all day, improving on some things that made it a much more formidable weapon. It was no match to her dwarven metal crossbow, but the young man was never the less ecstatic with his improved weapon. They made it to Ivarstead close on dawn and retired to the Inn. It felt odd to be in this new place. Wyldfyre had grown so fond of Wilhelm’s Inn before it had burnt down to the ground from a dragon attack. The new place was more comfortable, but lacked that homeliness that Wilhelm had imbibed into his Inn.

They slept the day away and set out that evening, climbing the seven thousand steps to High Hrothgar. Wyldfyre reluctantly decided that they would have to spend the night at the monastery. It would take them the better part of the day to ascend the mountain and Serana would not be able to continue up to the Throat of the World unless they took a break. The journey up the mountain passed without incident. One stage Wyldfyre used her calming shout on a bear and it shambled away down the side of the mountain. It was the first time Samuel had witnessed her use of the Thu’um and his mouth flew open and remained so until she ordered him to shut it. After that the young Imperial seemed to be more careful around her. Obeying her every word and using the most formal language with her. She bore it until the final straw when they stopped for a snack and he tried to brush snow off a log for her.

“Samuel!” she said sharply. “Will you stop!”

“M’Lady?” he looked at her, his eyes wide and innocent. She almost felt sorry for yelling.

“If you call me that one more time I swear I will shout you off this mountain. And by The Maker would you please stop treating me like I’m some sort of pampered noble!”

“I’m sorry M’L.. Wyldfyre. It’s just.. you are..”

“No Samuel. Please don’t treat me like that. I don’t deserve it, and I don’t want it” she looked at him seriously. “I am the Harbinger. But after that, we are just the same.”

“How can you say that?” he asked her, shaking his head in confusion.

“It’s just how she wants it” Serana stepped in. “Don’t make her uncomfortable with frivolities. Look at her. She is a warrior. A Proud Companion. Not a delicate violet to be coddled”

“Thank you” Wyldfyre smiled. She then sighed and shocked Samuel by embracing him “Samuel, you are my shield brother. Not my fan. Do you understand?”

“I.. I think so” he nodded as they parted. Wyldfyre nodded and stood, brushing the snow off her butt.

“Good. Let’s continue” As they trekked up the mountain Wyldfyre sent out a thought to the Dragon.

“Paarthurnax?” A large presence filled her mind before she was answered.

“Greetings Dovahkiin” the dragon’s voice boomed inside her head.

“How are you?”

“As well as can be expected. No different” he chuckled.

“I am coming up there to see you”

“Yes, I felt your presence on the mountain. You have two others with you?”

“Yes, a young man and an Old One”

“Interesting. I will await you eagerly.” She broke off the communication and saw that Serana had been watching her.

“May I ask what you were just doing?”

“I was communicating with an old friend” Wyldfyre answered vaguely. “You will meet him when we reach the top” she smiled.

“Sounds interesting” Serana said “This old friend, is he a Greybeard as well?”

“Sort of. He is their leader”

“Well, I can’t wait to meet him” she said. They continued until they reached the Monastery. Wyldfyre pushed open the door to find Arngeir standing just inside.

“Dovahkiin” he lowered his head in greeting. “Paarthurnax told me to expect you. Welcome back”

“Thank you Arngeir. These are my companions Samuel and Serana. Might we trouble you for a place to rest until the next evening?”

“Of course. Please follow me”

*****​

It was next evening and they were nearing the peak of the mountain. Serana wrinkled her nose.

“I smell Dragon” she said then. Wyldfyre stopped the two. This was probably as far as she could go without telling them.

“You are correct. Paarthurnax is a dragon. Stay your hand Samuel” she warned the young man, whose hand had moved to his crossbow “He is the leader of the Greybeards and my very dear friend. If you hurt him I will have to kill you”

“Hurt him?” Samuel frowned “He’s a dragon!”

“Yes, a very old Dragon. The one who helped me bring down Alduin. I owe him my life. You owe him as does every single living thing in Tamriel. You will treat him with the respect he is due!” They both nodded and when she was satisfied they continued up to the peak. Paarthurnax was waiting for them, perched on top of his favourite rock. Wyldfyre stepped forward and he lowered his head towards her. She reached out a hand and placed it on his snout.

“Good to see you” she said, warm feelings travelling through her as he breathed on her.

“The feeling is mutual” the Dragon answered her. He then lifted his head and peered at the others. “Come, friends to the Dovahkiin, let me greet you as is the proper way when new friends meet for the first time”
 

A.Auditore

maybe...
there went back and liked them since it's back :mad:
 

shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
CHAPTER 102: BACK TO CASTLE VOLKIHAR

Wyldfyre watched Samuel as he rode down the path. She still had some doubts as to her decision to send him back to Fort Dawnguard with the Dragon Scroll, but the alternative was way more dangerous; for both the young man and the Scroll. She did not want to be carrying the precious relic across Skyrim and risk it being taken. Nor did she want Samuel to be exposed to any Vampire attack. She had no idea what sort of situation they were going to find themselves in when it came to searching for Serana’s mother and keeping Samuel from contracting the virus was a distraction she did not want.

“Right” she turned to Serana as they headed back inside the Inn at Ivarstead. “The last Scroll. You said your mother has it, so where is she?” Serana opened the door to their room and they both slipped in to the darkness.

“Well that’s the problem” she said looking worried. “I don’t know”. Undeterred, Wyldfyre sat on the edge of the bed and began taking her boots and gauntlets off. It had been a long trek down from the mountain once they had retrieved the Scroll and she was looking forward to a soak in the tub she had ordered.

“Let’s look at this logically. She put you in Dimhollow Crypt, then fled herself with the other scroll. She’s been in hiding all these years. She must be somewhere where your Father never thought of to look; otherwise he would have found her already”

“He is that determined” Serana nodded in agreement. “My mother was extremely clever. It would be somewhere obvious yet obscure” She watched as Wyldfyre peeled off her armour down to her undergarments, a flash of tanned skin making her blood pulse within her veins. She was desperately hungry. Wyldfyre caught the flash of darkened colour in her eyes.

“Serana? Are you hungry?” she asked as she placed her armour over a chair.

“I didn’t want to be pushy” Serana said, swallowing. “But yes, I am famished” Wyldfyre nodded and sat on the bed again, motioning for Serana to join her. The Vampire moved quickly, her hand resting on Wyldfyre’s thigh as her fangs pierced her neck. Wyldfyre gasped at the first initial flash of pain then relaxed as Serana drank her fill. Oddly it was during Serana’s feeding that Wyldfyre came up with an idea. She waited until the vampire was finished before she spoke.

“I have an idea about where your mother could be. Somewhere she could hide for years..”

“Yes” Serana said delicately wiping a spot of blood from her lips.

“Somewhere your farther would not even think of to look..”

“Yes we know that” Serana said with impatience “What are you thinking?”

“Castle Volkihar” There was a moment of silence as Serana thought it over, then a slow smile spread across her lips.

“You know. I think you’ve got it”

*****​

“So this secret entrance?” Wyldfyre asked as they studied Serana’s home, Castle Volkihar, from the safety of the mainland.

“Around the back. It’s an old supply port. Tunnels that lead to various parts of the castle’s underground. I used to go down there quite a lot so I know my way around in there. We can get to my Mother’s garden without going through the main part of the castle”

“What enemies are we likely to encounter in there?” Wyldfyre asked as they moved down to the small boat that would take them across the expanse of water to the island. Wyldfyre figured she would just row around the island until they got to the port.

“Nothing much. Skeevers, maybe a Death hound. That’s all”

“Good. Let’s go”

*****​

“You forgot to mention Draugr?” Wyldfyre raised an eyebrow after the last of the undead warriors had fallen under her blade.

“They never used to be out here” Serana said, a frown on her face. They had found the supply port, a series of jetties and platforms that lead to a large wooden door higher up the face of the cliff. They had also found a number of Draugr patrolling the raised platforms that had sprung into action when they had seen the two women arrive in their little boat. Wyldfyre and Serana had dealt with them as quickly as they could.

“Let’s get out of this weather” Wyldfyre said as snow began to fall on them. She pushed open the large ancient door and it screeched alarmingly loudly. Wyldfyre cursed under her breath as they both slipped inside. Just as she closed the door she felt a pain in her left leg. Her attacker was a skeever and it had taken a nice bite of her. Serana sliced at it with her sword, severing its head from its body.

“By the Maker!” Wyldfyre cursed again, only this time significantly louder. The bite stung and she fished in her satchel for a healing salve. She rubbed in the crème, feeling its affects almost immediately.

“I hate those things” Serana wrinkled her nose.

“As do I” Wyldfyre said through gritted teeth as the wound healed. Serana looked at her.

“Do you mean skeever is one of the few animals you haven’t eaten, She-wolf?”

“What?..You!!” Wyldfyre glared then started laughing as Serana chuckled. “Fine. You win that one. No, I have not eaten Skeever. Erck!” Wyldfyre tested her leg. It now only throbbed slightly and so they pressed on through the underground tunnels of the castle. Serana confidently led the way through the twists and turns, only stopping at one stage to get her bearings.

“I used to play down here on my own when I was a small child” she said softly. Wyldfyre wondered just how long ago that had been. She also felt a deep sympathy for the lonely child Serana must have been. Even though her small village had been small in number, she had never felt alone as a child. There was always her brother, or some adult to talk to, to teach her things.

“I can’t imagine what it was like” she said, but the vampire shrugged.

“It was... fine.” was all she offered on the matter. They walked on for another half an hour before Serana held up her hand in silence, right when Wyldfyre smelt something different in the stale air. Death hounds. At least two of them. She sniffed the air.. and a vampire. But this one smelt different..wild, feral, like a wild Werewolf. The two women stopped and waited, peering into the chamber beyond. They saw two hounds patrolling back and forth, but could see no sign of the vampire.

“This vampire will not be friendly” Serana warned “I have encountered ones like this before. They go wild and have no master. Be very careful” Wyldfyre nodded and carefully took out her crossbow, loading it and aiming at one of the hounds. She followed it with the bow’s sight as it padded back and forth and then loosed the bolt. It sailed through the air and hit the hound squarely in the head, felling it in an instant. Its companion rushed to its side before lifting its muzzle and sniffing the air. Red eyes flashed as it took off straight in Serana and Wyldfyre’s direction. Wyldfyre loosed another bolt, hitting the animal in the shoulder before she discarded the bow and took out her sword. Serana had also armed herself, sword in one hand and spell readied in the other.

The dog flew at Serana, leaving Wyldfyre the opportunity to slash at it, but then she was knocked over by an incredibly strong force. Her sword was ripped out of her hands as she and her attacker went rolling off the platform into the water below. Luckily the water wasn’t deep and Wyldfyre struggled to her feet as she searched for the vampire. It had recovered more quickly however and was already scrambling over the platform towards Serana, who was still fighting off the death hound. Wyldfyre saw her sword lying in the water and grabbed it and flung it at the vampire. The sword flew wildly through the air but Wyldfyre’s strength made it a lethal weapon. It pierced the vampire through the back, its momentum sending the vampire stumbling forward then collapsing to the ground. Wyldfyre’s sword protruded from its stomach.

Serana pulled her own sword out of the Death hound’s body then held out a hand to Wyldfyre, helping her out of the canal. Wyldfyre dripped from head to foot, her hair plastered to her face. She pulled her sword from the vampire’s body and wiped it on its clothing.

“Don’t ever tell anyone I did that” she smiled up at Serana who then smirked herself.

“What? That you fell into a canal then used your sword like a spear?”

“Yes. To both” She laughed, though she was not quite sure what a spear was. Without anything to dry herself with, Wyldfyre continued on in her wet armour, fidgeting uncomfortably as it stuck to her in places it should not have.

*****​

They finally left the lower tunnels and were in a part of the castle that had not had any inhabitants for a long time. Great piles of rubble lay everywhere and the spiders had virtually taken over, their webs hanging off just about every available surface. Wyldfyre and Serana continued on, cautious. They encountered more draugr through the ruins. After dispatching one group Wyldfyre asked Serana if her mother was responsible for the undead guards.

“It’s highly likely” Serana nodded as they picked their way through a large chamber “My mother was very efficient in necromancy. She no doubt would have left these here to guard her”

“At least it appears we are on the right path then..oof!” Wyldfyre grunted as she collided into the back of Serana, who was cursing under her breath.

“What is it?” Wyldfyre asked, peering over the vampire’s shoulder. She was looking at a statue of a large, winged and clawed creature. It sat there as if it was about to jump right out at them. And then it did.

“Gargoyle!” Serana yelled as bits of stone flew in every direction as the statue came to life. The creature stepped down off its platform and roared at them, its stumpy nose flaring and eyes flashing red. It pumped its wings a couple of times before rushing them. Wyldfyre had no idea how to fight a gargoyle. She fired a few bolts at it but they didn’t appear to slow it down.

“Keep away from its claws!” Serana yelled at her as the creature took a wild swipe at her. Wyldfyre aimed more bolts at its head and this time the creature stopped. It shook its head in pain and Wyldfyre came around behind it, ready to stab it with her sword. But then the gargoyle flung its arms about, hitting Wyldfyre in the chest and sending her flying backwards. She landed on an old padded lounge chair, breaking it to pieces, the splintered wood sticking into her legs painfully. Serana had not fared any batter, she too had been knocked to the ground by the creature and it now menaced her and she scrambled backwards on one hand, her spell in the other. The spell appeared to be slowing down the creature, but it was not enough. They needed something else, something stronger.

Serana tried to fend off the gargoyle as it toyed with her. She wondered if Wyldfyre was all right. She had seen her flying through the air but had not had the time to see if she was injured. The gargoyle moved forward, its mouth opened and great globs of slobber dripping on the floor. It raised its arm, ready to deal her a colossal blow and she looked it in the eye, ready to die. Then it was gone. Serana watched as the gargoyle was tossed aside by another large creature. Her eyes widened as she realised that Wyldfyre had changed into her beast form. The gargoyle and the wolf fought on, their terrible roars and growls echoing through the chamber. Serana was sure that everyone in the whole castle could hear. As frightening as it was, Serana could not help but be utterly mesmerised by the strength and power that was Wyldfyre in her beast form. Her movements, although deadly, were also beautiful and her body shimmered as her muscles moved under the fur.

The She-wolf tore at the stone creature, its hide thicker than anything she had ever felt before. It took all her strength to rip through the thick skin. She bit at it as well, but it tasted bitter and tainted so she tried to keep her jaws away from its blood, which was now splattering the room. The creature was strong, and she was hard pressed but finally her claws ripped into its neck, severing vital arteries and its spinal cord. The she-wolf stepped back slouching and panting heavily. She had received a couple of wounds from the creature and she felt drained of energy.

“Wyldfyre?” a voice asked from behind her. She swung around to see the vampire standing before her, her hand stretching out. The She-wolf took a step backwards but then stopped and cocked her head to the side.

I know this being. She peered at the vampire as her hand came closer. The hand trembled as it touched her fur and the she-wolf’s skin rippled under the touch. She had a sudden urge to lick the vampire’s face but decided it would probably not be appreciated. Instead she bumped the vampire with her nose and stepped back and started to change back into her human form. She stood there, naked and bleeding for a moment.

“I don’t really know what to say?” Serana said, shaking her head. “You are magnificent” she breathed. She took a step towards Wyldfyre but she held up a hand, stopping her.

“We don’t have time for that Serana. As much as I would love to, believe me it’s taking every rational thought in my head to not to just throw you down and have my way with you... but we should leave this area.”

“You are right of course” Serana sighed as she watched Wyldfyre gather her armour and slip it on. “You and the gargoyle made a lot of noise. Someone could have heard and is on their way to investigate”

“How much further do we need to go?” Wyldfyre asked.

“Not long. Up through this tower and then up into the courtyard.”

“Are we likely to encounter more of these?” she pointed to the dead gargoyle.

“It’s a strong possibility. Will you change to fight them?”

“I may have to. They are strong. Too strong for just me”

*****​

By the time they finally reached Serana’s mother’s privet courtyard, Wyldfyre was exhausted. She had had to fight off five more gargoyles, changing into her beast form each time. Two of the beasts were alone but in the final chamber, Serana and Wyldfyre had to defeat three of them. It had been a long difficult battle; both the vampire and the She-wolf sustaining many injuries of their own. Serana healed quickly but Wyldfyre needed to take potions and healing salves to treat the more serious ones. Despite her injuries healing, Wyldfyre was feeling more drained than ever. She barely registered that they were in the court yard. Serana’s sighs of disappointment at the state of disrepair her mother’s garden seemed to be in, went un-noticed. Wyldfyre wandered over to a dark shady spot covered in a blanket of moss and sunk to the ground, closing her eyes.

She blinked, looking up into Serana’s face then sat up quickly looking around with bleary eyes. The sun had moved further across the sky and her mossy bed was now even darker in the shadows.

“Did I fall asleep?” she asked the vampire. Serana was stretched out beside her.

“You did” she nodded “I did not try to wake you though. You seemed to need the rest”

“How long?”

“Only a couple of hours. We’ve plenty of time” Wyldfyre got up and stretched. Every muscle ached and groaned in protest. She didn’t know how much further she could go on that day.

“So this is, or was your mother’s garden?” she looked around at the ruined garden. She could see that once, a long time ago, it had been a beautiful place. Not anymore. Wild weeds replaced flowers and dead, gnarled trees stood silent, their bark whitened with age.

“It is sad to see it like this. My mother would spend many hours out here. Lovingly tending to her plants. Father hated it. I’m sure he was delighted to leave it go like this.”

“So have you seen anything that might indicate where she is?” Wyldfyre asked her as she walked around the courtyard. In the centre was a massive sun dial. Upon looking at it closer however, Wyldfyre saw that it was in fact a moon dial, with all of the fazes of the moon depicted in delicate carved disks set into the stone floor. Some of them were missing. Wyldfyre frowned and walked over to a small stagnant pond she had looked at earlier. A round object lay half in the water. She picked up the object and headed back to the moon dial. Yes it was what she thought it was.

“Serana, look at this” She circled the dial until she found the right place and slipped the missing piece into the slot.

“Perfect” Serana exclaimed “Do you think Mother did this deliberately? Let’s find the others” They searched the garden, finding three more disks and inserted them into their respective slots. When the final one clicked into place there was an audible booming noise from below their feet and the women stepped back as the ground rumbled and hidden mechanisms moved. Then the floor around the dial slowly began to lower to reveal a set of stairs.

“Very clever, Mother” Serana smiled and then followed Wyldfyre down into the unknown depths.
 

shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
CHAPTER 103: THE SOUL CAIRN

Wyldfyre and Serana traversed through more ruins before finally entering the large laboratory where her mother had spent most of her time. They poked around, hoping to find some clues as to where she had fled. The laboratory had two levels. The bottom level centred around a large circular configuration, carved in to the floor.

“What is this?” Wyldfyre asked, peering at the strange markings. Serana was up on the second level and she looked down over the balustrade.

“I’m not entirely sure but I think it is important. It was be some sort of portal. But I can’t be sure until I find my mother’s notes. Keep looking” Wyldfyre rifled though a few bookshelves, sneezing from the ancient dust her fingers dislodged. Her hands rested on a small leather bound book and she took it from the shelf. Flicking through it she could see various diagraphs and notes someone had written. She took it to Serana.

“Is this it?” Serana pounced on the book.

“Yes!” she read through it, frowning every now and then and Wyldfyre grew bored and wandered away, poking into the various jars and containers of ingredients on the shelves and tables. Most of the flora was unrecognisable, decayed with age, but there were some powders, and gem fragments and little glossy white balls that had stood the test of time and sparkled in the faint light. Serana moved over to the circular carving.

“Yes, this is it Wyldfyre. This really is a portal and my Mother is on the other side of it”

“How do we open it then?”

“We need a few ingredients.” She flicked back a few pages “Here; finely ground Bone Meal, Soul Gem shards and purified Void Salts”

“I saw those shards up there” Wyldfyre pointed up to the next level and headed off to get the shards. On the way she also found the Void salts and Serana found the Bone Meal. They met at the central point of the second level. It overlooked the portal and had an opening in the balustrade. Beside it was a stone bowl that Serana dumped the ingredients into. She read her mother’s journal again and frowned.

“We have a problem.”

“What?”

“Well we have the ingredients except for one. For this portal to work my mother used her blood. Only there is no way there would be a sample of it left here”

“Does it have to be hers?” Wyldfyre asked her. Serana frowned again.

“I guess not. I think I could use my own. But we have another problem”

“Another one?”

“Yes. This portal, it goes into the Soul Cairn. A plane of Oblivion where lost souls are.”

“Lost souls?”

“It is where souls go if they were soul trapped before they died, or were killed”

“How horrible! I have heard of Soul Gems, but I never used any. I didn’t know that’s what happened to them.”

“Indeed. It is not a nice way to spend eternity. Well, as my Mother and I are vampires, being immortal ... it’s hard to explain; we can enter there but you...”

“I can’t enter because I am not immortal? Well, as far as I know I’m not” Wyldfyre finished for her.

“Precisely” Serana nodded. Wyldfyre stared down at the portal; lying dormant and quiet. The Scroll was somewhere on the other side and it now looked like they wouldn’t be able to get to it. Well not her anyway. Could she let Serana go on her own? She shook her head. No, it was out of the question.

“There has to be some way!” she said angrily, hitting the balustrade in frustration. Serana had been quiet and she looked at Wyldfyre with reservation.

“Well, there is one way.” She said almost with embarrassment. “But you aren’t going to like it”

“Tell me and I will decide that”

“I turn you into a vampire”. She looked shyly at Wyldfyre. Wyldfyre’s heart thumped inside her chest and she actually took a step back. The blazing fires of Oblivion would burn cold before she would allow herself to be turned again. She didn’t say that to Serana though. “I know you would not want that. And I understand” Serana said quietly. She stood for a moment before she sighed and started reading her mother’s journal again. Wyldfyre wandered off to think about what Serana had just said to her. Become a vampire just to get into the Soul Cairn? It was madness! She couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t. But how else would she enter the portal? She didn’t need time to think about it. There was no way she would turn. Surely there was another way?

“Wyldfyre!” Serana called out. She hurried over to Serana who appeared to be very excited. She tapped the journal. “Here. I found something interesting. It’s not as sure as turning you but I think it will work.”

“What is it?” Wyldfyre asked eagerly. If it involved not becoming a vampire then she was all for it.

“Well it’s a little tricky, but it involves capturing part of your soul and offering it to the Soul Cairn. That way, part of you belongs to it and you can then move freely about inside.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Extremely”

“Will it hurt?”

“Very much so”

“Let’s do it”

“Don’t you want to think about it first?” Serana asked, surprised. Wyldfyre shrugged.

“Not really. It’s better than becoming a vampire” she then realised what she had just said “Serana...I’m sorry. But you know how I feel about that. I couldn’t do that again.”

“You told me once that you could not cure yourself of the beast blood. Aren’t you a little curious as to whether me turning you would cure it?” But Wyldfyre shook her head.

“Not. Not in the least. I said I hated the thing I became when I was a Vampire. That was before I had Alduin’s blood inside me. Can you imagine what I’d be like? I struggle to keep all the rage inside me from breaking out now. Being a vampire as well? I’d probably give your father a run for his money”

“That could be a good thing” Serana smiled. But she closed the journal and placed it on the floor. “But you are right. It would be too dangerous to turn you. I think the soul trap is the only way”

“Alright” Wyldfyre steeled herself. “Do it”

*****​

Serana’s blood mixed in with the other ingredients in the stone bowl. A purple mist rose from the mixture as Wyldfyre watched the portal suddenly spring into life. The carvings separated and spun around until the middle collapsed and the edge nearest them rose up to meet them, forming a long stairway. A stairway the descended into the purple swirling void down the bottom. Wyldfyre shifted uncomfortably. She didn’t feel any different with part of her soul gone, but it still stung. She could not say exactly where it hurt, just a general soreness in her belly. She gripped her crossbow, making it ready for whatever met them on the other side.

“I’ll go first, if this doesn’t work then, well.. it was nice knowing you” She smiled quickly at Serana who leant forward and kissed her.

“I shall see you on the other side” the vampire said and then Wyldfyre began walking down the steps and entered the portal. She turned back to Serana but the swirling void closed in around her obscuring the view of her friend, so she continued down the stairs into the plane of Oblivion known as the Soul Cairn. When the mist cleared she saw a vast desolate land stretching before her. Everything seemed to be dead. The trees, blackened and twisted, no grass or wildlife of any sort. The sky swirled with dark purple clouds and every now and then it was lit up by a flash of lightening. Wyldfyre could see large buildings dotting the landscape and she moved down the steps warily. She was aware of Serana behind her as her feet touched ground.

“Where do we go from here?” she asked the vampire.

“I’m not really sure, but we can follow this main path. Maybe we’ll find some clues” Serana headed off down the dirt path. It wound its way across the landscape, sometimes passing through stone arch ways. Wyldfyre shuddered as she passed a number of glowing spirits. Most of them did not even notice the two women but some were a little more lifelike. One man approached them, asking if they had seen his horse. When they said no he wandered off calling out for it.

“This is terrible” Wyldfyre said. “All these lost souls, damned to an eternity of this. I don’t think I could stand it”

“Be sure you are never soul trapped then” Serana remarked as she stepped delicately over a rough patch of ground. They came to a large wall with an opening and found themselves in another section of the cairn. A large building ahead had some sort of glowing barrier surrounding it. Serana picked up her pace.

“See that? I bet it’s my Mother’s doing. Let’s hurry” but they were suddenly stopped by an arrow whizzing past them. Wyldfyre and Serana took cover behind a fallen pillar and peered over the rock to find their attacker was a blackened skeleton. It brandished a black bow and was aiming for them again when another skeleton burst out of the ground to their right. Wyldfyre drew her sword.

“Hopefully these skeletons are as easy to fell as the ones back in Skyrim” she said to Serana, then stepped out from her cover. She had to quickly scamper to the next rock cover as the skeleton with the bow fired again. Serana got its attention and it took off after her, leaving Wyldfyre to deal with the one left. It had a sword and swung it wildly at her. She easily dodged it then swung her sword in a wide circle, severing the skeleton’s skull from its body. It collapsed in a heap of bones then disintegrated until it was nothing more than a small pile of black ash. Serana was walking calmly back to her and then they continued on. They encountered more of the black skeletons and a few who didn’t have the lower parts of their bodies. Those ones hovered in the air, a black mist where their legs should have been.

“These are not captured souls?” Wyldfyre asked Serana after one fight between a couple of skeletons and the mist men. Serana shook her head.

“I don’t think so. But I could be wrong. My Mother would know”

As they neared the large building behind the barrier, Wyldfyre could see a single figure standing behind the barrier, watching them. Serana suddenly rushed forward.

“Mother!” she exclaimed. Wyldfyre started forward as well.

“Serana? Is that you?” the woman said.

“Yes mother!” Serana said excitedly. But the other woman looked furious. She looked like an older version of Serana, but her face was all serious and sharp lines and her hair was drawn back into two severe buns on either side of her head.

“What are you doing here? What’s happened?” she demanded, causing Serana to slow her pace. She seemed less sure of herself suddenly.

“Well Mother. Not the greeting I was expecting. You’re not even pleased to see me? You’re not even going to ask me if I’m all right?”

“Of course I am pleased to see my only daughter” the woman frowned “I’m just surprised to see you. I put you down in that ruin for all eternity”. Wyldfyre glanced at Serana, who looked shocked then recovered quickly, her eyes flashing.

“You did, but did you even ask me if that’s what I wanted? You just took me and locked me away down there!”

“I did it for your own protection. You know that Serana. If your father had of..”

“Yes I know!” Serana said, annoyed “But you still could have asked me instead of just abandoning me”. Wyldfyre listened to the two women’s exchange. Clearly they had some mother-daughter issues to work out, but she was growing impatient. They needed that scroll. She stepped forward.

“I’m sure you both have things to talk about but we are on a bit of a time constraint here” she said. Serana’s mother seemed to only just notice Wyldfyre’s presence and her nostrils flared in anger.

“Serana. Who is this...human you bring here?” she sniffed the air and Wyldfyre wondered how she could do that on the other side of the barrier “No..not human..” she wrinkled her nose “A Werewolf! What is the meaning of this?” she all but yelled.

“Mother!” Serana scolded “This is Wyldfyre. Harbinger to the Companions, Dragonborn and yes Werewolf. She saved my life many times. She is also my friend...and the occasional lover” she added the last one with a smirk. Wyldfyre was surprised she would say that to her mother. Serana’s mother’s mouth opened and closed, then she pulled herself to her full height.

“I am Valerica. Daughter of Coldharbour. What are your intentions towards my daughter?” she addressed Wyldfyre coldly.

“No intentions at all other than to protect her and help her end her father” Wyldfyre answered.

“What?” Valerica’s head whipped back to her daughter “Is this true Serana?”

“Yes mother. We have the Dragon and Blood scrolls. It tells us of a weapon that father needs to bring an end to the sun. But that weapon can also be used to defeat him. We just need the third scroll and we were hoping you had it. Do you?”

“Of course I have it! Do you think me stupid enough to leave it behind in Skyrim?” she paced back and forth. “No..no” she shook her head “It’s too dangerous”

“Valerica” Wyldfyre stepped forward “The vampires are getting out of control in Skyrim. They grow more bold; attacking cities. Your husband is on his way to annihilating the entire human race if we don’t do something now” it might have been a bit of an exaggeration but she was growing impatient. It seemed to do the trick as the vampire stopped pacing and looked thoughtful. She studied Wyldfyre until she grew uncomfortable under the vampire’s scrutiny.

“All right” Valerica said then, surprising both of them. “I have the scroll and I will give it to you. But you need to bring down this barrier first”

“This is not your doing?” Serana asked. Valerica shook her head, her eyes flashing angrily.

“No. Many years ago, when I first arrived, I was tricked by the Ideal Masters, the ones who rule the Soul Cairn. They wanted my soul instead of the ones I promised to them. I fled in here, away from their Keepers. They sent a dragon after me, but when none of them could get to me they erected this barrier and locked me in”

“There is a dragon in here?” Wyldfyre scanned the sky.

“For as long as I have been in here” Valerica nodded. “Now I know enough about this barrier to know that it draws its power from three towers in the Cairn. Destroy the Keepers guarding the towers and the barrier will fall.”

“All right” Serana nodded. “We’ll find these towers then come back” Valerica gave them some helpful information about the towers and then two ladies rushed off.

“Well, I don’t think she likes me” Wyldfyre smirked. Serana chuckled.

“Don’t take it to heart. She is like that with everyone.”

“You enjoyed telling her we were lovers, didn’t you?” Wyldfyre asked as they made their way towards the nearest tower. It was a thin structure, a purple glow emanating from the very top.

“Of course I did” Serana laughed “I think I deserve to get my own back, after what she did to me” Wyldfyre thought of Serana, locked away for centuries.

“Were you awake inside that coffin?” she asked.

“Sort of. I was vaguely aware of time passing. But I didn’t know how much. I slept on and off for a bit. Well when I say bit, it was probably for years at a time. But I would wake up sometimes. Those times were the most...unpleasant” Wyldfyre could not even imagine the horror of being locked inside a small space for that long. It was too hideous to even comprehend. What if she had never gotten Serana out of there? She would have been trapped in there for all eternity. Never to be blessed with the sweet relief of death. Wyldfyre knew she surely would have gone mad if it were her. She grew to admire Serana even more.

They made it to the first of the three towers. At the base was a shallow pit that glowed with swirling purple mist. Valerica had told them that this was the only way to the top of the tower were the Keeper resided and so the two women stepped into the pit one by one. Instantly they were transported to the tower’s peek. Wyldfyre had her crossbow ready and took cover as soon as the mist cleared. She was aware of Serana appearing behind her. They peeked over the stone wall to find the top of the tower was like an open cathedral. Soul-trapped spirits wandered around aimlessly and at the very back of the room was a large throne. Sitting on that throne sat a large being clad in dragon plate armour. It wore no helm and this was because the creature had no head, just a swirling black void with two glowing blue eyes hovering in the middle. A Dragonbone bow lay across its lap.

Wyldfyre was thinking about a plan of attack when she suddenly heard a scrape of boots behind her and Serana rushed forward.

“Serana!” Wyldfyre cried out, then cursed under her breath. What was she thinking? Wyldfyre had no choice but to dart out as well and fire bolts at the Keeper. It was up and out of its throne in seconds, firing arrows at Serana. She was quick and dodged most of the arrows but then one slammed into her chest and sent her flying back towards the edge of the tower. She teetered there, trying to regain her balance, but her foot slipped and she knew she was going over. There was a horrible moment when Serana’s eyes met Wyldfyre’s. Both women looked at each other; Wyldfyre starting forward in vain, and then Serana was gone.
 

shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
CHAPTER 104: THE BLOOD SCROLL

It had happened in a matter of seconds. Serana was gone and Wyldfyre was left to defeat the Keeper on her own. She didn’t have time to look over the edge of the tower to see if Serana was alright. She had no idea what a fall from that great height would do to an immortal vampire. The Keeper kept firing arrows and Wyldfyre was forced to duck behind her original wall of shelter. She loaded her Crossbow and fired off a shot from her cover. It hit the Keeper in the leg, causing it to stumble a little, but it was still advancing on her position. It would soon be on her and Wyldfyre had to come up with another plan. She could not load her bow quickly enough in that tight of quarters.

She glanced back to the edge of the tower again where Serana had gone over, then came up with a plan. It was risky, but if it worked it would give her some reprieve, and at best kill the Keeper in the process. The only thing was that she would have to let it come behind her, leaving her completely exposed. But she only had a few seconds to decide and so she fired off another bolt again but stayed in her position behind the wall. The Keeper kept advancing, covering the distance quickly with long strides. Wyldfyre had to time her shout the second it came around to her side. She faced outwards, looking out over the great expanse of the Soul Cairn waiting for the Keeper. It rounded the corner and, as if it were reading from a script, stepped sideways, standing exactly where Wyldfyre wanted it; with its back to the rest of the Cairn.

Wyldfyre built up her energy and formed a shout but just before it left her lips something flew up from below and grabbed the Keeper dragging it off the edge of the tower. Serana in her vampire Lord form dropped the Keeper and it disappeared from view. Wyldfyre sat against the wall watching as Serana hovered over to her on silent wings. Wyldfyre remembered the horrid form of Lord Harkid in his Vampire Lord form. An ugly hideous creature with the nose of a bat and pointed ears. But to Wyldfyre, the being before her was magnificent. She was raw muscle and power and yet there was a delicate grace to her that Wyldfyre found mesmerising. Serana’s feet touched the ground and she stumbled to her knees, her wings folding in on themselves. Wyldfyre noticed the arrow still protruding from her chest, vicious slashes of blood dripping from the wound.

“Serana, the arrow. Let me...”

“No!” Serana growled like an injured animal. She was breathing heavily. “Let me...do it” she grabbed the arrow, her clawed fingers closing around the shaft. She took in a breath then heaved the arrow out, letting out a piercing cry. Her body then shimmered and turned blood red, the wings melting into her back, the claws becoming fingernails, and soon the human form of Serana was left in its place. She sighed and slumped to the ground.

*****​

“What happened to your armour?” Wyldfyre asked Serana. She had let Serana feed off her and now they were resting on the top of the tower, sitting against the wall. She held Serana in her arms and stroked her hair.

“They...fell off when I transformed” Serana shifted uncomfortably. She was still not happy about having to change into her vampire form. Wyldfyre had tried to convince her that she didn’t mind it at all and had in fact found her to be beautiful. “I’m not exactly sure how it happens. It just..does” she tried to explain it.

“Oh. You mean your clothes magically fall off you? You’re lucky. If I didn’t strip before I turned every time, I’d have poor Eorlund making me new armour forever.”

“That must be inconvenient when you need to turn quickly.”

“Indeed it does” Wyldfyre smiled. She shifted Serana off her and then stood, offering her hand and helping the vampire to her feet. “Let’s go. We still have two more Keepers to deal with”. Serana’s arrow wound had healed when she had taken Wyldfyre’s blood. There wasn’t even a scar left behind. The two women used the portal to get to the bottom of the tower and Wyldfyre waited while Serana dressed. They then jogged lightly to the next tower. This one was not too far from the last. They approached cautiously when they noticed more of the damned spirits wandering around the base of the tower. Wyldfyre frowned.

“The Keeper isn’t up the top?” she asked, but Serana shrugged. They both drew their weapons, staying behind cover until they saw that indeed the Keeper was sitting on its throne, on a small dais at the base of the tower. This one held its weapon upright and Wyldfyre could see that it was a massive Dragonbone war axe.

“That axe is huge” she commented to Serana. “Its reach will be far. We will need to keep away from it”. Serana nodded. She looked at Wyldfyre’s crossbow. Before, she had an aversion to the thing but now in the Soul Cairn, dealing with the Keepers, a crossbow would have come in handy.

“I’ll stay back while you hit it with your bow, whittle down its strength”

“Then let’s get to it” Wyldfyre drew in a breath, took aim and fired.

*****​

“I wish I could have taken those Dragonbone weapons back to Skyrim with me” Wyldfyre lamented as they jogged back to the building were Valerica was being held. As soon as they had defeated the last of the Keepers, the barrier around the building had collapsed. Wyldfyre would have loved to have taken their weapons back with her, but it was impractical. One reason being that they were just too massive. Twice as big and heavy as a normal weapon. The second reason being that when they left the Soul Cairn they were still in enemy territory. They needed to exit the castle as quietly as they had entered. It would be a tense enough time with the scroll.

“They were formidable weapons” Serana agreed, even though she was not all that interested in weapons. She was equally excited and nervous to finally be able to approach her mother without a barrier in between them. She wasn’t sure what to do. Hug her or stay back? It was confusing. She was still angry with her mother but, she was her mother. The closer they got to the building the more nervous and short tempered she got.

“Let’s get this over with and get out of here” she said sharply, quickening her pace. Wyldfyre was taken aback a little but followed after her. They arrived shortly after, Valerica still standing where they had left her, not even bothering to meet them halfway. She didn’t even acknowledge their achievement; simply nodded and turned on her heel, entering the building and assuming they would follow. Serana and Wyldfyre followed the vampire as she walked through a massive hall before coming to a door that lead out into a vast courtyard. She stopped and turned.

“My den is over the other side of this courtyard. It won’t be easy to get to because the minute that barrier came down, Durnehviir was alerted. He will be here any second. Be ready for him. He is strong.” Wyldfyre took out her bow again and loaded it. Valerica continued down the steps but the second she placed a foot on the courtyard floor a great roar erupted from the sky.

“He comes!” Wyldfyre scanned the sky and saw the dragon approaching from the left. It circled the courtyard before landing on a tower at the other end. Its whole body looked to be half rotten, bits of it falling to the ground as it shook angrily. It then shouted and the ground in front of the three women erupted. Dozens of the blackened skeletons clawed their way out of the ground and marched towards them, a variety of weapons in their hands. Wyldfyre was too far away from the dragon to hit it so she concentrated her efforts on any of the skeletons that were wielding bows. The two vampires ran forward and engaged the other skeletons directly, with their spells and swords. Valerica was equally as proficient as Serana with her sword. Perhaps even a little better.

While they battled the skeletons the dragon had taken off and Wyldfyre was now able to fire bolts at it as it sailed overhead, trying to blast them with its own shouts. She could tell she hit it a few times when it roared in pain. It landed on the tower again and resurrected more skeletons. Wave after wave of them advanced on the three women and they were hard pressed. Wyldfyre took every opportunity to fire bolts into the dragon and soon it resembled a pin cushion. It landed with a heavy thud in the courtyard itself and Wyldfyre drew her sword and raced to face it. She heard someone join her from behind as she ducked and dodged the dragon's snapping jaws. She slashed at it with her skyforged steel, sliding the sword into the soft point of its neck. The dragon writhed and bucked, roaring in pain, and anger as suddenly its body shimmered and faded into nothing. Wyldfyre blinked, stunned. It was as if the dragon had never even existed. No pile of bones, nothing. She wasn’t even sure if she had defeated it. She sheathed her sword feeling somewhat dissatisfied. Valerica was already making her way to her den, Serana following closely behind. Wyldfyre wandered over slowly, figuring mother and daughter deserved some alone time.

Valerica’s den was nothing more than a niche in the wall of the courtyard. She had an alchemy lab set up, various ingredients and books strewn about. A simple bedroll lay in a small alcove on the right. At the back was a long chest which the vampire opened and stepped back from.

“The Blood Scroll, as promised” she said. Wyldfyre reached into the chest, pulling out the ornate relic. She studied it briefly before attaching a leather cord to both of its ends and strapped it over Serana’s shoulder. It wasn’t the best way to carry it, but it was all they could manage until they left the Cairn. Valerica watched them, a thoughtful expression on her face. She approached Wyldfyre and surprised her when she spoke.

“I have wronged you and for that I apologise” she said. “I wasn’t sure of your intentions towards my daughter. But now I see that you do care for her”

“I do” Wyldfyre said simply. Valerica nodded, and a sort of strained mutual tolerance of each other passed between them.

“What are you going to do about your soul?” she asked Wyldfyre.

“I’m not sure. I don’t really understand how it all works to be honest. Can I get back the part that Serana took?”

“Yes” Valerica nodded “But you will have to go to the Ideal Masters to get it, and we know how unreasonable they are to deal with”

“Will it hurt me to just leave it her for the time being?” Wyldfyre asked. She didn’t like the thought of leaving part of her soul behind but she didn’t have time to confront the masters, whoever or whatever they were.

“It won’t hurt you to leave it here. Despite their cruelty, the Ideal Masters take very good care of the Souls they have here. I suspect yours in particular will be kept in great reverence. It will be safe”

“Mother..” Serana approached “Wont you come with us? We could use your help in stopping father”

“I can not risk it” Valerica shook her head and stepped back. “I am a Daughter of Coldharbour, if he were to capture me and use my blood... No. I will stay here until I hear from you again. Or not, and then remain here for all eternity.”

“We will come back for you, I promise” Wyldfyre said then. Valerica placed a cool hand on Wyldfyre’s face and then bid them farewell. As they made their way back to the stairs that would take them out of the Cairn they were both silent, lost in their own thoughts. They almost didn’t hear the beating of leathery wings until it was too late.

Durnehviir landed on an old ruined word wall in front of them. Wyldfyre didn’t draw her weapons however. She felt the dragon was no longer a danger to them.

“I didn’t think I’d killed you, dragon” she smiled.

“Yet defeat me you did Qahnaarin, vanquisher" he lowered his head in respect. “Even in the Soul Cairn, the defeat of the World Eater has reached my ears, Dovahkiin. You may not be dovah, but the defeat of Alduin earns you the right of title." Wyldfyre could see more clearly that his body was in an alarming state of decay. His scales dripped and fell from his body, his wings tattered and torn, a yellow liquid oozed from his mouth. The dragon was in a mess.

“Why are you like this?” Wyldfyre asked in distress. She was truly shocked at the dragon’s condition.

“It is of my own doing” he said sadly “Long ago, I took part in many battles against other dov for control of the skies. While the others perished in battle, I sought other means to become dominant and I delved into necromancy. I made a deal with the Ideal Masters, promising that I would guard Valerica until her death in exchange for the power to summon very powerful undead armies.” A low growl emanated from his throat before he continued “But the Ideal Masters tricked me! They neglected to tell me that she was an immortal, and so I am forced to serve them for all time.”

“That’s terrible!” she exclaimed. The dragon blinked his eyes to acknowledge her concern for him.

“Which is why I humbly approach you now Dovahkiin. I ask of you an Ahmik, a service. I can not leave the Soul Cairn of my own free will, but if I were to be summoned from beyond...?”

“You wish for me to call you in Skyrim?” Wyldfyre asked, astonished.

“Yes, call me whenever you need and I will come to your aid.”

“That’s not all is it? You want something more” she narrowed her eyes at the dragon. She wasn’t about to let loose another powerful dragon on Skyrim without a good reason.

“Only that I wish to feel the winds of freedom under my wings again. If only for just a short time. I wish to see the green lands below me, the white capped mountains above me. It would be all I ask of you in return for my help. You benefit from this deal more than I.”

“Would I have your word that you return to the Soul Cairn, and that you won’t harm innocents?”

“Upon my honour as a Dov, you would have it. And I will further give you assurance by teaching you a Thu’um. Three times you call, I will teach you a word” Wyldfyre thought about it for a while. She looked at Serana who shrugged.

“Alright, I will call you, but if you do anything I deem to be hostile, in any way towards me or innocents, I will not be calling you back”

“I gladly accept your terms Dovahkiin” Durnehviir lowered his head. They bid the Dragon farewell, with him also promising to turn a blind eye when it came to Valerica’s new found freedom. Apparently the Ideal Masters were not terribly observant as to Durnehviir’s activities in the Cairn.

They finally reached the stairway and ascended in single file. Wyldfyre blinked as the blinding purple lights slowly faded and she found herself back in Valerica’s laboratory. She still did not feel any different from loosing part of her soul, but looked down at the swirling void in apprehension.

“Can we leave this open?” she asked Serana.

“Of course” she said “I want it to remain open so I can go back for my mother anyway. It will be safe here”

“Good, thank you. Let’s get this scroll back to Dexion. Hopefully Samuel got the other one back safely as well.” She had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach however when she thought of the young Dawnguard. She didn’t know why but she feared he was in trouble. Just how much, was beyond what she expected.

A week of travel saw them entering the valley which held Fort Dawnguard. Wyldfyre’s feeling of dread had been steadily growing the closer they had got to the castle. It intensified when she saw the patrols on the ramparts had doubled and breastworks had been erected. They were let through after their identity was verified. What little information Wyldfyre got from the soldiers was that the Fort had suffered a major Vampire attack. The two women ran to the fort, barging through the door to find Isran standing in the centre, barking orders and people scurrying everywhere to obey.

“How...?” was all Wyldfyre could get out before Isran launched into a tirade. Apparently a sizable group of vampires had attacked the fort. The Dawnguard had been caught off guard because they had staged the attack at dawn, an extremely bold move for the vampires. The Fort was going through its guard changeover when it had happened and chaos had ensued. The vampires were defeated but not before taking out a fair chunk of Isran’s army. Even though she was shocked, Wyldfyre had her own mission to think about.

“Did Samuel return with the scroll?” She asked the Dawnguard leader. He immediately looked uncomfortable.

“Yes, he returned with the scroll. But...” he hesitated.

“But what Isran? Where is Samuel? What’s happened?” She demanded. Isran did not answer but merely looked up to the top tower. Wyldfyre growled in frustration and took off towards the tower, taking the stairs two at a time, calling for Samuel as she went.

“Samuel! Where are you? Samuel!” she came to the top of the stairs and skidded to a stop when she smelt something familiar...blood. A lot of blood. The scent led her to a small room, the room where she first saw Isran and Serana in. There, strapped to a rack, blood pouring from many wounds in his body, was Samuel.
 

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