As my steps echoed throughout the now empty portal room a small part of me cursed my inability to predict Alduin doing something like this... The sheer fucking panic that was bound to spread in the wake of his half-a-world-wide declaration could potentially do as much damage as the rebellion.
Which was his goal to begin with I realize immediately.
But how does one prepare for facing something like that? The terrible force of nature once thought to be a thoughtless beast waiting for its head to be cut off like a good little final boss instead of using its eons of experience to stack the deck firmly in its favor.
'But...' Another, larger, part of me posed 'I have been doing much the same.' stacking the deck against the inevitable with each and every step I took... Why should my opponent be limited in his wisdom? Only so that he could fit in with my obviously skewed expectations?
Shaking my head with a light chuckle I accepted my ignorance and promptly left it behind me. The deaths of tens of thousands and potential apocalypse should I fail aside, the thought of overcoming such a challenge awakened a spark of excitement I have not felt in some time now.
My slouch disappeared and my back straightened 'Krein.' I called out mentally as the nearby guards held back flinches at my sudden change in demeanor.
'Thuri?' He rumbled, his alertness bleeding through the connection.
'How well can you sense other Dovah?'
He is silent for a moment '...Should they speak with sufficient might I can sense their general location...' another pause 'As can others.'
'Good. Keep an ear out, we need to be ready for when they start attacking.'
The silence stretches for a while longer before he reluctantly admits 'They already are.'
'They?' my eyes narrow.
'The echoes of multiple voices reach me even now, their thrill at being able to conquer freely once more is unmistakable.' He explains, sounding oddly uncomfortable.
My steps pause for a moment as I consider his words but I press on 'Are you alright?'
'The echoes call to me.' Krein admits 'But do not fear, I am more disciplined than a hungering whelp.'
'And what of Alduin? Can you sense him?' I ask as I leave the tower and a good chunk of the panicking crowd calms down almost immediately, staring at me expectantly while the rest of their fellows were still running about seeking some kind of cover from whatever they believed Alduin's voice was.
'He has retreated back to his sanctum.' Still weakened then.
Sending my dragon buddy a mental nod of thanks I look to the crowd and consider them 'Best nip all of this idiocy in the bud' I decide and turn to one of the Paladins who was guarding the entrance of the tower, whispering to him "Send for my council and have them meet me in my study."
He bows lightly and marches off.
My eyes find the crowd once again and I speak "I had thought myself lord over a proud people, yet here I stand looking over a bunch of headless chicken!" I scoff loudly.
There is some grumbling then, even an outraged yell, but most are left chastened.
"But my lord!" One of the smiths, here for the burial of his cousin who fell in Windhelm if I remembered rightly, calls out "Did you not feel the terror of that voice? How can we not fear such a thing?" Many voice their agreement, entertainingly less panicked for doing it.
"And do you see me cowering?" I raise an eyebrow, my voice carrying easily without me even having to raise it slightly "You do not." I answer my own question gravely "For I know exactly what that voice was and while terrible I also know it can be overcome!"
"Truly?" One of the fresher recruits in my army asks.
"Yes." My lips twist into a slight smile as I answer, it was not a pleasant image "Your fellow soldiers have already witnessed me battle one of its ilk in Windhelm, some of them even aiding in its death!"
"You heard that right!" My gaze sweeps over the hushed crowd "One of its ilk has already fallen, and soon shall all of them who try and conquer and enslave us!" A grin forms of my face as I see them visibly calm down "This one may be far stronger but in the end it is just another wild beast! And what have you to fear of beasts, you who stand under the aegis of Dagoth?"
My aura flares to its full might, shaking the stone under me but not quite cracking its warded form. A new terror spreads then but it lasts for but a moment as the reminder is made clear: The big bad world eater may be scary but they also had a monster of their own, more than willing to protect them against it.
The veil of Magicka dissipates slowly as I instruct "Go back to your families and reassure them, and prepare yourselves well. I will have need of your work and of your bravery soon enough."
With that somber note the gathered populace slowly starts to leave, leaving only a few of those still stubborn enough to observe the funeral pyres.
A familiar figure walks up to me then, earning an immediate raise of an eyebrow from me and a slight tensing in the air around Akulakhan "Terryn" I greet the former champion of Boethiah, only slight mockery lacing my voice "I had thought you were content to keep your distance."
"You can say that again." He scoffs, ignoring the creaking noise AK's grip on his weapon made.
I raise a hand to stop my bodyguard from pulping yet another head "Why are you here then?"
"Look..." He trails off for a moment "I'm old enough to have read the legends, these poor idiots might not understand what just happened but I know what just demanded our servitude."
"Is there a rest stop between here and the fucking point Terryn?" I grouse, the Paladin I sent to call my Retainers already having returned.
He shifts awkwardly "What I want to say is that..." He sighs "I want to help."
"What, not so content with merely smithing ebony anymore?" I scoff.
He inhales, pinches the bridge of his nose, and shakes his head "Fine!" He throws his hands up suddenly "I want to help you fight it."
"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow "Finally found a righteous bone in your body?"
He scoffs immediately "I can't find my life of peace if the world ends."
"Ha!" I snort "Fine, you are in."
The old Mer pauses whatever he was about to say next and blinks "Just... just like that?"
"You'd think you would have gotten used to my modus operandi by now." I drawl out and turn around, already walking to the meeting "Go to the barracks and inform Oren about your enlistment."
"You want me to join the grunts?" He asks incredulously.
"No, I want you to help train some of them." I turn to him with an annoyed look, pausing momentarily and smirking "Besides, you aren't even that strong to begin with."
Satisfied with stinging his pride I turned around once more and kept walking.
--------------------------
(Minthara's POV)
"Will you bloody slow down?" Marco calls out as we pass the final bog marked on my map.
"No." I respond brusquely "We are not here to waste time."
"Is the horn even going to be of any use, my lady?" Junia asks, her doubt clear.
I do not deign to answer but the old Blade does it for me "An object of such legend must hold some power over the voice." Esbern explains, completely unbothered by the hours of rapid marching across the marshlands of Morthal despite his age "And while it may be mere conjecture I sincerely doubt we are wasting our time."
"Time we could be using to hunt for the dragons." Delphine adds blithely.
I hold back a growl of annoyance at her arrogant insistence 'She has some use yet.' I rationalize "The lesser dragons are a non-issue, if I want to face Alduin I must master my abilities." Before anyone can comment I add "And no, it isn't merely a matter of eating more souls."
Lydia looks at me as if I had just read her mind.
'Not too difficult considering her expressiveness.' I note amusedly, cresting the final step across a marshy hill and coming upon the entrance to the burial ground of Jurgen Wind-Caller, Ustengraav...
The entrance currently occupied by a number of necromancers and their puppets.
An older woman with greying hair rounds on us the moment we step into sight but I have no patience for her prattle and before she can so much as utter a word her head is sent flying by a Blade ghost, her allies following soon after.
Marco lets out a low whistle "Poor fuckers."
"Really?" Lydia deadpans at him.
"Hey." He raises his hands placatingly "I am not saying they don't deserve it, I am just saying miss red and bloody is being real scary right now."
"Junia." I call out with false cheer "Shut him up."
His likely insultingly cheesy response is cut off as I hear a thump followed by a pained yelp and then blessed silence.
Whatever the necromancers were doing had them clearing out the tomb entrance for a while now, something I had honestly learned to expect by this point as the path Akatosh had set for me was made almost supernaturally smooth at some points while being incredibly frustrating at others, removing the minutiae of adventuring while enhancing the challenge of it.
Honestly though, I wouldn't have it any other way.
My hand shoots up the moment I pass into the first chamber, a ward batting away a spear of ice launched by a respectably powerful necromancer as his thralls started rushing at me with reckless abandon.
Too bad for them I was in no mood to play fair "FUUUS-"
-----
The walls of the tunnel flash beside me as the whirlwind guides me through Jurgen's little test, the gates behind me opening as one as I stood beyond their threshold, the final chamber awaiting beyond.
"Seriously though" Marco grouses in disappointment "Why would they make the test this simple? Reasonably you only needed to use like two shouts and even then those 'challenges' could be ignored with enough effort."
"You forget that the Greybeards do not expect anyone to know even that much." Delphine states smugly "They think themselves the only real authority on the voice so why even consider that someone else may be able to learn it on their own? And why teach more than is strictly necessary?"
"Are you saying..." Lydia narrows her eyes "That the Greybeards would sabotage their charge."
"Yes." Delphine confirms instantly.
Esbern chuckles, cutting through the sudden tension "Then we are all very lucky that Lord Dagoth decided to ignore their indubitably 'wise' decrees."
A slight smile worms its way onto my face at that "Quite." I say and step into the chamber holding the horn, a simple stone bridge leading to the altar upon which the ancient artifact lay.
As I took a step within the room the whole place shook, six statues depicting Kyne in her more primal ancient form raising from the water at both my sides, the very air filling with a familiar gust of welcoming wind.
I do not hesitate for even a moment and as my hand touches the horn I feel a burst of energy thrum throughout my hand and then my arm, the artifact feeling almost giddy as I held it aloft.
"Magnificent." Esbern mutters as he starts casting detection spells.
"You aren't going to blow it?" Marco teases, earning a quick whack from Junia.
The excited thrill of the horn intensifies tenfold at his words but I hold back for now, a wise decision most likely as Esbern explained later, we wouldn't want to summon a storm within the halls after all.
-----
Carrying only the most valuable loot, much to my hidden irritation, we exit the tomb only an hour of searching later. Things outside were quiet for Morthal... too quiet in fact.
The horn almost seared the belt it was attached to off as I saw a green dragon circling us in the distance, its eyes immediately locking onto me as it spoke "Your soul will bring me much glory Dovahkiin!"
Finally sick of the little thing, I grabbed the horn and blew it, all of its contained power exploding outwards as it let out what I could only compare to a deep bestial growl and I felt it tug at my soul the same way my shouts did.
The dragon stopped its descent for a moment, surprised at the slowly darkening skies and suddenly feeling a lot less confident about his 'ambush'.
Whatever he was about to say then was promptly ignored as he was suddenly slammed by a veritable hail of lightning.
---------
The time hath come
To grant me stone
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