Stepping into the Soul Cairn, blinding flashes of lightning and bellowing cracks of thunder bid us welcome to the gloomy realm as we descended the stairs. Hurriedly making our way to the ground, to avoid being struck by magic lightning, as our feet touched the dead soil an eerie fog began to roll in and blanketed the area around us. Noticing the sound of the unending storm overhead was growing fainter as the fog thickened, we realized we were about to be ambushed. Closing ranks and drawing our weapons, I shouted Lok Vah Koor (Clear Skies) to remove the fog bank.
As the fog quickly dissipated, hundreds of Bonemen and other monsters began to appear out of the gloom. Unable to hide their advances any longer, the monsters switched to a more direct approach and barreled toward us as fast as they could move. Using Unrelenting Force to tear apart the nearest group of monsters, the women used the few moments I bought us to reorganize themselves. Joining me at the front, Aela, Lucoa, Lydia, Serana, and Roxanne prepared themselves for shitshow while Angelica, Clarice, Deirdre, Mylene, and Olivia began lobbing powerful offensive magics at the approaching horde.
"At this rate we will be through this horde in a couple of minutes.", Aela shouted, shattering the skull of a Boneman with her shield, "Do you know where we need to go from here, Victor?"
"No, but I am certain he does.", I answered, pointing to the dragon flying toward us, "That is Durnehviir, the Ideal Master's pet dragon. I should be able to reason with him, but just in case, be prepared to run for cover."
"Go on, we have this!", Serana assured me, killing several Mistmen with Chain Lightning.
Leaping into the air, I flew off toward Durnehviir who was nearly upon us now. Shouting his name as I approached, the ancient dragon stopped his advance and began to hover in midair. Waiting for me to approach him, he appeared quite delighted to speak to a fellow Dovah for the first time in a long while.
"Greetings Dovahkiin, what brings you to this wretched place?", Durnehviir inquired.
"I am here seeking a vampire that entered this realm several thousand years ago. Do you know where she is hold up?", I replied.
"Yes, I am well aware of the witch you seek. She currently resides in a tower to the northeast of here.", Durnehviir answered, with a serious expression, "Unfortunately though, the Ideal Master's have tasked me with bringing them her soul. If I allow her to leave this realm, they will pour out their rage upon me which is something I would rather not endure again."
"What if I liberated you from this place, and sent you back to Nirn? Would you let us pass unabated?", I inquired.
"Hmm…forgive me, but I am doubtful you could break the chains that bind me to this realm. I have tried many times to use my Thu'um to liberate myself, and every time I have been met with failure.", Durnehviir remarked, with a downcast look.
Certain that I could do it, with enough dragonic mana and the right words, I asked Durnehviir to let me give it a go. Giving me the benefit of the doubt, he agreed to my request hopeful I would prove him wrong. Taking a few minutes to calm myself and allow the ether to flow into me, once I was ready, I released the full force of my Thu'um.
"Kren Dur Neh Viir Sil Gron!", I commanded, causing the very space of this realm to reverberate my will.
(AN: This translates to Break, Curse, Never, Dying, Soul, Binding.)
Overwhelmed by the power I unleashed upon him, Durnehviir nearly plummeted to the ground in shock. Catching him with the Force, I hoisted him back into the sky and gave him a moment to recover. Watching the color return to his scales and his life force flow back into his body, the ethereal chains began to shatter and slide off his body. Feeling his old strength returning to his body, the ancient dragon let out a triumphant roar of satisfaction.
"You have done it, Dovahkiin! The Ideal Master's sorcery has been undone!", Durnehviir proclaimed, as he began to flap his wings again, "Allow me to take you to the tower!"
Diving down toward the ground, Durnehviir released centuries of pent-up anger and frustration upon denizens of the Soul Cairn. Decimating all our remaining foes on the ground, the ancient dragon circled around and began flying toward the tower. Beckoning for us to follow him, our new ally would clear a path so we could travel forward without any trouble.
"I am going on ahead, once I am at the tower, I will teleport everyone over!", I yelled down to the group.
Giving me the thumbs up, the women began looting the defeated enemies while I darted after Durnehviir.
---Ten Minutes Later---
Landing atop Valerica's tower, the pure-blood vampire inside made it known she was none too happy about Durnehviir's arrival. Leaning out her second story window, Valerica began shouting curses and insults at him for constantly harassing her. Abruptly stopping her ranting when she noticed my arrival, she stared at me with a curious look.
"Well this is unusual. Are you one of the Ideal Master's new puppets?", Valerica inquired, I landed outside her home.
"No, I am a friend of your daughter Serana.", I informed her, "Please wait a moment, I will teleport my party over so she can explain everything to you."
Transferring the women to my location, the moment Valerica saw her daughter standing there, she vanished from window and came flying out her front door. Slamming into the barrier that kept her trapped her, Valerica began wailing out it like her life depended on it. Seeing the anger and fear painted on her face, she had clearly jumped to the worst-case scenario and thought her husband had sent us all here.
"Stay away from my daughter, all of you!! If you so much as lay a finger on her, I will tear every single one of you apart!!", Valerica hissed, hell bent on protecting Serana no matter the cost, "Damn you Harkon, you backstabbing bastard!!"
"Mother, please calm down, it is not like that at all.", Serana said, rushing over to her mother, "They are not subordinates of the Volkihar Clan, these people are the ones who released me from my casket in Dimhollow Crypt. Victor and his family have been supporting me up to this point, without them, I doubt I would have made it this far. Can you please do something about this stupid barrier?"
"On it.", I answered, "Vo Lah Bo!!"
(AN: Reverse, Magic, Flow.)
Redirecting the magic used to maintain the barrier back to its point of origin, three violent explosions rocked the immediate area. Turning around to see what happened, we watched as three gigantic towers collapsed to the ground generating massive clouds of dust on impact. Realizing the Ideal Masters had not built in a mechanism to vent excess mana at the Shifting Spires, I had accidentally created a Mana Overload that resulted in the obliterations of the spires and the tower they rested upon.
'You know…I wonder if it would be possible to create a similar phenomenon with Chaos Space Marine Psykers. I doubt they train much at all anymore so reversing the flow of their powers back into themselves would effectively turn them into Psyker Bombs, right?', I thought, deciding to investigate the matter further later.
With the barrier now gone, Serana pulled her mother in for a big hug which surprised Valerica. Having assumed Serana would hate her for sealing her away all those years ago, Valerica was very relieved that her fears were unfound. Holding each other tightly for a few minutes, the two of them wanted to simply enjoy this reunion in silence.
"My darling daughter, I apologize for sealing you away all those years ago. You deserved to know everything back then but there was not enough time to explain everything, and I could not risk you fighting me on my decision.", Valerica stated, squeezing her daughter tightly, "Can you ever forgive me for what I have done?"
"So long as you swear to me you will never do this again, I can.", Serana answered, with a smile.
"Thank you, my precious child.", Valerica said, letting her go and turning to us, "Now then, who are you people and what is your connection to my daughter?"
"As Serana said, we are the ones who found Serana in Dimhollow Crypt and brought her back to Castle Volkihar. Serana was hell bent on bring you home, so we led here to find you.", I informed her, "Before you bring up your husband, you should know that I have permanently dealt with him. He is but an ash pile in your Great Hall, along with most of your clan members."
Surprised to hear that I had killed him, Valerica looked to her daughter for verification. Confirming that her father was indeed no more, a big smile crept upon her face.
"Well then, I want to return home at once!", Valerica proclaimed, "I no longer have a reason to stay in this dreary place. Give me a moment, I need to pack up my belongings."
Climbing down from the roof, Durnehviir approached me ready for me to complete our transaction. Having lived up to his end of the bargain, and then some, I was happy to oblige him.
"Alright, Durnehviir, are you ready to go home?", I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course, I have waited a very long time for this day to come.", Durnehviir responded, with a throaty chuckle, "I will seek you out again once I regain my full strength, Dovahkiin. You have liberated me from this horrid place, and I have yet to begin repaying you for it."
"I understand, I will keep an eye out for your return. Be warned that Tamriel is not the same place you remember. The races have grown stronger, and Alduin is on the prowl once again.", I stated.
"Thank you for the warning. I will keep that in mind while I regain my strength.", Durnehviir replied.
"Nahl Daal Vus!!", I shouted, hitting him again with the full force of my Thu'um.
(AN: Living, Return, Nirn.)
Watching Durnehviir fade out of this realm, I wished them the best of luck back in Tamriel. Walking back over to Serana and the others, we began to discuss our next steps till Valerica returned with several bags in hand. Pushing them all into my arms, like I was some bellhop, I proceed to shove them right back to her.
"I am not your babysitter nor your servant. You brought this crap here, you can carry it out.", I remarked.
"You are going to make me carry it all the way to the exit?!", Valerica protested, waiting for my reaction.
"My plan is to teleport us to the exit. You can carry your baggage up from there.", I said.
Snapping my fingers, all of us moved back to the foot of the staircase. Leading the group up the stairs, Serana picked up a couple of bags and began to follow me. Letting out a sigh, Valerica picked up the remaining luggage and follow our group out of the Soul Cairn.