Chapter 24

The entrance to High Hrothgar was before us. I couldn’t delay things any further, so I opened the door and entered the home of the Greybeards.

The four of them were waiting in the entrance hall. To my surprise, two familiar faces to me had apparently walked in just ahead of me. Delphine said, “So, Arngeir, is it? You know why we’re here. Are you going to let us in or not?”

“You’re not invited here. You’re not welcome here.” Arngeir said, true to form.

“We have as much right to be at this council as all of you. More, actually, since we were the ones who put the Dragonborn on this path.”

“Were you? The hubris of the Blades truly knows no bounds.”

“If it were up to you, the Dragonborn would sit dreaming on this mountain, doing nothing!”

Esbern interrupted. “Delphine, we’re not here to rehash old grudges. The matter at hand is urgent. Alduin must be stopped.” He turned towards the Greybeards. “You wouldn’t have called this council if you didn’t agree. We know a great deal about the situation and the threat Alduin poses to us all. You need us here if you want this council to succeed.”

Arngeir turned and looked at his fellow Greybeards. After a long silence, he capitulated. “Eh, very well. You may enter.” He then turned to face me. “So, you’ve done it. The men of violence are gathered here, in these halls whose very stones are dedicated to peace. I should not have agreed to host this council. The Greybeards have no business involving ourselves in such matters.”

“If you didn’t want to be completely irrelevant to the future of Skyrim, you wouldn’t have agreed in the first place, for that is what you would be otherwise. You know I speak the truth. Now, don’t worry, I’ll get them to agree to peace, at least for a while.”

“Peace? Huh, I doubt it. They may put their weapons down, but only to gather strength for the next bloodletting. They are not yet tired of war. Far from it. Do you know the ancient Nord word for war? ‘Season Unending’, and so it has proved. But regrets are pointless. So here we are. Take your seat at the council table and let us see what wisdom we can find among these warriors of Skyrim.”

He led the way into the room that I’d previously seen the Greybeards eating in. The table had been enlarged a bit, with places for everyone. On the Imperial side were Elenwen, Balgruuf, Tullius, Elisif, and Rikke. On the Stormcloak side was Ulfric and his adviser, Galmar. Delphine and Esbern were also on this side of the table, simply because there were open seats there. Arngeir went to one end of the table, and pointed to me. “Please, Dragonborn, take your seat and we can begin.” My seat was at the other end of the table.

Arngeir started speaking about everyone coming here in the spirit of peace, but was interrupted by Ulfric. “No, you insult us by bringing her to these negotiations. Your chief Talos hunter!”

There was some muttering around the table from some, then Elenwen spoke up. “I have every right to be at this negotiation. I need to ensure that nothing is agreed to here that violates the terms of the White-Gold Concordat.”

Tullius spoke up in defense of her. “She’s part of the Imperial delegation. You can’t dictate who I bring to this council.”

Arngeir interrupted them. “Please. If we have to negotiate the terms of the negotiation, we will never get anywhere. Perhaps this would be a good time to get the Dragonborn’s input on this matter.”

Ulfric and Tullius both began talking to me at the same time. I held up my hand to cut them both off. “You can leave, Elenwen. You’re not welcome here.”

“Very well, Ulfric. Enjoy your petty victory. The Thalmor will treat with whatever government rules Skyrim. We would not think of interfering with your civil war.”

“You mean any more than you already have? Or would you care for me to share more of your secrets with everyone else here?”

Elenwen looked at me in shock at the words I uttered. She started to sputter something, and I simply waved my hand to shoo her away. The look of disgust upon her face was priceless to me. She got up and stormed out.

Rikke looked at me. “You’re lucky I respect the Greybeards council. How dare you do that?” The fury in her face was evident.

I was quite calm. “We can talk afterwards if you like. To quote a new friend of mine, it’s ... complicated.”

Arngeir tried to get the council going again, but Ulfric interrupted him. “I have something to say first. The only reason I agreed to attend this council was to deal with the dragon menace. There is nothing else to talk about, unless the Empire is willing to renounce it’s unjust claim over the free people of Skyrim. We are here to arrange a temporary truce to allow the Dragonborn to deal with the dragons, nothing more.”

He and Tullius traded barbed comments a couple of times, but finally Arngeir was able to resume what little control he had. “Are we ready to proceed?”

Arngeir looked at everyone around the table. “Jarl Ulfric. General Tullius. This council is unprecedented. We are gathered here at the Dragonborn’s request. I’ll ask that you all respect the spirit of High Hrothgar. Do your best to begin the process of achieving a lasting peace in Skyrim. Who would like to open negotiations?”

As I expected, Ulfric started things off with a demand for Markarth as his price for a truce. That got Jarl Elisif and Tullius bickering between themselves. There were words back and forth between everyone involved. I sat back and watched the arguments flow. Finally Tullius said, “This council was not my idea, and I think it’s a waste of time. In my opinion, Ulfric is a traitor to the Empire and deserves a traitors death. But I will negotiate in good faith. Since we’re all here at the request of the Dragonborn, I’d like to hear what she thinks Markarth is worth.”

“What are your lives worth, General Tullius, Jarl Ulfric? What is the entire world worth? Think about this. Should I fail, everything is lost, gone. Possibly reborn, perhaps not, but either way without us in it. In the scheme of things in the here and now, Riften would be a fair exchange.”

Ulfric seemed satisfied with Markarth, but Tullius was upset with me, even though the Rift would give them a secure line of communication to Cyrodiil. The two of them sparred verbally back and forth again for a few minutes. Finally Esbern had enough. “Stop! Are you so blind to our danger that you can’t see past your petty disagreements? Here you sit arguing about ... nothing! As the Dragonborn said, the fate of the whole world hangs in the balance.”

Esbern got up out of his chair and started pacing. Ulfric made a snide comment to Delphine, who gave it right back to him. “Yes, Esbern is with me. And I advise both of you to listen to what he has to say before you do anything rash.”

Esbern walked around the table. “Don’t you understand the danger? Don’t you understand what the return of the dragons means? Alduin has returned. The World-Eater! Even now he devours the souls of your fallen comrades. He grows more powerful with every soldier slain in your pointless war! Can you not put aside your hatred for even one moment if the face of this mortal danger, not just to yourselves, but to everything?”

Tullius looked thoughtful. “I don’t know about the end of the world, but this dragon situation has gotten out of hand. If this truce will help the Dragonborn here put an end to that menace, we both gain. Remember that, Ulfric.”

I spoke up. “General Tullius, Jarl Ulfric, I do know about the end of the world. I wish I didn’t.” I laid a book on the table that Urag had given me. “Rikke, you’re a Nord. You know you hope to go to Sovngarde should you die in battle. Every soul there that is not in Shor’s hall is simply fodder, strength to feed Alduin. People will still die here, that can’t be helped. But the mass slaughter of battle, ceasing that will slow Alduin’s return so that I have hope to defeat him.”

Tullius still wanted compensation for a slaughter at Karthwasten as well, which upset Galmar. At this point I didn’t care, so long as the fighting would stop. “Ulfric should pay compensation,” I said.

Arngeir stood up. “It appears we have an agreement. Jarl Ulfric, General Tullius, these are the terms currently on the table. Markarth will be handed over to Ulfric’s forces. Jarl Igmund will step down, Thongvor Silver-Blood will become Jarl. The Stormcloak forces will withdraw from the Reach. Jarl Leila Law-giver will step down, and Maven Black-Briar will become the Jarl of Riften. The Stormcloaks will pay appropriate compensation for the massacre at Karthwasten. You both agree to this?”

After some muttering and looking around, both sides did end up begrudgingly agreeing to the terms. Some final threats were bantered back and forth, then the council was over. The Stormcloak delegation left, while the Imperials remained.

Balgruuf looked at me. “Giving up Markarth was a heavy price to pay for this. I hope it is worth it.”

Arngeir said, “Jarl Balgruuf, I presume you are aware of the Dragonborn’s plan?”

“Yes. Just say the word and my men will spring the trap.”

“But the difficulty remains, how to lure a dragon to Dragonsreach at all?”

“I believe I have the answer, Arngeir.” Esbern stood up. “I anticipated this problem. While this meeting was being arranged, I was busy in the library at Sky Haven Temple. An unguessed trove of lost lore ... but the important thing is that the Blades recorded the names of many of the dragons they slew. Cross referencing this with Delphine’s map of dragon burial sites, I believe I’ve identified one of the dragons Alduin has raised up.”

Tullius asked, “How does that help us?”

“Ah, don’t you see? The names of the dragons are always three Words of Power – Shouts. By calling the dragon with the Voice, he will hear you wherever he might be.”

I understood. “Ah, and he’ll come when he’s called, then?”

“He’s not compelled to, of course, but dragons are prideful by nature and loath to refuse a challenge. Your Voice in particular is likely to intrigue this dragon, after your victory over Alduin. I think it will be very likely that he will be unable to refuse to investigate.”

“So what’s this dragons name?”

“Ah, indeed. I’m no master of the Voice like these worthy gentlemen, but it is written here in this scroll. Od – ah – Viing – Winged Snow Hunter, as I read it.” He handed me the scroll and I could feel the word of Power coming into me as the others had done in the past.

After witnessing that, Rikke said, “I hope this gives you what you need. I doubt it will last long.”

“It only has to last long enough for me to literally save the world.” Everyone got up and started to leave. “Legate Rikke.” She paused. I lowered my voice so only she could hear. “I meant what I said earlier to Elenwen, and I have the proof. Her hands are bloody in this on both sides.”

She looked at me, her eyes dancing back and forth from my eyes to my face, and I felt her belief growing. She finally whispered, “Good luck, Dragonborn.”

Delphine came up to me after everyone else had filed out. “Congratulations, my liege. But there’s one more thing, about Paarthurnax.”

“He’s been a singularly helpful dragon so far.”

“That’s fine, when we needed his help. Now we don’t, and it’s long past time for him to pay for his crimes. He wasn’t just any dragon, he was Alduin’s right hand. I’ve seen records in Sky Haven Temple of his atrocities, they were infamous in and of themselves. He needs to die. He deserves to die. And it falls to you to kill him. I’m ... I don’t know. Our Oaths as Blades demand his death ... but ... given who you are, how I feel about you personally ... Oh, my liege, what do we do?”

“Carry on as before. Let’s see if I am successful first. It would be a bad thing if he were to die now, only for us to find out that I needed some knowledge he had, wouldn’t it?”

“You’re right, of course. Thank you, I knew you would know what to do.”

Knowing what to do didn’t necessarily make if feel right. Arngeir was waiting outside the room. “You did well today. This truce will not last long, but that will not be on your account.”

“Considering how much you’ve talked to me in the past about the Way of the Voice, I’m surprised to hear you say that.”

“The Way of the Voice is many things. Ulfric studied here for nearly fifteen years. Did you think that his way of speaking to others, to draw them to himself, was natural? The Thu’um and using it in combat is merely secondary to what we teach.”

“You know the Blades will want me to kill Paarthurnax when this is all done.”

“Now you see why I’ve warned you against them. Bloodthirsty barbarians!”

“I said will, not do. But Paarthurnax was Alduin’s second in command, correct?”

“Yes. But understand, during the days of Alduin’s rule, all dragons were his allies. There was nothing else they could do. If not for Paarthurnax, Alduin could not have been overthrown. It was he that first taught men to use the Thu’um.”

“I still haven’t decided what to do.”

“Ah. You’re learning, Dragonborn. Doing nothing can also be the wisest choice, although strangely also the hardest. I trust that you will make the right choice in the end. Listen to the Voice that Kynareth has placed within you, and your path will be clear.”

“It was so much easier when you were a controlling bastard. Wish me luck.”

“Breath, and force, Dragonborn.”

Lydia and I headed down the mountain for what could be the last time. We were about half way down when an ally of Alduin flew over. He saw us and came in for the attack. His frost breath was incredibly chilling, causing my hair to freeze to my armor. I already had my bow ready, loosing an arrow at him immediately. I also used Dragonrend on him, forcing him to land.

But the path was so narrow, he ended up landing nearly on top of me. His tail swung at me, knocking me into a tree. I could feel a couple of my ribs give way. Lydia yelled at him, to distract him from finishing me off. Fortunately it worked, giving me enough time to grab both a healing potion and another, one of the potions I’d prepared for going against Alduin. I could feel my ribs knit as the healing potion took effect, which was good as the potion to nearly double my skill with a bow also took effect.

After that it was simply a case of absorbing the soul from his corpse and retrieving the half dozen arrows I’d fired into him. We made it the rest of the way to Ivarstead without problem. Lydia led the way to the Vilemyr Inn and rented us the room without much comment. She knew I needed to sleep and recuperate. The next morning we traveled to Whiterun.

When we arrived, I borrowed the smithy tools from Adrianne and improved my sword and bow slightly, since I had additional materials courtesy of our being attacked on the way home. Adrianne and Halldis both watched me work. Adrianne explained, “This is simply amazing, Martina. I know how to work any metal, perhaps not as good as Eorland Gray-Mane on his Skyforge, but he only makes weapons for the Companions. Seeing you work the dragon bone, being able to improve your sword ... those skills have been lost here in Skyrim for generations.”

“Glad to teach and share what I know. In any event, I’ll need it, that’s for certain. Speaking of needing it ... will the two of you be spending the night with us tonight?”

Adrianne frowned. “I was planning on it. Is there a reason why not?”

“No. Just ... well, you know what I’m doing tomorrow. I just didn’t want to appear needy or uncertain.”

“Martina, we love you. No matter what happens.”

There wasn’t much else I could say to that. I finished my work in silence. Lydia followed me, not back to home, but up the first hill, to the shrine of Talos. Heimskr was standing in front of the shrine, preaching as usual. I walked up to the statue, the shrine, and went to my knees. Heimskr got louder at seeing me there, at least until Lydia went to him. She put a friendly arm around his shoulder and pulled him away. I don’t think she hurt him too badly.

I quietly prayed about the upcoming battle for what seemed to be hours. I could feel the peace of Talos descending upon me, fortifying me. I finally got up after one final prayer. “Talos, on the morrow I will fight for this world, that it does not end. Please, Divines, don’t let me fuck this up.”

I heard a chuckle from behind me. “A fine thought, Dragonborn. Your battle tomorrow is well known here in Whiterun. Though you are not part of us yet, should you decide to visit us, I would speak with you. You win much glory in your battle against the dragon, maintain your honor in your life. You’ll still have to pass our tests, but I have no doubt as to what that outcome would be.”

“What tests are those you speak of, old man?”

“Aye, I am an old man now. But I am Kodlak Whitemane, and I am the Harbinger of the Companions. So mind your tongue, and be respectful, whelp.”

“No disrespect intended, Kodlak. I know not when, but I do plan to visit you.”

“Good luck, then. Good battles.”

He went up the steps to Jorrrvaskr then. Two of his Companions were waiting for him at the top of the steps. They glared at me for daring to talk to him. I simply wondered if they would wet themselves in fear if they faced a dragon.