Chapter 36

Her physical warmth, her body temperature, surprised me. She was much closer to normal human temperatures than before. There was a thin sheen of sweat on her skin from the exertions we had just gone through, and she was having trouble catching her breath. She noticed my touch upon her.

“Yes, I think you’re having the same effect on me that you did on Sybille. And I know that I love you. I shouldn’t, you’re married now, but...”

“But what? You’ve heard my companions talk. Love doesn’t add, love multiplies. And with as short as life can be, why would you waste time being jealous about anything? Certainly you existed for a thousand years before being locked away, but ... you haven’t actually lived it, have you?”

I raised myself up on one elbow, so I could look down upon her, to see into her eyes. I allowed my free hand to lightly roam over her breasts and belly while I talked. “Elisif herself said it. Life is short. It is fraught with many dangers. While I have no intentions of dying while we’re in the Soul Cairn, it is always possible that it could happen. So we live, we don’t just exist, we experience life, we experience love, and by giving love we’re able to receive and then give more love.”

“If someone had any right at all to be jealous of my actions, it would Lydia. She’s been my companion and more importantly, my friend, since nearly my first day in Skyrim. Do you see any signs of that from her? Do you see any lessening of her love for me, or of my love for her?”

Serana looked up at me. “No. And I don’t think I will. I don’t understand it. I don’t think I want to understand it. You’re ... well, you’re a primal force to be reckoned with, Martina. You’ve been blessed by the gods and I think you are truly their instrument.”

I snorted. “Did you just figure that out? I’ve known it for a long time. You can call it destiny, or prophecy, or whatever you want. The Aedra and the Daedra have a plan for all of Nirn. That doesn’t mean they all have the same plan, not in the least. Remember a couple of days ago you were confused by my comments, when Lydia asked me if I’d planned this, and you were didn’t understand my response?”

Serana nodded. “Yes, I think we all thought the whole marriage thing to actually remove the curse was just a mad scheme on your part, to help you become ... wait a minute, what did I just say? A mad scheme?”

I lay back down beside her. “Yep. Remember the old beggar outside Proudspire Manor that I helped? I’m not sure exactly how she’s involved in all of this, but at some point I guess I’m going to have to find out.”

“Your own mother, the mad god Sheogorath, set all this up?”

“All of it? Probably not. Just the part where I have to thwart the efforts of Molag Bal to take over Tamriel, just as she and my father thwarted Mehrunes Dagon. The minor detail that, if things work out correctly, a Septim will be on the throne again tells me she at least has the help of Talos as well.”

“You think my Father is working with Molag Bal?” She sounded fearful.

“Probably not directly. He may not even be aware of it. The gods, all of them, can sometimes be tricky. The only thing we can do is carry on, do the best we can, and hopefully we survive. And speaking of survival, let’s get a nap before we head down into the Soul Cairn, and you do the partial soul trap on me.”

She turned on her side and snuggled in with me. After a few minutes, her breathing changed and I knew she was asleep. I kissed the top of her head and let myself drift off as well.

A few hours later we were rested, had eaten, and were as ready as we could be. Serena had a few last words of warning before proceeding.

“You’ll be weaker than normal while you’re in the Soul Cairn. I know this is difficult for you, I hope you trust me. I’ll never do anything to hurt you.”

I took her in my arm and gave her another kiss. “I trust you with my life.”

“Let’s not waste any more time, then. I promise to make this as painless as possible. Hold still.” She cast what effectively was a modified version of Soul Trap on me. While I hadn’t used the spell in combat very often against others, I was quite familiar with the effect from absorbing dragon souls. It felt very strange to feel some of my essence flow from me into her.

“Okay, that was ... strange. Odd, even. Not painful, really, just ... weird. Let’s get through here and see what we find, shall we?”

We walked down the stairs, crossing into the plane of the Soul Cairn, finally reaching the bottom of the stairs. The sky here changed in colors, blue, purple, black. I could see many black structures scattered all around. The landscape looked littered with stones that resembled large grave stones. An actual pathway led from the stairs. I looked straight up. When I’d been in Sovngarde, the sky led into a tunnel of light, leading to the gods. This sky had a rotating tunnel of darkness. I hoped to not find the other end of it.

Several ghosts or lost souls were visible as we stood for a moment, getting our bearings. Craters filled with glowing light were also scattered around. And the ground in places resembled the sulfur vents, only there was glowing magic rising from them.

“Okay, I grew up in the Shivering Isles, and this place makes that look like a lovely and peaceful garden. What do you know about this place?”

“Just what my mother told me. I’ve also studied it a little on my own, but not much. When something is trapped in a soul gem and then the energy is used for an enchantment, the remnants are sent here. I think specifically black soul gems, I don’t know if the Soul Cairn takes just any leftovers.”

“Does anything live here?”

“Look at this place. Do you think anything would want to live here? The only things that can survive here are the Ideal Masters, the undead, and the souls themselves. If you want to call that living...”

“So, why would the Ideal Masters be collecting these souls?”

“Lots of theories. Some think they might feed on them, the energy of the soul, like I feed on blood. Others think they use them as payment to an even higher power ... sort of a like a currency. A very strange currency. Whatever they’re doing, they’ve been harvesting for millenia. No telling how many souls are trapped here.”

“Well, I would guess they were supporting me against Alduin, since they would have ended as well. But I don’t understand why a necromancer would deal with them.”

“Look around you. There are some extremely powerful undead here. Even a necromancer as strong as my mother would be willing to spend years trying to gain access to them, to summon them. It’s a lost art, not quite like when you summon the Daedra. Most necromancers just raise up whatever body is nearby. That’s a simple trick, child’s play. But bringing something from the Soul Cairn gives you something much more powerful.”

“And to be able to do that...”

“Exactly. You have to finalize the deal with the Ideal Masters here, traveling through a simple portal. But most of the necromancers that do so, never come back.”

“Well, it would have been nice if your mother had just been waiting for us when we opened the portal. Any ideas?”

“We have a pathway. I’d guess we just start going, and then see what we find.”

To our right was a building with a blocked gate, and two glowing lights on either side of the entrance. I looked at it, and then said, “We may as well start here, then. What do you think will open this grate?”

“Probably something disrupting those orbs of light, I’d guess.”

“Let’s see.” I cast an ice spike at each of them. The lights went out, the grate lowered. “Good, we learned something.” I checked the chest that was waiting inside. “That would have made it too easy, I guess. No Elder Scroll. Let’s keep going.”

We started walking down the pathway. After a few minutes, some things that resembled skeletons, but weren’t, arose from the pathway. Serana and I both used spells to kill them before they could get close. Just past them, the soul of a man wearing armor stood in the middle of the path. “You’ve got to help me! Save my Arvak! He doesn’t deserve to be here.”

“Calm down. What are you talking about?”

“Arvak! My horse. We came to this horrible place together. We were attacked by monsters, so I told him to run. He’s such a loyal horse, and he’s been running for so long, he doesn’t deserve to be here. Can you find him?”

With that he started crying for his lost horse, then vanished.

“Any ideas what that was about?”

“If nothing else, we know there’s a horse down here. And based upon what he just told you, if you find it, then save it, you’ll probably be able to summon it. Which would be a power necromancer spell.”

“Speaking of summoning, do you think I could summon us some help?”

“An atronach? No idea.”

“We’re not being attacked right now. Let’s see.” I cast the spell and it worked. “Good. If we get into a really sticky situation, I’ll use the Shout I was taught in Sovngarde as well. I haven’t done that before, but I can’t see it hurting us having a hero from Shor’s Hall as our companion.”

“Not hardly. You can do that?” I nodded. “That’s impressive in and of itself. If it were just magic, I’d say you’re the equal of my mother, and believe me, that’s saying something. Since you’re ... well, you ... I don’t know.”

We walked up to what appeared to be an endless wall, blocking part of the Soul Cairn off from the rest. Yet there was a stairway cutting through the middle of it. We walked into the area that the strange wall was protecting. Once inside, we saw several pillars of glowing light arising from black towers. As the summoned flame atronach would dissipate, I would conjure another. This proved to be convenient, as more of those bonemen came up from the ground soon afterwards, and we quickly dispatched them.

We simply headed one way, and before long ran across a soul acting like he was gardening, with ghostly cattle around. That was very weird. A couple more bonemen showed up soon afterwards and we took care of them. I could see a group of souls gathered around something, and we walked up to them. Lightning had been occasionally flashing from the sky randomly, and suddenly it hit right in the middle of this group.

They changed from people to some kind of mistmen. I had my bow ready and started shooting them. They used an attack similar to that of the vampires, not physically attacking but draining my health. Before they could cause much pain, we killed them. In the middle of where they’d been standing was the skull of a horse. I picked it up and suddenly the soul of the armored warrior appeared nearby.

“Arvak! You found him! You’ve saved him. He’s such a loyal horse, I’ll show you how to call him to you. He’ll help you here, but I bet he’d like sunnier climes. Take good care of Arvak for me! Goodbye, hero! Such a good horse.” He faded away, and I realized I now knew a spell to summon the horse.

“Martina, you’ve just learned a very powerful summoning spell. I hate to ask, but do you feel like you can cast it?”

I didn’t say anything, just brought the power together within myself, then released it. Instead of what we usually saw, a Daedra, there stood a skeletal horse, with cool blue flames rising from where his mane and hair would be, in front of us. I climbed on, then reached down and pulled her up so Serana could ride behind me. “This will help us considerably in our search, I think. Which way do we go from here?”

“I think ... maybe that way? I’m almost feeling something, like a connection with mother. Look, there, where those towers are ... twisting? What kind of place is this?”

We rode for a bit towards a building, finally getting close to it. It appeared to be something like a small castle of some kind, but a blue shield surrounded it, keeping us out. We circled it and finally found a set of steps going up. After dismounting, Arvak vanished like the summoned creature he was.

“Mother? Mother!”

From the other side of the shield, a woman came walking out. “What is this? Serana?”

“Mother? Is it really you? I can’t believe it. How do we get inside and talk?”

The woman looked like an older version of Serana. “Serana, what are you doing here? Where’s your Father?”

“He doesn’t know we’re here. I don’t have time to explain.”

“I have failed. Harkon has found a way to finish the prophecy, hasn’t he?”

“No, you’ve got it all wrong. We’re here to stop him, to make everything right.”

“Wait, you’ve brought a stranger here? Have you lost your mind?” Valerica turned to me. “You, come here, I would speak with you. So how is it that a mortal is in the company of my daughter? Are you a vampire hunter? It pains me to think you’d travel with Serana under the guise of her protector in an effort to hunt me down.”

“I’m no vampire hunter. I’m simply protecting my realm from your husband, which is why I saved her from your foolish plan.”

“I find your words quite interesting considering that Serana is in far more danger now than she was in following my ... foolish plan, as you called it. Serana has sacrificed everything to prevent Harkon from completing the prophecy. I would have expected her to explain that to you.”

“No, you sacrificed her for thousands of years, locking her away. I’m here to save her, and even you. That’s why we’re here for the third Elder Scroll.”

“You think I’d have the audacity to place my own daughter in that tomb simply for the protection of her Elder Scroll alone? The scrolls are merely a means to an end. The key to the Tyranny of the Sun is Serana herself.”

“Explain yourself.”

“When I fled Castle Volkihar, I fled with two Elder Scrolls. The scroll I presume you found with Serana speaks of Auriel and his arcane weapon, Auriel’s Bow. The second scroll declares that The Blood of Coldharbour’s Daughter will blind the eye of the Dragon.”

“Shit. It would have been nice to know that tidbit before we came down here. But that explains why I could release her from her tomb, while the vampires that Harkon had searching for her couldn’t.”

Valerica looked puzzled. “What do you mean? The Tyranny of the Sun requires her blood. If Harkon obtains Auriel’s Bow and Serana’s blood is used to taint the weapon, the Tyranny of the Sun would be complete. Harkon will kill her to fulfill the prophecy. In his eyes, she’d be dying for the good of all vampires.”

“Perhaps the prophecy isn’t that she will blind the eye of the Dragon, it’s that she will catch the eye of the Dragon. I know who you are, you don’t know who I am.”

“You are a mortal, your name is unimportant.”

“Not exactly. You do realize you’ve been down here for nearly three thousand years, right? Things aren’t the same in Skyrim or Tamriel now.”

Valerica gasped. “It’s been that long? I’d ... I’d planned on being here for a long time, that’s why I made my deal with the Ideal Masters, but I had no idea that much time had passed.”

“Yes. And that’s another reason you’re incorrect. I’m the daughter of the Dragon, and I will stop Harkon.”

“How do you plan on stopping him, and what is this Dragon nonsense?”

“I’ll kill him.”

“If you believe that, then you’re a bigger fool than I originally suspected. Don’t you think I weighed that option before I enacted my plans?”

“I’m no fool, Valerica. I’m the Last Dragonborn.”

She blinked at that comment. “I know that prophecy. The Last Dragonborn will battle Alduin World-Eater for the fate of all Tamriel.”

“Yeah, that was a nasty fight. Took place in Sovngarde. I won. Now that I’ve settled things with Alduin and the dragons, the next most serious threat to my kingdom is that of your husband, and I will kill him.”

“You care nothing for Serana or our plight. You’re here because we’re abominations in your mind. Evil creatures that need to be destroyed.”

“Really? Serana has tasted of my blood, and believes in me. Why won’t you?”

Valerica looked at her daughter. “Serana? This woman would hunt you down and slay you like an animal, and yet I should entrust you to her?”

“Martina has done more for me in the brief time I’ve known her than you’ve done in centuries!”

“I gave up everything I cared about to protect you from that fanatic you call a father!”

“Yes, he’s a fanatic. But he’s still my father, he was still your husband.”

“Don’t you understand? He will use you to fulfill his quest, will kill you. I did it to protect you.”

“You never bothered to ask me what I thought, you just shut me in that tomb, expecting me to follow your plan blindly. Shutting me off from everything I cared about. Maybe I was naive, all I wanted was us to be a family again. Maybe we don’t deserve that. But we have to stop him, before he goes too far. To do that, we need the Elder Scroll.”

“I’m ... I’m sorry, Serana. I didn’t realize ... I didn’t see. I’ve allowed my hatred for your father to estrange us for too long. Forgive me. If you want the Elder Scroll, it’s yours.” She turned back to me. “Your intentions are still somewhat unclear to me. But for Serana’s sake, I’ll assist you in any way that I can.”

“Do you have the Elder Scroll with you?”

“Yes. I’ve kept it safely secured here ever since I was imprisoned. Fortunately, you’re in a position to breech the barrier that surrounds these ruins.”

“Okay, what do we need to do?”

“You need to locate the tallest of the rocky spires that surround these ruins. At their bases, the barriers energy is being drawn from unfortunate souls that have exiled here. Destroy the Keepers that are tending them, and it should bring the barrier down.”

“Very well. We’ll return soon.”

“One more word of warning. There’s a dragon that calls itself Durnehviir roaming the Cairn. Be wary. The Ideal Masters have charged him with overseeing the Keepers, and he will undoubtedly intervene if you’re perceived as a threat.”

“And I’m worried about a Cursed with Undeath dragon why?”

Valerica looked shocked at that comment. “He’s an incredibly ancient and powerful dragon that somehow made a deal with the Ideal Masters that backfired on him.”

“Yes, well, he can’t be tougher than Alduin. And while people call me Dragonborn, that’s a poor translation of Dovahkiin. It really means born hunter of dragons. I’ve no doubt the Ideal Masters would love to have me here, considering how many dragon souls I’ve absorbed. But enough talk. Let’s go kill some Keepers.”

I summoned Arvak again, so Serana and I could ride to these locations Valerica mentioned. Several times we ran into bonemen, but quickly killed them. At the first tower we approached, there were a series of souls sitting around it. I could see the power being pulled from the souls upwards into the tower. Several mistmen were patrolling the area around the tower.