Rise of the Dragonborn

Chapter Two- Isran

The solid borders swung open and revealed a brightly lit circular hall with a strange figure standing defensively in the centre. We stepped forward, one stance closer to being in the Dawnguard. Isran, the leader, seemed to be arguing with someone. The man, Tolan, I took this to be his name from the conversation. Maybe this man was another like us; wanting to join? No, this argument was about the attacks... and the Vigil of Stendarr. "Isran, Carcette is dead. The Hall of Vigilants... everyone... they're all dead. You were right, we were wrong. Isn't that enough for you?" Tolan said. He must be a Vigilant. Isran replied "Yes, well... I never wanted any of this to happen. I tried to warn all of you... I am sorry, you know." At that point Isran walked over to us, he looked suspicious of us, eyeing all of us "So who are you? What do you want?" He said. "I'm here to join the Dawnguard" I said, with a sudden bad feeling in the pit of my stomach; what if he didn't want me? "Got a fire in your belly to kill vampires, eh? Good for you. But look around - there's really not much to join yet. I've only just started rebuilding the order." He gestured to the grand but empty fortress that engulfed us. He was right, the magnificent order and its home I had once heard stories about had crumbled to dust, maybe it had been a mistake to go there, to join a cause that was tinkering on the edge of despair; no, this was my chance to save my people, my family and salvage a little peace for myself.

Everything I had already achieved since returning to Skyrim had haunted me, the ghosts of those whose lives I tore from them, the loved ones I had already lost, they haunted my every move. I had decided to step back from the limelight, try to find peace and serenity with my family; the vampires were now the only things stopping me. They haunted me the most after that attack; every time I slept I could see the blooded eyes of those vampires tormenting my home, only the golden-eyed vampire didn't haunt me. Rather he intrigued me; he was not, or didn't seem blood thirsty like his brothers but instead looked haunted himself, I recognised this as a mirror image of my own demons. My mission was now to stop the vampires with the Dawnguard, and locate the golden one. I needed to know more about him.

"What can I do to help?" I asked, stepping towards Isran. He seemed surprised I offered, I still do not understand why; maybe because others before me had abandoned their wish to join after seeing the state of the order. After a moment, Isran answered, "I need someone out in the field, taking the fight to the damn vampires, while we're getting the fort back into shape," His hatred of the creatures made me wonder what awful experience had spurred him to hunt them down in the beginning, perhaps he had lost someone to them. "Tolan was telling me about some cave the Vigilants were poking around in. Seemed to think it was related to these recent vampire attacks. Tolan, tell her about, what was it, Dimhollow?" He turned reluctantly to the Vigilant of Stendarr stood at the edge of the room, "Yes, that's it, Dimhollow Crypt. Brother Adalvald was sure it held some long lost vampire artefact of some kind," Tolan paused for a moment, "We didn't listen to him any more than we did Isran... He was at the Hall when it was attacked..." He looked as if he were in physical pain, the deaths of his fellow Vigilants must have had a big impact on him and his faith. Isran saw this pain and turned back to address me "That's good enough for me. Go see what the vampires were looking for in this Dimhollow Crypt. With any luck, they'll still be there."

Isran's eyes brightened as he finished that sentence, as if he had seen one of the Divines. He walked to a barrel at the edge of the room and picked up a weapon I had never seen nor used before in all my days, "Here, you should take a crossbow. Good for taking out those fiends before they get close." I laughed, which didn't go down very well. I don't need a crossbow, I have magic for Gods' sake, the most powerful weapon I would ever need, I had thought to myself. His brow had furrowed and he began to walk away, "Feel free to poke around the fort and take what you need. There isn't much yet, but you're welcome to anything you can use." I smiled at the idea of having free roam of such a vast fortress. I would be taking up this invitation.