Emmet was panting harshly by the time he made it to the peak. He hadn't been expecting to run into any hostile creatures that far up, but he'd managed to annoy several ice wraiths on his way up, and between running from them and having to Shout the path clear numerous times and the sheer altitude, he was pretty dizzy by the time he got to the top, and gratefully collapsed into the snow, taking a few minutes just to be still and breathe.
His breath caught in his throat when he heard a swooshing sound that by now had become familiar, and was absolutely petrified in terror. Oh please don't let it see me, please don't let it see me, PLEASE don't let it see me... he begged to any deity that was listening, but his prayers went unanswered when he felt as much as heard it land a short distance to his side. It chuckled, soft and not unkind. Emmet forced one eye open and turned to peek at it. It was just... sitting there, watching him.
It was enormous, and it looked ancient. Its scales were faded, horns and spikes broken and chipped, eyes cloudy, several teeth missing. And it seemed to be smiling at him. "Drem Yol Lok. Greetings, wunduniik. I am Paarthurnax." Emmet finally shoved himself out of the snow, sitting up and facing the dragon. His voice was very warm and friendly, Emmet noted, very unlike every other dragon he'd encountered so far. He relaxed. "Who are you? What brings you to my strunmah- my mountain?"
"You're the master of the Greybeards?"
"They see me as master. Wuth. Onik. Old and wise. It is true I am old..."
Emmet grinned. "But not wise?" he teased, and Paarthurnax chuckled again. "I wasn't expecting you to be a dragon."
"I am as my father Akatosh made me. As are you, Dovahkiin."
"So you already know who I am."
"Yes. Vahzah. You speak true, Dovahkiin. Forgive me. It has been long since I held tinvaak with a stranger. I gave in to the temptation to prolong our speech."
"Why do you live up here all alone if you like conversation?"
"Evenaar Bahlok. There are many hungers it is better to deny than to feed. Dreh ni nahkip. Discipline against the lesser aids in qahnaar... denial of the greater. Tell me. Why do you come here, volaan? Why do you intrude on my meditation?"
Emmet finally pushed himself to his feet, meeting Paarthurnax's gaze. "I need to learn the Dragonrend Shout. Can you teach it to me?"
"Drem. Patience. There are formalities which must be observed, at the first meeting of two of the dov."
"Formalities?"
"By long tradition, the elder speaks first. Hear my Thu'um! Feel it in your bones! Match it, if you truly are Dovahkiin! Yol Toor Shul!"
Emmet gasped as the flames engulfed him, but he felt no pain, only warmth. It lingered, bringing feeling back to his fingers and toes that he hadn't even realized he'd lost. Paarthurnax gave him a smug grin, obviously pleased with his mastery. Emmet was certainly impressed.
"A gift, Dovahkiin. Yol. Understand Fire as the dov do." Emmet nodded, and gasped as the dragon granted his understanding of the Word. It was very different from the Greybeard's understanding, and even more different to be given it rather than taking it by force through absorbing a dragon's soul.
"I think I prefer learning new Words this way," he admitted, earning an amused rumble.
"Now, show me what you can do. Greet me not as mortal, but as dovah!"
"Yol," Emmet said, and startled as flames erupted from his mouth. Paarthurnax closed his eyes, shivering ever so slightly as Emmet's Voice washed over him.
"Sossedov los mul," he murmured. "The Dragonblood runs strong in you." He opened his eyes again, staring intently at Emmet. "And yet, it is of a very different strength than I am used to..."
"What?"
"Tell me, Dovahkiin. Why do you wish to learn this Thu'um?"
Emmet tried not to fidget. "Arngeir warned me of how it came about, and what it... really means to learn a Shout. I'm still not sure I'm really okay with making such a thing a part of myself, but people are hurting and scared because of Alduin. A lot of people. And I can't... just... sit by and do nothing..."
"Many judge strength through violence. Dov, joorre... In this, we are alike. But I sense your strength comes from your compassion, Dovahkiin. Were you anyone other than yourself, I would not grant your request."
"So- you'll teach it to me?"
"I do not know the Thu'um you seek. Krosis. It cannot be known to me. Your kind- joorre- mortals- created it as a weapon against the dov. Our hadrimme, our minds, cannot even... comprehend its concepts. But you have indulged my weakness for speech long enough. Krosis- apologies. Do you know why I live here, at the peak of the Monahven- what you name the Throat of the World?"
"I never really thought about it," Emmet admitted.
"This is the most sacred mountain in Skyrim. Zok revak strunmah. The great mountain of the world. Here the ancient Tongues, the first mortal masters of the Voice, brought Alduin to battle and defeated him."
"Using the Dragonrend shout?"
"Yes and no. Viik nuz ni kron. Alduin was not truly defeated, either. If he was, you would not be here today, seeking to... defeat him. The Nords of those days used the Dragonrend Shout to cripple Alduin. But this was not enough. Ok mulaag unslaad. It was the Kel – the Elder Scroll. They used it to... cast him adrift on the currents of Time."
Emmet pondered that for a while. "So they sent him forward in time?"
"Not intentionally. Some hoped he would be gone forever, forever lost. Meyye. I knew better. Tiid bo amativ. Time flows ever onward. One day he would surface. Which is why I have lived here. For thousands of mortal years I have waited. I knew where he would emerge but not when."
"So how does this help me?"
"Drem," the old dragon chuckled. "Tiid krent. Time was... shattered here because of what the ancient Nords did to Alduin. If you brought that Kel, that Elder Scroll back here... to the Tiid-Ahraan, the Time-Wound... With the Elder Scroll that was used to break Time, you may be able to... cast yourself back. To the other end of the break. You could learn Dragonrend from those who created it."
Emmet stood quietly as that sank in. "And that's the only way to learn it? It seems... I dunno, dangerous."
"It is the only way."
"Then I guess I'm off to find the Elder Scroll," Emmet said, and bade Paarthurnax farewell before descending back to High Hrothgar.
It didn't occur to him until he reached the base of the mountain that he had no idea what an Elder Scroll was.
YOU ARE READING
Murphy's Law
Fanfiction[Skyrim Crossover] As if Skyrim wasn't already hectic enough, with its inhabitants fighting both the Aldmeri Dominion and the Empire. Now there's dragons, too, and Emmet finds himself unwittingly roped into the whole mess. What else could go wrong?
