World Eater

Ch.) 8: Mortality

Alduin flew high above the fields of soverngarde, beating his wings against the misty air, willing the condensed vapor to coalesce into a heavy fog that covered the valley floors between the mountains- where the Dovahkiin would be, making her way toward him to meet her fate. He could feel her soul coming ever closer, and his excitement rose- anticipation of his glorious victory welling up in his very being. Soon, he would defeat her- and put an end to her disgusting blood line forever. Then, nothing would stop him from finally fulfilling his role as the destroyer, devour master- ruler of nirn.

"Lok vah koor!" Her shout reverberated off the mountaintops, and the mists began to receed. Alduin took in a deep, lungful of air.

"Ven mul riik." He said, his voice carrying like a rumble on the wind as it pushed the mist back. He waited.

" Lok vah koor! " to his annoyance, she persisted- aided by the voices of several other mortal souls. The mists pulled back again, and he peered down to watch them sprint down the serpentine pathway.

'come to me Dovahkiin, I will feast upon your soul, and avenge the Dovah you have slain...' His rage- burning low like molten lava beneath his solid exterior- edged him forward, gliding on the soft currents in the atmosphere to the clearing before the bone bridge, where the mortals were preparing for battle.

As he circled overhead- arrows wizzing by his head and glancing off his hard ebony scales- he saw her; the Dovahkiin. She stood in the center of the clearing, her eyes- the same bright mossy real green shot with gold as the rest of her incarnations over the millennia- reflecting the burning rainbows of the aurora sky above as she met his gaze, unflinching. As he watched, she quickly reached back into her quiver, hair whipping violently in a wild halo of silver as she quickly knocked an arrow, raising her bow.

Her aim followed him as he circled once more, then beat his wings hard to pull himself to a stop just above her- He would roast her where she stood! She let the arrow fly, and like the others it whizzed right by. Alduin laughed- a sound like rolling thunder on the hills- despite himself, and prepared to unleash a torrent of white hot retribution.

"Joor zah frul!" The force of the shout hit him hard- it felt as if the wind had been knocked from his lungs. Panic gripped him as he was suddenly forced downward, and he landed heavily, the ground shaking beneath him.

'what?' He thought with alarm- Had that infuriating bastardized use of the Dragon tongue, come from her!? He had heard the thu'um once before, moments before he had been sucked into the time break and sent through the rifts of existence, to where he emerged into this world- only to discover that his race had been completely decimated for thousands of mortal years- and his Dragon cult as well. It had been as if all his work-all his ambition- had been wiped from the surface of nirn in a matter of moments.

Alduin tried to get a grip on his witts- but couldn't get it together fast enough to catch the Dovahkiin as she sprinted forward and launched herself into the air. Her feet made brief contact with his snout as she landed on him, leaping quickly onto his spines. He heard the metallic hiss of her blade as she unsheathed it mid air, and felt the sharp pain as it plunged into his shoulder blade, finding bone.

He shook violently- nearly throwing her off- but she clung persistently to his spine, yanking her blade out of his flesh and with one arm, stabbing it through the soft under side of his neck, right below his jawbone. Spots erupted before his eyes and blurred his vision, and a metallic taste- blood, he realized with a start- welled up in his mouth.

'what is happening?' He thought desperately, unable to comprehend the idea of losing- he had never even considered the prospect of death. He...He was immortal!