King-Fall

XVIII. The Black Elder Scroll

I never thought I'd be following a dragon down a hall that I didn't shout Bend Will at. Something in me, perhaps my Dragonblood, told me that the Dremora from earlier was dead, and that something about this dragon caused him to be immune to the Bend Will shout. What was that prophetic knowledge that Akatosh was looking to get? What was so important? And I'm positive that this dragon won't tell us.

"So..." I asked as we passed Seekers, Lurkers, and Dremora who glared holes into us, "are you working with your father?"

"Talion," Serana warned as the beasts followed us like undead.

This dragon's watery laugh made me shiver and I don't know why, he answered, "I'm helping you learn how to defeat my father... so I can take his place."

"How thoughtful of you." I deadpanned, not buying a septim of it.

"Now when you get the knowledge you seek, I will reopen the Lift of Secrets and that will take you to the Field of Enigmas, the roof and throne area of Hermaeus Mora."

The hall expanded with a whirlpool of shifting pages until we saw the scroll. It hovered next to two balls of Daedric fire, the green flames reflecting off the Kel's golden handles and it's black parchment. I stepped towards it first and stopped.

Taking a world-weary sigh I asked, "It won't swallow me like the Black Book?"

"I am not certain."

"Lovely," I groaned bitterly and I stepped around the two balls of flames and faced Serana and all the beasts that watched in silence. Grabbing the paper, it hummed with power. Gripping it in my fists I pulled it open and light seemed to explode into my eyes and overload my senses. Blurs and waves, waves that were blurred of images, words, letters, and numbers passed over the finite power of my mind. I tried to concentrate on what I needed and the scroll led me, led me to words-

Words of Power.

Then auras of visible knowledge, like when the Greybeards and Paarthurnax taught me shouts, emanated from the Kel. Now I know... I closed the scroll and let go, no longer feeling helpless. I know what to do. Altraius Morax saw this and hissed in glee, "Yes, yes!" He looked to his right and a hall appeared that led to the Lift of Secrets, that light from earlier.

"You are less than two minutes from your goal." Altraius uttered, "Prepare now."

Popping my neck I then shouted armor, power, and a dragon throat onto me with the words:

"Mul-Qah-Diiv."

Thirty seconds later my throat calmed and then I added:

"Ven-Mul-Riik!"

Thunder cracked and the clouds outside turned red, bathing the room in crimson light. Even the Daedric fire on torches dimmed. I hopped down the steps that led to the scroll and stopped when Serana passed me.

"Serana-"

"I know, I'll be there in three to five minutes."

I looked at her, my friend, no, friend isn't even compared to what she has done for me.

"Guys! Can you hear me?!" Neloth burst out of nowhere.

"Yes," I bit out.

"I'm sorry to say this right before the climatic duel... but the Queen is not doing well."

That hung in the air for a moment and I didn't listen to Neloth ramble about telling us sooner.

"She's frozen right now and-" He yelled at someone behind him, "hey! I didn't say Babette and her grandpa could come in-!"

With a scruffy sound Neloth went silent. Perhaps the powers that be are interfering with his spell. I looked at Serana again,

"Serana," my voice cracked, "you have followed me into the depths of Oblivion to face the Daedric Prince of Fate and Secrets. Thank you."

With tears she smiled, "You're welcome."

I could tell the untold secret was bothering her, but I was certain she wasn't going to tell me. So, I took a deep breath and walked into the pillar of light. Popping my knuckles before reaching the top I was placed in an open area. In the center was a throne with arcs of books like wings attached to it. A moat of water surrounded it, and then twelve pools surrounded that.

"Ahh," the Snake's voice said in his ever sleepy, deep and wet way, "my forsaken and disgraced champion, hello."

Seekers, in all their hideous glory rose from the twelve pools and made weaker clones of themselves. Then from the moat two dozen Dremora and three Lurkers did rise to face me. I stood in the power of my Dragon Aspect and taunted in a low monotonous voice,

"You think this can stop me?" I screamed the words the Greybeards used, my shout copying my Aspect, and armor and weapon effects: "Fiik-Lo-Sah!"

Six spectral versions of me formed a line of men from thin air. The boost from the Dragon Aspect caused the copies to possess all that I had with their abilities. Though easier to take down: Boethiah's ebony mail, the dawnbreakers, Dimitri's Dragonhide spell from earlier and even the auras and defenses from the Dragon Aspect shout passed onto my clones. They all drew their Bloodskal blades. If the skalls feared the Widowmaker then, they should see this now. The pairs of threes at my sides began slashing arcs of red light at the enemy and with how wide the six arcs per second were most of the force was decimated before it even got to me.

As if in response, even more began to come and my little group hadn't moved a step. I didn't even help, making a defiant and taunting display of my power to my old master. I just watched in cold observation. Eighteen more Seekers who doubled themselves, three more Lurkers and maybe fifty Dremora.

That's, I bobbed my head, a BIT more like it. The red haze from my shout earlier found its way onto the field and began weakening the enemy. My battle-line held but they were significantly closer.

The next wave I couldn't even count accurately. Hermaeus Mora even called upon the ghosts of wayward adventures, I smirked, "Good."

I pulled out my Dawnbreakers and my clones did as well before we leapt into the fray. The grey mist and Boethiah's shadow concealed us, the poison boosted by the seven of us caused some enemies to simply fall at our feet. Dawnbreakers exploded continuously and beast-blood, ash and dust washed onto me.

I heard the sound of a Ancient Dragonborn being summoned behind me and the ground under my feet started becoming a hill of Dremora. I smiled, the alternate versions of me could summon their own assistant at low health. The blasts and batter began to toll on me from the many seeker and Lurkers and I threw the last few of my enemies into the air, swirling around us:

"Ven-Gaar-Nos!"

The demons screamed as I and my clones finished them off with chain-lightning. In the end I stood atop a hill of remains from all my foes, huffing and casting a fast-heal spell to gain a second wind. I screamed, "Face me! I can kill you now fiend! Just give me my son, and I will leave in peace!"

The voice laughed, "You know this is the price of the knowledge I gave you. You wouldn't have been able to put on this underwhelming display of stolen power without me. It's high time you gave back to your master."

"Face me!"

A voice called from behind me, beyond the moat, "Turn around."

I turned and grew cold at what I saw.

No...