The Stormcloak King - A Rise of the Dark Lords Tale

Chapter 12 - Walls of Flame

THE DRAGONBORN RAN OUT THE DOORS OF DRAGONSREACH WITH BRIANNA AND JON IN PURSUIT. The sky seemed to be in some sort of eclipse for a darkness covered Whiterun. When he looked to the sky, the size of the dragon took his breath away for the drake blotted out the sun. Daenerys's description of Ancalagon's size did not do justice. Not even Alduin was large and he was massive when the Dragonborn struck him down in Sovngarde, but nowhere near the size of Ancalagon. Even though the dragon was miles from Whiterun, it would be a matter of minutes before the legendary foe of the Valar was over the city. Jon and Brianna joined him and the Dovahkiin heard Jon curse under his breath. As the fire drake of Morgoth approached, Daenerys joined her husband, her hand gripping her sword slung across her back ready to fight, but her eyes caught sight of their son Talion. He was running toward his father carrying Dragonbane, but the sword was slowing the five-year old down. Daenerys cried out in terror seeing the danger her boy was in fearing she would lose another child.

Jon ran forward and watched as several of Whiterun's guard's opened fire, loosing volley after volley of arrows at the massive dragon - each arrow harmlessly bouncing off the drake's black hide. Jon watched in horror as Ancalagon's neck glowed and the dragon spewed fire that reduced the archers to ash. The Night Watch commander had seen victims of dragon breath before, but never had he seen a body turned to ash before. Daenerys had mentioned that Ancalagon's fire breath was hot enough to melt the Great Rings forged by the Elf Lord Celegrimbor. Not even Drogon who had melted the Iron Throne had this kind of power. Jon reached Talion, scooped him up and brought him back to Daenerys and the Dragonborn. The young boy tossed his father Dragonbane and the Dragonborn drew the ancient weapon.

Ancalagon turned over the city and roared and loosed another long stream of fire, this time targeting Dragonsreach reducing the keep to a pile of smoldering timber and ash. The Dragonborn knew that unless that the occupants of Dragonsreach hid in the dungeon, there would no chance of survivors. He had enough of this drake - enough had already died. As the dragon turned to make another pass, the Dovahkiin unleashed the Dragonrend Shout striking the ancient enemy of the Valar. The Dragon screamed and crashed into the rubble that was once Dragonsreach. As the Dovahkiin approached the stricken dragon, the drake looked at him – it's red eyes full of fury, rage and hate.

"What did you do to me Dovahkiin" it snarled, raising itself to its full height.

"That was Dragonrend. A Shout created to give a dragon a taste of mortality. I used it against Alduin. How does it feel knowing that you can die" the Dragonborn taunted Ancalagon.

"Alduin was weak. Smaug was weak. Glaurung was weak. No other dragon wields the power I do" Ancalagon replied "and you, demigod, are nothing more than a shadow of the creations of Eru Iluvatar and Akatosh" he finished spewing fire and taking off. Brianna unleashed a torrent of lightning and the light of the Eldar at the dragon to little effect. The drake took notice of her and looked at the battle mage.

"Ah, I thought I smelled the blood of a Maiar. Like your ancestors, you will burn in the fire. Unfortunate that you will not join my master Melkor and his lieutenants . . ."

"FUS RO DAH"

The Shout struck the dragon and sent it spinning out of the sky, crashing into the walls of the city. The Dovahkiin rushed forward, but was struck by Ancalagon's wing rendering him unconscious. Brianna struck the dragon with volley after volley of lightning that encompassed the dragon. Jon attacked with Longclaw and Daenerys struck with her weapon of Gondorian make. Unfortunately, this did nothing more than anger the massive beast as the dragon once again vomited fire severely burning Kellian who joined the battle. Seeing her brother's disfigured face, anger surged in Brianna who intensified the lightning, but the dragon's hide suffered little damage.

"Your magic is powerful half-blood, but you are no Valar or Istari" Ancalagon mocked. "Your abilities are insignificant young one. Perhaps if you had a teacher such as Melkor you could tap into your true potential. I sense you carry the Silmaril. Give it to Ulfric and maybe you could taste that power."

"Take the Silmaril then" Brianna said tossing the brilliant stone at the dragon and then summoning the most powerful volley of lightning targeting the lost stone of Feanor and heirloom to Beleriand. The resulting explosion released an energy wave caused such pain to the dragon that the massive dragon flew away. The Dragonborn slowly came to and surveyed the damage to Whiterun. The surrounding area was littered with dead, dying and wounded and most buildings had been destroyed. The Dragonborn tended to his wounded son and used his restoration magic to heal his wounds, yet the left half of his face would remain scarred for life. Arya, Brianna Bran and Jon began checking the ruins of Dragonsreach for survivors – hoping to find some, but knowing they wouldn't. Talion found his father still tending to Kellian.

"Will he be alright father" Talion asked.

"He will wear the wounds of this battle for the rest of his life, but your brother will live" the Dragonborn answered.

"What dragon was that" Talion wanted to know. "That was bigger than any dragon of Tamriel."

"That was a drake of the First Age of Arda. That was Ancalagon the Black. A fire drake of Morgoth" the Dragonborn told his young son.

"Who is Morgoth? Where is Arda" Talion wanted to know.

"All in time. Where is your mother Talion?"

"She's helping Arya, Bran, Brianna and Jon up at Dragonsreach" Talion told his father.

As the sun set over the burning hold, the Dovahkiin wondered how he or his son could defeat a dragon of Ancalagon's size and power. The dragon had his vulnerabilities, but they were few and the Dovahkiin didn't believe that conventional weapons would be enough to defeat a dragon of Ancalagon's stature. He would have to craft something new and even more dangerous in order to overthrow the drake. The Dragonborn found his wife lifting the body of a badly burned child out the rubble. It was the young jarl's only son and the Dragonborn used his skills to heal him. Unfortunately, like Kellian, the jarl's son would bear the scars for the rest of his days.

"Is he the only survivor Dany?"

"Sadly yes. Everyone else perished in Dragonsreach. How is Kellian?"

"He will live, but his face is badly scarred. He will wear those scars until his death"

"Brianna destroyed the Silmaril" Daenerys asked.

"Yes. It was the only thing that affected the dragon."

"Ulfric will be angry and will want to retaliate" she warned.

"I know. I'm counting on it."

ANCALAGON RETURNED TO SKULDAFN AND FOUND ULFRIC STANDING THERE WITH HIS ARMS CROSSED, EYES YELLOW IN ANGER. The dragon knew that the Dark Lord had sensed the Silmaril's destruction and was not pleased. When Ulfric pressed the dragon for the stone's loss, the fallen jarl was surprised to learn the Brianna was of the Maiar bloodline.

"This could work to our advantage. If we can turn her then we could have another powerful battle mage on our side" Ulfric mused.

"My Lord, perhaps the Night King would be better suited to turning her."

"Nay Ancalagon. I suspect that he will betray me soon. Is there any possible way that a trace of the Silmaril survived?"

"I'm sorry my Lord, but the girl struck it solidly with lightning greater than any storm."

"Pity, then we will just have to find a way to get it back with an Elder Scroll. Somewhere in Dagon's Palace is the instructions on how to construct one" Ulfric's eyes flared "and with the secret of the Elder Scroll we can recover the destroyed Elder Scroll."

"The Dovahkiin used a power against me I am unfamiliar with. I felt mortality for the first time" Ancalagon complained.

"Ah. You experienced Dragonrend. Unfortunate this is for the Dragonborn is the only one who can truly slay you. Be careful the next time you face him for I fear it will be on a battlefield of his choosing."

The great dragon wondered at how powerful the Dovahkiin truly was and feared the next encounter.  But he was a fire drake of Morgoth and the doubt that entered his mind fled.  The next time they met, Ancalagon was determined to end the Dovahkiin and his progeny.