The Story Of Iriisii Dovahkiin Book One Chapter Thirteen

 The Story Of Iriisii Dovahkiin Book One Chapter Thirteen

                                                              Chapter Thirteen

     Sitting and eating hot stew makes both of them feel better. They watch the sun set, then the stars begin coming out, finally Masser makes his way above the horizon, Secundas still hidden below that line. Masser's light is bright enough to bring the night moths flying about.

     Rigmor: "Tell me about a happy memory you had."

     Iriisii in a sad tone, "I know I had them, but I cannot seem to find any. Sometimes I think I may have found one only for it to not be there. I am sorry."

     Rigmor stops and thinks of something she saw a stage magician do when she was just a child and has remembered it ever since.

     Rigmor: "Would you do something for me?"

     Iriisii: "What do you want me to do?"

     Rigmor: "Just close your eyes to start with."

     Iriisii closes her eyes, "ok, what is next?"

     Rigmor: "Now just relax, let your thoughts go wherever they want, do not try to force them anywhere. Just listen to my voice."

     Iriisii does as Rigmor asks, letting go even of her wondering of what Rigmor intended. As she just lets everything around her go about its own path, she feels her arms raise up and out, and the gentlest of touches on her hands and arms. Rigmor is watching stunned as night moths come from all over to land on Iriisii's hands and arms. They show no fear, all just slowly walking around, carefully drinking of the sweat on her arms from the heat of the brazier.

     Rigmor: "Let your mind drift back inside your memories, back and further back. What do you see?"

     Iriisii: "I see a young girl chasing torchbugs, putting them in cages woven of grass, their lights shining like a lantern."

     Rigmor smiles, even as she realizes Iriisii is seeing this in the third person. This she remembers means Iriisii is experiencing echoes of her memories, not the actual memories themselves. She remembers something a voice whispered to her, about how Iriisii bartered her early memories for escape from the 'Sinister Seven'. She wonders if perhaps some of those memories might still exist in the dreamlands, somewhere within a corner, away from the main paths.

     Rigmor: "Can you see another happy time?"

     Iriisii: "I see this same young girl, just walking good. She hurries to an old man sitting in a handmade chair. He reaches and puts her onto one of his knees. Now he is bouncing her up and down on that knee, while she laughs. I can see the smile on his face as she bounces, holding onto his hands. He is speaking to her about how he sometimes sees visions about her, but he says he will tell her what he sees when she is older. Soon though he will begin teaching her all that he knows, so that she will become the best that she can be in whatever she wants to do. She just said, 'I love you, Grandfather'."

     Iriisii's voice catches as those words pass her lips. Then a small shadow walks across the balustrade, carefully batting at the night moths flying just out of his reach. Rigmor wonders how did a cat get all the way up here. The cat walks close to Iriisii and begins a rumbling purr, rubbing his face against her hands. She hears Iriisii whisper something.

     Iriisii: "Welcome, friend of Ulthar, share the light and warmth with us."

     Rigmor is astonished, watching Iriisii take a few pieces of venison from the stew and feed the cat, all while her eyes are closed and her mind still buried in the echoes of her memories. Then she remembers something. She is not sure where she heard it but Ulthar is in the dreamlands, a city with cats everywhere, where the people revere them, leaving out saucers of milk and cream for them. She takes a chance and softly tells the cat, "Friend if you would, guide her to dreams of her early memories of happy times. She has had to live without them in order to escape from those who held her slave. She has echoes of them still, but they are not the same."

     The cat looks up at Rigmor as if he could understand her and is contemplating what she has asked of him. Then he turns and rubs against Iriisii as her fingers scratch behind his ears and then move under his chin. He gives out a meeooar and jumps down onto the balcony, rubbing along her ankles, Iriisii kneels down and makes herself comfortable on the warm balcony. The cat curls up against her belly, his bones gently rattling. Iriisii falls deeply asleep, and places a hand across the cat. He yawns and settles down to sleep with Iriisii. Rigmor makes her way to the door and quietly opens it. The cat gives one last sleepy meeoow before settling down. Rigor says a quiet 'thank you' before going on in and settling down to sleep herself.

     The next morning, Rigmor wakes to the smell of breakfast cooking. She smells eggs, bacon, and some kind of biscuits.

     Rigmor: "How did you put all of this together?"

     Iriisii: "There was a Pine Thrush nest outside with a half dozen eggs in it. I had the bacon in my knapsack, so I cooked some up, used the drippings and some butter to cook some eggs. I then used some flour from my knapsack, added a couple of eggs, some butter, and mixed a small bit of cream with water and put that in as well."

     Rigmor: "But how can you cook biscuits without an oven?"

     Iriisii: "Easy, take two dwemer pans, cover one with the other, and you have a small oven. Wait the biscuits are nearly ready, time to finish them."

     She takes the top pan off and using a dagger, carefully slices each biscuit. Then she puts butter and a small slab of Bruma cheese in each biscuit before covering it back up.

     Iriisii: "Now for the last step."

     She opens two bottles of ale and pours them into a couple of dwemer cups that she had found and cleaned. Taking a metal rod from the brazier she dunks it into each cup.

     Iriisii: "There now, breakfast is served."

     While trying to speak around a mouthful of cheese biscuit, she asks Iriisii about how she slept last night.

     Iriisii: "I have not slept better in quite some time. I had the most wonderful dreams. I dreamt of my mother and father. We were just walking about a high meadow with the sunlight, warm and bringing the colors of the wildflowers out. Enjoying the time we were together. We were joined by a group of cats, sprinting and bounding after butterflies. There were some yearlings who came to see what was going on and they played with the cats.

     It seemed so idyllic, we talked about so much but I do not remember what we talked about now. I remember picking some of the wildflowers and braiding them into a chain, then draped them around my mother's neck. She had the biggest smile on her face and tears falling. I asked why she was sad, but she said they were tears of happiness and joy. Father came up and kissed her on the cheek, then he kissed me as well. He told us both how much he loved us. I just wanted things to never stop being, to keep going on forever. But they said it was time for me to go, that I had things to see to. But they reassured me that they would be there for me whenever I needed them. That I could come back to them in my dreams anytime I wanted. The last thing I remember was seeing the sun start sinking behind the mountain peaks, and the last ray of sunlight catching them in its glow. Mother blew me a kiss and father waved his hand to me. Then I woke up out on the balcony, the sun shining, and clouds hanging on to the mountain tops."

     Rigmor sat, stunned at the recitation, thinking to herself, 'I guess that from now on I am going to have to leave out a saucer of cream for any cats that happen to wander by. But to see and hear this from Iriisii, this will make it all worth doing. Maybe I will someday get a chance to go to Ulthar in my dreams, then I will find that old tom and show him how much what he did is worth to me.'

     They walk along the road until they can take the south cut through the mountains toward Falkreath. As they approach the Half Moon Mill they hear a female scream coming from the mill. Before they get much closer they see a figure in black and red running north toward them. Then they hear the female voice call out.

     Hert: "He killed Hern! Stop him, please!"

     Iriisii leads him just a foot or so and lets loose with 'FUS!' The effect is immediate as the assassin slams into a wall of force and gets knocked back about six feet to land hard on his back. Iriisii and Rigmor get to him just before Hert does. As she gets there, the rage is a palpable force in its own right. Iriisii distracts her by asking about what happened.

     Hert: "He shot my Hern with an arrow. I saw him fall and then saw this...this..."

     Iriisii: "Rigmor, make sure he does not move."

     Iriisii then wraps an arm around Hert and asks her if she is certain Hert is dead.

     Hert: "Of course he is dead, I saw him fall to the ground!"

     Iriisii: "I know but sometimes an arrow is not immediate death, sometimes it takes a little more time. If this is the case there might still be time."

     Hert: "Then we must hurry, if there is a chance."

     Iriisii: "Go, I will catch up."

     As Hert turns to run to her husband. Iriisii quickly hog-ties the assassin such that he cannot get loose without strangling himself, then she turns and "Wuld Nah Kest". In an instant she has made up a hundred feet, once more and she reaches Hert. They both reach Hern and Iriisii drops down next to his lifeless body.

     Hert: "Is he?"

     Iriisii: "Do what I say, when I say, and we have a chance to pull him back. But there is no time to waste, grab the arrow and when I say, quickly pull it out straight the way it went in."

     Hert places herself to do as Iriisii has asked. Iriisii takes her dagger and makes a small cut down the pad of her index finger. The blood starts running down the inside of her finger. When it reaches the base of her finger she tells Hert to pull the arrow. Almost Hert hesitates as she smells the power in Iriisii's Dragonblood, but she forces herself to ignore it and pulls the arrow out. Iriisii immediately shoves the bloody finger in the arrow wound, twisting it around to spread her blood thoroughly inside. While doing this she whispers a necromantic spell that she once found in a dusty, largely unread tome in the back of the Blade Dancer Temple library. As she feels the wound begin closing, she pulls her finger out. Hert gasps as she sees the wound vanish as Iriisii completely removes her finger. Then she puts her hand over his heart and chants the second part of the spell. It is then that her voice grows hoarse, a pale vapor exudes from her mouth and pours itself into Hern's mouth. Suddenly his back arches, and his eyes open.

     Hert: "Hern, have you come back to me?"

     Hern takes a moment to gather himself and looks at Hert.

     Hern whispers, "Hert? Is that you? How? What happened?"

     Hert crying, "I thought I had lost you!"

     Hern looks over to Iriisii.

     Hern: "I am sorry, I do not know you."

     Hert: "She saved your life, brought you back to me."

     Hern: "Then I thank you, for what you did. But how did you know? Very few know how to do what you did. Are you a necromancer?"

     Iriisii: "No, I am not, although I am learned in some of the spells, I am not a practitioner. I do not draw a distinction between dark and light. I treat both equally for both have a place in the Grand Tapestry of Fate. I do draw the line between absolute good and absolute evil, either of those roads will cause the death or destruction of all life within the Realms. It is only in between them that all life thrives and grows."

     Hern: "You are a priestess of some sort?"

     Iriisii: "A warrior priestess would be closer to the mark, I am from the Temple of the Ancient Order of the Blade Dancers."

     Hern sighs: "I know of them, but have never met one before."

     Hert: "Who are they, my love?"

     Hern: "No enemy of ours, one of the very, very few that would work to save one of us as this one has, when any other would leave us to our fate. I thank you...?"

     Iriisii: "Iriisii Starborn, Dovahkiin of Akatosh."

     Hern smiles at her words," ah, not only a warrior priestess then."

     Iriisii smiles: "Just so. I have had dealings with assassins before, the Dark Brotherhood will trouble you no more. You have my word on this, alas though I have no influence with the Vigilants of Stendarr, and some among the other clans are stirring them up, pushing the boundaries closer to war. If it comes to that, I will have to intervene, but I will do my best to keep their attention away from you. I ask for the assassin's life to convey my words of warning to his Mistress. They will listen if he speaks my warning to them, for they know what will happen to them if they cross me."

     Hert: "No, he almost killed my husband, he is mine!"

     Hern: "Let it go, my love. The Dragonborn speaks the truth. I know what happened beyond Bloodlet Throne. The 'Seven' are no more and the one who by killing them all put the fear of the Gods in both the Dark Brotherhood and the Morag Tong has saved my life. If she says they will not cross her, believe her words, for they carry the weight of eternal judgment."

     Hert: "Very well, husband. For returning you to me when I thought you gone forever. I owe you for that, take him and do what you will, keep them away from us and I will praise your name day and night."

     Iriisii: "You do not have to do that, just be circumspect in your feeding. Watch for other clan members feeding on the Vigilants of Stendarr, that will draw unwanted attention toward you, they are growing bold and nothing good for anyone will come of it."

     Hern: "We thank you for the information, we were not aware they have gone as far as they have. We will be more careful where they are concerned as well as being more circumspect in our own activities."

     Iriisii nods her head, stands and begins walking toward Rigmor and the bound assassin. When she gets to them she stops and stares silently at the assassin.

     Assassin: "Go ahead and kill me, it is what you want to do anyway. I should be thankful you have not given me to them."

     Iriisii: "No, you should not be thankful for that. I will not torture you or string your guts from the tree limbs, or feed your carcass to the slaughterfish. I am going to do something far worse."

     Rigmor stands, watching and listening, for this is a side of Iriisii she has seen only a few times. And she wonders what she has in store for this assassin.

     Assassin: "What could be worse than being given to vampires to drain me?"

     Rigmor hides her surprise very well from her face and listens more intently to Iriisii's words.

     Iriisii: "I am going to let you go."

     Assassin: "What!? No! Kill me now, you know what 'she' will do if I return after having failed in my assignment."

     Iriisii: "I have need of you as a messenger. You will tell Astrid, that Hern and Hert are under my protection, and there will be no further contracts accepted on them from now on. She knows what the price of disobedience will be. She is also to forward this message to the Morag Tong and the Cammona Tong. They will also obey or face my wrath."

     Assassin: "She will string me up by my ...!"

     Iriisii: "That may very well be, but I can and will do far worse. If she kills you, your pain will be over and done with."

     Iriisii kneels down and gently whispers in his ear, so low that Rigmor cannot hear what she says.

     Iriisii: "I am Champion to she who devoured Trinimac and defecated Malacath from his remains. Mephala also fervently watches my actions. If I gave you to either one of these, what do you think they would do to you at my request?"

     The assassin looks at Iriisii with abject horror. Rigmor seeing this wants desperately to know what she said to cause this reaction in him.

     Iriisii: "If you fear Astrid's reaction to you for the message, tell her that these words are from she called 'Darkstar'. And that the messenger of Darkstar is not to be harmed. She will do nothing to you after that, nor will she order anyone else to do anything either. Then what you do after that is up to you. Your best option is to return to Argonia and lose yourself in the marshes among the Hist. They will see you are cared for."

     Iriisii turns to Rigmor as she unties the assassin.

     Rigmor: "You are just letting him go?"

     Iriisii: "He will carry a message to the Dark Brotherhood for me, then he will go 'home' and lose himself in the embrace of the Hist. It is enough for he is but a tool, a tool that is now denied to the one who wished to use said tool. The user will have been warned and there should be no further threats. Astrid knows what would happen to her and hers if she disobeys. And what it would mean for the Dark Brotherhood."

     Rigmor: "What would it mean for them then?"

     Iriisii: "They would cease to exist. Her group is the last that remains, and they still have a purpose to fill in future events. If they should die off, their place will be taken by another, for certain events must take place for the future to unfold as Akatosh has seen and desires. And as his Dovahkiin, it is one of my tasks to see his vision come to fruition. I do not like some of the things I am going to be called to do, but I see what the end goal is and it is one that is worth the price to be paid. From both of us."

     Rigmor: "What do you mean from both of us?"

     Iriisii: "There will be things we will have to endure, things we will have to do, that will turn your stomach, make you cringe in remorse. But there is no other way to bring about his vision of a better Nirn, a Nirn where the wars, depredations, plagues, famines, assassinations, and all other manner of unjust events that have plagued this world for more than a thousand years will no longer happen. How long this will last is not known, nor is what will bring it to an end. But if this is not done, and done soon. The only recourse will be the end of this Kalpa, and the birth of another. And even then the new one could suffer a resurgence of the old Dragon Wars, if certain things are not changed.

     We have the chance to change things for the better, and possibly change Nirn's future as well. But it will lie on our shoulders to bear the burden. Beyond this I do not know what needs to be done and when it must happen. But I know this, as long as I am willing, he will use me to see it done. And I will have a place with the Divines in Aetherius if it is my desire once all is done."

     Rigmor: "Is that what this is all about? You setting yourself up to be the next Divine?"

     Iriisii: "No, it is not. I state one possibility, one out of many others. It will be my choice which I choose. Where it will take me? What will be required of me? What will my recompense be? And who will share in this with me?"

     The last part is what shakes Rigmor to her core. She almost cannot envision what it might mean that Iriisii might go on to become...what? A goddess, something more, something different, and maybe, just maybe not alone. Could she be the one Iriisii is hinting at to walk by her side in all of what may come? Is this something she would even want? That quiet whisper speaks to her once again, 'Now you begin to see what may be for you. And still you only scratch the surface of it, as does Iriisii. For she does not know any more than what she has just told you. Much has been kept from her, and much is still going to be kept from her. For she can only accept and understand her part, a little at a time. Those who hold the knowledge will only tell her what she needs to know as she walks the path. They fear, and rightly so, that if she knows more she will turn and run, then it will all come tumbling down.'

     Rigmor: 'Then what would happen, someone else stands and begins again?'

     Whisper: "No, there is no one else, there is no more time for anyone else. It is either her and any who will help her, or all is destroyed. Even Sithis, the embodiment of chaos and change, would be destroyed, and he is one who stands against her, among others. She offers you the prime place as the first beside her. She will not force you, or cajole you into taking it. It is yours if you want it, but know this, if ever you deny her after taking it. That is the end, she will go her way and leave you behind, no matter how much it would hurt her. So make certain of your decision before you accept or reject, and bind yourself to that decision."

     Rigmor: 'When do I have to decide?'

     Whisper: 'Not for some time yet. She must finish what she came to Skyrim to do. Even as detours are placed in her way, she will return until all her tasks are accomplished. Then she will need an answer for certain. Her path is not certain as to where it will go or what will be required of her. It could last for a few millennia, or it could...'

     Rigmor: "Could what?"

     Whisper: "Last until the very 'end of all days', not just for Nirn, but for all of everything. And if it should hold till then, she will set her mark on eternity.'

     Rigmor: 'What does that mean?'

     Whisper: 'More than you could ever imagine.'

     Rigmor: 'You are really not making much sense.'

     Whisper: 'This is treading in a very esoteric domain, beyond even what those of your people in the early years of your world, when 'wonders' were a common occurrence knew and they sailed ships to places that are not remembered anymore and before they went those places were unreachable.'

     Rigmor: 'Then what you are saying is that some of this that she could do is beyond even you.'

     Whisper: 'Yes, that is true. Yes, she will surpass me. I will feel no regret over that, no jealousy. Instead, I will rejoice that one did it before while it still mattered, that the path forward does not end with her, but goes on as her legacy, until eternity is but a word with no meaning.'

     Rigmor: 'When will you tell me who you are?'

     Whisper: 'When you need to know and not one moment sooner.'

     Rigmor: 'You are really enjoying this 'cloak and dagger' are you not?'

     Whisper: 'Believe or not, but no I am not enjoying this. But I know one day you will understand and on that day, you will agree that it had to be as it was.'

     Rigmor: "Maybe yes I believe, maybe no I do not believe, either way it will be what it will be."

     Whisper: "You begin to understand, this is good. Go with Iriisii to Angie's, the next step begins there."

     Rigmor looks to Iriisii, "Time we were on our way to Angie's. I need sleep, but that will have to wait until we get there."

     Iriisii nods her head in agreement, "Lets go then."

     Hert and Hern stand in the shadow of the roof of the mill, and watch the pair walk on down the road toward Falkreath.

     Hern: "Why did she do it?"

     Hert: "Did what?"

     Hern: "Bring me back."

     Hert: "I really do not know. I heard her mention she serves the 'Great Balance', whatever that means."

     Hern: "It means there just may be hope for us after all."

     Hert: "What do you mean, love?"

     Hern: "While I was dead, actually dead, I saw what lies ahead. If the right timelines are tread, she will bring us all unto salvation. All of us, man, mer, vampire, beast, demon, angel, god, and dragon, we will all live in true peace."

     He wraps an arm around her shoulder and brings her close.

     Hern: "And it will be soon, beginning when she ascends to the Throne of Sundered Kings, as the Spirit of Alessia reaches out her hand and her Empire returns like a phoenix from the ashes. She will free us from Molag Bal and then we will only belong to ourselves. The time will come when she will call and we will answer. We must be ready for that time to come."

     Hert: "Then I promise you, we will be ready."

     A day and a night later, Rigmor and Iriisii walk up the mountain switchback trail that leads to Angie's. Angie, Sorella, and Baa' Ren-Dar are standing around the main campfire as they walk up to greet everyone. Rigmor simply says she is tired and wants sleep. Iriisii tells her to go ahead to bed, anything else can wait till morning. Angie and Sorella satisfied that all is well again, both enter the cabin to go to sleep themselves. Iriisii looks to Baa' Ren-Dar.

     Iriisii: "You knew Tilar Aedriath was the one who had her tortured, didn't you?"

     Baa' Ren-Dar: "You met Tilar Aedriath and brought Rigmor back to this one alive? This one thanks the Gods for their choice of a guardian for her!"

     Iriisii: "You did not answer my question Baa' Ren-Dar."

     Baa' Ren-Dar: "Follow please."

     He turns and walks to Rigmor's tent, where she is already fast asleep. Iriisii enters after Baa' Ren-Dar, sitting in a chair as he sits down on a Khajiit woven mat.

     Baa' Ren-Dar: "This one feared if she knew who he was when the Thalmor sent him to find her..."

     Iriisii sits quiet for a minute or two before answering his unspoken question.

     Iriisii: "You should have told her. She is stronger than you know. If you could not have told her, you should then have told me and let me tell her. Had she known she would have been ready for him, as it was, still she stood up to him and threw the 'Gauntlet' back into his face, along with his taunts and veiled threats. She put aside her pain and her fear, standing before him, sword drawn like a warrior born. She followed my instructions on how to fight those he brought. We were two against more than twenty, and they never stood a chance against us. It will not be that simple or easy again, but we will still beat them again and again, until his broken body lies at our feet. Now you were saying?"

     Baa' Ren-Dar: "You are right, this one should have told her. And when this one could not, this one should have told you to prepare her."

     He looks at Rigmor's sleeping form, dredging up memories of the time just after he rescued her. He tells Iriisii everything that happened, in the hope that she can understand why he did as he did in not telling Rigmor exactly who Tilar was.

     Iriisii: "I understand what drove you to keep silent. I hope you now understand how that could have gone terribly wrong, had it been someone else protecting her other than me. Now tell me why you were here waiting for us to return. I take it events are moving and we are needed elsewhere to prepare the way forward?"

     Baa' Ren-Dar: "I will have to go to Cyrodiil and take these documents to some I know so that the Emperor can prepare for what comes. While this one is gone there is something both you and Rigmor can do." 

     Baa' Ren-Dar carefully and quickly writes out two letters, folds and seals them. He then hands them to Iriisii.

     Baa; Ren-Dar: "If you and Rigmor would take these letters, one to Yngol Stormblade, and the other to Casius Varon. I will send word for them to expect you. It could be very helpful for Rigmor to go with you, both of these men fought with her father in the Great War. Also you will need these Legion uniforms when you go to Casius Varon's camp. The Thalmor have reissued their wanted post for Rigmor and they have privately issued one on you. That one is not being passed around to anyone but other Thalmor. They are also looking at sending assassination groups to hunt you. These groups consist only of Thalmor."

     Iriisii: "No matter, they are amateurs, barely worth consideration."

     Baa' Ren-Dar rises up and starts toward the opening to begin his trek to Cyrodiil.

     Iriisii: "Wait a moment."

     Iriisii rises and steps to Baa' Ren-Dar.

     Iriisii: "I wish for you to know that I like and respect you. You saved Rigmor's life and took care of her at considerable expense. But as I have a role to play in the drama that is Nirn's future, so to does Rigmor. It will take both of us to bring Akatosh's vision to fruition. Do not withhold anything more from either of us, for your sake, the future of Nirn, and the sake of all who live upon it."

     Baa' Ren-Dar: "What has been revealed to you, Dragonborn?"

     Iriisii: "More than you would care to know. Go and see that seer you know in Corinthe. Ask her to look and see what she can tell you of what comes."

     Baa' Ren-Dar: "Are you a seer, Dragonborn?"

     Iriisii sighs, "I cannot deny it is possible. My grandfather had visions and was able to warn of future dangers to our village. He would tell me of visions he had of my future, and help me to understand what he saw. Some of the things I have experienced, he spoke to me about many years ago, when I was but a young child. I sometimes saw the burden those visions placed upon him. I think he foresaw the night our village died, foresaw his own death, and my enslavement. I will do anything I have to, in order to see that the worst of his visions do not come to pass. Remember this as we go onward, and you hear unfortunate stories and rumors about things I have done. Remember that there are far worse things that I likely prevented by what I did."

     Baa' Ren-Dar: "This one will remember Dragonborn."

     Iriisii: "Good, now good night, Baa' Ren-Dar, I need sleep as well as Rigmor."

     As she draws the door cover down to block the wind, Baa'Ren-Dar promises himself to make time to go to Corinthe and see the seer. If he can just figure out the right questions to ask.

     The next morning dawns with the snowstorm over, fresh snow blankets the ground and rests upon tree limbs. The air is still and quiet. Angie has gotten a fire going in the firepit, the snow around the edges already melting. Iriisii has woken and has began working on breakfast for everyone. Later after everyone has eaten their fill.

     Rigmor: "Where did Baa' Ren-Dar go?"

     Iriisii: "He started out for Cyrodiil to pass the documents to those who need to know. He is also going to ask about the location of Diamond Ridge Mine."

     Rigmor: "Ok, thank you for telling me. But what are we to do, wait for him?"

     Iriisii: "No, he has a task an important task for us. We are to deliver letters to two military commanders. One is a Stormcloak, The other is with the Legion. Both fought with your father under General Jonna in the Great War and in Hammerfell. Because we are still wanted by the Legion, he gave us disguises to use."

     Rigmor: "Us? So you want me to go with you?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, as I said these two fought with your father. I am sure they have some stories about him they could tell you."

     Rigmor: "I would like that a lot. When do we leave?"

     Iriisii: "As soon as breakfast is cleaned up."

     Angie: "Sorella, you can help them cleaning up, then when they are gone, you can help me. I will teach you how to make arrows."

     Sorella: "I will get started right away!"

     After their packs are filled and ready, Iriisii lays out the path they are going to travel for Angie.

     Angie: "This is a good route, you may want to go around this area", pointing to a place on the map near an old fort. "Bandits have taken up there and attack anyone who gets close."

     Rigmor: "No problem, we can take care of some rag-tag bandits."

     Iriisii: "The goal here is to get to Yngol and Casius quietly, with as little attention to ourselves as possible. If we were to clear out a fort of bandits, someone is going to want to know who did it. And that will make it harder for us to move around and avoid the added patrols looking for those responsible."

     Rigmor: "Guardian! Loosen up already."

     Angie: "Rigmor, listen to her, she is right and is only trying to protect you on your journey. If the Thalmor get wind of where you might be they will swarm the whole countryside looking for you."

     Iriisii: "There will come a time when we do not have to hide. Then we guide them to ground of our choosing and deal with them there."

     Angie: "Rigmor, she knows what she speaks of, listen and learn what she can teach you. It will one day save your life."

     Rigmor stops and thinks of what both Angie and Iriisii are saying. Once she lets it sink in, she realizes the sense in what they are saying. She also realizes that as far apart as they are, they both care about her safety. And where that is concerned they will set aside their differences and come together.

     Rigmor: "All right, point taken, both of you are right, so I will go along with how you want me to go. Now can we please get moving, before the next snow storm moves in?"

     Angie raises her head and sniffs the air, "She is right, you have about three hours before it comes over the mountains. If you get moving now, you will be down in the valley by the time it hits and you will not have near as much trouble traveling as long as you keep moving."

     Iriisii: "Ok, get your pack and let us be on our way."

     The trip to Yngol's camp is uneventful, at least nothing out of the usual happened along the way. As they entered, they could hear the roars of a dragon out to the south on the edge of the hot springs. Rigmor looks at Iriisii with a question in her eyes.

     Iriisii: "That one is not one of the 'void' dragons, but there is one nearby, maybe they will both stay away from here. If not then we will deal with it, there is no need for any of Yngol's troops to die if we can help it. And let me add, I am not choosing sides right now, my concern is what is best for Skyrim. After Helgen, Hadvar suggested I should join with the Legion in putting a stop to this civil war even as they tried to take my head. I told him that I would at least not go straight to Ulfric, but rather look for what I feel is best for the people of Skyrim. Putting a stop to the Thalmor ranks higher in my eyes now than this civil war. If the Thalmor win, both sides in this war lose, just so if Alduin is not stopped, all of Nirn suffers, the civil war can wait and may resolve itself before I am done with the Thalmor and Alduin."

     Rigmor: "You don't sound convinced of that."

     Iriisii: "You are right, but I can hope. Come on, that must be Yngol up on the ridge of that hill."

     Rigmor: "Hadvar was with you on the road to Riverwood wasn't he?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, he was, why do you ask?"

     Rigmor: "I wondered why only you stopped when Rose called out for help?"

     Iriisii: "I have thought on that myself, for him to ignore a plea for help does not fit with what I had seen of him and his actions. Now, I think he was deliberately kept from hearing Rose. Had he answered the call as well, it would have muddied the waters of my meeting you and what has since transpired."

     Rigmor: "You are saying the Gods made sure you and only you heard Rose?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, that is what I believe. If I am wrong, the Gods can certainly set me straight. But so far they have deigned not to, so I think I have the right of it."

     Rigmor: "Then if they had their fingers in my life at that time, manipulating the events, how far back does their meddling go?"

     Iriisii stops and looks at Rigmor with a contemplating look.

     Iriisii: "Their fingers have been in my life from the very beginning, even before I was born. There is no reason not to suspect the same for you. It is disturbing at the least, but we do not yet know what is ahead that they saw and are preparing us to deal with. I think whatever it is, it goes beyond anything a Dragonborn has been involved in before now. And also that there is no other two people on Nirn that can do what needs to be done. It does not make right what they have done, will do now, and in the future. But only the fate of Nirn as a whole is justification enough for what has been done to us. And who knows who else is watching what we do, listening to what we say, looking into why we are acting and saying what we are. And where that may lead us to."

     Rigmor shivers for a second, "I am glad then that you are leading the way. I do not think I could stand up to all of that."

     Iriisii: "You are one that is capable of reaching as deep as you need to within yourself to find the power to withstand what assails you. I have seen that for myself, and heard it in the words of others who also saw it within you. The one thing that stands in your way is your doubt in yourself. Get past that, and there are no limits to what you can do, or how high you can go. For now you use your rage and anger to push the doubt aside, that worked in the beginning of this, your life story. But now it requires more than rage and anger."

     Rigmor: "What else is there?"

     Iriisii: "Understanding of your doubt, where it comes from, why is it inside you, holding you back. You fight against anything else that would dare to hold you back, turn you aside from where you want to go. Treat it like any enemy you would fight, once you know your enemy, even better than you know yourself. You will know what to do to get past it, even to banish it from your mind altogether."

     Rigmor: "That is a part of what you were taught wasn't it? It is why you can handle any situation you face. How you have survived your own nightmares."

     Iriisii: "You begin to see what your true enemy is and where it resides. Stay on this path and you will reach your full potential, and may the Gods have mercy on any who stand in your way once you do. Ingol is just over there, let us go and greet him."

     Iriisii: "Yngol Stormblade?"

     Yngol shifts his attention to Iriisii and Rigmor, "who wants to know?"

     Iriisii: "Baa' Ren-Dar sent us, I am Iriisii Starborn."

     Yngol: "And this must be Rigmor. I knew your father, child, fought with him in the Great War."

     Iriisii: "Saw some activity last night?"

     Yngol: "You could say that. Casius Varon and his Legions are camped over on the border with the 'Pale'. They made a few sorties against our lines, testing us. They managed to force a breech in the barricades. Hey! You there, move that wagon and cover up that hole! Gods, do I have to everything around here?"

     A runner comes up and informs Yngol the patrol he sent to check on the Orcs of Narzulbur still had not returned.

     Yngol: "Damn, they should have been back by now."

     Iriisii: "Do you need any help?"

     Yngol: "I need to go look for that patrol. They may have run into bandits that have been seen in the area. Would you like to come along?"

     Iriisii: "We would be happy to assist you, bandits are a scourge to everyone."

     Yngol: "Well spoken, let me get my horse. You there, get a couple of horses here!"

     His men have a couple of horses saddled and ready for Iriisii and Rigmor next to Yngol's horse. They mount up and ride out of camp and up the road before turning into the brush toward the Orc settlement. Suddenly a frost troll leaps out of a small copse of trees and Yngol's horse panics. Iriisii draws her blade and sends her horse between Yngol and the troll. She leans out to the right side toward the troll and just as she reaches it, swings her sword and takes its head off. She then reigns in and looks where the now headless one came from to see if it was alone. Once sure there is nothing else she sheaths her sword.

     Yngol: "Good riding and bladework there, thank you."

     Rigmor proudly: "My Guardian is exceptional at her job."

     Iriisii just smiles and nods her head.

     Yngol: "If you ever decide to change employers, we could use someone like you."

     Iriisii: "I was asked once about that very kind of offer by a Legion soldier as we walked out of Helgen."

     Yngol: "You were at Helgen?! Then you saw..."

     Iriisii: "Yes, I was at the block myself when Alduin started burning down the town. I took advantage of the situation to get myself clear."

     Yngol: "But you are not a Stormcloak, why were they going to execute you?"

     Iriisii: "I stopped on the road earlier to ask for directions from a group I saw approaching me. They had wounded with them and I offered to help treat them. Then we got ambushed by the Legion. I had almost fought my way free when I took the flat of a sword blade up the side of my head. I woke up, bound, in a wagon with Ralof, Ulfric, and Lokir, a horse thief from Rorikstead.

     I cannot guess as to the motive of the Legate who sent me to the block. But had Alduin not interfered I would have made my escape in any matter. Whether anyone else could have gotten out I cannot say, thus it was fortunate for Ulfric and the others with him that things went as they did."

     Yngol: "If you do not mind, how were you going to escape?"

     Iriisii: "Just running would do nothing for me but make a target. The Legate made sure she was right on top of each one at the block, even placing her knee on our backs to hold us steady for the headsman. She would never see my twisting up beside her, putting her between me and the archers. I could then grab her sword and put myself in the midst of those watching the spectacle. With the archers unable to shoot, and the soldiers having to move around the townspeople, who would be trying to get to safety. It would be simple to slip through and disappear."

     Yngol: "I heard about Ulfric's capture, so you were the one who embarrassed the Legion so badly. That makes sense now. That Legate was in charge of the ambush, and you made her look incompetent. That was why she made sure you went to the block. I dare say after all that happened, she will be lucky if they do not send her packing. But how could you make it through the entire Legion garrison and the Elves that were there?"

     Rigmor: "When she wants to disappear, if you take your eyes off of her for a split second, you will never see her unless she wants you to. Believe me, I have watched her do it, know she is doing it, and still she can vanish from sight. I swear she could be naked, in a tavern full of horny soldiers, and walk out untouched, no one the wiser for how she did it."

     Yngol: "Now that sounds like a bit of exaggeration."

     Iriisii does not say a word, just looks Yngol straight in his face and gives him a solitary wink. Then he hears a whisper behind him, 'Rigmor is telling the truth, I have done far more difficult things than that.' Yngol shifte his head toward the whisper then moves his head even faster back toward Iriisii's horse, but she is not sitting on him. In fact she is not in sight at all.

     Rigmor: "She has gone to check out the Orc Stronghold. She says something is wrong there and will meet us there."

     Yngol: "How did you ever meet her?"

     Rigmor: "She found me. Saved my life really, I will have to tell you about it sometime, but for now we need to catch up or we will miss out on the fun."

     Yngol: "The fun?"

     Rigmor: "If there is trouble, she will clear it out and there will be none left for us."

     Yngol: "She can do that?"

     Rigmor: "If you repeat this, I will swear I never said it. Before she came to Tamriel, she cleared out an old abandoned stronghold that was being occupied by over a hundred Morag Tong assassins, and she did it alone."

     Yngol: "How do you know that is a true story."

     Rigmor: "Because the ones who sent her to do it, came here after her when she escaped. While I was still at hers and Rose's camp, with my belly wound just closed up, she covered me in furs and vanished into the brush. There was a group of ten, minions she called them, that had been sent on her trail. She took every last one down and none ever noticed when their fellows were dropped. I watched as she hauled every body and pushed them into the lake for the slaughterfish to clean up. She said the main ones were called the Sinister Seven, she had just earned her place as the seventh when she escaped. I have seen her kill the one who took her place as number seven, along with number six and five. She has told me she will have to kill the rest of them as well, for they will not stop until they are all dead."

     Yngol: "Why was she with them in the first place?"

     Rigmor: "They slaughtered everyone in her village, starting with her grandfather. They were sent there to kill her on a contract, but she killed so many that they brought with them that the leader changed her mind and ordered her captured instead of killed. She was drugged with something called Black Lotus, it kept her docile, but still allowed her to be trained. She either does not know or just will not tell me, how many she had to kill in her training. But the story about the Morag Tong is true, as proof she came back with the head of the number two assassin of the entire Tong, and faced down the number one, a Tang Mo called 'the Mute'. I confirmed this through some Dunmer friends who knew some of what went on afterward."

     Yngol: "How did you even learn of any of this, did she..."

     Rigmor: "She has never said a single word about it. I asked Baa' Ren-Dar to ask the people he knows, who in turn asked their sources. Most of this has been confirmed by the Seers and Truthsayers of Corinthe in Elswher. I have also been with her to High Hrothgar, and heard the Greybeards greet her, saw some of the things they did to test her. She is the real thing, I have even seen her kill dragons, and not just one but several. So yeah, I believe what I have been told of her past. When she finished the tasks the Greybeards gave her, they spoke to her in Dovahzul, with all the power of their voices and she came through unscathed. Torygg died from a single 'shout' used against him by Ulfric, she survived a lot more than one 'word', there were four who have spent their entire lives learning to 'shout' speaking to her. I heard and felt the whole fortress shake from outside. This is what I heard the Greybeards say, 'Lingrah krosis saraan Strundu'ul, voth nid balaan klov praan nau. Naal Thu'umu, mu ofan nii nu, Dovahkiin, naal suleyk do Kaan, naal suleyk do Shor, ahrk naal suleyk do Atmorasewuth. Meyz nu Ysmir, Dovahsebrom. Dahmaan daar rok.' And the translation goes like this, 'Long has the Stormcrown languished, with no worthy brow to sit upon. By our breath we bestow it now to you in the name of Kyne, in the name of Shor, and in the name of Atmora of Old. You are Ysmir now, the Dragon of the North, hearken to it.'"

     Yngol: "This is completely beyond me, so I will just take your word for it."

     Rigmor: "I felt the same when I first heard this, then the history lessons I read about came forward and I started to make some sense of it. I still do not know how a lot of it fits together, but I learn a little more each day. Right now, she has not even learned all of the shouts that exist on Nirn and she is more powerful than the 'Tongues of Old'. And Kyne declared Iriisii to be her 'Thunderchild'."

     Yngol: 'What does that mean? I have never heard of that before but it must mean something."

     Rigmor: "It was something that began when 'Man' first learned to 'shout'. We think differently from Dragons. They think in straight paths, the meanings of their words have only one meaning, whereas the way 'Man' thinks, words can have more than one meaning according to how it is used. Kyne showed the old Thunderchildren as she has now showed Iriisii how to connect the old 'words of power' in new ways to bring forth new meanings, and so new 'Shouts' are born that Dragons have no knowledge of, and some they cannot even comprehend."

     Yngol: "That would give an advantage over one who did not know those words."

     Rigmor: "Not the words, the extra meanings of those words. The Dragons have to be able to become a part of the meaning of the word to use it in a 'shout', otherwise it is just like any other word you or I would speak. Coming from the voice of a Dragon or a Mortal Tongue, it becomes a terrible weapon. What Ulfric did to Torygg was the least of what they can do. There is another thing as well."

     Yngol: "What?"

     Rigmor: "Who taught Ulfric that 'Word' that he used, and how long did it take him?"

     Yngol: "You mean anyone can learn these 'Words'?"

     Rigmor: "I am not certain if just anyone can learn them. Even those 'gifted' in learning them takes them their entire lifetime to master just a few of them. I wonder if the Dragonblood has to be in their bloodline? I know it does before Akatosh can anoint them into a Dragonborn. Maybe the Dragonblood can allow them to learn the 'Words of Power', even if it takes them all their lives to do so."

     Yngol: "This is all too much for me, put a weapon in my hands and point me at an enemy, that I know how to do. I will leave these other things to those who understand them. Those papers you brought, I do not know how Ulfric will react to them. I could find myself crucified if he does not believe them."

     Rigmor: "Surely he would not kill one of his most able commanders, he must realize that he needs all of you if he is to have a chance at winning."

     Yngol: "What about your Guardian, where does she fit in to all of this? What side does she favor?"

     Rigmor: "She favors the side of the people of Skyrim. She wants what is best for them. She has already been asked to join the Legion, and what I just told you is what she told them. Right now, dealing with the Thalmor, and after them with Alduin, these are more important than choosing a side in this civil war, for both sides would lose if either of these others wins."

     Yngol: "I can understand that and so when the time comes I will trust her to make the best decision that she can for what she feels that Skyrim and her people need, whatever side she chooses or neither one. I will take this to Ulfric and see if I can convince him to call a truce if it is asked of him."

     Rigmor and Iriisii move on to a point nearby Casius Varon's camp. They know they have preparations to make if they are to get inside without having to cut their way through the entire garrison. Once they stop just beyond where Casius' Legion soldiers are actively patrolling, Iriisii brings out their Legion uniforms for them to change into. Once done, Rigmor starts giggling like a young school girl.

     Rigmor: "How do I look? You know I think this suits me."

     Iriisii: "With your skinny legs sticking out the bottom you look like a scarecrow."

     Rigmor: "This looks more like a dress than armor. What do you think?"

     Iriisii: "I think that I am beginning to worry about you."

     Rigmor: "Hey?! Do you think the Legion wears underwear?"

     Iriisii stands wondering just what in the name of Oblivion is going on here.

     Iriisii: "Rigmor, Now I really am starting to worry about you. Now come on and focus, we are about to enter a camp of Legion soldiers that would have no trouble at all putting a sword in our guts. Now you promised me you would focus on the mission to get these papers into Casius' hands."

     Rigmor: "All right, focus."

     She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out, counting down the way Iriisii has taught her to calm and center herself. She takes a second breath and then a third. Now Iriisii sees it taking hold and calming Rigmor down.

     Iriisii: "All right, let's go."

     They walk on to the entrance to the camp. Iriisii sees a couple of frost trolls making for some soldiers at the camp entrance, so she dashes ahead, drawing her sword. As the soldiers engage the trolls, Iriisii keeps tracking their movements and prepares for a power thrust. When she is close enough, a opening appears and her blade slides between two Legionnaires and buries itself in one of the trolls hearts, splitting it in two. As she pulls the blade out, she immediately goes into a overhead strike. Burying the blade in the Elder Troll's head all the way to its nose. She pries her blade out of the skull, when one of the Legionnaires, whose armor covering his arm was about to be chewed through by the Elder Troll, thanks her.

     Legionnaire: "That was a very strong strike, on the mark and just in time to keep that monster from chewing my arm off. If there is ever anything I can do in return, all you have to do is ask. My name is Aenus by the way. Oh, you two are the messengers the Commander is expecting, follow me and I will take you to him."

     Aenus walks them through the camp and points to Casius sitting in his command tent.

     Aenus: "He is sitting in his tent, just go up the steps and walk in. As I said he is expecting you. And thank you again for that strike."

     Iriisii nods her head and moves on toward the tent with Rigmor in tow.

     Crispus: "There you are Aenus, why are you not at your guard post?"

     Aenus: "I was just showing the messengers where the Commander was. The taller one split a Elder Troll's head just as he was about to chew my arm off."

     Crispus: "You should have let him get his teeth into your arm, then the watch commander might believe your story. Might still have been better for you if her blade kept going and took your arm off."

     Aenus just looks at Crispus, moves around his friend and returns to his post by the entrance gate. Crispus turns his head toward Casius tent and sees Iriisii looking at him. She slowly shakes her head side to side, turns and enters the tent. Crispus wonders why he has such a feeling that this is not the last he will see of her. He turns and makes his way to one of the campfires, thinking, 'damn but these kilts don't keep things warm, but get close to a fire and...no, I will not do what Aenus did. I will not almost set myself on fire by blowing wind too close to the campfire. By Oblivion, if he had just let one go as the Elder Troll was coming for him, it would have choked to death.' The thought made him burst into uncontrolled laughter, the others around the campfire started laughing with him, not really caring what it was they were laughing about. The way things were right then, any reason to laugh was a good one.