A.N. Um... so this exploded. Thanks for all the follows and favs! Didn't expect a fourth of this. Still not sure where I'm taking this, but I won't just randomly stop if I decide to end it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'll try to respond to them all but there are a lot. Sorry if I miss yours.

I wake to nearby growling and instantly jump to my feet. Arms at the ready.

I'm greeted by the sight of Svar and Mr. Rogers playing tug of war with a particularly large stick, and I immediately feel like an idiot.

Svar's lip quirks up at my display. "See anything I should be concerned about?" Svar asks as she chuckles.

"Screw off." I say and pull some fresh cooked bacon from my inventory. I sit down and go to eat, but my precious bacon is stolen from me.

I grit my teeth and look over to glare at Svar, but she's already licking her fingers. My poor bacon will be remembered as it was. Mine.

"Come on." Svar says. "I'm dying to check this place out. If even half of what you said is here is actually here then this will be a very fun trip." She picks up Ascalon from where it rests on the ground and ties it back onto her belt.

I sigh and stand. I walk over to the lever and pull it, causing the gate to rise. "Ok then, let's go unearth ancient mysteries forgotten by time."

Wow this place is disappointing.

I mean, I know there aren't any vampires here right now, but I was expecting a challenge from the draugr. The place is nothing like in the game, which by this point is kind of par for the course really, and we have encountered very few undead. None of the strong ones either. Svar, Mr. Rogers, and I have just kind of walked right through them. Most of them fall to one bolt from me, one slash from Svar, or a few good chews from Mr. Rogers. I'm feeling kind of stupid for worrying about this.

Murphy wherever you are please do not punish me!

At that moment I feel the ground start to shake beneath my feet as a rumbling echoes throughout the chamber we are currently standing in.

Murphy. I swear on the styx I will find a way to make you a eunuch.

"What is this?" Svar asks as she takes her stance.

"Not a damn clue." I say as I move behind her and watch the way we came.

Mr. Rogers is occupied by trying to catch a loose bone that the rumbling floor is causing to move around. It would be really cute if I wasn't waiting for an oncoming attack.

"There!" Svar yells and points.

I follow her arm and look towards the hallway we have yet to traverse. Emerging from the hallway is a veritable sea of walking bones. What I assume to be hundreds of skeletons are all charging out of the hallway and heading straight for us.

I immediately start firing lightning into the mass, but no matter how many my bolts collapse, there are always more. I could deal with them with a single spell, but I would need time to channel it.

I prepare to pull my magic but stop as Svar steps forward.

Svar focuses on the stone floor, while I keep shooting to buy her time, and works her magic. The top layer of stone changes into the same oil from before. This time however, she doesn't set it alight. Instead, she leaves it as a hazard for the oncoming skeletons.

What was once a well coordinated undead hoard has turned into a jumbling mass of slipping and sliding skeletons who are tripping over each other.

I hear a very excited bark from my left and watch as Mr. Rogers happily leaps into the slowly growing pile of bones and starts chewing on whatever he can get his mouth on.

He really is best boy.

I hold my lightning magic and Svar and I just sit back and watch the show. The skeletons keep tripping one-another and all fall apart when they take a good hit. With the oil, their weapons fly all over the place, and those not bull-dozed by Mr. Rogers are taken apart by their fellow undead.

Mr. Rogers is having the time of his life as he rolls back and forth across the slowly growing pile with what looks like an ulna in his mouth.

That was the least intimidating undead horde ever.

"You know," Svar starts. "I was beginning to think you were wrong about the undead horde, but you were obviously right. Now I'm beginning to think you were wrong about worrying about this place. Everything we've come across has tipped like a cow."

"Ya, well we're us." I reply. "Imagine if a random person from the city ended up in this place. They'd be dead in seconds."

Svar shrugs. "Good thing we're not them then."

The pile of bones has stopped growing, leading me to believe the skeletons are mostly dealt with. There is a problem though. The massive pile is blocking the hallway.

"How are we getting through here?" I ask Svar.

She looks over and smiles. "I don't know about you, but I'll be FEIM!" She turns into a ghost and just walks through the pile.

"That is a reused pun!" I shout after her. "You can't just recycle old shit and call it comedy!"

A distant voice shouts back. "I was drunk and don't remember. It doesn't count!"

"You obviously remember it if you know you were drunk!" I shout back.

"Can't hear you through the pile of bones!" The voice starts moving away.

Screw this.

I cast Lightning Form and slowly maneuver my way through the bones. While not as good as Svar's true phasing, it gets the job done. Really need to look into electromagnetic phasing when I get a chance. It should be possible with lightning.

I emerge from the other side of the pile to find Svar surrounded by dead frostbite spiders.

She turns to look at me. "You didn't mention spiders."

"Well, no one's perfect."

She smirks. "What's the point of keeping you around if you don't know absolutely everything about everything?"

I pause and tilt my head. "Because of my winning personality?"

She hmm's and walks away without answering.

Well that was a great confidence booster.

We leave Mr. Rogers in bone paradise and continue on through the tomb.

There are a few more groups of skeletons and draugr, but they pose little threat.

Eventually we got to a large grated iron gate. We look through the gaps and see eight large black eyes staring back at us.

Giant Frosbite Spider

Level- 47

HP- 1200

The spider charges us but is stopped by the gate. It hisses and spits at us but is unable to reach us.

"I got this." I say stepping forward as I draw Yamato.

I make two slashes. Creating an 'X' through the gate that carries through into and through the spider.

The giant falls in four separate meaty pieces as chunks of the gate tumble over.

Svar looks over the wreckage then back to the sword. "That thing is scary."

I nod as I return it to its place in my inventory. "Yes, it very much is."

My sixth sense screams and I dodge to the side.

From the now destroyed gate, another giant spider charges straight towards me.

Svar steps in and intercepts it with Ascalon. She stabs into its abdomen, before pulling it out and taking the things head off.

She turns to me with a smirk. "You're a monster Dusk! You killed its newlyweb! No wonder it was after your head." She kicks the head over to me and looks very proud of herself.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "Eventually you will run out of puns. On that blessed day, I will finally know rest."

She shakes her head and sighs. "I'm disappointed in you Dusk. You should know by now that I'm punstoppable. You'll spend the rest of your life receiving the glorious gift that is my comedic genius."

The corner of my mouth pulls up. "If you're dead set on giving me gifts, I'd much prefer a broken drum. You just can't beat that."

Svar looks at me in open-mouthed shock and she brings a hand up to cover her mouth. "But Dusk! You'd surely hurt yourself! I will not be responsible for allowing you to give yourself a percussion!"

I smile and open my mouth…..

I've got nothing.

Svar smiles broadly and walks past me after patting my shoulder. "Don't worry." She whispers in my ear as she passes by. "You can be a sore loser later."

Trying and failing to understand what she means, I just shrug and follow after her.

We proceed through the ruined gate and walk through a door on the other end of the spider's den.

We open it and my sixth sense screams at me. I grab Svar and teleport away just as the whole area explodes.

That was a neat trap.

"You good?" I ask Svar.

"Fine." She says. "Good reflexes."

We proceed back to the door, without exploding this time, and walk through.

The two of us, and a now returned Mr. Rogers, come to a decayed balcony that is collapsing in on itself. The balcony overlooks a large stone island in the center of an underground lake. The island has a single small stone obelisk protruding from the ground.

Guess we found our vampire.

(Perspective Change: Serana)

I hear a faint rustling.

How long has it been since I have heard?

How long have I slept? Years? Decades? Centuries maybe? I can't tell.

I slowly feel my consciousness returning as my body lifts up.

How am I rising? I'm still in darkness. The ever present, never ceasing darkness. It is both comforting and aggravating to be lost for so long.

"Hang on a second…. Just let me…. ….there."

Voices?

Has someone come for me?

I hear stone shifting and all of a sudden I'm assaulted by the light.

It's so bright after so long in the dark.

It takes me some time to adjust before I look down and realize I am on the ground. On my hands and knees to be precise.

Was I sealed like this?

I can't remember. Perhaps I just fell?

I lift my head to look around when I am suddenly assaulted by a delicious scent.

I jerk my head in the direction the smell emanates from and see a fresh corpse with its throat cut open.

In that moment I realize just how thirsty I am.

I descend upon the corpse and latch my fangs upon its neck. Greedily draining its once flowing blood.

After what feels like mere moments the blood is gone and I'm left disappointed. While no longer starving, I'm still somewhat thirsty.

Although my head is in a much better place than it was a moment ago, so that is good.

I stand up from my meal and look around me. I see two figures, a man and a woman, as well as a spectral hound with a humanoid pelvis in its mouth. One of their summons most likely. The man has dark ash grey hair, and similarly colored eyes. The woman has hair black as my own, and eyes to match. Both wear light armor and a sword at their hip. Though the woman's blade is much more powerful. I can feel its strength from where I now stand several feet away.

"Hey there." The man says as he looks me over. "Take it slow. Not sure how long you've been in that rock, but suddenly waking up can't be easy for you."

"I am fine." I reply as I feel my strength slowly returning. "Who sent you here? How did you find me?"

The woman turns to her companion, prompting me to look his way as well.

"Well no one sent us." The man says meeting my gaze. "I'm something of a seer. I know more things than I should, and one of those was what was in this tomb. I really wouldn't want to be trapped in a rock for hundreds, if not thousands of years so we came to let you out."

I narrow my eyes as I become much more aware of a very important weight upon my back.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you would do this out of the kindness of your heart." I say as I slowly position the scroll more securely away from them.

The man notices my movement and outright laughs.

"Lady," he says. "If I just wanted the Elder Scroll, there are so many better ways to get it. Heck, there's one just lying in a pod in Blackreach. I know a shortcut to get to it too. All you need to do is walk north of a little giant camp, phase through a dwarven gate, and wait as an elevator literally carries you to it. Believe me when I say I want nothing to do with those damn things."

Try as I might I cannot sense any deceit or ill intent from the man, so I turn to the woman. "And you?" I ask her. "Would you take the scroll for yourself?"

The woman tilts her head to the side, as if considering my question. She seems to come to a decision as she shakes her head.

"Nope." She says. "I've got enough trouble on my hands. Last thing I need is some divine book drawing even more of it. Keep your scroll, I don't want it."

Once more I cannot sense any deceit and begin to slowly relax.

"Oh that's right!" The man suddenly says, clapping his hands for emphasis. I raise my guard once more. "Introductions! I'm Dusk, and that's Svarline. The perfect ghost pup's Mr. Rogers. Who might you be Miss?"

I regard him for a moment before answering. "My name is Serana. Thank you for reviving me."

He nods. "No problem. Now we just gotta figure a way out of here."

I frown, feeling confused. "I don't understand. You were able to get here yes? Why can't we simply leave the way you came in?"

The now amused looking Svarline and the spectral hound both turn to look at the ashen haired man.

Dusk stands still for a moment before feeling their eyes on him and exclaiming, "Oh come on! It was as much your fault as mine Svar!"

Svarline raises an eyebrow at him. "Don't look at me. I'm not the one who tried to wrap my mind around it."

Dusk fights off a smile as he turns back to me. "Short version? There was an incident with a scroll. Long version? Said scroll blew up while we were fighting a very large group of animated gargoyles and collapsed the way we came in." As he finished he pointed up over my shoulder and behind me.

Being careful to keep all three of them in sight, I followed his outstretched arm and looked upon veritable tons of rubble and scorched stone.

I raise my own eyebrow and turn back at him. "How did you manage to blow something up that spectacularly?"

Dusk groans again while Svarline cackles like a mad woman.

"I can tell we're going to be great friends." She says as she gets her breathing under control.

"I'm happy for you two." Dusk says. "Now can we figure out how to leave please?"

"Why don't you just use the sword?" Svarline asks with her head tilted. Confusing me.

The man's weapon is magical in nature true, but it feels like nothing more than a simple shock enchantment.

Dusk gives her a very pointed look. "Thank you Svar for revealing that little nugget to our new friend Serana here." He says annoyed. "As for why I'm not using it. It cuts things. Cutting isn't very useful when there's 10,000 more tons of shit that'll pile on top of it. Our best bet is to find a secondary exit."

"What makes you so sure there is one?" Svarline asks him with some incredulity.

He looks back to her and says, "Building purposes for one. Not very intelligent to build an underground tomb with only one way in or out. If the exit collapses while you're still building you're trapped. The secondary might've been sealed off but we should be able to break it open. For another reason, our friend here was buried with an Elder Scroll." I tense, but relax when I realize he still has no interest in taking it from me. "You're not going to lock an Elder Scroll in a place where you can't get it back. Most people, as in pretty much everyone who isn't you or me, would kill for one of those things."

Svarline nods. "Alright, so all we have to do is find our secondary exit and bust it open. Any ideas where it could be Serana?"

I shake my head. "This place looks very different from when I was locked away. The water is new for one." I say looking over the area. When I was sealed the entire area was painted and dry. There weren't any balconies, and the archways extended far more than they currently do. I must have been asleep for a long time.

Svarline tilts her head at me. "Why were you sealed away to begin with? Something to do with the scroll?"

I look over to her and narrow my eyes. "I'm sorry, but I don't really trust you yet. Thank you for freeing me, but I would ask you not to question me about my past."

The woman shrugs. "No problem. Everyone's got things they'd rather not talk about."

"Over here." Dusk calls from the other side of the cavern. "I found something."

The hound, Svarline and myself all make our way over to the man.

He stands in front of a solid iron gate which bars the way down a tunnel. I could easily flow through by becoming mist, but I do not want to leave these two behind. They did free me after all.

"Is there a release for the gate?" I ask. "I could get through, but I would not want to leave you here to die after you've helped me."

Svarline adopts a manic grin as she turns to look Dusk in the eye and says, "Don't worry, we'll be FEIM!"

Svarline's skin turns spectral and incorporeal. I feel a great magical power in the word she just spoke, but cannot place it. It is not any magic I have seen before. The woman begins to laugh as she saunters through the iron gate.

"Goddamnit Svar!" Dusk yells as he too casts a spell, turning himself into pure lightning.

It is a very interesting spell in that it fundamentally alters his body's make-up. I would be interested in studying it later.

"If that becomes its own thing we are going to have problems." The man threatens as he too walks through the gate.

Well, since I won't be leaving them behind I might as well. I turn myself into a silver hued mist and flow through the gate. Rematerializing on the other side, seeing Svarline still laughing and Dusk sighing heavily, both now back to normal.

"Let's just keep going." Dusk says in a defeated tone. He begins down the hallway with his dog and Svarline and I follow him.

We move on in silence, giving me a moment to gather my thoughts.

I need to figure out what I want to do. For the time being, I should be safe with these two. They would have to be true masters of deception to fool my senses. Their heartbeats did not accelerate at any point when we were speaking. Their speech also carried the same inflection throughout.

When they weren't laughing at one another that is.

Now that I'm not treating them as potential enemies, I'm beginning to realize a few things. These two seem remarkably strong. The fact they were able to free me should be proof enough, but their respective scents are intriguing.

The woman, Svarline, smells almost reptilian, but not as an Argonian would. There is a certain power to everything about her. Her eyes seem to pulse, and the ground all but trembles at her step, as if recognizing a force which can easily destroy it. She walks as a predator, even as she hides behind her maiden mask. She is obviously new to this strength, for it controls her even if only slightly. She reminds me of myself for the first few years after…. after I was turned. What is she, and what is her power? Perhaps it has to do with her unique magic?

The man, Dusk, on the other hand smells delicious. He is lucky they brought a corpse to free me, for without one I would have fed upon him. Even having drank, were I a newly turned savage, I would not be able to resist the call of his blood. He too is interesting. Even as he bantered with his companion, he has always remained wary of me. He thinks he is being subtle in his monitoring, and he is, but I am a vampire who has spent centuries surrounded by scheming vampires. I know what to look for. He is very cautious of me, but in a hopeful way?

It is a very interesting dichotomy.

Our group continues down the spartan hallway until I hear the music of interlocked bones.

"Hold." I tell my companions, causing them to tense and look at me. "There is a group of skeletons closing in on us from the direction in which we are heading."

The pair relax at my statement and begin watching down the hall.

"So," Dusk says. "Who wants this group?"

I look to him in confusion while Svarline yawns. The hound sits down and begins scratching its ear.

Dusk sighs. "Fine. Guess I'll handle it." He walks forward and I begin to feel the man channel magic within himself.

It took me decades to learn what this man is casually demonstrating. There is something more to my two rescuers than I have yet been able to determine.

At the far end of the hall, the first of the approaching skeletons round a corner and begin to charge straight for Dusk.

He simply stands where he is and lets them come. Channeling his magic all the while.

Dozens of skeletons have rounded the corner by now, and all of them are rapidly closing the distance to Dusk.

I am moments from going to assist when I feel an enormous amount of energy released into the air.

Dusk throws his hands forth and the entire hallway, skeletons included, are blanketed in a great nexus of lightning. The spell chains through skeletons, reflects off the walls and ceiling, and even rounds the corner from which the skeletons originated. I can hear the spell travel a substantial distance further before it slowly dies out.

I return my eyes to Dusk to regard him in a new light and find him eating an apple I did not see, nor hear, him retrieve.

"You get the next group Svar." The man says as he heads down the hall.

Svarline shrugs and follows after him, as if this spell is something she has simply come to expect from the man. Very interesting.

We continue on through the now empty hallways until it ends at a large chamber.

"I don't remember this being here when I was sealed." I tell the pair.

The chamber is massive. There are stairs lining the entire perimeter and the ceiling is around a hundred feet high. There is only a small magical chandelier in the center of the room providing a pitiful amount of light, but my eyes are unaffected by the dark.

Svarline begins to look around, but I notice Dusk is focused on a very specific point directly across the room from where we are.

I feel a quick burst of magic. Before I can investigate, however, Dusk speaks with much more gravity than he has previously.

"Fuck." I hear him whisper with my greater hearing.

"What is it?" I ask him, drawing Svarline's attention.

I feel him begin to channel his magic again and am instantly on my guard.

"We have one hell of a fight ahead of us." He says as he points in the direction he is looking.

I follow his direction and my eyes fall upon a heavily armored draugr. It stands there. Doing nothing aside from studying us, but my instincts are telling me we will need to kill this thing in order to leave.

"If you have any ways to make yourself stronger, I'd use them now." Dusk says as he turns into energy once more.

Svarline nods and suddenly I feel a large expenditure of magic from her direction. I look over and see she has changed her entire body into hardened steel. This is no simple flesh spell either, she has become true metal.

It seems I am in the company of two very accomplished mages. Might as well show off a mite myself then.

I call upon my magic and can't help but smile as I stretch a muscle that has laid dormant for what can only be hundreds of years.

I reach deep into the necromantic powers taught to me by my mother and pull.

A ghastly green spectral armor comes into being around me. A swirling violet portal opens at my back, and out stalks a cloaked undead.

The creature's black skin is pulled tight against its bones, as it lacks any and all muscles. It floats a foot of the ground and is surrounded in an aura the same color as my necrotic armor.

Sufficiently prepared, I look over and see my two companions staring at me.

"Remind me to never piss you off." Dusk says open-mouthed while Svarline smiles.

"We really are going to be the best of friends." The woman says as she begins to walk down the stairs.

The undead across the way seems to have had enough standing around. It lets out a gravelly war cry, and I begin to hear the sound of hundreds of feet marching towards us, as if an army were just signaled to charge.

"There are more!" I warn my companions.

Dusk looks over at me and shrugs. "I kind of figured there were. I'm much better with hordes of weaker enemies so I'll deal with his minions. Svar's probably going to go straight for the leader. You do whatever suits you best, and take this." He unsheathes his blade and hands it to me. "I won't need it, and something tells me you know how to use a sword."

I accept the weapon with a grateful nod.

"Can I get a teleport over to the bastard?" Svarline asks Dusk.

Dusk nods back at her. "Get ready." He grabs her shoulder, then turns to face me. "Let's kick some ass." He says with a smile before him and Svarline disappear with a thunderous *BOOM* and a flash of electric light.

Moments later I hear Svarline doing battle with the large undead, and see multiple flashes of bright electric blue light as Dusk teleports in and out of the now visible draugr horde. His hands cut the undead in two, while his spells chain through them and destroy them with little effort. There are dozens if not hundreds of them, but he is holding steady.

Having observed the situation, I decide to aid Svarline in her battle with the leader.

Thrusting my hand out, I open another swirling violet portal, and myself and my summon step through. The rift reopens not 50 feet from Svarline's battle, and I instantly begin casting spells to support her.

I send my Nether Lich towards the approaching horde, filled with undead which were somehow able to bypass Dusk's kill zone, in order to buy us some time. It begins to tear them apart as I return my attention to the fight before me.

Svarline is quite skilled. She is using some quite advanced alteration magic to not only maintain her metal form, but to improve every aspect of herself as well. From her muscles to her senses. She can probably see as well in this pitch black darkness as I can.

Realising Svarline can assist herself, I focus my attention on harrying her opponent. I use my vampiric speed to close the gap between the two of us in the blink of an eye and strike out with Dusk's blade.

Not anticipating the attack, the hulking draugr is only able to dodge part of my strike. The blade still connects and slashes through its midsection, but the thing is not bisected due to its sturdy armor.

When the blade connects a jolt of lightning wracks the undead's form.

The enchantment on my borrowed weapon is weaker than I expected from the master of lightning, but it does its job so I choose to ignore it for now.

Following up my attack while Svarline presses the advantage I have created, I call upon my necromancy to accelerate the wound's natural course. Being an undead, the wound merely rotted and fell off the undead's body.

Given time it would have been able to recover the lost mass, but for now it was fighting off balance against two skilled opponents.

I deflect the draugr's blade off of my ghostly armor and use my necromancy once more to freeze it in place.

Svarline sees the chance for what it is and stabs her blade through the draugr's head.

Not giving the thing a chance, I bring my own blade down and sever it's right leg.

The undead still fights against us, but its defences have crumbles, giving me all the opening I need.

This undead is quite powerful, but I am a necromantic savant.

I place my hand upon the draugr's chest and sever the connection the rotting creature possessed to this world.

The body falls uselessly to the ground.

"Well done." A voice from behind me says.

I look behind and see Dusk, still in his lightning form, presumably using the light it gives off to see, walking up to the two of us.

Svarline looks out over the sheer amount of destroyed undead Dusk is walking away from and says, "Not too bad yourself."

He smiles and looks over at me. "How are you feeling? Can't imagine waking up just to fight can be terribly fun."

"I am fine." I respond. "However, I am excited to leave this place."

He chuckles. "I'll bet. No time like the present."

I hold his sword out to him but he shakes his head. "I've got another one as Svar was so kind as to point out." He says and sends a quick glare towards Svarline. She smiles innocently at him in response. "Keep it."He says as he turns back to me and hands over the sheath. "You've done more with it that I have."

I hum at his words, before sending the lich away.

We continue on our journey.

Before we exit the chamber Svarline stops us.

"Do you hear that?" She asks, bringing her sword up once more.

I listen, but my sensitive ears pick up nothing.

"What's it sound like?" Dusk asks her with a strange look in his eye.

"Voices. Chanting." Svarline replies.

Dusk smiles. "Explains why Serana and I can't hear it. Let's figure out where it's coming from."

Slightly confused, I follow along as Svarline walks towards the source of whatever she's hearing. We follow her into a corner, where a large ceremonial stone is set.

Svarline looks entranced as she walks up to it and runs her hand over its surface.

Svarline's eyes open wide and she shouts out, "GAAN! LAH! HAS!"

The same powerful magic from earlier washes over me as a lilac mass of energy extends out from her in a cone.

The energy dissipates after it travels quite a distance, and Dusk and I turn to Svarline.

Dusk looks part shocked, part jealous. "How the hell did you get all three words from one wall instantly?"

Svarline just smiles as she beholds her new strength. "I'm just better than you."

Dusk's eyes narrow. "Of course you realize, this means war."

Svarline laughs as she looks over the wall one last time, before walking in the direction we were originally headed. "Come on. You promised flowers and skeleton hordes. I'll have a bone to pick with you if you're wrong." She cackles and takes off down the hallway.

Dusk sighs heavily.

I walk up to him and ask, "Are the puns a common occurrence?"

He shrinks in on himself a little. "You get used to it?"

I hum noncommitedly and follow after the strange woman.

Dusk catches up after we have made some slight progress. Carrying with him a makeshift bouquet of deathbells and nightshade in his hand.

He walks up to Svarline and makes an overdramatic bow. "For you my lady."

Svarline's eyes light up and she snatches the flowers from his outstretched hand. She puts a few of the nightshades in her hair and places the rest of the flowers delicately into her bag after using alteration magic to ensure they remain pristine.

"You know," I begin in an effort to make conversation. "most women would consider their lover giving them poisonous flowers an insult, or an attempt to get rid of them."

"Oh, we're not…" Dusk begins but is cut off.

"Good thing I'm not most women then hmm?" Svarline says while holding my gaze with a fire behind her eyes.

So it's like that? Interesting.

I hum to myself and walk past her.

Dusk seems confused, but he lets it go.

The man is clueless. It might be fun to play with these two.

We walk a little farther and I smell trees.

"We're close." I say to my companions and I increase my pace.

The smell gets more and more defined and I smile.

The brick tomb gives way to a rocky cave, and I see the exit.

I run outside and breathe in the crisp night air. It has been much too long.

I stand and bask in my freedom for a moment, but am interrupted by Dusk's proclamation.

"Oh! I totally forgot this let out here. We could totally grab an Elder Scroll right now!"

Svarline and myself look at him dumbfounded.

"What?" He asks. "I don't actually care all that much about it. It was just an option."

"You will not take my scroll." I growl as I prepare to defend myself.

"What?" He asks again, confusing me. "Oh. Not yours. The other one I was talking about. That's the giant camp over there." He says as he points to a stream of smoke rising into the sky on the horizon. "Anyway, what happens now?" He asks looking back at me.

"What do you mean?" I ask in return.

He shrugs. "What are you going to do? Judging by how a vampire was buried with an Elder Scroll, something's up. Now that you're free are you going to sort that out? Not? Any concrete plans? Not that you have to tell me, I'm just curious."

I go to respond that I need to get home when I stop myself.

What do I want to do?

If I return to father I will be dragged right back into his politics, which is what caused me to be sealed to begin with. I suppose I could travel on my own. See how the world has changed since I last walked its lands, but the Elder Scroll will draw far too much attention to me.

I could investigate Dusk's claims of this second Elder Scroll, but do I really want to? This relic strapped to my back has brought me nothing but pain. It tore my family apart and was the catalyst that caused my mother to seal me away. I'm beginning to understand why Dusk truly wants nothing to do with the things.

For the time being, I think I will travel. Father won't know I've been awakened. I have plenty of time to revisit the world, but I will need strong allies to help safeguard the Elder Scroll.

I turn back to Dusk. "Would it be possible for me to accompany you on your travels for the time being?"

He looks surprised, but smiles and says, "Of course. Fair warning though, Svar and I might be wanted for attempted regicide."

I look into his eyes in an attempt to determine the truth of his words, but find no deceit.

I turn to Svarline to validate the story only to find her glaring at me with a furious look upon her face.

Is her hair smoking? Yes. Yes it is.

What have I gotten myself into?

(Interlude: Ulfric Stormcloak)

The Imperials thought they could defeat me, yet I was saved by a dragon.

I smile to myself as my horse carries me forward.

Talos is with me. With the Stormcloaks. What other explanation could possibly explain my survival?

I will rally the Stormcloaks, and we will rid Skyrim of the Empire's tainted influence. The true sons and daughters of this land cannot be defeated. We will fight to the last, we will tear the Imperials apart, and we will earn our freedom.

My horse carries me to a very familiar turn in the road and I smile.

I'm home.

My horse rounds the corner and my heart clenches. I cannot believe the sight I have laid eyes on.

Windhelm…. What has happened to my beloved Windhelm?

I dig my heels into my horse's flanks and urge him to speed me into what is now a ruined city.

The horse carries me across the bridge and I leap from his saddle as I begin to march through the debris.

Sturdy stone houses have been reduced to rumble. Cobbled roads have been melted to slag, and I cannot find any of my people.

I make my way to the smithy. It's the only building in the entire city which is still standing.

I throw open the doors and let loose a sigh of relief. There are dozens of people inside, and while far less than thousands of inhabitants of the city, I am glad to see some of my people survived.

"My Jarl!" A deep voice calls, drawing everyone's attention.

"Oengul." I answer as I move forward. "Is this all who survived?" I ask with uncharacteristic fear in my voice.

The blacksmith shakes his head. "Galmar and Brunwulf have the majority of the survivors in a camp outside the city's walls. These are just the people we couldn't afford to move too far."

I let loose a sigh of relief at hearing my people still stand.

"Jarl Ulfric?" A timid voice asks.

I turn to see a small girl in a worn red dress.

"What do we do now?" She asks meekly.

I look around at the faces of the injured. They are all injured, beat down, they've likely lost everything in the wake of this attack.

I square my shoulders, lift my face to meet them, and speak.

(Interlude: Legate Rikke)

I sit within the Blue Palace in the war room. Seated around me are various political figures who are here for one reason or another.

"But general…"

"No Legate." General Tullius cuts me off. "If this report from Windhelm is indeed accurate, we cannot afford to waste any resources. Our men have already confirmed there are indeed multiple dragons in the province. If the things are attacking cities then we must prepare. We must defend our cities. We do not have the manpower to protect those who turned against the Empire."

"General." I say through gritted teeth. "The Stormcloaks needed to be dealt with, that is why I joined the Imperial military to begin with, but I will not simply stand by and allow you to abandon my people. We are facing dragons! This is the time where we must unite! We cannot afford to face this threat on our own. We need to stand together! We will be picked apart otherwise!"

The general turns to me and narrows his eyes. "Legate. I have spoken. Your orders are to defend any city that remained loyal to the Empire. Any Stormcloak who turns themself in will be incarcerated. Any Stormcloak who fails to surrender themselves, will be put to the sword immediately. Ulfric lives because we were not swift in our judgement, so from now on we will be. We cannot afford to waste time with trials while the whole province burns. Am I clear Legate?"

"General Tullius." Jarl Elisif speaks up from her seat at the table for the first time. "I agree with the Legate." The Jarl nods to me, then turns back to General Tullius. "I will not allow you to sentence half of Skyrim to death out of fear. We must work with one-another. With the dragons present, the Jarls will see reason. We stand a better chance together than we do apart."

General Tullius regards the Jarl without blinking. "The Empire will not aid the Stormcloak rebels." he says calmly. "If Solitude attempts to conspire with these traitors, the Empire will withdraw its support from Skyrim."

The Jarl snarls as she stands. "You dare?! We have stood by the Empire since it first set foot in Skyrim, and you would leave us to combat this menace on our own?! Because you are incapable of seeing past petty squabbles?!"

The general remains unfazed. "The dragons present a greater threat than you apparently realize. For the time being they have only been seen in Skyrim. What happens when they decide to venture outside of the province? The Empire spans more than one province, so I must do what is best for the Empire as a whole. Not one province."

My knuckles turn white as I clench my hands. "General Tullius." I say. "If this is truly the Empire's position, I will be handing in my resignation. I will not abandon my home."

The General shakes his head. "You cannot resign Legate. Your commitment still requires you to serve three more years under my command, and I will need your tactical mind to help safeguard the Empire. Besides, the Empire will only remove its presence from Skyrim if the Jarl here insists on supporting the Stormcloaks."

The Jarl slams her palm down onto the table. "Are you mad?!" She screams at General Tullius. "You have just said this threat could spread out of Skyrim! Your best chance to keep the beasts contained here is to coordinate with all of the holds! Why do you refuse to cooperate with those who could help you?!"

The General stands and faces the Jarl. "The Empire has made its stance on this issue quite clear. Will Solitude comply with the Empire's plan? Or will I be withdrawing my forces from your borders?"

I seethe as I hold my tongue.

Hearing a faint chuckle from my left, I turn to glare at the bitch sitting there.

The Court Wizard notices as well and speaks up. "Is there something you would like to share?" Sybille growls towards the very amused Elenwen.

The elf smiles and chirps, "The Empire is being most gracious by staying to defend you savages. All you need to do is concede the Empire knows best and execute the rebels. If I were you, I would accept this is the best course of action. We wouldn't want your little city to crumble now would we?" The elf sneers.

Thalmor bitch. That's why the Empire is pulling out.

Sybille meets the arrogant elf's gaze and says. "Elenwen, why are you here? These discussions are to determine what to do about the dragons. Which are currently threatening Skyrim. Not the Empire. You have no authority until the dragons leave the province, so I would kindly ask that you remove yourself immediately."

The General speaks up. "If Solitude wishes to retain the services of the Empire, you will allow the Thalmor their just input. Now I would appreciate it if you would keep your pet wizard in check Elisif."

Sybille hisses at the man, but Elisif holds up a hand.

"I am going to tell you what actions Solitude will take going forward, General." The Jarl begins much calmer than she looks. "We will be sending runners to every major hold, every minor village, every settlement we can find, and offering to collaborate to defeat the dragons. Skyrim will face these beasts as a united province. Will the Empire assist in this endeavor? Or will the Empire withdraw?" The Jarl holds the General's gaze throughout her proclamation.

The General turns to me. "Legate. We are leaving. Gather the men, and let them know we are pulling out of the province in two days time. Send runners to each of our forward camps to distribute the same orders. Within a month, the Empire will have withdrawn all support from the province of Skyrim."

I stand and turn to the General. I reach my hand up and pull the Legion's medallion from around my neck and throw it to the ground at his feet.

"I no longer serve the Empire." I growl at the General.

"Praefect?" The General turns to his guard. "You are hereby ordered to arrest former Legate Rikke for desertion. She will be imprisoned, and taken with us back to Cyrodiil to stand trial."

The guard nods and draws his sword. He pulls out a set of manacles with his other hand and approaches me.

"Sybille." The Jarl speaks out, drawing the room's attention. "The Empire has withdrawn their support from Skyrim and is attempting to illegally conscript one of her daughters. Fix this problem."

Sybille Stentor bares her unnaturally pointed teeth as she loosens her hands. "With pleasure my Jarl." She walks around the table and comes between me and the Praefect. "This is your one chance to stand down boy." She growls.

Elenwen stands and raises her nose. "Justicar Ocanar?" She calls over her shoulder. "The barbarians are attempting to interfere with the Empire's justice. Remove the savage's head."

"Of course Lady Elenwen." Her guard says as he draws his elven sword while magical fire coats his free hand. "Court Wizard Sybille Stentor. You are hereby under arrest for…" The elf is cut off as he begins to gurgle. He collapses and his slit throat reveals itself to those in the room.

Sybille licks the blade of her knife clean as she stands over the dying elf. "I've always loved the taste of Aristocratic Asshole. Must be something in the wine." She says to herself as she turns back to the Praefect who is now frozen in terror. She smiles at the boy, revealing sharp teeth soaked in blood. A small stream of crimson begins to drip down her chin as she turns back to the Jarl. "Orders my lady?"

The Jarl's eyes have hardened. "The Thalmor are no longer welcome in my hold. Ensure they remember it."

The wizard's eyes flash red as she turns to Elenwen with a manic grin.

The elf stumbles from her chair and falls over. She brings her hands up and begins to cast a spell when a black cloaked blur appears behind her.

Sybille digs her teeth into the elf's neck and Elenwen screams. She is cut off as the vampire snaps her neck.

Red eyes rise up to hungrily stare at Tullius. "And what of him my lady?"

"End his life and the lives of his bodyguards." The Jarl orders. "He is guilty of treason against Solitude, as well as the province of Skyrim, and he will be treated accordingly."

"You can't do this!" Tullius yells.

The Jarl adopts a confused expression. "But I haven't done anything have I? The Thalmor delegation attempted to assassinate me when you agreed to aid my imperiled province defend itself from the threat the dragons pose. You valiantly gave your life to save my own, and Legate Rikke took command of your forces, as you commanded, to carry out your final orders."

I grin evilly as I turn to look at the man I once respected. "Thank you for your valiant sacrifice General. I will ensure your orders are carried out to the letter."

"Nooo!" The General screams out before he and his two bodyguard's find their throats cut with the Justicar's dropped sword.

The vampiric wizard laughs as she picks up the General's sword. Using the blade to cut Elenwen's head from her shoulders, destroying the puncture marks left by her fangs in the process. She turns to the Jarl with a wide grin, displaying her inhuman teeth. "Didn't think you had it in you girl! Well played! Very well played indeed! The Empire can't refute this without publicly declaring they were abandoning us, which would piss off every other province who is part of the Empire, and the Thalmor are notorious liars. You've maneuvered this quite well Elisif, I'm impressed!"

The Jarl nods in thanks before taking her seat once more and motioning for myself, the wizard, and her steward, Falk Firebeard, to do the same.

Her two bodyguards hurried from the room to report the attempted assassination and General Tullius's noble sacrifice.

"We have a lot of work to do." The Jarl says.

(Interlude: A VengefulSpirit)

The fools thought they could bind me. Me!

It would be amusing if it weren't so insulting.

The only reason they are allowed to persist in my service is their aid to me. Whether intentional or not, they did free me from that nightmare that was the Soul Cairn.

Thinking of the look on that arrogant vampiress's face when she realizes I'm free of our mutual prison brings a smile to my borrowed lips.

I look down over my new form and frown.

I never understood why mages other than myself would never exercise. How did this disgusting man live with himself?

No matter, I will soon have a much better vessel. Morthal is close.

Once I return and reclaim the service of my wayward vampiric general, I will be offered the body of one of his strongest children.

Once I have a worthy vessel, I will resurrect the rest of my great army. This province has grown weak without The Wolf Queen's guiding hand. It's people fight amongst themselves, they welcome foriegn rule, they cower from the challenge these newly risen dragons represent instead of meeting it head on as true warriors would. It is time this situation changed.

I will lead them once more to glory and prosperity. I need only be patient.

Luckily, patience is something I have learned in abundance during my centuries withering in the 'hospitality' of the Ideal Masters.

I smile as I force my flesh to continue shepherding me onward.

Soon…

A.N. Once again, sorry if I missed your review but I did my best. Serana is much older in this than she is in the game. She also got out a lot more so she has more confidence and isn't as naive. Thanks for reading!

Existential ERROR- It's not that the deities are 'bad' per se. Just that they are overwhelmingly powerful and pissing them off will mean Dusk's end. He doesn't want to mess with anything that powerful.

RahvinsCage- No concrete upload plans. I've been trying to get a chapter out every 2-5 days and have been successful so far, so that I guess? He's thought about vampire, but I'm not sure whether I'll have him go for it or not.

Notsae- I like that philosophy :) And you're right, Serana is OP. I've got some plans for next chapter to show her off a little more, because here she was still trying to get her feet under her. Still not sure about vamp/lich. I'll see what happens.

SortofSane- The Dawnguard aren't really a concern for Dusk. Heck, he can just Minato them all like he did the undead here. If he decides not to become a vampire, they won't be the reason. Same with the people in the holds. After Whiterun, he stopped caring overmuch about their input.

Gabe2000- Congratulations! You won! The next time Dusk gets a junk item from Gacha it will be this. I love it.

Cole BloodRose- Ya, thought about it a little more, and I've dropped that plan. I was going to have Dusk piss off a very powerful entity a couple chapters from now, but it's too early in the story. Plus, it felt really forced with how I was going to go about it.

Westrannor- She still hates dear old dad, but loves her mother a lot more. She's also her own person. She's hanging around these two primarily to keep attention from the Scroll to a minimum. Also she wants entertainment and they seem interesting.

Frescko- He can tell Svar the words, but she'll have to work to understand them on their own. Think of it this way, there are monkeys in the world smart enough to write F=MA, but they don't understand what those letters mean from a physics standpoint. They don't get the finer pieces, and abstract purpose they serve. Dusk is much the same way. He has the equations memorized, but he doesn't know what to use them for. He can tell Svar the equations, but she has to figure them out.(Sorry if this explanation was contrived. I'm a physics major so I related it to things I understand)

TheCuriousGuest- Dusk severly underestimated what he was waking up. He's lucky Serana can tolerate him and Svar or they'd be dead. He hasn't observed her yet because he was too focused on healing a certain dragonborn's hand. The Daedra will turn up soon, I've got plans for one in particular who noticed something interesting that only they would notice. Whiterun is a political shit storm right now. The only reason it's not collapsing is the dragon threat.

38Solitaire38- Not really thinking that far ahead. If Dusk and Co. do leave, I'll figure out where they're going as it comes. If Dusk had to choose a Daedra to consort with, he'd probably choose Azura or Nocturnal. Those two are fair so long as you play by their rules. Mostly. As fair as any daedra is at least. There really aren't any good options. His 'outsider' status will pull attention to himself from one daedra in particular just because they were watching for it.

Grim Riper- Make your reviews however the hell long you want to. I'm starving for the constructive criticism. Doing my best with the dialogue, but don't have a lot of experience to work with there. I was mainly limiting Yamato because I was trying to pad the amount of story I could cram into this, but you're right. I gave it to him so I have to use it, I'll find another way to work around it. I never said I disapproved of the breeding pits idea, I was just pointing out that it would really make me earn that M rating. He won't be crippled by any negative feelings because of Gamer's Mind, but I'm still going to have him feel them. Already rethought the Gamer's Body thing. Felt way too forced. Thanks for the suggestions and keep 'em coming!

The Random HP Roleplayer- Serana is very old in this. She might be interested in Dusk, but for now he's like a child compared to her. We'll see what happens.

Azrael Zero- Dusk hates the Thalmor, but making them extinct is a lot of work. If they piss him off he might, but for now he'lll just do as he has been and mind his own business. I'm going to say the Gacha can't summon sentient things/people. So no servants, no Tom Riddle's diary, no Stormbringer. That way lies things that are too OP. Though I would like to see how Dusk would react to pulling Stormbringer. He'd probably shit his pants and try to flee Nirn.

Xero the Reaper- Don't worry about offending me. I've got a thick skin, so if I'm wrong about something, or something's vague and it's not a creative choice, feel free to let me know. As for the word wall, same thing I told Frescko. He knows the equations but has no idea how to apply them. So he can definitely bacome strong in the voice, but he doesn't have any greatere potential than anyone else.

Soda-fiedPsycho- Yamato is powerful enough for now. If he starts fighting gods he might get something stronger. The reason I'm not doing a lot of the science stuff is just because it is so OP. Plus, he became an electromancy master very quickly. He didn't really get a chance to get overly creative with his power before he got more of it. It's that whole strength vs. control thing at play.

Empyrean Asura- Next chapter will have some crafting in it. I will make sure of that. I've put it off too long and need to address it. While he can make really strong stuff, he has to be in one place for a while in order to do so. For now he'll get 'basic'(for a master enchanter/alchemist) gear before going too overboard.

DG2- Very

Kenzhix- He probably wouldn't nuke it, but he would be willing to fuck some shit up. He'd avoid people who didn't have anything to do with it but he is pretty damn pissed off about the whole situation.