Dragonborn Saga

Chapter 727: Sloth (1)

Dear Readers,

I am tired of making excuses at this point and I got really drained that past month with Dragonborn Saga. May wasn't the best of months and I spent it writing other projects out of boredom, like I wrote 30 chapters in a complete unpublished novel for no goddamn reason and around 8 chapters in other projects. When it comes to Dragonborn Saga, it just gets stuck in my chest.

Either way, I've decided to continue with "Relife System: the Unholy Mage" where we left off and it's been going well. To those of you who were reading RSTUM, it is back for good and no paused ISA.

Dragonborn Saga will continue now as well for a certain reason. I've got a new Life Update for it that I'm excited to share but I'll let it cook up for a bit before that.

As for now, Enjoy the Chapter~

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There are certain complications regarding fighting the First Dragonborn as well as many advantages and disadvantages Jon needed to take into consideration.

First, Miraak is powerful but a bit slow. Many ages in Apocrypha as the Champion of Hermaeus Mora have indeed taken their toll on him but they have most certainly involved many trials and tribulations so that Miraak doesn't completely become rusty. Second, Miraak is proficient in both combat and magic, just like Jon, and the two are specialized in Thu'um which makes them a very awkward match.

Jon has tried to delve deeper into the historical records about Apocrypha back at the College of Winterhold but he found no reference to the Champion of Hermaeus Mora for ages and no information about his Labors or such things. This doesn't necessarily have to be true but one can only assume that Miraak has had no human interaction for thousands of years.

On the other hand, many people tend to get lost in Apocrypha and it is hard to be sure of whether or not they run into Miraak.

Then there were those puny cultists of Miraak who were previously pirates from outside Solstheim. This means that Miraak has managed to make contact with the outside world somehow but to what extent?

There was no way of knowing but Jon wanted to analyze his opponent on a deep personal level. Miraak is 5000 years old, one of the very few mortals older than Lord Divayth Fyr. Once such an entity is understood, Jon can and will get under his skin.

This is a Dragonborn vs Dragonborn spar. Miraak had all the time and knowledge in the world and Jon must triumph over him using 21 years worth of practice and planning.

Jon is both prepared and fated to attain as much power as he seeks, while Miraak has had years of God knows what experience. This will be a fight with everything.

"And so I am planning on heading far North."

"The land is freezing this time of year. You sure you don't need anyone guiding you?" Frea asked.

"This is something that will be dangerous for even me so I'll need your people to keep clear from that part of the island no matter what." Jon made his demand.

Earlier, the trio of Jon, Wulfur, and Frea made it out of the Temple to the western part of the island near the Wind Stone. From there, it was a small distance between them and the Skaal Village which they took on foot.

As soon as they arrived at the Skaal Village, they met with the Skall Shamans as well as Alina who established a forward operating point at the Skaal village.

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As for Frea, she ran towards her father as soon as she saw him.

"Father! I have returned! There is yet hope!"

But as she saw her father standing with Alina, she halted her steps and approached them with respect.

"Priestess of the Hawk." Frea spoke as she recognized Alina immediately.

"Miss Frea." Alina nodded toward her.

During Jon's travels around Tamriel, Alina has visited the Skaal not once but twice in order to affirm the relationship between the Skaal and the Dares. It wasn't long after Jon and Alina's wedding either and it was officially the time to establish the name of House Dare as a clan and gain recognition of the ancient clans.

"Frea!" Storn Crag-Strider, Head Shaman of the Skaal and Frea's father, turned to his daughter with a face that looked healthier than the last time she left him, "How have you fared in your scouting?"

"I have… learned something." Frea said as she looked around her to see multiple men and women in expensive attires and sitting on the ground where her father and the others were supposed to be maintaining the spell that wards the influence of evil off their village, this made Frea wonder out loud, "I'm sorry, what is going on?"

"The people from the mainland followed the Priestess of the Hawk and Bloodskal to our aid. Two children of our tribe have managed to reach their land." Shaman Storn replied, "They brought many mages with them to help us."

Seeing the mages maintaining the spell which drove her father and the other clansmen to exhaustion.

"So… have you found a way to free our people?" Crag asked his daughter.

"No, but I have brought someone who has seen things... He has confirmed that Miraak is indeed behind the suffering of our people." Frea replied.

"I feared that it would be so." Crag's face darkened as he looked with visible dread away from his daughter.

"But how is that possible? After all this time..." Frea asked yet she was interrupted.

"I fear there is too much we do not yet know." Crag said but as he was about to turn away, he spotted the approaching Jon Dare.

"Bloodskal!"

"Shaman Storn, we meet again!" Jon walked closer to the much shorter man.

"I believe it was you who ventured deep into the temple with my daughter." Crag asked.

"Aye!" Jon nodded, "I had to resort to some unorthodox methods in order to infiltrate the Daedric Influence deep in the temple."

"Daedric influence?" Crag asked worriedly, "Wasn't it Miraak?"

"In this particular situation, it is all one and the same." Jon said.

Jon then explained what was going on really and how Miraak, the former Dragon Priest of the Ancient Dragon Cult in the Merethic Era, has turned against his masters and ruled them by his voice as the first known Dragonborn. This somewhat went in line with what Storn Crag-Strider had knowledge of.

Jon added some details about the unholy alliance of Miraak and Hermaeus Mora and their apparent aims without shedding light on the real goal of Hermaeus Mora. Rather, he let Storn spill the beans on his own.

"If the old man of the wood, Herma Mora, is the source of Miraak's power as you say, then this has got to be more dangerous than ever before even when looking at how things are now." Crag said.

"Care to elaborate?" Jon said.

"Of course." Crag didn't mind the conversation, "Since times immemorial, the Demon of Knowledge would come to the Skaal in the form of the Greedy Man seeking the knowledge and the gifts given to our tribe by the All-Maker."

"Funny you should!" Jon commented.

"Excuse me?"

"The Skaal secrets. Aside from the Shamanism of your people, I wouldn't think any mundane knowledge would be that interesting to Hermaeus Mora unless it is about something you deeply guard and consider a secret or a taboo." Jon said.

"I can't say you are off the mark but you are not entirely correct either." Storn replied.

"That's a sly answer. You are either truthful or you're pushing me off the trail. I can't tell." Jon mumbled, then looked at Alina, "You?"

"I believe it is rude to nitpick people's secrets, husband." Alina gave Jon a solemn stare.

"Sorry." Jon backed off then turned to Storn, "While I can't speculate what secrets you want to protect, which is funny since they are secrets, I'll help you guard them." Jon said.

"That's generous of you. We only asked for you as a friend to help us and save our lives, I don't believe guarding our secrets is of any interest to you." Storn replied.

"You are wrong." Jon said before putting on an evil grin, "Just making Hermaeus Mora agonize over something is enough payback for what he has done with me. I'll lend you my strength so don't do anything suicidal like trading your secrets for your people's salvation or anything. I have enough leverage to blackmail Hermaeus Mora."

"Sacrifice myself?!" Storn seemed puzzled but Jon was unbothered, "Would it really come to that?"

"What my husband was saying is that he has his ways to deal with this situation so he was advising not to do something reckless before consulting with us for safer alternatives." Alina translated for the people.

Jon meant something else, though. In the game, Storn Crag-Strider gives his own life to Hermaeus Mora in order to give the Dragonborn a fighting chance against Miraak. Jon would be greatly bothered if this was to happen even though it is of vital importance.

With his many attempts to alter Fate through many trials and errors, he can say the most efficient way to evade the game scenarios from forcing themselves on him is to act in unexpected ways but still be casual and not rigid when it comes to manipulating the events around him.

Now, why is this important?

The simple answer is that his enemy is Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of not only knowledge but also Fate. His sphere of power is forbidden knowledge, destiny, and the scrying the tides of Fate, weaving his way through the past and future as reading in the stars of heaven, and in whose dominion are "the treasures of knowledge and memory".

One thing to note while contending against such an opponent is that no matter what cards one shall pull out, it is impossible to be unpredictable. When one is predictable in a fight, one is destined to lose. That, however, isn't set in stone. A natural disaster can be predicted to ruin a town in its wake and the town can do nothing if it can't prevent the natural disaster.

In other words, Jon needs to be the disaster.

"So, how will this go?" Wulfur joined the conversation in order to hasten up the plan.

"Miraak is a dangerous foe, a Dragonborn. Still, there is such a legend that stands among us today. Bloodskal." Storn turned to Jon, "This means that you and Miraak are connected, two Dragonborns, the two sons of the Dragon."

Two sons of the Dragon, the wording left those who heard it with terrible thoughts.

"What does it mean if Jon and Miraak are Dragonborns existing in the same era?" Alina asked.

"I am unsure. It may mean that he could save us, or it may mean that he could bring about our destruction. But our time here is running out. The few of us free of control cannot protect ourselves for much longer." Storn said and turned to Jon, "You must go to Saering's Watch. Learn there the word that Miraak learned long ago, and use that knowledge on the Wind Stone. You may be able to break the hold on our people there, and free them from control."

The words of the "Bend Will" shout, the first word "Gol" which means Earth.

All eyes landed on Jon at that moment.

"I learned that word many years ago." Jon said, "It is the word I used to turn Jarl Korir from the vile scum he once was to the decent Jarl he is today."

This reply shocked everyone present. Never have they thought Jon has learned it all along.

"A Power that can turn the hearts of men?" Frea asked.

"And rule over Dragons too." Jon added, "I only know one word and I only used it once. I need two more words for it to be completed."

Such a terrible power indeed.

"But wait! Doesn't this mean that you can free our people now?" Storn asked.

"Yes. I can start working on that right away but things have to happen in a certain order." Jon said, "Once I start taking down the shrines that are built around the stones of the All-Maker, our enemy will be impatient and will release his enslaved dragons on the island. I don't think things will go smoothly afterward."

"What is it that you need then?" Storn asked.

"I'll create a weapon, something that even Miraak will be helpless against." Jon said, "From you, I need a map to the northern parts of Solstheim and I need a guide."

"A map and a guide, I can do that." Frea said.

"The map for me, the guide for Wulfur." Jon said.

"We're doing it, huh!" Wulfur mumbled.

"I'm not sure I am following." Frea said.

"Guide Wulfur to as many Stalhrim deposits on Solstheim as you can. I'll need a large amount of it. The more, the better." Jon said, "As for me, I will venture to the north and visit an old far off relative of my kin."

Jon's words were cryptic but a few knew the truth in them. Jon is a Nord with the blood of giants, or rather, the Giants and the Nords have always been relatives, it is just that the Firemanes are closer to the Giants than any.

As for that relative Jon was talking about, he was referring to an old being that was slumbering in the farthest peaks of Solstheim for ages. A being of sloth that when awakens, the world itself trembles in its wake.

It is time for Sloth.

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