Elder Scroll series 1. CH 1

This is my first time publishing anything I have written, so reviews are appreciated. I am not sure where this will go, so I am open to your suggestions.

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It was dark. There was not a cloud in sight, and the stars stood in clear contrast to the black night sky. Beautiful, some would call it, however it was that time of day where few people dared travel the roads of Skyrim, for fear of the cold that cut through skin and bone, fear of the beasts and monsters that lured, or fear of whatever else could be out there, waiting.

It was on a this night, that one man dared the roads. Travelling the road through the marshes of Whiterun hold, a single Imperial man clad in steel armor could be seen. Longsword and shield by his sides, he was slowly making his way towards Whiterun. He was a mercenary, returning from Solitude. The road had been sparsely populated so far. It had only been himself, with the occasional caravans going the other way. By now, he was letting his guard down. To him, it seemed unlikely that there would be trouble after this long.

It was in that moment he became aware of three men blocking the road ahead. With a slight frown, he slid his hand to his sword, letting it rest on the pommel. He continued walking towards the men, pace unchanged. As he approached, he took the chance to look them over. After all, it was best to know your opponent, if it came to fighting.

They looked like the typical bandits. All three were dressed in simple furs, with some home made pieces of armor attached here and there. They were all armed, one with an axe, one with a sword, and the biggest of them with a rusty greatsword. Rusty or not, it was still a weapon to be reckoned with, if the man knew how to use it.

The warrior finally stopped, leaving a few metres between him and the bandits. There he stood, staring at them until the greatsword wielding bandit took a small step forward.

"Well, what do we have here? A lone wolf out at night. Where are you going, wolf?" he asked, with a voice harsh like gravel.

The warrior shrugged lightly: "None of your business, brigand. You will get nothing from me. Now, step aside." He answered, a commanding tone to it. The bandits stared at him for a moment, until the big one broke the silence with a slight chuckle. "Well, we might get your life..." he said, as he tightly grasped the grip of his greatsword, stepping back. "Get him, boys!" He shouted.

In a single response movement, the warrior quickly pulled his sword and raised his shield, awaiting their attack. It was the man with the axe first. Letting out a bellowing warcry, he charged towards the warrior, axe raised high. A hopeless attack, which was swiftly ended with a sword through his stomach. He remained standing, until the warrior yanked the bloody sword out, allowing the bandit to fall on the ground, a pool of blood growing around him.

The second bandit quickly followed, dealing a savage blow towards the warriors head. Blocking it with his shield, the warrior responded by dashing into the bandit, knocking him to the ground. Without mercy, he was finished by a sword through the heart.

The final bandit stood by, observing as his comrades were cut down. Upon hearing the death rattle of the last victim, he raised the greatsword, and charged forward with a warcry. He brought the mightly blade down onto the warriors shield with both hands, effectively cracking it, and sending the warrior reeling. The bandit continued pushing forward, preparing another great slash with his sword, until he was knocked down by a brutal kick to the gut. As he lay on the ground, the warrior stepped next to him, raising his sword for a finishing blow.

The final attack was interrupted, when a projectile suddenly impacted against the warriors chest with a hollow thud. He took a quick step back, regaining his balance. After a quick look around, the assailant turned out to be a fourth, and until now unseen bandit, with his bow raised. The warrior looked down himself, to find an arrow sticking out of his chest.

There was no pain. As the blood slowly trickled out, the warrior found himself on his knees, his vision steadily blurring. A pair of boots stopped next to him. Looking up, he found the bandit he had just knocked down on his feet again, greatsword raised above his head and a snarl on his face, ready for decapitation.

It was then, just as the warrior saw the sword starting its descent, he heard a shout unlike anything he'd ever heard before, coming from behind.

"Zun Haal Viik!"

And with that, the greatsword was ripped out of the bandits hands, leaving him with a surprised look in his eyes. He stood like that in a second, until a thunderbolt shot into his chest with a deafening boom, sending him flying backwards, a light trail of smoke behind him.

The warrior fell backwards onto the ground. A new character stepped into his vision: A female, clad in black. She bowed down next to him, golden light streaming from her hands. His vision fading, the last thing he noticed before slipping out of conciousness, was her brightly glowing orange eyes.


	2. CH 2

Fire. That was the first thing he heard, when regaining his conciousness. Something was burning nearby. Secondly, he realised he was laying on something soft. A fur, maybe. He had been moved. Lastly, he realised there was no pain in his chest. Instead, he had a throbbing headache.

He clearly recalled what had happened.. the three bandits, the fight, the arrow slamming into his chest. A woman had come to his aid. A woman with glowing eyes. He only knew of one creature posessing that feature: Vampires.

He slowly opened his eyes, and took in his surroundings. He was on a plateau of some sort, clearly created by man. It was almost a whole circle, with four stone pillars placed at even intervals. In the middle, there was a fireplace, with a well kept fire going in it. The plateau, it seemed, had been built over the side of a cliff. Behind him, it connected to a gateway through a wall, leading into what looked like a castle. It was all some impressive construction work.

Apart from the fire, there was complete silence. No talking, no fighting. It sounded desolated.

As he sat up and took a second look around, he noticed two more things. First, he saw his armor and weapons on the ground, at the feet of one of the pillars. Secondly, he saw the outline of what he assumed to be his saviour, standing at the edge of the plateau, looking out into the nothingness. She was dressed completely in some sort of plate armor, covered with a robe. All of it as black as the night, which explained why he had failed to notice her before now.

This left him at somewhat of a dilemma. She had saved him. He had been hit by an arrow, but she had obviously healed him. He didn't feel an ounce of pain, despite the fact that he had been mortally injured. It was really quite impressive.

On the other hand, he was certain she was a vampire. He had encountered few vampires in his time, and none of them had shown good intentions.

In the end, he decided to get his sword. He would find out what she wanted either way, so being armed couldn't hurt. Careful not to make a sound, he slowly reached out towards his sword. It was not far, and if he stretched a little he could-

"Lay still. You haven't regenerated enough blood to fight." the woman said, without moving even the slightest bit to look at him. Her voice was strange. Beautiful and enticing, yet with a cold undertone. It sent chills down his spine, and he quickly retracted his arm. Now that she mentioned it, he still felt dizzy, and the headache hadn't gotten better. Even if he got the sword, there was no chance he could defeat her. She had displayed some powerful magic, and he was out of his armor. He could clearly recall the bandit being thrown like a ragdoll after being hit by a thunderbolt of sorts, and it was not something he would like to try for himself.

She turned around halfway, and silently started walking along the edge of the plateau, tracing a finger across the pillars as she stepped past them. She looked around at the stone structures, seemingly inspecting the work others had put into constructing them.

"They call this Fort Sungard. It's one of the more impressive creations these Nords have made. Through the last year, it has changed occupants more than a few times." She started, demanding his attention. "This is the third time I'm here. First time I cleared it of the Forsworn that had claimed it. Second time I was sent here by the Imperial Legion, to murder the Stormcloak rebels that had garrisoned it. And now, I came here again to rid it of the bandits that have been infesting this area... the same group, from which the bandits that tried to kill you originated. I wonder who will have taken control next time I come. I wonder if I'll have to kill them too." She continued, voice unchanged. It almost seemed to bore her.

She continued her path along the edge, until stopping next to the warrior. She turned towards him, and tilted her head down, looking him over. Like this, he had a better opportunity to do the same. She was almost completely covered, from head to toe. She was clad in some sort of black plate armor, unlike anything he had seen before. Covering that was an equally black robe. She carried no visible weapons, so he assumed she relied on her magic. Her hair was hidden under a hood, with only a few black strands falling in front of her face. Her mouth was hidden beneath a mask of sorts, so that the only visible skin was that around her eyes. It was pale as snow. And then there was those eyes, glowing a clear, bright orange. Strange, he thought. Most vampires he knew of had red eyes.

She continued to stare at him for a few moments, her head tilting lightly to the side. She then extended her one hand and all the fingers on it, letting a stream of golden light flow from it, to his chest. He recognized it as the same magic she had used before, and as it touched him, he could immediately feel his headache vanishing, and his vision sharpened considerably. He felt his energy return, as the magic apparently rid him of all his ailments. When she felt it was sufficient, the flow ceased, and her hand returned to her side. She took a short step back, crossing her arms: "You can get your weapon now. What is your name?" She simply asked, keeping her eyes on him. He slowly got up, and walked to the pillar where his gear was. He started putting it on, and when he was done, he strapped the swordbelt around his waist. He then turned his attention back to her. "My name is Wulf." He started, his eyes pinned on hers. He slowly moved his hand to the pommel of his sword. "You are a vampire." He continued, with a hint of blame in his voice.

She nodded lightly. "I am a vampire. A vampire who killed the men that were about to kill you, a vampire who healed you, and a vampire who refrained from feeding on you through the night. I could have killed you, turned you, tortured you.. but I saved you." She said with a trace of impatience in her voice. She turned her eyes down to his sword. "So, are you going to attack me?"

Wulf tapped his sword nervously, eyes still fixed on the woman. He then let out a sigh, and slid his hand off the sword. "You're a strange vampire... well, I told you my name. What is yours?" he asked. She quickly turned her eyes up to meet his, with a slight frown. She looked him over, as if judging whether she would tell him or not.

"I have many names... but you can call me Lyannah." she finally responded. "Now, I can't stay here forever. I assume you were going to Whiterun, and that's also where I am headed, so you might as well come with me." she said, stepping over next to the fire. "I'm leaving at dawn. You should sleep." She continued, sitting down on the rough surface. Wulf crossed his arms, walking over to the opposite side of the fire. "I can take care of my self." he grumbled, laying down.

"I can see that." he heard, before closing his eyes.


	3. CH 3

Darkness. Wulf looked around frantically, but saw nothing through the darkness that ingulfed him. He tried to move, but he could not. His feet stood solidly on the ground, as if they had been nailed stuck. His arms still moved freely, but he felt weak. Wounded. He looked down him self, but found no blood. He noticed however, that he was out of his armor, and only dressed in simple linens. There was not a weapon in sight, no distant goal breaking the darkness.

So he stood for a while, with only his thoughts. And then, there was the unmistakable sound of soft footsteps coming his way. Wulf traced the noise, finding that it was coming from straight ahead. And it was coming closer, step by step. He saw nothing yet, his eyes scanning as far as they could. It was hard. In the monotonous darkness, there was no indication of where the ground ended, and the sky started.

The sound of the footsteps was obscured by a cruel laughter, echoing through the emptiness. It seemingly came from all sides. It was almost as if it was within his head, obscuring all thoughts. It was then, he saw them approaching from the darkness ahead; Bright orange eyes. Though the character to whom they belonged was still hidden, he knew he had seen them before. As if to confirm his suspicion, the voice uterring the laughter morphed into hers, sending chills down his spine.

She continued walking closer to him, until he could clearly see the black pupils situated in the midst of her eyes. There she stopped, and closed her eyes. He kept his stare pinned to the spot, waiting for them to reopen.

They did not. Instead, forces he could not overcome grabbed his arms, and stretched them out to the sides. He struggled in an attempt at retracting them, to no avail. And then, as he stood there powerless to resist, the laughter stopped. In its stead, he heard a slight chuckle from straight behind him. He could not turn. He could not run.

The chuckling steadily came closer, and when it seemed to originate from mere inches behind his back, it stopped just as abruptly as the laughter.

It was silent. And just as he thought it was over, he felt a terrible stinging pain as two fangs pierced the skin of his neck, sinking deep into his flesh.

He opened his eyes, quickly sitting up in the bed. He let out a slight sigh, sliding his legs over the side of the bed. He rested his head in his hands, and rubbed his eyes lightly. His breathing was staggered, and the dream had brought the sweat out on his skin. He did not usually have nightmares, and this one had been bad. It had almost felt real. He rubbed his hand over his neck, where he had been bitten in the dream. Unsurprisingly, he found nothing.

He let out a sigh, and raised his head to look across the room, at the other bed. There she was, sleeping. Lyannah was her name. He had expected a more intimidating name, for a character like her.

She had removed her armor and cowl for the night, leaving her only with a black robe. Like this, she seemed smaller, and much less intimidating. The vampirism had left her skin pale as the snow, and the features of her face gaunt, yet she was still a pretty woman, with fine ebony hair falling to her shoulders. He would have liked to know how she looked before. When she was sleeping, he could almost imagine it. No fangs. Normal eyes. He wondered what color they would be.

He turned his attention to the plates of armor she had left on the nightstand. Carefully, he reached out and lifted a pauldron, slowly examining it. It was a strange metal. It had not been painted, so the black color was natural for this material. It was very light, yet no matter what he tried he could not bend it. It simply would not give. He had been far and wide, yet armor like this had never crossed his path, strong as ebony, yet light as leather. Taking great care not to make any noise, he put the piece back. Exclaiming another sigh, he got back in his bed, and closed his eyes. Hopefully he could get some sleep before daylight.

When he opened his eyes again, the light was shining through the window. He blinked, as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. He sat up in the bed, and looked over at Lyannah. She was already up, standing at the door with her eyes on him. She had covered herself with her armor again, and the illusion of her normal look had vanished. He got up from the bed, and under her gaze he dressed himself in his armor. When done, he turned to face her.

"Good morning." He said.

She stared at him, ignoring the greeting. A few moments went by, until she finally said: "I have an offer for you."

"Oh?" Wulf replied, crossing his arms: "What kind of offer?"

She tapped her chin lightly, looking him over as if she was reconsidering. "You're a mercenary. I want to hire you. You'll travel with me wherever I go, fight who I want you to fight, and in return you can help yourself to all loot we come across, with some select few exceptions."

Wulf sighed lightly, considering the offer: "Doesn't sound like any guarantee I'll get paid. And how long will this be?"

She reached for a pouch on her belt, pulled it off, and lobbed it towards Wulf. He grabbed it, and quickly opened it. Inspecting the contents, he found that it was gold, and quite a bit of it. She crossed her arms, nodding towards the bag. "That's just from Fort Sungard, where I healed you. Don't worry, you'll get paid. As for the duration, I cannot say. Until I don't need you, or don't want you."

For once in his life, Wulf was conflicted about accepting gold. On one hand, it seemed like this would be a very well payed job, but it felt wrong. He didn't know the woman, and there was something wrong about her. Apart from the vampirism. He couldn't quite place it, but he felt uncomfortable around her.

In the end, he decided to give it a try. After all, she had already paid him more than he got for any normal job.

"Alright, you have a deal." he said, and extended his hand to her. She turned her eyes down to it, then reluctantly reached out, and shook it lightly. She then quickly turned around, and walked out of the room. Wulf grabbed his swordbelt, and strapped it on as he followed after her. She led him through the tavern, and out into the city.

Their travel from For Sungard to Whiterun had been uneventful, and they had reached the city just as the sun was setting. Lyannah had rented the room immediately, so there had been no chance for Wulf to check around for work. That was irrelevant now though.

As they stepped out from the tavern, Liana pulled him to the side. "I've got a few things to do. You can either come with me, or do something else. I don't care." she stated, and then turned and walked off without awaiting his reply. Then again, she hadn't really seemed like she wanted one. So with that, he started doing his job: Following her around.

She led him in a straight line through the city. There was no casual shopping, looking at wares or inspecting weapons for sale, so the small marketplace of Whiterun was laid behind them rather quickly. They ascended the stairs to the wind district, and strode past the blooming Gildergreen. Wulf was wondering where she was headed, but it quickly became apparent when she started scaling the stairs leading to Dragonsreach, the great palace dominating the cloud district.

As they reached the top, they passed by a couple of guards. Wulf had expected they would be checked, but the guards simply avoided looking at Lyannah and him. Another pair of guards opened the great doors of the hall for them, and they stepped inside. Just before the stairs leading up to the great tables, Lyannah turned around to face Wulf: "Wait here." she said, and then stepped up the stair, and into a room on the right. Wulf let out a sigh, feeling out of place standing there in the middle of the hall. Several of the guards had turned their attention to him, now that he was alone.

"Hey.. you there." he heard from behind him. As he turned, he noticed it was the closest guard, standing by one the wooden pillars that kept the ceiling suspended. Wulf frowned lightly, and then stepped closer. "Me?" he asked.

The guard nodded briefly: "Yeah, you. Are you her new... companion?" he asked, drawing on that last word.

Wulf shrugged lightly. What a strange question. "You could say that. Why? Has she had a lot?" he replied.

The guard threw a quick look around, as if to make sure she wasn't listening: "Yeah, a lot. None of them have come back. She does something to them." he said, with a hint of awe in his voice: "They say she sacrifices you mercenaries to Molag Bal." he continued. Wulf didn't quite know what to make of this. He had never dealt with Daedra. To him, this sounded mostly like rumors.

"Who is she? Everyone seems afraid of her." he asked the guard. It would be nice to know his employer.

The guard's eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing: "You don't know? Gods save you." he said, before continuing: "She is Dragonborn. She killed Alduin the worldeater, destroyed the stormcloak rebellion, ended the vampire menace, and defeated Miraak, the first dragonborn." He breathed in, before continuing: "Everyone knows this by now. But then.. they say she turned mad. Through all that, she gained too much power. She is the most powerful person alive, and it has driven her crazy. She has no compassion, no feelings..." he suddenly stopped mid sentence, focusing on something behind Wulf. Wulf slowly turned, to find Lyannah staring at him and the guard. He hadn't heard her approach. Her expression was still unchanged, with nothing indicating whether or not she had overheard their conversation. Not willing to try her patience, he immediately walked over next to her.

Her eyes shifted between Wulf, and the guard, until she finally focused back on Wulf. "We're going to Winterhold. " She said, and then started walking towards the exit. With the guard's words in the back of his mind, he followed after her.

And with that, they started their journey.


	4. CH 4

One would think travelling with a person such as Lyannah would prove quite interesting, however the first thing Wulf came to find, was that it was anything but. Similarly to their initial travel on the way to Whiterun, their new journey was quite uneventful. They met no wild animals, no bandits, and the few travellers they encountered all seemed to know who she was, so they simply looked away. Some looked angry, as if Lyannah had done some terrible crime. Others seemed afraid, perhaps thinking she would murder them on the spot.

The worst part was the silence. Wulf had done a lot of travelling in his time, both alone and in the company of others. One thing he enjoyed was the smalltalk. Jokes, tales of their adventures, stories of home. Everyone had something to say. Except for Lyannah. She apparently felt no need to talk. Atleast, she hadn't done so since they had left Whiterun, except for the occasional orders when they were setting up camps. He had tried talking to her, but was only met by a cold stare, and silence. She was clearly not a sociable person.

In the place of conversation, Wulf had spent the journey contemplating what he had been told by the guard in Whiterun. It certainly sounded like she had done great deeds, but then he had been told that she turned mad. Most people they encountered seemed to share that view, yet there had been no reasoning as to why they thought so. Rumors and gossip, he ended up assuring himself. Sure, she was a vampire. But apart from that, he hadn't really seen any morally questionable actions from her.

This was the third day of their travel, and they had finally entered the mountainous region of Winterhold. At the moment, they were scaling the road of a mountain pass, and Wulf knew Windhelm was close. They had been able to see the lights of the city as they were camping last night. But today, they saw nothing. The snow was falling heavily, and it was barely possible to see the road. If Wulf had travelled alone, this would have been a major setback, but it apparently caused no trouble for Lyannah. She walked on, as if the snow wasn't there, and although there were moments where Wulf was sure they had been lost, they always ended up passing by a landmark, showing that they were infact still following the road. He did not know how she did it, but at the same time he appreciated it. At this rate, they would be at Winterhold the next day.

Gone in his own thoughts, Wulf almost bumped into Lyannah. She had stopped in the middle of the road, and was staring at something up ahead. Wulf followed her gaze, staring intensely, but could see nothing through the heavy snowfall. He sighed lightly, and turned his head to her: "What is it?" he asked. She didn't respond immediately, which was something he had become used to. Instead, she kept her eyes focused on whatever it was she could see. A few moments later, she finally said: "There's a fort up ahead.. Fort Kastav. Bandits have occupied it."

She continued walking along the road, and as Wulf followed, he had to wonder if she knew the name of every fort in Skyrim. Then again, it had sounded like she played a big role in the civil war, so knowing strategic locations wasn't a bad idea.

A short while later, Wulf finally saw what she had been talking about. It was indeed a fort, built in the traditional Nord style. He saw no bandits, but chose to trust Lyannah. He silently drew his sword. Hopefully they could pass by without needing to fight, but his previous encounters with them hadn't exactly laid the basis for a lot of trust. Still, every group was different, and as they approached the fort nothing happened. He was sure he saw a single man watching them from the walls, but as they came closer he disappeared. The gate had been shut.

Wulf thought this was a good sign. Perhaps they could just pass by.

Lyannah seemed to have a different view. As they were in front of the gate, Lyannah turned to face it. Without a word, she casually lifted her one hand up, towards the door. With an ear-ringing thud, the great door shattered inwards, sending spear-size fractures flying into the fort. As they did, Wulf heard several screams of pain. Without hesitation, Lyannah stepped forward through the now clear pathway through the wall, and into the fort. Wulf quickly followed after her, awestruck by her display of destructive power.

As they came into the courtyard, they found a group of seven bandits lying dead on the ground, impaled by the splinters of the gate. The blood stood in clear contrast to the white snow, and there was quite a bit of it, trickling along the ground. Lyannah didn't stop to take in the sight, but simply pressed onwards toward the keep. Another door was blocking their way, and Lyannah extended her hand once again. This time the door was ripped off it's hinges, and flung backwards, out over the walls of the fort. Wulf couldn't help but wonder what that sort of force could do, if applied directly to a man. The thought scared him.

As they entered the keep, they came upon a stair leading down into a hall of sorts. They stopped atop the stair, looking down at another group of bandits. Wulf counted five this time, all with their weapons drawn. They looked terrified, none of them daring to attack. They stood like this for a few moment, nobody moving, until a single bandit stepped forward. "P-Please.." he managed to stammer out, but was cut off when Lyannah stretched her arm out. A stream of electricity shot out from each of her fingers, and engulfed the group. The crackling noise was unbearably loud, and the screams of the bandits only made it worse.

It was over quickly, and as they walked down among the charred remains of the bandits, Wulf noticed absolutely no expression on Lyannah's face. The sight and smell of the dead men, crumbled together on the ground, made absolutely no impression on her. Wulf had killed many men, but this was no battle. It was slaughter. Ants, being crushed by an armored boot.

Further into the structure they went, and as they descended another flight of stairs, it became apparent that this was a prison. They came unto a hall, much like the first, however the walls of this one were lined with cells. In the center of the room, stood a single woman.

She was young, and pretty. She had fine brown hair, delicate white skin, and beautiful almond shaped eyes, green as emeralds. She was scared, and the skin around her eyes was red from tears. She was obviously no fighter, and had just heard the screams of her friends, perhaps even family, dying. Wulf felt bad for her. He highly doubted that she had ever done anything wrong, apart from being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Lyannah started walking down the stairs, looking the woman over. The woman slowly started backing away, her back quickly approaching the wall. Lyannah stopped at the foot of the stair, and turned to face Wulf. "Go to the captains quarters. It's just above the entrance to this place. We're staying here for the night." She said, and then turned back to the woman.

Wulf was conflicted, to say the least. The woman was innocent. He felt bad leaving her in the grasp of Lyannah, but there was nothing he could do to stop her. She would kill him with a flick of her fingers. Despite feeling awful, he turned, and left the room. He stopped in the hall, out of her sight. Letting out a small sigh, he leaned up against the wall, rubbing his eyes.

Something felt wrong about this. She had killed all the others immediately, but now she wanted to be alone with the woman. "Damn.." he mumbled to himself, and decided to go back. He had to know what she did.

Stepping back into the hall with the cells, he remained on the upper level, and snuk into the corner. Several large sacks of grain were stashed there. Careful not to make any noise, he moved them around, creating a hole, through which he could see what went on in the lower level.

It was strange. The woman was standing in the middle of the room, and Lyannah was walking around her, looking her up and down as she did. The woman seemed entirely calm. She was smiling lightly, and there was a faint green glow radiating from her. Magic, he thought. Lyannah circled around her another few times, then stopped behind her. She pulled her mask off, and then gently brushed the womans hair aside. She let out a small sigh, mumbling: "Sorry..." to the woman, and then leaned forward, sinking her teeth into the side of the womans neck. Wulf looked on in horror, as Lyannah unfolded her vampiristic nature. She kept drinking, until Wulf could see the color draining from the womans skin. He could see her strength giving away, and soon after her legs collapsed under her, as she fell to the ground. Lyannah let her fall, and Wulf saw her bloody fangs slide out of the skin. She then sat down, and against all expectations, she lightly put the womans head on her lap, and gently caressed her cheek. The hood had laid her head in shadow, but Wulf was certain he saw a tear roll down her cheek.

It struck him that he should probably get out of there. He quickly pulled back from his hiding place, but in his haste he accidentally pushed one of the bags. Time seemed to pass by in slowmotion as he saw the bag slide over the edge, and heard the loud thud as it slammed into the ground. Lyannah looked startled, her eyes darting to the bag, and then up at Wulf. There was a moment where nothing happened, as their eyes locked with each other, and for once she had a different expression on her face. She looked sad.

The sadness was quickly replaced by anger as she stood up, and raised her arm towards Wulf. Before he could move, he felt some sort of force take a hold of him, and he was pulled over the edge, then released. Like the bag, he fell to the ground, and had the air knocked out of him as he collided with the stone floor. He got up on all four, taking deep breaths.

"I told you to go." She said. He felt the force around his throat, pulling him up, and pinning him against the wall. He felt the grip around his throat tighten, as Lyannah slowly stepped closer to him. She had her mask back on, but the anger hadn't left her yet.

"W-why?" he croaked out, staring her in the eyes. She stopped where she was, and he felt the force loosen slightly. "What?" she asked.

"Why are you doing this?" He continued, signalling down at the body of the woman, drained of most blood. She was dead.

Lyannah blinked. Whether it was just a blink, or a brief display of emotion, Wulf did not know. "I'm a vampire. What did you expect?" she replied.

"But you don't enjoy it. I saw you! You were crying!" he said, dangling from the wall.

Lyannah replied by quickly stepping closer to him, and jamming her fist into his stomach. He hadn't expected her to get physical like that, and she was much stronger than she appeared. As it was, the air was pumped out of him again. She followed up by flinging him to the side, into the metal bars on one of the cells. First then did she end her magic, releasing her grip on him. She turned away from him, seeming troubled. "You know nothing. What are you? Just a mercenary. You fight for gold. You've never done anything. Never set your mark on this world." she said. There was sadness in her tone.

He shook his head lightly. "No. And if doing so would make me like you.. I'm not sure I want to." he said, well aware that he was treading on dangerous ground.

She didn't quite react the way he had expected. Instead of hurting him, she chuckled bitterly, and turned around, stepping over next to him. She reached a hand down to him. "You don't know what I am." She said, pulling him up as he grabbed her hand. She then turned, and started walking towards the stairs. He stared after her with a puzzled look, and then followed after her, with a light shake of his head.

Perhaps he wouldn't die today.


	5. CH 5

After their little confrontation at the cells, Lyannah had gone straight to the commanders quarters. Wulf followed, but slowly. Partially because he wasn't exactly thrilled to be in the same room as her, but also because he wanted to give her a little time to cool down. Give her some space, if you will. This was the first time he had seen anything resembling emotions from her. Even when she was frying bandits, there had been nothing on her face, so rather than pushing her over the edge, he made sure to give some space.

When he finally stepped into the quarters, he took a minute to inspect the room. It was split into three sections. In the middle, there was a large area, occupied by a table with some rough wooden chairs, and a few wooden bookcases. To the right, there was a stair leading down into a small cellar of sorts, probably used for storage. And finally to the left, a stair led up to a raised platform, on which a bed had been placed. It was in this bed he saw Lyannah sitting.

She had already removed her plate armor, as he had found was her custom when resting. She was sitting in silence, reading a book. He assumed she had found it here, since she carried no books of her own.

Not wanting to attract her attention, Wulf quickly turned his eyes away from her. Instead, he stepped over, and down into the small cellar, with the intention of inspecting it's contents. It was rather cramped, stuffed with barrels and sacks. There was also a few casks of what seemed to be wine, and some mead. Apparently the bandits of Fort Kastav had lived a sweet life. Atleast whoever inhabited these quarters had. Finding nothing of interest, Wulf grabbed a single bottle of wine, and ascended the stairs again. He walked over to the table, sat down, and drank deeply of the bottle. It was cheap wine, but he didn't mind. He'd never been the big connoisseur.

For some reason, he was deeply troubled by what had happened today. Lyannah was a very strange character. A volatile mix of power and carelessness. Yet, despite the cold and uncaring attitude she seemed to display, her armor had cracked today, down in the cells. Though she had refused to admit it, Wulf was certain he had seen her cry. The picture was very clear in his mind, just before she had discovered that he was spying on her. And against all odds, she hadn't killed him. He felt his ribs lightly, sending a spike of pain through his body. Being tossed around like a ragdoll had it's effects he thought, as he drank yet another mouthful of wine. Hopefully it would be better by morning. Maybe it would be worse.

He still had a lot of questions he wanted answered, but he couldn't really see how he should go about asking her. The last thing he wanted, was for her to reconsider her sudden outburst of mercy. He tapped the bottle thoughtfully, trying to figure out how he could approach her. In the end, he decided a careful approach.

He got up from the chair, and picked up a cup from the table. He then slowly walked up the stair, to where Lyannah was sitting. She was on the bed, her legs crossed in front of her, and the book in her lap. She didn't look up, but he had no doubt she noticed him. He stepped over next to her, and then audibly cleared his throat.

"Uh.. want some wine?" He asked, holding out the cup and bottle.

She kept her focus on the book until she had finished the current page. He noticed that she was already halfway through it.

She closed the book, and then looked up at him.

"I know what you want. So ask." she said, once again surprising him. Apparently there were no secrets from her. He wondered if she could read thoughts.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, staying aware of her expression. She didn't seem to mind though, so he cleared his throat again.

"Right. Uhm.." he started, unsure of exactly what he wanted to ask. She raised an eyebrow at him, then let out a sigh. "I'm not going to kill you. If I wanted to, I would have done so down at the cells." She said, with a hint of impatience.

Wulf nodded lightly in reply: "Right, I suppose so. I just.. I don't get you. I have had many employers, but none like you. I don't know what we are doing, I don't know who, or what, you are, and everyone has some very unsettling rumors about you." he finally divulged.

She continued to keep her stare pinned on him: "That was not a question. What, you want to know if the rumors are true? Some of them are. Some of them are not. You'll have to be more concrete."

He shrugged, still not able to feel entirely safe talking about this: "Well first off, I've heard that you sacrifice us mercenaries to Molag Bal. How about that?" he asked.

She just rolled her eyes: "The altar of Molag Bal is in Markarth. We're going to Winterhold. Is that enough answer?"

It was, so he nodded. He hadn't really believed that, but it was nice to be certain. After all, getting sacrificed didn't sound nice.

"Alright. Now, I know you pay me. But if I am to work with you, I need to know about you. I've heard rumors about things you've done, but I'd like to hear it from you... If you will tell me." he continued.

She sighed lightly: "So you want the entire story, huh? Alright." She started, sitting up in the bed, and taking a deep breath: "I was born in Cyrodiil. I never knew my parents, and grew up as a homeless thief in the Imperial City. About a year ago I travelled to Skyrim, to seek my roots, if you will. When I crossed the border I was.. "involved" in a clash between Imperial troops and Stormcloak rebels, and I was taken prisoner by the triumphant Imperials. They sent us to Helgen, to be executed. I had my head on the block, but the headsman was.. interrupted, by Alduin the world eater."

She chuckled lightly, and stood up, turning her back on Wulf: "From that point forward it's just.. constant conflict. I worked as a mercenary, a thief, a mage, an assasin, a soldier.. I destroyed the stormcloaks, I became archmage of the College of Winterhold, legate of the Imperial Legion, Harbinger of the companions, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Guild Master of the Thieves guild.. anything you can imagine, I've been there. I've done it. I helped everyone. I saved this country from every perceivable threat. I banished Alduin from Sovngarde, when he fed on the souls of the dead. I destroyed the Volkihar vampires who wanted to blot out the sun. I killed Miraak, the first dragonborn, when he wanted to enslave the population of Solstheim. I am champion of every single daedric prince. I am Thane in every hold. I am the last Dragonborn. Yet despite everything I've done for the people of this land, I am still hated and feared. Why? Because I am powerful. Because I am a vampire. Because at some point, I stopped caring about these incompetent people." She finished, turning back to Wulf.

She looked him over briefly, and for once looked sad. "I'm a dirty little secret, that everyone would rather be without. But why do you care? You're just a mercenary. You're happy as long as you get payed, and you fight for nothing but coin." Her words echoed with contempt, yet he sensed something new. She sounded vulnerable. Lonely. He felt bad for her. Despite all her power, she was the last of her kind, in a world that hated her. It had clearly affected her.

Wulf stood up, and stepped over in front of her. She kept her eyes on him suspiciously, as he slowly reached his hand out, and placed it on her shoulder. She looked surprised, her eyes flickering between his hand and face. He wasn't sure what he meant by it. A sign of support, of compassion. Or maybe something more. In the end, she gently slid his hand off her shoulder. She cleared her throat lightly, taking a small step back as she avoided looking at him. She wasn't mad. She was insecure. Wulf couldn't help but find it slightly cute. She was, after all, a woman.

She stepped back to the bed, and sat up in it. "We uh.. should rest. You can sleep down there." she said, pointing down to the lower level. Wulf nodded lightly, stepping down the stairs.

As he unfolded his sleeping skin, he couldn't help but feel like this was a positive development. She was human, after all.


	6. CH 6

When Wulf awoke from his sleep, he immediately had an instinctual feeling that something was wrong. He couldn't place it. There was no noise, and the tower was very dimly lit by a few candles. He quickly got up from his spot on the ground, and took a look around. The room was devoid of movement, and he found that he was alone. Lyannah had left her bed, without her armor. Wulf cursed lightly, and quickly stepped up on the platform. Standing there, he heard the faint sound of the wind. Looking around, he found a ladder that he had not previously noticed, leading up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. It was open, and outside he could see the sky. He let out a sigh, and started climbing the ladder.

As he stepped outside on top of the tower, the night sky caught his attention. It was alive and moving, like colored bands twisting in the wind. Wulf had seen it a few times before, but its beauty struck him every time. Aurora, they called it. A phenomenon such as this, was no doubt the work of the gods, Wulf thought to himself. He was not a particularly religious man, but if not gods, who could create beauty such as this?

After a while he turned his attention away, and instead looked around. Most of the keeps roof was flat, yet there was a single stair leading up to a plateau of sorts. From the top of it, Wulf thought he could see a faint blue light. With a slight frown, he started up the stairs. As he reached the top, he found the source of the light: It was Lyannah.

She was sat on her knees, with her eyes closed. Surrounding her was that blue glow, following the contours of her body, almost like a second skin. Wulf knew nothing about magic, and he was unsure if this was a good or bad thing. Carefully, he stepped closer to her.

"Lyannah?" he asked lightly, hoping for any kind of response, even if it meant her scolding him for interrupting. But there was nothing. She didn't move a muscle.

Taking another step closer, he slowly reached his hand out towards her shoulder: "Come on, Lya-" he started, but just as his fingers made contact with her, he felt like he was ripped out of his body. His vision warped, and he felt as if he was falling through thin air.

_His vision returned, and he found that he was hovering. He looked down himself, only to find nothing. He had no body. This should frighten him, yet he felt calm._

_Taking a look around, he realised that he was not at Fort Kastav. Instead, he was at the ruin of a watchtower. Around it was a peculiar sight. A group of Whiterun soldiers stood in a circle, around nothing less than a dragon. A dead dragon. They all kept their distance, but there was one person standing right in front of the fallen beast. Wulf saw that it was Lyannah, yet it took him a moment to recognize her. She looked younger, and her skin had a healthy color. Upon closer inspection, he saw that her eyes were a clear green, and it struck him that he was seeing her before she became a vampire. She was dressed in a simple set of leather armor, and she had a steel sword by her side, dripping with the thick blood of the dragon. She had been wounded herself, and was clenching her sword arm, where the dragon had managed to slash her with its claws._

_As they all stood and watched the beast in awe, it suddenly started to glow, and its skin seemingly dissolved into a stream of golden light, which engulfed Lyannah. She had a pained expression due to her wound, but as the light touched her, it seemed as if the wound healed itself, and she straightened up with renewed strength. All the guards took a few steps back, staring at her with disbelief._

_Wulf's vision warped again, and he found that he had been moved. This time he was on a snowy plain somewhere, a battle going on beneath him. There were six people involved, and it seemed that the four of them were grouped against two women. Wulf immediately recognized one of them as Lyannah. She was fighting alongside the other woman, whom Wulf assumed must have been one of her previous companions. Lyannah and the woman fought together fiercely, dispatching their opponents one by one. However just as it seemed they would win, the woman was pierced through the heart by a sword. Lyannah let out a scream, seeing her companion fall, and in a fit of rage she quickly slew the remaining enemies. She ran to the side of her fallen friend, dropping to her knees. Wulf could hear her sobbing lightly; "Lydia, no.. please.." _

_A series of images flashed before Wulf's eyes, all portraying similar scenarioes as this: Lyannah, kneeling next to a fallen friend, defeated by different means. However as the visions flashed by, it became clear that she showed gradually smaller amounts of grief from every loss._

_Again, the scene changed. This time they were in what Wulf recognized as Jorrvaskr, and he saw before him the aftermath of a battle. The floor was riddled with bodies, and a few warriors were gathered around the body of an old man. The door to the hall slammed open, and they all quickly stood up and drew their weapons, ready for whatever might come. Through the door came Lyannah, horror on her face as she looked around the room. "What happened?" she asked. One of the companions stepped forward, as they all sheathed their weapons. "Where have you been?" He asked, anger and blame in his voice. "Why weren't you here to protect him?" he continued, his voice raising. Lyannah finally spotted the dead elder on the ground, and she fell on her knees. "Oh no.." she whispered. The companion stepped closer to her, a fire burning in his eyes. "This is your fault... you should have been here!" He yelled, looking down at Lyannah. She let out a scream, immediately standing up and grabbing the man by the throat._

Wulf was ripped out of the vision, and back into his own body. He found himself hanging over the edge of the plateau, and felt a hand tightening around his throat. It was Lyannah, and as he looked at her, there was still a faintly blue glow to her eyes, and tears rolling down her cheeks. Wulf grabbed her hand frantically, heaving for air. "Ly- Lyannah.. please..." he coughed, and saw as the glow faded from her eyes, returning to the usual orange. She stared at him for a moment in disbelief, then quickly pulled him back in over solid ground, and let him go. She stumbled back, and turned her back on him. "W-what are you doing?" she stuttered, her voice trembling with grief.

Wulf quickly took a few deep breaths, and then stood up. He felt horrible for having intruded on her like that. "I'm so sorry.. I didn't know.." he started, as he stepped up behind her, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She stood there for a moment, then whirled around, and, to Wulf's surprise, threw her arms around him, pressing her head against his chest in an awkward embrace. It took him a moment to get over his shock, but as soon as he did, he gently wrapped his arms around her supple form, lightly patting her back. He felt bad for this woman in his arms. Through her, he had witnessed incredible amounts of suffering, and he was sure that was just a fraction of what she had felt.

As he looked down at her, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. Despite the facade she maintained, it was clear that she was very fragile underneath, with nobody to care about her. It became apparent to him, that despite all her power, she was very weak. Perhaps she knew this. Perhaps this was why she had hired him. He didn't know. All he knew, was that he wanted to protect her, and as he looked at her there was a surging feeling in his stomach.

He slowly reached up, and gently stroked her chin, wiping her tears away. This was the first time he felt her skin, and it was strangely cold, but soft and smooth. She pulled her head away from his chest, looking up at him as if she was unsure what he wanted. She clearly wasn't used to this. He looked her in the eyes, which were very clear in the darkness of the night. Then, slowly, he leaned forward, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He felt her jitter lightly in surprise, but she did not pull away from him, and their bodies remained pressed together, until Wulf let go of her. She took a small step back, shyly avoiding to meet his gaze. She cleared her throat lightly, turning away from him. "We should.. get back to sleep." She said slowly, starting down the stair. Wulf nodded, following behind her into the tower.

As they stepped off the ladder, Lyannah stopped next to her bed. Wulf was on his way down the stair, towards his sleeping spot, when she slowly said: "Is uh.. isn't that uncomfortable?" She asked, referring to the simple furs he had been sleeping on.

He stopped where he was, turning to her: "Yes it is. Why?" he asked.

She shrugged lightly, looking at the wooden bed. "Well.. there's enough room for two." She mumbled, signalling towards her bed. Wulf stared at her for a moment, then stepped back up the stairs, with a small smile. He stopped on the opposite side of the bed from her, and then laid down. Lyannah stared at him for a moment, as if reconsidering her offer. For a moment Wulf was afraid she would ask him to leave, but then she finally got in the bed next to him, leaving ample room between them. They lay in silence for a while.

"No funny stuff." she stated, apparently having regained some of her usual demeanor. Wulf smiled lightly. Although he would have liked to be a bit closer, it was nice to feel someone next to him. He closed his eyes, ready to sleep. He felt Lyannah moving around next to him, and heard her breathe in lightly. "... Wulf?" she asked carefully.

"Mhm?" he replied, his eyes remaining closed. She didn't reply immediately, but after a few moments finally seemed to gather her courage.

"Thank you." she said, softly. For once, she sounded sincere.


	7. CH 7

The next day, they finally arrived at Winterhold. The weather had cleared up, so the remaining journey had been short. It had been as quiet as usual, yet he had noticed a clear change in her attitude. He noticed her looking at him, inspecting him as they went. He didn't know why, but it felt good. It was as if she hadn't noticed him, but now she did, and she was interested.

They continued on their course straight through the city, and Wulf could already guess where they were going: the college. Right as he was, Lyannah led him straight to the old stone bridge leading there. Wulf was amazed that it was still standing, and had no doubt magic was the only thing keeping it that way. Without worrying about the state of the bridge, Lyannah started crossing it, with Wulf trailing straight behind her. As they went, he noticed the bridge was dotted with some kind of stone cylinders, and in them there was some kind of blue light. It almost looked like the same blue glow that had surrounded Lyannah last night, and it was radiating light, like a fireplace. She was sure to know, so he decided to ask her.

"Hey.. what are these?" he asked, signalling to one of the cylinders as they passed it.

She turned her head briefly to look at it, but kept walking. "Focal points. It focuses magic energies around the college. Really, it just makes casting spells a bit easier. Helps the initiates." she answered concisely.

Wulf nodded. "Alright. So, you're Archmage here. I'd think you would be here more often, if you're in charge." he continued.

She shrugged: "The title is mostly honorary. The master wizard runs everything day to day. I only come here when I need to use the library."

"So what, you don't teach students?" he inquired, earning yet another shrug from her.

"Do I seem like a good teacher?" she asked. Wulf chuckled lightly. It was rhetorical, of course. He could imagine her just staring at a group of terrified students the entire lesson.

When they finally stepped through the gate into the college itself, they were greeted by a tall, golden-skinned woman. Wulf recognized her as an Altmer. When Lyannah stopped in front of her, she bowed her head respectfully: "Welcome back, Archmage. Will you be needing assistance?" the Altmer asked.

Lyannah shook her head quickly. "Faralda. No, I'm going to have a look around the library, then rest here for the night. Assuming I find what I need, We'll be leaving again tomorrow."

The Altmer nodded, then stepped to the side as Lyannah walked past. She looked Wulf over quickly, as he followed behind, judging him like everyone else. It was as if some of her reputation rubbed off on him. He had quickly learned not to care.

He was led through a courtyard, past an imposing looking statue, and through the great doors of the college. It looked very impressive on the inside, and was surprisingly warm, despite the howling storm outside. As the doors slammed shut, they found themselves in a large hallway, leading to a hall of some sort. On both sides, there were doors, and it was in between these Lyannah stopped, and turned to face Wulf.

"Listen, I'm going to the library, but Urag, the librarian, is uh.. very protective of his books. So I thinks it's just better if I go alone. My quarters are at the top of the stairs, through that door." she said, pointing at the door, "Take whatever you need up there. I'll be with you shortly." she concluded, and walked through the opposite door.

He stood there for a moment, looking after her. He then turned around, and upon going through the door she had shown him, he started his ascent of the tower. It was rather tall, and in turn so were the stairs. By the time he reached the door to her quarters, the sweat was almost dripping off him, and he was eager to get out of his armor. When he stepped through the door, he was surprised to find the quarters utterly dark. There was not a single light in the room, and the idea of stumbling around the room, trying to find some light, was not attractive to him. However, just as he took the first step inside, candles sprung to life along the walls of the circular room.

It was quite clearly a wizards abode. The walls were filled with bookcases and cupboards holding books, and alchemical ingredients. There was an arcane enchanter, and a shelf filled with souls gems for use with it. There were a few display cases, filled with what he assumed to be magical artifacts. The most dominant part of the room however, was the small garden in the center. He could see how that was convenient for an alchemist, having frest ingredients at the ready. The most distand quarter of the room was blocked off by a wall, and Wulf assumed this to be the sleeping area. He let out a sigh, and stepped to the nearest table, on which he placed the pieces of his armor as quickly as he could get them off. It was quite a load taken off his shoulders, and after having worn it constantly for days, it was nice to finally be free. He also took the freedom of dropping his sword. It was unlikely that he would need it here.

There was food and wine on one of the tables, but instead of eating he went to inspect her showcases. He hoped that she would eat with him, once she get back. He stepped up to the case, taking a look at it's contents through the glass panel. It was stuffed full of all kinds of things. There were gems and jewellery, but also a very elegant sword, and matching dagger. The item that really caught his attention however, was a strange staff. It was dark in color, and looked as if it was made out of bone. What kind of bone, Wulf did not know. The top of the staff was dominated by a set of horns, and all in all it had a decidedly evil look to it.

He carefully reached down, and lifted the staff out of the showcase, inspecting it. He knew nothing about magic, or staves for that matter, yet he had no doubt that this was powerful. And dangerous.

"Careful with that." he heard from behind. He turned around quickly, finding it to be Lyannah. He hadn't heard her open the door, but she was there none the less. She stepped over in front of him, and carefully took the staff, putting it back in the showcase: "They call it the Skull of Corruption. It is an artifact of Lord Vaermina. It is powered by the dreams of people, and.. well, I'm not exactly proud of how it came into my possession." she said, closing the deal. She was obviously uncomfortable talking about it, so he just nodded. Instead, he took the sword, inspecting it. It was very light, and the blade itself was engraved with golden symbols of some kind. The metal was black and strong. It reminded him of ebony, but it seemed to be of a much higher grade than the usual kind. Not that ebony weapons were usual in the first place.

He turned to Lyannah, holding the sword out: "What about this? Is this some evil artifact as well?" he asked.

She shook her head slowly, looking at it skeptically: "No, that's my sword. I used to be a swordfighter, until I turned to magic. Before that, I was an archer." she explained. Wulf nodded. Apparently she was universally skilled. He had a hard time imagining her with a sword though. She was too small. Then again, she had demonstrated some very unusual strength, and she was fast.

Her size actually did puzzle him. She had told him that she came to Skyrim in the first place, to "seek her roots", so he assumed she was a Nord. Yet she was much smaller than the typical Nord woman. She was shorter, and a lot more graceful. She was more like an Imperial in size, yet she moved like an Elf. Very puzzling indeed.

It seemed like she read the doubt in his face: "What, you don't think I can fight?" she asked, turning away from the showcase: "I'd beat you any day, any weapon." Wulf chuckled lightly, looking after her as she stepped over to another table, on which she too started dropping her armor.

Wulf walked over behind her. "You sure about that? I'm pretty good."

She snorted: "Yeah, pretty good. But you're slow. Now come on, help me get this off." she said, signalling at the back of her cuirass. He stepped behind her, and started undoing the bindings. When it dropped off, he took it in his hands, inspecting it. Unlike normal armor, it was not a solid plate. Instead, it was several wide overlapping pieces, covering her entire torso. Like the sword, it was very elegant.

Wulf held it out to her: "I was wondering.. what's this made of?" he asked.

She looked at it briefly, then turned back to removing her gauntlets: "Ebony. Like the sword."

So he had the right idea. "Well, who made it? I've seen ebony before, but not this pure, and not in this style." She shrugged casully, dropping the last pieces on the table.

"I did. The usual armor is too clumsy, and heavy. It's all about how you refine the metal. It's much lighter when you get all the impurities out, without sacrificing strength. Most smiths don't know how, though." she said, turning around to face him.

"So you're a smith too, huh? Where did you learn about this secret to perfect ebony then?" he inquired.

She grinned, stepping past him and striding to the food table: "A very old book, from a very old crypt."

She sat down at one side of the table, and loaded a single slice of bread and some fruits onto a plate. She filled a silver cup with wine, then leaned back in the chair, sipping from it carefully. Wulf placed himself across from her, choosing a much meatier selection of food. He immediately dug in, and realised how hungry he had been. Through their journey they had mostly gotten unfulfilling meals, consisting of bread and vegetables. In his opinion, a man could not live on such a diet. He needed meat.

Shortly afterwards, Wulf had emptied his plate. Like Lyannah, he leaned back, folding his arms across his stomach. His gaze fell on her food, and he realized she had barely touched it. She never ate much, but at least she was keeping him company. A good sign, he thought. His eyes fell on the cup, loosely held between two of her fingers. She lifted it to her mouth, casually sipping from the wine. It was red as blood, and he couldn't help but think back to the girl at the fort. When she drank from the cup, her fangs were very visible, and he could still remember how they had been covered in blood.

"Can I ask you something? About your uh.. condition?" He asked. She had been very tight lipped before, but something told him she would be more willing to talk now.

She looked up at him slowly, twirling the cup around. With a sigh, she put it on the table: "Fine.. what do you want to know?" She said, reluctantly.

Wulf cleared his throat, sitting up in the chair: "Alright, let me see... how often do you have to uh.. feed? What happens if you don't?" he asked.

She tapped the table lightly: "Well.. let's say I just fed. The next four days, I'll gradually get more powerful. The downside is, I feel weak in the sun, and I can't stand fire. After the four days, it doesn't really evolve. I just get more and more.. thirsty." she stated.

"Thirsty?", he asked: "What, so apart from normal thirst you also have uh.. bloodthirst?"

She shrugged, seemingly trying to figure out to describe it: "It's like.. a craving. I don't actually know what happens if you never feed, but at some point it just get's too much. It grows, in the back of your mind.. and you can smell it. Some vampires go crazy with bloodlust, when they're depraved. I usually just feed if an opportunity presents it self.. I haven't had complications yet."

The subject seemed to upset her. She was fidgeting with her cup, and wouldn't sit still. "Why did you do it? I remember seeing you cry back at the fort. You don't like feeding. So why?" he continued, a slightly harder tone sneaking into his voice.

She sat for a moment. To Wulf, it seemed that she was trying to come up with a good reason: "Vampires are immortal. Eternal life sounds good, right?" she finally replied, half-heartedly.

He snorted: "Yeah, watching everyone die seems really attractive. You don't really want this, do you?" he retorted. She didn't respond immediately, just avoided looking him in the eyes.

"Maybe..." she slowly said, after a while.

He wasn't sure why, but her uncertainty made him angry. He stood up with a grunt, and briskly walked around to her side. "Stand up." he said. She looked up at him, surprised by this sudden outburst, and stood, to his relief. He quickly reached up, pulling her hood down, revealing her jet black hair, falling down to her shoulders. He then grabbed her chin, lifting her head lightly so he could inspect it. Her features were gaunt, and her skin as cold and pale as the snow. The eyes and fangs gave her an evil look. All in all, this vampirism was a blight, on an otherwise beautiful woman. Even despite that, he could feel his heart beat when looking at her. To his surprise, she was looking scared... intimidated.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she stuttered, her eyes flickering around. He let out a sigh, loosening his grip on her, instead tracing his thumb along her jawline tenderly.

"I don't understand why you do this to yourself... what is immortality, when you're not really alive?"

Her mouth dropped open slightly, and she quickly pulled away from him. He had clearly hurt her. She stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then pulled her hood up, and marched out through the door.

He sat down heavily, staring after her. Something told him he had just ruined anything that might have been between them. With a sigh, he grabbed the nearest bottle, downing a large mouthful, without a care for manners. There he sat for a while. He didn't know how long, but once the bottle was empty, he decided to sleep. He stumbled into the enclosure at the back of the room, and dropped himself into the large, soft bed. The bottle rolled noisily away from the bed, and he quickly drifted to sleep.

He didn't know what time it was, when the sound of the door opening woke him. He heard soft steps coming closer, and someone dropped down next to him in the bed. He didn't care enough to look who it was, but just assumed it to be Lyannah.

They lay silently for a few moments, until Lyannah took a deep breath, and whispered:

"I'll get it cured."


	8. CH 8

Wulf let out a grunt of pain, as the stick slammed into his stomach once again. As he quickly staggered back, it struck him how bad an idea this had been. After their talk at the college, he had challenged Lyannah to spar with him. At first she had refused, but after some persuasion, she had finally given in. They had found some old wooden sticks in the snow, and then the fighting had commenced. At first, Wulf had decided to go easy on her. She was small, after all. It quickly became apparent that he had no reason to hold back, though.

Her fighting style was strange. Typical swordfighters used sword and shield, and exchanged blows until someone made a mistake. Lyannah however, used only a single sword, and whirled around like a dancer. Wulf was good with a sword, yet it was nothing in comparison to her. No matter how he tried, it was utterly impossible to land even a single hit on her. Most of the time, she didn't even care to block his attacks, but just dodged away, in a flurry of black, as her robe flowed around her like water. It was truly amazing to watch, yet also painful, because in contrast to him, she seemingly had no problem hitting. And she hit hard. They had agreed to go without armor, so Wulf was only in the linen shirt and pants he always wore underneath. He hadn't realized that being without armor was an advantage to her, before it was too late.

She didn't stop beating him until the stick snapped in half. Even then, she managed to get behind him, and grab him in a headlock. She then forced him onto his knees, and holding him like that, she slowly whispered: "Yield."

Wulf was sweating. He was sore all over, and although their fight had been rather lengthy, he hadn't hit her once. At this point, he cared little about his pride.

"I yield." He muttered.

She patted him quickly on the head, and then let go, stepping over in front of him. She reached her hand down to help him up, and he gladly accepted.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked, grasping his ribs. He thought she might have broken one or two.

She shrugged lightly: "Learned most of it on my own. Got some basic training long ago, and then it just evolved. I learned a lot during the war. Usually I'd be using my body a lot more, but you wanted a swordfight."

"What do you mean 'using your body'?" he asked, puzzled.

She grabbed his "sword", and threw it onto the small campfire they had built. "You know, kicks, punches, holds and throws. It depends where I'm fighting, and who I'm fighting." she replied.

Wulf sat down at the fire, raising an eyebrow. It all sounded very exotic.

"Well, it certainly is very.. special." he stated, poking around in the fire.

She nodded briefly. "I'll take that as a compliment."

They had left the College that same day, and had walked directly west from Winterhold, along the coast, towards Dawnstar. Their destination was Morthal, and Wulf had trusted Lyannah when she said this was faster than following the roads, all the way back across the moutains of Winterhold. Now, they were camping just east of Dawnstar, right next to the water.

They were going to restore her from the vampirism. Wulf still had a hard time wrapping his mind around it. His disapproval had been enough, to make her consider it. He didn't know why, but this involuntarily made him smile. She didn't show it much, but it seemed that he actually did matter to her. And she mattered to him, as well. Just a week ago, he wouldn't have believed it, but there had been some drastic turns of events.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked, pulling him back to reality. He shook his head quickly.

"Ah, nothing. Nothing." he quickly replied, a bit too enthusiastically. She just shrugged, and unfolded the furs they slept on. In such a cold climate, they had agreed it would be better to sleep next to each other. Atleast, that's what had been said. Really, Lyannah wasn't warm, and he was pretty sure warmth wasn't the reason she wanted to, either. He wasn't complaining.

She laid herself down, and turned her head to stare at him with those glowing eyes. Despite knowing what they entailed, he couldn't help but find them captivating. She blinked, seemingly unsettled by the way he was looking at her.

"What?" she asked.

He shrugged, then got up, and walked to the furs, laying down next to her. She kept her eyes on him a while more, studying his face, before rolling over, facing away from him.

"Good night." she said.

"Good night."

_... she stood by the gates, watching the masses of stormcloaks charging towards her. She heard their battlecries, and took a quick look around her, at the Imperial soldiers, and Whiterun guards by her sides. They could not falter now. Some of them had turned their heads to her, seeking reassurance. She nodded briefly at them. Her way of saying they could do this. They would do this. These men and women had vested their trust in her, and she would not let them down._

_She pulled her sword, and braced for the impending attack. She heard the commanders yelling their orders behind her, and the sound of arrows whistling past from behind her. Several of the rebels fell, but they charged on relentlessly, straight into the barricades. The first line of men tried to stop, but the pressure of the army behind them pushed them onwards, impaling them on the wooden stakes._

_The barricades only held until the axe bearers chopped them down. Now, there was nothing between them, and Lyannah. She turned to her men, and raised her sword._

_"With me!" she yelled, and with the roars of the soldiers ringing in her ears, she jumped into the fray._

_The average stormcloak soldier was quite fierce. They thought for something they believed in, yet very few of them had real skill. Their true strength was in numbers. For each man or woman she cut down, another two took their place. As the battle drew on, her strength slowly drained, and fending off each and every attack became a fight with her own body. She got a cut here, and a bruise there, until most parts of her body had been hurt in some way._

_After slaying yet another rebel, she found herself faced against a mountain of a man, dressed in the fur of a bear, and with a great two handed, double-edged axe in his hands. He saw her, and let out a deafening warcry, as he charged towards her, axe raised high. Gathering what remained of her strength, Lyannah threw herself to the side, and upon circling around, cut the man in the back. With a roar of pain, he twirled around, slamming his arm into her chest, effectively sending her reeling. He lifted the axe, and was about to deal a killing blow, when Lyannah lunged forward, her sword aimed at his heart. It pierced into him, and with a final death rattle, the axe dropped from his hands, and he collapsed on the ground._

_Lyannah breathed in deeply, and scanned the sea of bodies. What little remained of the stormcloak forces, were running away as fast as they could, hoping the wouldn't be picked off by an archer._

_She sat down on a nearby stone, sword in her lap._

_They had won._

Wulf woke the next morning, when the sunlight shone him in the face. He sat up, blinking his eyes rapidly in the bright light. Sunshine like this was rare in the northern parts of Skyrim. When his eyes finally adjusted, however, his attention was turned to something completely different.

There, standing right in front of the water, was Lyannah. Her clothing had been dropped by her feet, and she was standing naked in the cold. Slowly, she stepped into the ice cold water, seemingly unbothered. Wulf couldn't help but take in the features of her body. He was, after all, a man.

From what he could see from behind, she was very well trained. The muscularity in her back stood out clearly. Her skin was as pale as the snow, and along her spine, runes of some kind had been painted. She was marked by all her battles, her skin dotted with scars of varying size and shape. Some might think this a spot on her otherwise beautiful form, yet to Wulf it was proof of certain qualities you would not find in an ordinary woman. This was a woman who would bow to nobody, man or mer.

When the water ran over her thighs, she let her hands drop, tracing them through the water. She stopped walking, and gracefully dived in, her body forming an arc, that slid into the water, barely causing any disturbance. She stayed submerged for a while, but then her head broke through the surface. She shook the water out of her eyes, and looked up towards Wulf, finding him staring at her.

She raised an eyebrow in surprise, but it was quickly exchanged for a small smile.

"Good morning." she called to him.

He couldn't help but be flustered. He had expected a slightly different reaction from her.

"Isn't that cold?" he asked.

She just shrugged. "I'm a vampire. Cold barely bothers me. It would be worse if it had been really hot."

"What, you don't like warmth?" he continued.

She nodded shortly. "In a way. Fire is the worst. It's a.. weakness of ours." she explained, as she started making her way to shore. Wulf turned his head down, only seeing her feet as she stepped out of the water. She started getting dressed, and he did not look up, until he saw her lift the robe. She wore four layers of clothing, it seemed. First, there was her undergarments. Covering that, she wore a simple shirt and pants. Then there was the robe, and black boots. Finally she had her armor, although she did not wear that now. All of this was made from the same fine, black cloth, sewn with silver thread. The clasps holding her robe and armor also seemed to be made from silver.

He finally looked up at her. Her hair was still damp, hanging loosely down the sides of her head. She brushed it behind her ear, as she stepped to the fire. Leaning down, she started picking up pieces of her armor, tilting her head to look at Wulf.

"Would you help me put this on?" She asked, holding one of them out to him.

He nodded, getting up from the furs, and walking to her side. Taking the plate from her hands, he started strapping it on. Inspecting the scratches on it, he was reminded of his dream.

"I was thinking..." he started, standing behind her.

She turned her head lightly his way. "Yes?"

"... That night at the fort. What spell was that? I saw your memories." he asked.

She turned her head away, the subject unsettling her. "It's... an invention of mine. As you say, it lets me view memories. Not just view them, though.. that already exists. This is reliving it. All the feelings. I hadn't considered the possibility that others could.. intrude." she explained.

Wulf scratched his head lightly. "Are there any, uh.. side effects?" he asked slowly.

She just shook her head lightly. "None that I've experienced. Why?"

"Well... I had this dream last night. I was at the battle of Whiterun and, well... I'm pretty sure I was you." he said.

She turned around to stare at him, disbelief in her face. "That doesn't make any sense, I wasn't using the spell last night. And I wasn't dreaming that."

Wulf drew on his shoulders, in a shrug. "Well, I know what I dreamt. Maybe some of your memories have been left in me?" he asked. It sounded impossible, but it was the only explanation he could think of.

She seemed rather skeptical too. "That seems.. unlikely. It was probably just a regular dream. Either way, we should get going. We'll be at Morthal tomorrow."

And they were.

They had reached Dawnstar, and moved on the next day. There was nothing to be seen, and their goal was elsewhere. The remaining journey, from Dawnstar to Morthal, was almost completed in the same day. It was fast, now that they were on the roads again, and they met no troubles on the way. They made camp next to the road, and the next morning they reached Morthal. They could have reached it by walking through the night, by Lyannah had said it was better to rest. Mostly for his sake, he thought. Vampires were night creatures, after all. In the end, it mattered little. They were there now, and they were there for a reason.

Lyannah led the way, along the pier in town. There were houses on one side of it, and boats docked at the other. She had explained to him, that they were going to see a mage. Apparently, he could cure her. Restore the life to her, as it were.

"Tell me, why is it you can't do this your self? Don't you know the uh.. spell?" he asked her.

She let out a sigh. "Yes, I know the "spell". It is not possible to cast on one self. Falion is the only mage I know of, who is also capable of doing it."

"Ah. Falion, is it? How did you come to know him?" he asked, an unintended hint of jealousy in his voice.

She turned her head to him. "I met him while working with the Dawnguard. Why do you care?"

He just shrugged. "I don't."

Raising an eyebrow, she turned back away. "Right."

They finally came upon the right house, and Lyannah stepped up, swiftly knocking on the door thrice. A short while went by, and then a man dressed in a blue robe, with a dark complexion answered the door. His eyes scanned from Lyannah, to Wulf, and then locked back on Lyannah.

"Well then... what brings the dark lady to Morthal?" he asked. There was something strange to his voice. Arrogance, maybe.

"I think you can guess, Falion. I don't need the games. I need the cure." she stated.

A slight smile crept onto his face. "I realize. What interests me, is how you came to change your mind. Not even the Dawnguard swayed you. Last I remember, you told me, and most of your Dawnguard friends, that 'The benefits of vampirism far outweigh the possible downsides, so long as we control the thirst'. What has changed?"

The stare she returned to him, was nothing short of terrifying. "It is none of your concern. You owe me. You will repay me, by curing me. Do you understand?"

He raised his one hand slowly, his calmness rather remarkable. "Easy, now. You'll get your cure. You know how it works... summoning circle, at dawn."

She nodded. "And what about the soul ge-"

"I have one." he cut in, to Lyannah's surprise.

"... Right." she finally said, and quickly turned around, pulling Wulf with her.

The ritual could not be performed before dawn, so they had an entire day that needed to be spent. First thing they did, was head to the tavern. There, they rented a room, in which they could store their armor. They sat down in the common room, and bought mead and food. Lyannah hardly ate, and hardly drank, but he was thankful that she at the very least attempted to make a normal dinner out of it.

When Wulf had finished eating, and Lyannah had picked a little out of her meal, he sat back in the chair, with a cup of mead in his hand. His eyes fell on her, and he inspected her face. She had dropped the robe, and had made three braids on one side of her head, with silver bands holding them. She seemed almost casual. A pleasant deviation from her usually serious, no-nonsense demeanor.

"Nervous?" Wulf asked, savoring another mouthful of the mead.

She tugged on her shoulders gently, twirling a spoon between her fingers. "Not really."

"Well, how does it work? What's going to happen?" he continued to inquire.

With a sigh, she leant forward, dropping the spoon on the table. "We go to the circle at dawn. I stand in the middle, Falion performs the ritual, and I'll be cured." she stated, matter of factly.

"Well, it can't be that simple. There's more to it, isn't there?"

With another shrug, she folded her legs under her, on the chair. "Reactions vary. I might feel pain. I might feel pleasure. Some pass out. Some feel sick. Some feel nothing at all. We'll find out when we get there, and do it."

He nodded shortly. "I suppose. So where is this 'Summoning Circle'?" he asked.

"You'll see." she stated.

"Right, but how far?" he continued.

"You'll see." she repeated, looking up at him sharply. She obviously wasn't interested in discussing it any further.

The rest of the day went by, rather uneventfully. They went to bed very early, so they could get up before dawn. When the time was right, Lyannah woke Wulf. He had a feeling she hadn't slept at all. He got up, and they started to make their way out of town. They headed north. Wulf had no idea where the circle was, so he followed behind her.

As they walked further out into the swampy terrain, they came upon a river. Wulf immediately jumped into it, and fought his way across to the other side. He was glad they had left their armor back at the tavern. When he finally made it up on the bank, he turned to look back at Lyannah. She was smirking at him.

"What?" he yelled to her, a puzzled look on his face.

She shook her head, and quickly cast some kind of spell. She then started walking into the water, except her feet never broke through the surface. She walked across, as if her feet had been on solid ground. Wulf stared at her, painfully aware of how wet his own clothes were, while hers hadn't suffered a single drop.

"You could have done that to me..." he said.

She shrugged, still with that smirk on her face. "I would, if you hadn't been in such a hurry." she said, then quickly raised her hand toward him. Small flames flickered from her fingers, and over Wulf's clothing. It was hot, but not unbearably so, and it did nothing to his clothing, except make the water evaporate. When she deemed it sufficient, she lowered her hand.

"I thought you hated fire." he said, brushing himself down quickly. His clothes were warm.

"I do. That won't be a problem much longer, though." she said, and quickly moved on.

A short walk over a hill, and they seemed to have arrived at the summoning circle. Wulf had expected something speciel, but it was simply an old stone circle in the ground, with crumbling arches looming over it.

"So, what do you think? This is every conjurers dream. Impressive, right?" she asked, stepping onto the circle itself, pacing around it.

"Uh.. it looks very.. old." he answered. It might have been something more, once upon a time, but he failed to be impressed by it now. It was a ruin.

She turned her head to stare at him. "... I guess you can't feel it." she finally concluded, stepping down. "Anyway, we've gotta wait for Falion now."

Wulf snorted. "Yeah. He's probably going to be late."

"What is your problem with him?" she asked, sitting down on a stone brick.

"Nothing. I mean, he's a mage." he explained.

Lyannah nodded, scratching her boots in the dirt. "I'm a mage."

Wulf sighed. That's not what he had intended. "Well, yeah. But you're different."

"Different, huh?" she said.

Wulf stepped over next to her, sitting down, with a faint blush. "Yeah.. I don't know. He gives me the creeps, that's all."

"Okay." she simple responded, smiling.

They sat for quite a while, waiting. Apparently they had been in good time. Slowly, the sunlight started creeping over the horizon, and just on time, Falion arrived at the circle.

He scanned his eyes over the two of them, with a strange smirk on his face. Wulf didn't like it. Then again, Wulf didn't like much about this man.

Falion pointed at Lyannah, and then at the circle. "Get up there. Let's get this over with, before the moment passes." he said.

And so she did.

While she stepped onto the circle, Falion took out a strange black stone from within his robe, and held it in his hand. He raised his other hand, pointing it at Lyannah. When she was in her position, he took a deep breath, and started the ritual.

"I call upon Oblivion Realms, the home of those who are not our ancestors. Answer my plea!" he started, his voice ringing with grave undertones.

"As in death there is new life, in Oblivion there is a beginning for that which has ended. I call forth that power!" he continued. As he talked, Wulf thought he could make out a faint light radiating from the circle, around Lyannahs feet. Looking up at her, he noticed she had closed her eyes, but she was still standing straight.

Falion raised the hand holding the black stone. "Accept the soul that we offer!" he said, and as he did, it was encompassed by what seemed like black flames. Wulf watched, as the stone slowly dissolved, leaving nothing in Falion's hand.

"As the sun ends the night, end the darkness of this soul, return life to the creature you see before you!" he finished.

For a while, it seemed as if nothing was going to happen. She just stood there, unchanged, and Wulf was about to make a comment, when she suddenly let out a grunt of pain, and fell to her knees.

She leaned forward, dropping onto her hands, gasping for air as if she had been drowning. She fell on her side, as her body contracted in cramps. It was painful to watch, and he could only imagine how it was for her.

It went on, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the cramps seemed to cease, and she dropped on her back, silent, except for the sound of her ragged breathing. Slowly, she rolled onto her stomach, and sat up on her knees, eyes closed. As Wulf watched, he could see the life returning to her skin. She was stile pale, but not at all the sickly white from before. She carefully opened her eyes. The glow dimmed, and her eyes turned from orange, to green. She tilted her head up, looking at Wulf. She was trembling, and for once seemed to have been shaken. Turning his head, Wulf realized that Falion had left, without a word.

He got up, and stepped onto the circle, next to Lyannah. He bowed down to her. She turned her head up to him, her eyes scanning his face.

"W-Wulf?" she stuttered.

He gave a small nod in reply, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"It's cold." she continued.

He couldn't help but smile lightly. He gently pulled her onto her feet, and started walking back towards the town, gently pulling her with him. "Come on. Let's get you back."

And as they walked, his hand slid down, locking with hers, and he felt the warmth radiating from it.


	9. CH 9

Warmth, she thought, as she sat and stared into the sunlight, her eyelids flickering from the brightness of it.

Warmth. After all this time, it was a feeling she had all but forgotten. The feeling of sunshine on her skin. Heat radiating from a fire. Another persons touch. Under the influence of vampirism, these were all things she had been missing. There had only been the burning pain, nearly unbearable to her.

And now, there were all these little sensations. Things, she had been missing for so long, she could have sworn they only just started appearing. No longer painful, but enjoyable.

And enjoy it, she did. For the last few days since they had performed the ritual, sitting in silence, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face, without worrying, had become a habit of hers. A good habit, she liked to believe. No longer needing to cover her head when travelling, was also a concept she welcomed.

As with most things, the warmth ofcourse had its opposite. Travelling the nothern regions of Skyrim, she had caught herself wishing for warmer clothing. Her current outfit didn't do much to keep out the cold. After all, for the last long period of time, cold had never been a concern. So for a while, the only warmth she felt, was in the night, when she could crawl up under the furs, clinging to the shape of Wulf. At first, he had been so hot, she was afraid he was sick. But later, as she became accustomed to it, laying there in the night, listening to his calm breath, she relearned to truly enjoy the warmth.

At this point, she hardly knew what she would have done without him. It became apparent to her, that for the longest time, she had been steadily spiralling downwards, making her own mind a prison to all the values that had previously been worth dying for, while she herself looked back, searching her memories for something, or someone, she could accuse it on. Someone else who had done this to her, when in reality, her own sorrow, and lust for power, had been to blame.

She had saved his life, yet to her, it seemed like he had been the savior. Her savior.

A slight smile crept unto her face. Turning her head down, her eyes slid over the shape of Wulf. He was standing out in the lake, this savior of hers. Carefully scanning the waters, aware of the slightest movements, in search of fish for their dinner. He was a strange man, she thought. They both knew she could easily catch them a fish. Even now, she could sense their lifeforce down there. Sense their caution, and fear. A single spell, and all of them could be floating dead at the surface, yet Wulf persisted with his fishing. Insisted, that he would do it his way, or not at all.

In the end, he managed to lunge into the waters, grabbing a fish. Stepping out of the water, Lyannah couldn't help but chuckle, as the droplets fell from his soaked clothing and hair. He triumphantly held the fish up, with a smile. "Got one! It didn't stand a chance!" he declared, sitting down across from her. She clapped her hands sarcastically, with a light shake of her head.

"Good job. No fish can stand before your might." she commented, earning a laugh from him.

They staked the fish on a spit, and hung it over the fire. Staring at it intensely, she made sure to spin it gradually, giving an even cook. Finally looking up, she caught Wulf staring at her, with those eyes she knew meant he had some questions. She let out a sigh, and with an indulgent smile, asked: "Alright, what is it?"

He quickly averted his eyes, and scratched his chin. "Oh, that obvious, is it?" he mumbled.

Lyannah chuckled lightly, shaking her head: "Yes, it is that obvious."

He let out a sigh: "I have to work on that.." he started, with a brief nod, before continuing: "Anyways, I was just wondering.. how does it feel, now? Being cured?"

The question didn't surprise her. It was something she had already been trying to decide for herself. There was definitely clear changes, but also more subtle things she had trouble descriping.

"Well.. it feels good. I mean, I feel weaker.. both physically, and in terms of my magic. I can feel cold now. I've lost the vampiric powers, and the nights suddenly seem darker." She started, simply describing her own thoughts: "But there are so many positive things too. I feel happier.. it's as if a dark cloud has been lifted from my mind. And that gut wrenching thirst is gone. But best of all..." she said, pausing for a short while, turning her head up, to look at the clear sky: "... Best of all is the sun. I can be out in the open, without feeling weakened. I can look up, without being blinded. And it is so beautiful."

She could feel that little smile creeping onto her face again. It was hard not to be happy. Despite sacrifing a great deal of power, she felt relieved. Like having a great burden removed from her shoulders.

Wulf nodded at her, seeming satisfied by her answer: "By the gods, I am happy to hear that. You've been so quiet these last days, I was starting to worry that you might be regretting it." he said.

She quickly shook her head. "No. I never want to go back. Never want to be like that again." She quickly stated. She moved around the fire, and sat down next to Wulf, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad I saved your life." she whispered, with slight grin.

He let out a slight chuckle: "Yeah? I think that feeling is mutual." he responded, gently sliding his arm around her shoulder.

As they sat there, Lyannah could suddenly sense something from behind them. The lifeforce, of someone closing in on them. A group of people. Four, maybe five. Slowly and steadily, she could feel them creeping closer, until...

"Well, isn't this cute." a gruff voice spoke from behind them.

She could feel Wulf tense up, and in a quick movement he shot up from his place by the fire, grabbed his sword from the ground, and twirled around to face whoever it was, that had managed to sneak up on them. Perhaps she should have warned him. Lyannah got up in a more relaxed manner. She hadn't really felt threatened for a very long time, and it was very doubtful that whoever this was, could pose any real danger to them. Mastery of almost every single art of combat had its benefits.

Turning around, she quickly scanned her eyes over each of the agressors. There were five of them. At first, she had thought them to be bandits, but upon closer inspection, it became apparent that they were something more. They were clad in heavy armor, and wielded steel weapons, that reflected the light from the fire. One of them even carried a strange staff. Mercenaries, perhaps. People sending hired swords after her wasn't something new. She had tried everything from simple thugs, to Dark Brotherhood assasins. Despite all the futile attempts on her life, they never seemed to learn.

"How can we help you, travellers?" she asked, acting oblivious to their intentions. It was obvious they weren't here to talk, but she liked to give them the illusion of control.

One of the mercenaries, who she guessed must have been the leader, took a step forward, with a cruel smile. "Well, you could start by removing your armor. Maybe we'll have some fun, before we kill you." he said, his mates chuckling behind him.

She smiled compassionately at them: "I'm afraid that's not how this is going to go down. Tell me, do you know who I am?" she decided to ask them. Sometimes that was enough for them to reconsider.

The man simply nodded. They all continued to seem very sure of themselves. "We know who you are. We're getting a pretty penny for your head, so why don't you just ask loverboy here to stand down, so we can get this over with?" he said, nodding towards Wulf.

Lyannah shook her head lightly. "Oh, we'll get it over with. Don't you worry." she mumbled, raising her hand. Yet, just as she was about to cast a spell that would make their cuirasses implode, the man with the staff pointed it at her. A blue light, almost like lightning, burst from the tip, and impacted with Lyannahs chest. There was no pain, but the spell which had otherwise been at her fingertips, seemed to fade. She found herself unable to cast anything.

The smile on the mercenary's face widened just a little: "Oops. Forgot to mention that, did we?"

These men were starting to get on her nerves. She slowly turned her eyes up, to meet the leader's. "Yes. It just means you'll be getting a much more painful death..." she said.

Before any of them could react, she lunged towards the nearest man. None of them had managed to draw their weapons yet, so she grabbed the mans own sword from its sheath. In a single spin, she pulled the sword, and kicked its owner in the side of his head, effectively knocking him to the ground. She crouched down, impaling him through the heart, and then jumped towards the next man. He was fumbling with his sword, trying to pull it in a panic, so when she impaled him through the stomach, he just stared at her in surprise for a moment, before collapsing.

The man with the staff was next. He had pulled a dagger from his belt, and seemed very aware of his chances. He took a step towards her, slicing the dagger through the air, trying to keep her away. She simply ducked under it, and jammed her sword through his chestplate. She grabbed his dagger and staff before he fell to the ground, and then turned to the remaining two. One man was standing before her, and then there was the leader, who had retreated to the back.

The closest man was bashing his sword against his shield. Perhaps trying to encourage himself. Lyannah just rolled her eyes, and threw the dagger at his head. As he too fell down, the knife was still stuck in his forehead.

Seeing all his men on the ground, in their respective pools of blood, the last mercenary didn't seem quite so cocky any more. He threw down his weapon, and fell to his knees. "Please! I'm just doing my job!" he begged, pathetically.

Lyannah shook her head, and held the staff out for him to see. "Who gave you this?" She asked.

The man looked confused, his eyes flickering between Lyannah and the staff: "W-What?" he stuttered.

With an annoyed sigh, Lyannah grabbed him by the throat, and pulled him back on his feet. "The staff. How did you get it?" she repeated.

He stared at her for a moment, and then came up with a death defying smile. He chuckled lightly, and then uttered a single word: "Thalmor."

His neck made a rather audible crack.

Wulf stood and stared at her in awe, as she bent down next to the dead man, and started going through his pockets, in search of any sort of note that would tell her who exactly had sent the mercenaries. If it really was the Thalmor, she had to be careful. She had sworn a vow to the empire, so murdering Thalmor leaders in Skyrim could set off a chain reaction.

Disappointingly, she found nothing. Instead, she inspected the staff they had used on her. It had been able to drain her magicka. She had seen that before, in a different staff. The staff of Magnus. This seemed like a weaker copy. The only problem, was that the real staff should be locked inside her quarters, at the college. She had to go check if it was still there, and if not, find out who stole it.. and how.

She got up, and turned to Wulf.

"We've got work to do."


	10. CH 10

Wulf quickly dropped to the ground, narrowly dodging an ornamented vase as it went flying past his head. It continued its path through the room, sailing through the air until it impacted on the wall, shattering into hundreds of pieces. He looked up at Lyannah, standing at the far end of the room, as she slung out violent pulses of air, that sent pots, vases and dishes flying through the room, crashing against walls and furniture. She had a furious expression on her face, one that spelled death and destruction for any who got in her way, so rather than getting up again, Wulf decided it was better to stay low, and ride out the storm until she cooled down.

It took her quite some time, and when she finally sat down on a nearby chair, it seemed as if an army had marched through, smashing everything in its path. Wulf slowly got up, and brushed off his clothing. He then walked over in front of her, and crossed his arms with a sigh.

"Would you mind telling me what that was about?" he asked, irritantly.

She shook her head, looking around the room, and simply responded: "It isn't here."

He let out a sigh, and dragged another chair over, sitting down faced towards her. "Oh yeah, another thing.. what item is so important, you'll wreck your entire room just because it is gone?" he asked.

Since the assault at their camp, she had been incredibly shut in. Just as bad as when they first met, yet this was different. She had almost seemed scared, and judging by her reaction, and the way she had treated the mercenaries, it was all because of that staff.

She focused her eyes on Wulf, studying him for a while, until finally seeming to agree with herself, that he could be trusted.

"When I was studying the arts of magic here at the college, a few years ago, certain events took place. Magical artifacts go in and out of this place every day, but we found something so powerful, it should not belong to any man or mer. We called it the Eye of Magnus. Still, a Thalmor diplomat who was here, went mad with lust for power. He tried to control the artifact, and draw power from it. We had to stop him. So we went looking for an item that could stop the Eye. And we found it. The Staff of Magnus." She explained. She stepped to the lockbox, where the staff should have been, and retrieved an old drawing. She displayed it to Wulf, who saw that it was a staff. The staff itself, he guessed.

She stared at him for a moment, as if expecting him to understand some unspoken truth. It then seemed to dawn on her that he knew nothing about magic, or staves, a slightly displeased look on her face.

"It's very powerful, okay? You saw what the staff they used on me did. This one is much more powerful... and rather than just inhibiting magic, it also drains your life force. Now someone seems to have stolen it from me. If it's the Thalmor.. well, let's just say total dominance over magic users is not something we want the Dominion to control."

Wulf scratched his chin, looking up at her. Getting involved in diplomatic relations wasn't something he looked forward to. "So, what do you want to do? If it's so dangerous, should we involve your Legion friends?" he finally asked.

She quickly shook her head, with a snort. "No no no. We get them involved, it'll be another war. This is on us. We have to handle it alone."

He let out a sigh. He didn't know what her plan was, but he could guess it wouldn't be easy. What's more, they wouldn't have her magic to pave the way. He was curious to see how she was going to tackle that.

She seemed to notice his thoughtfulnes. "Listen, I won't lie to you. This will be dangerous. I know I've payed you, but.. if you want to leave, you're free to do so."

Wulf looked up with a frown, and quickly stood up in front of her. "What? I thought we were beyond this by now. Am I really still just a mercenary? Are we still just employer and employee?" he asked.

She averted her eyes quickly. "T-that's not what I-"

She got no further, before Wulf interrupted her: "I know. You're just trying to give me a way out. You don't want to lose one more. But I'm not going to leave you now. I'm staying." he stated.

She nodded vaguely, slowly lifting her head back up. She had that rare sad look on her face. As if she had hoped he would leave. He couldn't resist reaching out and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, with a gentle stroke of the cheek. She quickly blinked a few times, and would have lowered her head if Wulf hadn't put his hand under her chin. He quickly leaned in, placing a tender kiss on her lips.

She seemed surprised, the prospect of such intimate contact still foreign to her, yet Wulf paid it no mind. Gently he persisted, until she finally let in, returning his affectionate gesture. There they stood, in a moment Wulf wished could have been eternal, both giving in to the feelings they had previously kept penned inside, hidden away.

He dragged it on for all the moments he could, until finally pulling away from her, with a sigh of longing. She looked unsure, for once being caught out of her element, yet not displeased. He saw the quick flash of disappointment on her face, and knew that she felt as he did. And he wanted more.

He reached his hands out, untying the chest bindings of her robe as she watched, and then gently moved his hands to her shoulders. Agonizingly slowly, he dragged the light cloth robe down over her shoulders, observing as it slid down her body, ending in a pile at her feet. He saw the blush coming to her cheeks, as she quickly raised her hands up, in an attempt at covering the many scars that dotted her skin. He looked her in the eyes, gently reaching out, taking her hands in his, and moving them away from the scars. He stepped closer, arms sliding around the small of her back.

"You're beautiful." He finally said. She breathed in sharply, and he thought he saw a small, thankful smile of relief.

He gently pushed her backwards, and held her hands as she dropped onto the bed, on her back.

With a reassuring smile, he asked her: "Do you trust me?"

And she answered: "Yes."

* * *

The next morning, he awoke to find noone was at his side. He sat up quickly, eyes swiftly scanning the room for any possible threats, only to find nothing. He stood up, and frantically started going through the room, searching for clues of battle. How had he not woken?

His search came to a sudden halt, when his eyes fell upon a peculiar note on a table. Next to it was an open bag, filled with jewels. He picked up the note, with a less than pleasant feeling in his stomach.

It seemed to have been written in a hurry, and contained a very short message:

_I'm sorry._


	11. CH 11

Lyannah breathed in deeply, allowing herself a moment to take in everything her senses would let her. A coarse brown bag had been thrown over her head, blocking her vision and limiting her hearing.

Still, she could make out the faint sound of water dripping from the ceiling. The rope, from which she had been hung by the hands, creaked under her weight as she swayed gently from side to side, like a pendulum.

She did not know where they had taken her, but the dampness and temperature of the air, told her it had to be a cave, or perhaps a castle.

Captured. Despite all her skills, she had been captured, bound, and hung up in a cell.

Perhaps she should have seen it coming. After leaving the college, she had travelled to the Thalmor embassy, and waited for the oppotunity to ambush someone official, hopefully getting some information. After what must have been a days wait, she finally managed to pull a nervous looking Altmer off the road, and interrogate him. Looking back, she realized he had given up too accurate information, and much too quickly. He had directed her to a castle near the coast, Northwatch Keep.

Infiltrating the castle, everything had gone smoothly. She only encountered few guards, and dealt with them silently. It was not until she had made her way deep into the bowels of the castle, that things took a turn for the worse. Upon entering a large chamber, gates fell down, blocking all exits. Moments later, she felt the draining effects of the staff on her, and as the strength left her body, it struck her that this must be the real staff.

After an uncertain period of time, she woke up in her current predicament.

The sound of keys clattering and being inserted into the lock caught her attention, and soon after the door to her 'cell' swung open. It bashed heavily against the wall, with a deafening thud.

Several people walked into the cell, stopping a short distance away from her. One stepped closer to her, close enough for her to hear breathing, and the soft sound of boots circling around her.

For a while there was only that, until whoever it was finally broke the silence:

"So... the great Dragonborn, clung up like a fish. I've always wondered when we would catch you, and then you just wander in on your own. That's very convenient."

Lyannah remained silent. Provoking him would only make her situation worse, and she highly doubted they really needed anything from her. She was simply a problem they wanted to get rid off. They hadn't killed her yet, so she suspected they were going to have some 'fun' first. Perhaps this could give her a chance to get away, and find the staff.

In the end, she should have known it wouldn't work. She had abandoned Wulf, the only person who cared for her, and gone on a quest to find and recover the artifact that presented the absolutely largest threat to her. It had been a trap, of course. Messengers leaving the embassy had likely been instructed to give her what she wanted, leading her the way they wanted. After that, using the staff to render her harmless had been simple. Trivial, really, making it all the more unbearable.

The footsteps stopped, and the bag was finally pulled off her head. In front of her were three high elves. One clad in the typical mages garments of the Thalmor, and the other two in shiny elven armor. The latter were obviously simple brutes, equipped with copied staves, but the mage gave her the impression of being something more. He was the one that had been circling her.

As if reading her thoughts, he finally stopped to the left of her, with furrowed brows.

"Nothing to say?" he asked: "No promises of death and mutilation?"

When she remained silent, he waved his hands slightly, and one of the guards swiftly stepped forward, jamming a fist into Lyannah's stomach, earning a gasp as the air left her.

"No? Still nothing? Not so mighty now, are we?" he continued, no doubt hoping to anger her, spark some reaction. She could shout him to pieces, but that would only encourage them to bring the real staff in.

Another gesture of his hand, and she recieved two more blows. Despite the pain, she would give them no more than a gasp for air.

Their displeasure at her perseverance was obvious, and so the mage stepped back, with an ever deepening frown. A cruel smile came to his face, and as he lifted his hands towards her, she could sense the tingling of magic in the air.

Arcs of lightning shot from his hands, running over her body in waves of overwhelming pain. Though it only lasted few seconds, she was still left twitching in her bindings, coughing as she regained control of herself.

His smile widened, and he raised his hands again:

"Now we're getting started..."

And she screamed.

* * *

Wulf breathed in deeply, watching from his hide besides the road, as his target slowly came closer. Clad in full armor, he had deemed himself ready for anything.

From Lyannah's collection at the college, he had claimed a set of ebony armor, much like the set she wore herself, along with a black greatsword that spelled death for any person getting in his way. The items were magical. He had realised this, when wearing the armor, he felt lighter than he would have without it. The greatsword was as light as a feather when wielded, yet swung with enough weight to cleave an oak in half. Those were the effects he had noticed, and he was sure there were several more. Those, he would surely see in battle.

Finally, the high elf passed right in front of him, and with an angry roar, Wulf dashed forward. Rather than swinging the sword, he simply clashed into his victim, effectively knocking the poor soul across the road, an into the snow. Wulf was upon him immediately, dragging him further into the woods where no man would see or hear them. He then brandished the sword, and stared deeply at his prey.

Upon closer inspection, he almost felt bad for the elf. He was a high elf, and as tall and frail as any he had seen. He was unarmed, and obviously fearing for his life.

Deciding to be done sooner rather than later, Wulf stood up, and placed the tip of the sword on his throat.

"Where is she? Where is the staff?" He asked.

The elf stared up at him, expression turning into disbelief.

"By the gods, this again?!" he yelled.

Wulf dragged the blade lightly against his skin, drawing a single drop of blood.

"What do you mean, 'again'? Answer my question!" he yelled.

The elf's fingers flew to the blade, as if trying to push it away:

"Okay okay, take it easy. I'm just a messenger. Some crazy lady assaulted me a few days ago, just like you, asking for a staff! I told her she should go to Nortwatch Keep, okay? That's all I know!"

Wulf nodded faintly, removing the sword from the elf's throat, and slowly sliding it down, until coming to a halt over his heart.

"Good boy. I'm sure you understand that I can't let you run back to your masters, and tell them there's another one coming, though." he mumbled.

His eyes opened widely, and he extended his arms, begging for mercy.

"N-no wait! Please, It wasn't my idea! I'm just a mess-" he started, but was cut short by the crunching of ribs, as Wulf jammed the sword down, silencing him forever.

Stepping away from the body, he wiped the blood from the sword, before sheathing it on his back.

He wasn't sure why she had left him. He wasn't sure if he should feel disappointed, betrayed, or angry. One thing he did know, however, was that he wouldn't give her up just like that. She was getting his help, whether she wanted it or not.

And now he had the next clue: Northwatch Keep.

Staring out over the frozen landscape, he started the journey towards what could easily be his last battle. And he mumbled to himself:

"I am coming."


End file.

Elder Scroll series, Hurt-Comfort, Romance