FicWad

Chapter Twelve: The New Pursuit
Dark and ominous clouds spread throughout this unknown city, and I began to panic. It was unbelievably hot, and people were running through the streets; creatures that looked like they had spawned from the deep, dark depths of a Dwarven ruin that I had never seen before. Everything kept getting darker and I was frantic until I saw a temple door light up. I ran for it and went inside. There were two shadows standing next to the altar, mumbles that only progressed into shouting. The ceiling to the temple started to collapse and a dragon as white as the northern snow in Skyrim formed and engulfed the dark clouds. I there were wails from a woman, “Martin, no!”
I sprang up from my pillow trying to catch my breath. “What is it dear?” Farkas asked with concern as he sat up and wrapped his arms around me. “It was another of those dreams. I was in this city I had never been to in all my life, and there was this dragon and I just, I don’t remem- I can-”
“Shhh... just relax a minute, dear. After you’ve calmed then maybe your head will clear.” I sat in bed for a moment trying to gather my thoughts and analyze this strange dream. This isn’t the first strange dream I’ve experienced, as I used to get them often when I was a girl. Father always told me it was because I spent too much time playing outside, but my mother had dreams too apparently, “Gods, even your dreams are beginning to sound like your mother's,” My father would scoff as I told him another wild dream I had. It's times like this that I would trade my very soul for the opportunity to have known her.
Farkas got up from the bed and kissed my forehead. “You’re probably hungry, let me make you something, love.” He never ceases to amaze me. As Farkas had taken a break from Companions work following Vilkas' death, he had picked up on cooking, among other aspects of domesticity. It brings him joy to make me a home-cooked meal. Every little thing he did made me fall in love with him even more, I still think how lucky I was to have ended up in Jorrvaskr after the dragon attack on Helgen. I’ll never forget the first time I looked at him, spellbound by the manner by which he conducted himself.
While I was lost in my thoughts about my love for Farkas I had remembered something from my dream; the man who formed into a dragon was Martin Septim. I remembered my conversation with Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness, and really pondered what he told me. I thought he was just spewing out nonsense. After all, he is the Prince of madness. Still, what if he was right? I need answers. I need to go see my father. I got out of bed and put on the nice leather dress that Serana had gifted to me and went to the kitchen to talk to Farkas. He had just finished setting our plates on the table as I walked in. “Breakfast is ready, my love,” he said sweetly. I smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him. We both sat down and before even eating I started to spew out my thoughts. “Do you remember when I was helping the Jarl of Solitude and I ended up in the Pelagius Wing of the Blue Palace, only to find myself inside of Sheogorath’s realm?”
“I do, why do you bring it up?” Farkas asked, seeming confused. “Do you remember how I said he started yapping on about Septim lineage and me being apart of it?”
“Of course,craziest thing I ever heard. Daedric Prince of madness, after all, who knows what he'll say next?”
“What would you say if I told you I think there might be something to it?” Farkas looked at me, first in disbelief, then seeing the intent on my face, gave my words some genuine consideration. “Well, what makes you think so?”
“First of all, I am Dragonborn, which I know there’s other perfectly good explanations, like Karnag, but also these dreams I have been having.”
“But haven’t you always had these dreams?”
“Exactly, which is why I’m starting to grow more curious than ever. Farkas, I need to go talk to my father to find out more about my mother. I know that’s where I need to start.”
“Then I’m with you, Lyanna. Always.” I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, I reached my hand out and grabbed Farkas’ hand. “I love you,” I said, as one spilled over. “I love you too,” he said, wiping it from my cheek. “I want you to go with me, to see my father,” I said, trying to get my mind off of the sentiment, “Despite not speaking to him for years now, I think he should know who the man I married is, if nothing else.” He just smiled in response. “I want to leave as soon as we can, now even.”
“Gods, Lyanna, can’t a man at least finish his breakfast?”
Once we both finished eating we gathered a few things and we told Lydia, our new Steward, farewell and that we shouldn’t be gone too long. We saddled up, and rode our horses to Markarth, where my father lived, where I grew up. It would feel like a long journey, for I haven’t seen my father in so long. We were both quiet most of the way there, soaking in and enjoying the beautiful Evening Star weather. The closer we got to Markarth, the more nervous I felt. I knew my father didn’t hate me but those words he once said still rang in my mind like new. It started to get pretty dark and we were only a little more than halfway there, I thought maybe we should make camp for the night just to be safe of any Forsworn or bandits. I stopped my horse near a good spot.
“We've stopped, what is it Lyanna?”
“I think we should set up camp for the evening, just to be safe.” Farkas hesitated for a moment before agreeing. We both got down from our horses and Farkas began to make a fire while I laid down some furs for us to lay on; Evening Star nights tended to be unforgivingly cold. Once Farkas got the fire started I went over and huddled next to him and the fire to keep warm. I never once thought that in my adventures I could be huddled up next to the one I love, so safe and secure. “You haven't really talked about your travels since you got home, love. What did you do for all those months?” I managed to seem calm but all I could really think about was him and Aela, huddled for warmth somewhere in the middle of nowhere Cyrodiil. “It was a lot of work I guess,” He said, staring into the flames, “Dealt with a lot of young people who had the beast blood and didn't know how to control it. They were terrified. I remember this one girl who lived out alone on the Cyrodiil-Valenwood border. She kept begging us to just kill her, no matter how much I told her that we could help. Gods, it was terrible. Aela and I struggled to keep her still and calm while we talked to her about what was going on and how we were there to cure her, if she wanted it.”
There was a moment of silence and I wanted to bring her up. I knew I shouldn’t, but it was bothering me, “And what about Aela?”
“What about her?”
“Why did she go along with this? She never saw the beast blood as a burden like we do, so why would she go and help you?”
“She told me privately that she felt guilt at having a hand in Kodlak's death. She knew that he did not want the beast blood anymore, and that if anyone wanted to be cured, that we shouldn't try to convince them otherwise. One man's gift is another man's curse, or something along those lines.”
“Hmph. Doesn't sound like Aela at all.” Farkas jolted his head and stared at me for a few seconds until I looked back over at him. “Are you jealous of Aela?” He asked, then started laughing. I could feel my face burning red, not seeing the humor in the situation. “Jealous? No. Protective? Absolutely. My mind had wandered to dark places a few times while you were away. I mean, come on, a strong woman like Aela? Must be hard for a man so far away from his wife-” Farkas interrupted me, “Lyanna, you know there's nobody else I love. I can't believe you'd even think I'd do something so low! It's always going to be you and me against the world.” I leaned in to kiss Farkas and he put his hands on my face, pulling me closer to him. He was passionately kissing me, and he began to kiss my neck and move lower with each kiss. I had made love with him enough times to recognize the signs that he was ready. I started to tense up, “Right here, now?”
“Relax, love.” It's always like he said, he wasn't a man of many words, but Gods did he know how to make me feel good.
He removed my dress and continued to kiss me. His hand gently grabbed one of my breasts, and my skin began to bump up from his warm and gentle touch. I ran my fingers through his hair as he kept kissing, I began to moan softly, barely whispering his name out of pleasure. The way Farkas touched me, kissed me, or did anything to me was much different now than when we first married. We both had the beast blood then, and we went at it like wild animals all the time. But now, after all the things we had been through together, it was all about the passion of the moment and less the physical satisfaction. Farkas’ head lifted up and his eyes met mine, “I love you,” he said softly before kissing me, his mouth never left mine as he slowly moved inside me. As I dug my nails into his back and nibbled on his neck he whispered in my ear, “You're mine, Lyanna, I want nobody else.”

We must have continued on for what felt like hours, all I remember was waking up huddled next to Farkas, it was always the best feeling to wake up in his arms. I was once again met with those icy blue eyes and Farkas smiled. “How are you?” he asked in a dazed voice. “After last night, I'm grand,” I said, kissing him. We just laid in each other's embrace for a while before I decided that we should try and get a move on to Markarth, it was only a short distance further. We put on our clothes and packed up the camp and began heading west again. The closer we got, the more scared I felt. Why was I scared? Was I scared to see my father after so long? Scared what he’d say of Farkas? No, I could handle all of that. Maybe I’m scared of this journey that might lie ahead, scared of the truth. I can’t stop remembering what Sheogorath told me. He said that he could sense my blood, he knew it was the Septim blood. It just sounds like a bunch of madness, but I can’t help but feel he was right.
After a few hours of silent riding we finally made it to Markarth. As we stood outside the gates I was hit with an intense feeling of nostalgia, and although melancholic, it was all I had really remembered of Markarth. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, but as we walked through the gates Farkas still held my hand despite my nerves. I doubt my father had moved from my uncle’s house. I remembered each and every step carved into the side of the mountain that led up to the bronze door. All those steps I climbed day after day, they were exhausting but they made me stronger. As we made our way to the steps to my old home we heard shouting and just loud talk, nothing out of the norm in the bloody streets of Markarth. Blood and silver, I thought to myself.
“I can't imagine being a child in a place like this,” Farkas said quietly, a somber comment on the austere nature of the city. We stood outside my father's door, and after a moment of fear and silence I knocked loudly. It took a while for my father to answer the door, but when he did I’d never seen a look of such elated disbelief. “Little Spriggan?” I blushed at my father's pet nickname; he used to tell me that with all the time I spent playing outside I’d end up a Spriggan one day. “Hey, dad. It's me,” I said shyly. He just stared at me, still not comprehending that it was, indeed, his only daughter. “Lyanna, it really is you! How have you been? You never write, you never visit! And who is this?”
“Dad, this is my husband, Farkas.”
“Husband? I would have at least liked an invitation to the wedding!” He said half serious. Farkas extended his hand to my father, saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet you sir, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time now.” He must have practiced that a bit, Farkas isn’t really a man of words, let alone polite words. My father just looked at him with a face as hard as stone, just like his name, then he smiled and leaned in to hug Farkas. “Oh, come here you, and call me Fjotreid!” I was in utter shock at how my father managed to be so cold, and yet welcoming. “Come in you two, you must be hungry, where have you been all these years?”
“It's a very long story, dad. To put it simply, we're living in rural Hjaalmarch.”
“You never did like living in the city, but I suppose if you're happy out there, then I'm happy for you. But it’s been almost ten years, Little Spriggan, what made you decide to come by? I hope you're not looking for money! Been hard to make it as a silversmith since the Imperials took control of the mines for the war effort.”
“No, dad, we don't need money. I just, figured that, well, like you said, it's been a long time. Too long, in fact. And I'm sorry for that. I was young, needed to find myself, you know how that works. And it was time you meet Farkas, and there's a lot I want to talk to you about.” I figured with my father, I’d have to ease into the conversation of my mother, it was always something that I could tell hurt him to talk about. He looked at me with this peculiar expression on his face, “Well, let me go grab some mead for the two of you. I know I have a couple clean mugs around here somewhere.”
He led us inside, and I felt flustered for some reason. It’s not like I was having a meeting with the Emperor. He’s my father, for Talos’ sake, why was I like this? Farkas looked over at me and gave me a soft reassuring smile and I suddenly knew that it would be okay. My father came back with three mugs full of mead, and handed them to us. He sat down on his chair next to the crackling fire and started to ask Farkas some of the usual questions. I spaced out for a little bit and started to think about things, like my mother and Sheogorath’s words, again. Then I managed t come back to the moment as my father asked us both, “So, you've been married for a good while now. You two planning on making me a grandfather anytime soon? I don’t have much longer to wait!”
The events of the last month all came rushing back to mind; Vilkas' death, losing the house, losing the baby, Karnag going off the deep end, all of it. Farkas was nervously chuckling, he probably didn’t know what to say. I decided that I needed to just let it out, rip the scab off quickly. “I was with child a month ago. But it didn't survive. Nearly took me with it. Farkas' brother, well, he gave his life defending me when I was too weak to defend myself.” My father's expression immediately changed, recognizing that he had touched upon a very sore subject.“Gods, I had no idea. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...” He trailed off, a look of shame taking over his previously joyous face. ”It’s okay, dad. There's no way you could have known,” I said, trying to maintain my composure. there was a moment of silence before I excused myself from the room. Farkas put his hands on my shoulder before I got up, a look of worry was on his face, “I’m alright,”I said, but he saw straight though my lie.
I got up and stepped outside onto the platform. I remember when I was a kid, I would look out across the city up here, I felt so safe behind the imposing walls on one side and the mountain on the other. Looking at them now, I feel as if I'm in a neatly glittering prison, safe and sober, yet in horrible danger all the same. I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head of all the things in it that I'd rather not remember, before heading back inside. Farkas was sitting in the living room alone, I asked him where my father went. “He said he needed to check on something, and excused himself in a hurry,” Farkas said, gesturing to my old bedroom. I walked through the doorway and found him sitting at the edge of my old bed, his head on his chest and his hands in his lap. “Dad? What’s wrong?” I asked, sitting down next to him. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, saying in a shaky voice, “Well, you show up at your old man’s doorstep after ten years and tell me all these exciting and horrible things at me, Little Spriggan, and even a man as tough as your old father here is gonna have to take a moment to process it all.”
“I’m sorry, dad. I never meant to stay away for so long. But life sort of got in the way, you know? With the dragons and the Companions, not to mention my good friend Karnag. I have to tell you all about him one of these days. But I never meant to hurt you, dad. I just couldn't bring myself to stay here while the world waited for me outside.”
“I know that, Lyanna, and I'm not mad at you. It was wrong of me to expect you to stay in one place for the rest of your life. You've been out there living your life to the fullest, I just wish I could have been a bigger part of it.” Hearing that pierced me like a knife. I felt more tears coming but I stifled them before they could come out. He locked eyes with me, seeing the emotion in them and changed the subject, saying, “You look just like your mother, you know. Thank Talos you don’t look like me. You got my eyes though.” Even when falling apart, he still managed to crack a joke. The reality was starting to sink in, of just how much I had hurt him by leaving like I had and never bothering to send so much as a letter. I know I’ve grown to hate this blood-stained hold, but I can’t help but feel shame it’s kept me from seeing my father. He wasn’t always the kindest when I was growing up, often expected me to be more ladylike and got frustrated when I wasn't. But I couldn't have asked for a better father, he always made sure I had food to eat and a roof over my head. The bad memories always stay in our minds the longest, but deep down inside, I can't help but love my father. “I love you, Lyanna,” He said, his stony facade finally breaking. “I love you too, dad,” I replied, not attempting to stifle the tears this time.
“Let’s not keep your husband waiting too long while we sob like couple of milk-drinkers. Come on, let’s get another drink!” My dad was able to bounce back to normal in an instant, and we walked back out into the living room and Farkas started asking my father about his silversmithing work. They began bonding so quickly, talking about weapons and other manly type things, Farkas even opened up about his work in Cyrodiil and helping those with beast blood, told my father he had once had it too. There was a slight change in my father’s mood and I could sense it, he responded to Farkas “Cyrodiil, eh? What parts? I once lived in Cyrodiil… Met my beautiful Myrenna there. I was out doing guild work in Skingrad when I had seen her and her family standing outside the chapel. By the Nine it felt like I was looking at Dibella herself,” he reminisced, “Ah, but enough about that, I’m sure you don’t want to hear an old man pine over ancient history.” I looked my dad in the eyes, “That's actually part of the reason we're here, dad. I wanted to ask you about mom. There is so much I just don't know, so many answers that you can give me about who I really am.”
“That's simple, you're you, Lyanna! You don't need me to tell you that. After all these years ,what made you question that?” I looked over at Farkas with a troubled expression on my face. How would I be able to make this sound believable? “Dad, what I’m about to say is going to sound absolutely mad, but please bear with me here.” My father’s face grew very puzzled. “Alright, I'm listening, Lyanna,” he said, leaning back in his chair. I took a deep breath and tried to explain it as simply as possible. “About a year ago I was in Solitude looking for work, I made my way to the Blue Palace hoping to find an errand or something in exchange for some coin. Back when she was still Jarl, Elisif was still quite a bit busy, but I was told there had been a few strange noises coming from the Pelagius Wing, the southern part of the palace. They said if I checked it out and figured out what was causing it, she’d give me 100 Septims. At the time, I wasn't in a position to turn down a job, no matter how little it paid. Well, as I was walking through the hall, I found myself transported somewhere outside of Nirn. I was greeted by the mad Daedric Prince himself, Sheogorath. He told me that he knew me, that he had been waiting for me. I was confused, and he told me he could sense it, the Septim blood. I told him that he had the wrong person, that I was no Septim. Then he said some stuff that was just pure crazy, he claimed I was the long-lost heir to the Imperial throne. I told him he was a liar, and that there was no way I could be a Septim! I said that there haven't been any Septims since Martin 200 years ago, that everyone knows that. He then told me that once the dragons returned, so did a Dragonborn heir. Before he could tell me more, the realm had disappeared in a flash of butterflies.” I paused for a moment looking at my father’s face, which had remained unchanged throughout the entire story. “But, the thing is, it didn’t start bothering me until just recently. What Sheogorath said, it's obviously crazy, but dad, I’ve been having these very strange dreams.” I explained the dreams I’ve had of Martin Septim and his battle with Mehrunes Dagon, I explained to him a dream I had about a red-haired woman screaming at me to not leave her; My father’s face went pale as soon as I mentioned that detail. “By the Nine,” he whispered to himself. “Dad, what is it?” Farkas put his hand on mine and I squeezed it. “Your mother had dreams of a red-haired woman screaming at someone to not leave her. I remember her telling me this often, I told her it was probably just the pregnancy making her have irrational dreams. There’s no way this is a coincidence.”
“Dad, is there anything about mom’s life that could maybe help me? I know this is all just crazy, but something is telling me that what Sheogorath said is true, or at least partially. But I have to dig deeper. Please, help me, tell me anything you can about mom, about when I was born.” With a heavy sigh, my father stood up and went over to a chest he kept by the kitchen. He started digging through some papers and mumbling to himself under his breath. I looked over at Farkas, and he held my hand, silently reminding me to try to remain calm. “Ah, I found it!” My father rushed over to me as best as his old bones would let him, and handed me a tattered scroll. I frantically read it and my heart began to race. It was a proclamation from the steward of the country of Bruma in Cyrodiil, declaring my time and place of birth, as well as my father and mother’s name. “I always knew I was born in Bruma. What does this mean, dad?”
“Look closely, Little Spriggan, look at the people who signed it.” There were two signatures, listed as witnesses of the birth. One was my father, and another one was, well, I assumed it was the person who helped my mother birth me. Falanu of Balmora was written beside my mother's name. “Dad who is this person? Who is Falanu?”
“When I met your mother, they her parents had a Dunmer servant. Well, less of a servant and more of a live-in housekeeper. Her name was Falanu, had ties to the family going back decades. She was very close with your mother though, it was almost like she saw your mother as a daughter she never had. When, well, when your mother died the night you were born, she was grief stricken, just like I was. She begged, pleaded with me, me not to take you across the border to Skyrim, even offered to pay me all the gold she had to keep you. I was so out of it, I just thought she was crazy. I got out of that place and well, you know the rest I’m sure.” All I could do was say her name to myself over and over, “Falanu… I have to find her. Where would she be?” My dad laughed and said, “Gods take me if I know. Like I said, I left that night with little more than the clothes on my back and the swaddling babe in my arms.” I thought to myself for a moment, but my course of action was abundantly clear. “I’m going back to Cyrodiil, dad. I’m going to find Falanu. I'm going to find the truth.”
“Good luck with that,” he said, sighing as he sat back in his chair, “There's no knowing if she's still in Cyrodiil, or even still alive for that matter.”
“It’s worth a shot, dad. Even if she isn't there, there has to be someone who knows something. Is it alright if Farkas and I sleep here tonight? Tomorrow morning we’ll set out for the border.”
“I'd be offended if you didn't, Little Spriggan! Besides, we still have more catching up to do! Tell me about this Karnag fellow you were talking about earlier. He sounds like a real man's man.”

I had trouble falling asleep that night, all I could do was lay awake and think about all the possibilities my future held. With Sheogorath’s words still ringing fresh in my mind, I wondered what exactly would happen if I did prove I am in fact a Septim. Could I even challenge the Emperor for the throne? Even then, what would I do if I succeeded? The thought of me as an Empress felt so unreal, I'm a silversmith's daughter from the bloodiest hold in Skyrim, not royalty. The rest of my night would just be endless tossing and turning and thoughts on this journey.
After Farkas woke up I said my farewells to my father. “I promise I’ll try to see you again really soon. I’ve really missed you, dad.” My father leaned over and gave me a warm hug, he then whispered to me as his voice began to crack a bit, “Go on out there and make your old da proud, Little Spriggan.” Even though I had no idea what I was going to do, whatever it is, I knew he would be proud of me no matter what. It was the journey to get there that I wasn’t so sure of. Farkas and I left through Markarth’s gates and saddled our horses at the stables. “Farkas, there's a detour we need to make on the way.”
“Where at?”
“Lakeview. If anyone will have advice for our journey, it'll be Karnag. It’d be nice to see Serana and the girls as well.”
“Sounds good to me. We better get moving, let’s not waste any time, love.”
We rode our horses to the east for a while and made our way a bit more south to get to Lakeview. The ride there was a few hours, although in the tranquility of the early winter, it felt as if it took no time at all. I was able to just enjoy everything around me, not a lot of trouble came our way and for that, I was thankful. When we finally reached Lakeview Estate we were greeted by a Redguard woman, “State your business, Nords.”
“We’re Lyanna and Farkas, we’re here to see Karnag.”
“Ahh, my apologies! I’ve heard much about you two, come on in, Karnag is inside with Serana as well.” We both got off our horses and headed inside, it smelled delicious inside, the smell had made me realized I hadn’t eaten since yesterday I was just so nervous with all these thoughts, “Hello? Karnag? Serana?” I saw Serana’s face pop out from the kitchen and she lit up with joy once she realized it was us, “Lyanna! Farkas! Oh, it’s been too long. Sorry I’m finishing up dinner. Karnag is in the basement doing some smithing, he should be up soon.” Both the little girls came running up to us, squealing with excitement, they each latched onto our legs and squeezed them. “Uncle Farkas!!!” Lucia said as she wrapped her small arms around Farkas’ wide legs. Farkas looked a bit startled, “Uh, hey there little one. Nice to meet you.” I couldn’t help but laugh, I looked down at Sophie and told her hello, “Wow, you’re almost as pretty as mama, aunt Lyanna!” I chuckled. I knew she meant well, “Well thanks, little one. I’m going to go find your papa, if you don’t mind.” She let go of my leg then ran over to Farkas’ other leg and latched on. Both girls kept laughing and Farkas just stood there, unsure of what to say. I made my way to the basement door and opened it, taking the ladder down. I immediately felt the heat and smoke that enveloped the room. It was dark, but I managed to find Karnag assiduously hitting his way at something on an anvil, “Karnag?” I said loudly, he looked up and just as Serana’s face lit up, so did his. “Lyanna… I've been wondering when you'd stop by. What brings you out our way?” I felt my eyes welling up with tears from the thick smoke, “I was hoping to talk to you about something, it’s quite important.” Karnag smiled, “Of course, I’m just finishing up this war axe. I had a premonition that I would be heading off to battle again soon, and I decided to forge one just to be prepared!” I stood quietly as Karnag finished his war axe. That man was almost 20 winters older than me, he has been through Oblivion and back, and I was sure it tormented his thoughts. Seeing him in with Serana or working with steel; he was a completely different person. It was like the difference between a wolf in a cage and in a cave. Caged, the wolf bares his teeth and snarls, but in a cave, he's right at home. Public life was like a cage for Karnag, but being here, being home, with his family and his tools, this was his cage. Here, more calmed and serene, it made me happy to see him like that. Karnag lifted the finished axe up and I was amazed at its beauty. It shined brighter than the lights above the Sea of Ghosts. “You’ve got a lot of talent with a hammer, Karnag.”
“You got that right,” Karnag chuckled then looked over to me, “Gods, it’s hotter than Oblivion down here. Why don’t we step outside and talk, Lyanna? We both could use the fresh air. And why don't you and Farkas stay for dinner? Serana is surprisingly adept in the kitchen, for only eating normal food for a few months now.” We climbed up the ladder and made our way out of the manor house over to the lake. Karnag splashed some water on his face and took in a deep breath, “So, what is it Lyanna? Is everything okay with the house?” I hesitated a bit. Karnag wasn’t the type to believe me insane if I told him something. If my father believed me, then Karnag most likely would too. It was making the words come out that I struggled with. “I went to Markarth to see my father.” Karnag looked over at me with concern, “I have been having strange dreams, I guess my mother had them as well. I guess we even shared the same dream, although she was having them before I was even born.” I let out a deep sigh, trying to explain the whole Sheogorath situation again, without sounding mad. Karnag whispered to himself, “By the Nine…” I looked over at him and put my hand on his shoulder, “Karnag, I know it sounds crazy, but you have to believe me. There’s this feeling in my heart that I can’t really explain. Almost like there’s something it’s aching for; like something is calling me home.” Karnag understood this feeling I mentioned very well, for he too has felt it. There was a long moment of absolute silence before I spoke up again, “I’ve made my decision, Karnag. I’m going to reclaim the Throne that’s rightfully mine.”
“Then I’m coming with you. No question.” He lifted up the steel war axe he had just made and made his way over to a tree that hung over his house, and embedded the blade within the bark of the tree. Karnag looked over to me again and yelled proudly, “An Orc follows to his death” With those words, I felt even more of a sense of hope. We both went inside the house for dinner. Karnag told Serana and the children of his decision to leave for Cyrodiil with us in my quest for the Ruby Throne. Serana looked visibly upset, but when she saw the fire that burned in his eyes, she knew that the gods themselves would not change his mind, and said, “You've got that same look you had the day you left to fight the Stormcloaks. Just don't do anything stupid, like dying, alright?” We all laughed except the children, who looked genuinely afraid. After assuring them that he would be home soon, he proceeded to pack some gear for the trip. He strapped into that old suit of armor, hand forged from refined orichalcum in the style of his ancestors.
Farkas and I saddled our horses, and Karnag conjured his. I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing that thing, but I certainly understand the utility, and I trust Karnag with my life. He has never let me down, especially when I need him the most. I have no idea what the future is going to bring. This may be a wild horker chase, or it might end up leading us to something greater. Either way, the road to Bruma is long and will take us through rough terrain.
We had just crossed the Skyrim-Cyrodiil border through Pale Pass when Karnag broke his long silence. “Lyanna, I have a favor to ask.”
“Of course, Karnag. What is it?”
“We’re headed to Bruma, but would you mind if we made a stop on the way?”
“Where at?”
“My old home. Gornish-Shul. It’s on the road to Bruma. And even if it’s completely destroyed, I just need to see it. To see what’s left.”
“Absolutely Karnag. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” And so, we rode; through mountains and valleys, until we crossed over into the lush, green forests of northern Cyrodiil. It wouldn’t be much further now. Destiny was calling us home.