Dragonborn Rising Ch. 52

Chapter 52 -- The End of Madness

* * * * *

There was no direct road leading from Fort Dawnguard to the shoreline that would lead across to Castle Volkihar. That meant horses were loaded down with supplies as well as soldiers, so it ended up taking three whole days, not helped by the weather that slowed our progress to a crawl more than once. But we travelled in quite a large number, the ranks of the Dawnguard swelling since my first days with the organisation.

Arriving on the exposed and desolate north-west coast of Skyrim, the closest fortification was Northwest Keep, which I knew was inhabited by the Thalmor. Though I would have loved nothing more than clearing it out, now wasn't the time to go picking another fight. Not yet, anyway.

We camped a final night, making final preparations for the next morning, agreeing to travel across at first light.

Getting across wasn't a major problem, agreeing to just take a few soldiers over on the boat and making sure we were not seen doing it. I was sent over first with Serana, scoping out the area around the castle, but there were no obvious patrols, so we simply remained on the beach, establishing a perimeter, until the others joined us. Including Lydia and my three Companions, there were perhaps forty of us in total. More than enough to take the castle in my opinion.

Crouching behind a boulder, the bridge leading to the castle around one hundred metres away, Isran asked Serana, "Will they see us approach?"

"To be honest, they probably already know we're here." She looked at me. "Ragnar, all I can suggest is that you clear a path to the main gates with that gift of yours. Once we're inside, Isran, you take everyone and head to the main hall and then push them back. Ragnar and I will peel off. I know where my father will be waiting for us. He'll want to face me alone, hoping to convince me to give up the bow."

"Okay, I'll have a last word with the men, then we'll make our move," Isran said, moving off.

I stepped closer to Serana. "You ready for this?" I asked quietly.

She took a deep breath. "Always knew this day would come eventually, when I'd have to choose between my father or my mother. But he's insane, Ragnar. He's been consumed entirely by this ridiculous prophecy. I see no other way of dealing with this other than killing him."

"Can you do that?"

She met my eyes. "I haven't come all this way to hesitate now. It... Won't be easy. He's still my father. Somewhere deep inside is the father I grew up with and adored. But that's far too long ago now. Far too much has happened between then and now. I can't forgive him, no matter what he tries to say."

"I'm by your side all the way."

She leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Thank you, Ragnar."

Unsheathing my sword, I heard the call of 'Forward!' from Isran, Serana and I leading the Dawnguard towards the bridge. The gates ahead opened, vampires flooding out to meet us. The gargoyles to either side of the bridge woke up at the same time. I gestured for Serana to hang back a couple of steps as I strode forward confidently. Once they were in range, I unleashed my Thu'um.

YOL -- TOOR – SHUL

There were immediate cries as vampires and gargoyles found themselves doused in flames. With a final cry, we rushed forward, hacking and slashing our way forward. Serana was firing all manner of spells. Recognising fire worked best against her own kind, it was amusing to see flames shoot from her palm, enormous fire balls flung into the distance, leaving those close for us to deal with swords, axes and shields.

Getting across the bridge didn't take too long, in all honesty. Once we had the upper hand, Isran yelled for Serana and I to break through and make for her father, the Dawnguard would deal with everyone else. Taking Serana by the hand, I stabbed and hacked my way forward, making it through the gates, quickly followed by Lydia and the three Companions, who veered off one way as Serana told me to head left.

We entered the chapel cautiously, our eyes searching left and right for any sign of Harkon. She pointed ahead towards what I thought was a fountain. When I stated that sentiment, she shook her head. "That is no fountain, Ragnar. It is a shrine to Molag Bol himself." Waiting next to the shrine was Harkon. Or, it may have been Harkon. "And there is my father. In his other form, naturally."

I stepped towards the middle of the room, confidently if not arrogantly, my bloodied sword pointing down for the moment. Serana stayed at my side, matching each of my steps with her own. She took the bow from her back, taking an arrow and nocking it, readying to fire when required. Surprisingly, Harkon spread his arms wide.

"Serana, my darling daughter. I see you still favour keeping a pet."

"You know why we're here, father. It's time to end this madness, once and for all."

"Of course I know why you're here. You disappoint me, Serana. You've taken everything I've provided for you and thrown it all away for this pathetic being."

That was the second jibe he had sent in my direction in a matter of seconds. My hand gripped my sword that little bit tighter and it took all the self-control at my disposal not to charge forward or just unleash my Thu'um and begin hostilities. Serana must have noticed the slight change in my body language as she moved a hand from her bow to my sword hand. It was the briefest of touches but one her father couldn't have missed.

"Provided for me? Are you insane? You've destroyed our family and brought terror to the people of Skyrim, all over some prophecy that you barely understand. But let me tell you something, father. I do now understand the prophecy. I know who was responsible. And he is now dead. So I say this. No more. I'm done with you. And you will not touch Ragnar. Not now. Not ever."

He hissed. "So, I see this dragon has fangs. Your voice drips with the venom of your mother's influence. How alike you've become."

She scoffed, almost laughed at him. "No. I'm nothing like my mother, because unlike her, I'm not afraid of you. Not anymore. Not with Ragnar by my side."

He looked in my direction. "It appears I have you to thank for turning my daughter against me. I knew it was only a matter of time before she'd return with hatred in her heart."

"You don't need to thank me. She reached this point on her own. Your pathetic attempts at parenting were more than enough to lead her along this path. All I've done is help her and show her there is another way."

Her father scoffed. "You don't care about Serana. You're only interested in the power of the bow."

"That's where you're wrong. I care next to nothing for the bow. It is a means to an end. But you... You don't just threaten our existence as humans, you threaten Serana herself with your stupid prophecy. The simple fact is that I won't let you hurt her. Not anymore. And never again."

"The vampire hunter will protect and care for the vampire? You'll kill her as soon as you're done with me."

"That's not going to happen. I'd never harm Serana. I will only ever stop those who would cause her harm."

"And why is that?"

"Because I love her."

He laughed long and hard at those four words. All that did was infuriate me further. I'm tired of people laughing at me. If Serana or someone I know, respect, or love does it, it's not meant to offend me. Sometimes, I am an idiot and say silly things. But when a foe does it to mock me, it simply leaves me wanting to cut them in half. "You... love my daughter? You love a vampire?"

"I love her enough to die fighting you if that is what's required. I love her because of who she is, not what she is. That's never bothered me. And she knows that."

"And what do you think of all this, Serana?"

"I love him too." I couldn't help but smile when she said those words without hesitation, considering it was her father. "And together we're putting an end to your madness."

He shook his head, almost sadly, not that I felt an ounce of pity for him. "Then my daughter is truly lost. She died the moment she accepted a mortal into her life."

I'd like to say that it was a long fight, that it was honourable, that we fought heroically, that it would be sung by bards for centuries to come. But it was nothing like that. It was an ugly, brutal fight. It always would be against a creature such as Harkon. He was powerful, able to withstand the power of my Thu'um more than once. But he could not withstand bloodied arrows that were fired by Serana.

He summoned his own creatures, of course. Powerful gargoyles that left me distracted, leaving Serana to face her father alone. The one clear memory I have of that fight is when he attacked her while I was distracted by a pair of gargoyles. All I remember is her scream as she took the full brunt of an attack I didn't see. I remember glancing back to see her crumple to the ground and fearing that she was dead. And then the rage built within. The sort of rage that felt like my blood was boiling. The two gargoyles I was fighting were dead in seconds. Then I focused all my anger on Harkon. He appeared pleased with himself as I faced him down, casting another concerned glance towards Serana.

"She will recover eventually. And then I will ensure my victory by using the bow. Her sacrifice will ensure the dominance of my kind."

"Over my dead body."

He laughed at me, which simply increased my rage further. "My dear boy, that's exactly what I'm planning."

"Your kind will soon be extinct."

He scoffed at the remark. "And what of your supposed love for Serana?"

"I know what she is. But I love her for who she is. And she will always be under my protection. From you. And from anyone out there."

"Pathetic. You will never understand the power that she or I wield."

"I know enough." I raised my sword. "Now, enough talk. Let us end this, once and for all."

I ignored all the wounds I would receive. I know blood was dripping from me in the end. Somehow, I still don't know how, I survived the fight. But I didn't get the killing blow. I'd done enough to wear him down through sheer bloody mindedness. But it was Serana who got in the fatal shot. Unbeknownst to her father or myself, she had woken up and managed to move herself into a seated position. It was only when she called out my name that I knew what she was doing, pushing Harkon back enough to see an arrow fly into his chest. Then another one joined alongside. Then a third and fourth. I stepped back as a bright light appeared in his chest and I took a few steps back as a blood curdling scream escaped his mouth.

He then seemed to disappeared into a fine mist, for a brief few moments, before he reformed as a swarm of bats, which flew around the chapel twice. I tracked the bats, waiting to attack wherever they landed. They stopped near the shrine and I followed. He formed into Harkon, the more human looking kind, as blood poured from the wounds in his chest, from out of his mouth and nose, and I knew the end was near. I felt a presence alongside, glancing to see Serana still armed with the bow. She said nothing as she simply raised it and fired a final arrow, right where his heart may have once been, a long time ago. That ended it as he cried out one final time, saying only his daughter's name, before he dissolved into nothing more than a pile of ash.

Serana seemed to stagger and I threw an arm around her waist as she leaned into me. She gestured with her head and I helped her forward towards the remains of her father. "I'm sorry, father. But you left me no choice," she muttered quietly. Then she turned towards me. "Hold me. Please," she nearly pleaded.

She shed no tears for the man but I wrapped both arms around her, resting her head against my chest, both of us breathing deeply as it had been quite the fight. We heard no sound from outside, figuring the fighting had ceased out there as well. Taking her by the hand, I led her outside, where a few Dawnguard were walking around, putting their swords through the few bodies that may have still caused a problem. Aela, Lydia and the twins glanced in our direction and grinned, Isran approaching us.

"It's done?" We both nodded. "Then it's finally over, and the prophecy dies with him. I'm... sorry you had to kill your own father."

"My father died a long time ago, Isran. Our family did, the day we underwent that ritual. What he did to me, what he did to us... We gave up our humanity to become what we are."

"So what will you do now?"

Serana glanced up at me for a moment. "There are one or two things I must do before I move on with my life. To be honest, I'd like nothing more than to burn this castle to the ground, take it down stone by stone. Nothing but bad memories now. What I do know is that it isn't home, not anymore."

"Would you like to keep the bow?"

Serana shook her head and immediately handed it over. "It should be protected by the Dawnguard. I know we haven't seen eye to eye, Isran, but I know your group will keep the people of Skyrim safe in the future."

"And what about you, Ragnar? I assume your time with us is at an end."

I nodded. "The crisis is over, Isran. I think you have plenty of soldiers ready to keep Skyrim safe. The main source has been eliminated but there are still vampires lurking in the shadows."

"We'll keep Skyrim safe, Ragnar. Don't you worry about that. For now, we'll mop up operations here and then return to Fort Dawnguard. Whatever happens next, trust that our fort is always open to you both."

As he disappeared, Lydia and Aela approached. "So what now?" Lydia asked.

"I have one more thing I need to do," Serana stated, "I need to tell my mother that it's now safe. I'm hoping she'll return with me though I'm not sure where she'd like to live considering there's no-one here now."

"Would she get a cure?" I wondered.

"Hmmm. I'm not sure, to be honest. I can always suggest it."

"Where will you go after this?" Aela asked.

"The College. Why don't you and Lydia head there and wait for me?"

"We'll do just that. Gods, she is going to be so excited when you get back, Ragnar."

"I know; it's been a while since I was there but this needed resolving."

Lydia and Aela hugged us both, then we shook hands with the twins, before Serana and I made our way back through the castle towards the laboratory. I didn't particularly want to be turned into a vampire this time, so she offered to soul trap me. It was a simple, painless spell, and we entered the Soul Cairn without a problem. Having cleared out anything dangerous during our first visit, the path to her mother was clear, though I still found the place weird, even spooky.

Valerica was busy reading a book when I cleared my throat. She turned and stood up immediately, approaching us with a curious look on her face, no doubt eager to hear what we told her.

"Harkon is dead," I stated.

"Are you certain?"

"He's dead, mother. He died by my hand."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

"You're free to leave now. The only question is what you'd like to do?"

"I... I honestly don't know. I thought I'd be trapped here forever." She paused before asking, "What will you do, Serana?"

She looked at me and smiled. "I'm going to be cured, mother. I've lived a very long time now. But I want to live again."

I looked at Valerica. She smiled. "Maybe it's time we both did that?"

"Really?" Serana asked in surprise.

"Being what we are has done nothing but bring us both pain. It's destroyed us, Serana. It's never been worth the price. Maybe if we restore ourselves, we will find our way in the world once again."

"Come with us," I suggested.

"Let me grab a few things and I'll join you at the exit."

As we walked back alone, I had to ask, "Are you sure?"

"Ragnar, I want you to feel my heartbeat when we make love. Of course, that's not the only reason. I've live a long life, and there are downsides to immortality. Watching friends and loved one's die most of all. And I don't want to see that happen to you nor the girls."

"So we're all going to grow old together?"

"I'd love nothing more, Ragnar."

Valerica joined us at the steps leading out. Climbing out and seeing the state of the laboratory, I think she understood just how long she'd been gone. Leading her through the ruins of the castle, I thought she might have felt sadness or disappointment. Instead, she felt only anger at her husband, blaming him for everything that happened. "I willingly became a vampire," she added, "I will add that much..." Then she stopped and took Serana by both hands. "What he did to you... I'm sorry, Serana. My only daughter defiled..."

Serana hugged her mother tightly. "I forgive you," she whispered, "My father was too powerful, even then. Stopping him was impossible. I can't blame you for it. I blame him." She leaned back. "Besides, Ragnar has shown me... um..."

Valerica looked at me. "You have made love to my daughter?"

"I have."

The smile was a surprise. "Good. I'm glad she has a man in her life who will show her love in such a manner."

Making our way back to the main hall, the bodies lay strewn across the floor, along with the dried pools of blood I remembered seeing from the endless victims. Valerica did wonder where Harkon lay, explaining that there wasn't a body left, just a pile of ash. Otherwise, she realised there wasn't much for her to collect for leaving, as Harkon had spent a long time destroying any sign of her presence.

Crossing the bridge and turning back to the castle, Serana did ask, "Don't suppose your gift is powerful enough to destroy it?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, it can just lay abandoned then."

"Where will you go, Valerica?" I asked.

"I'm honestly not sure. Let's worry about a cure first then I'll concern myself with what we would do next."

Horses were waiting on the opposing shore for us, thankfully with some supplies, so we agreed to just make camp for the evening and begin our journey east the next morning. There was a little food I could eat, the three of us around the campfire. Now that she was free of her cage, I'll admit that Valerica was delightful company. A little bitter about things, naturally, but she was pleased to see her daughter was now awake and enjoying life. She asked me plenty of questions and I think she was overall impressed by what she heard.

There were two tents, so Valerica took one, Serana and I the other. It was still a little cold so we didn't strip off completely for bed, cuddling under furs. I didn't particularly want to make love with her mother in the other tent, but that didn't stop me from giving Serana some attention with my fingers. She loved the fact I was willing to do it for nothing in return, covering her light moans by kissing her.

Once I'd given her an orgasm, she simply cuddled into me for a few minutes. "Will it always be like this?"

"I hope so. Can you... handle sharing me?"

"I'll learn, Ragnar. Remember, I watched you make love with Mirabelle, and the way you looked at her... well, you look at me the same at least. It will take some adjusting, but I just want to be cured."

"What will your mother do?"

"I'm not sure, but... do you mind if wherever we end up, she comes with us? We spent so long apart and you'll probably realise we're quite alike."

"I don't mind if it makes you happy."

We eventually gave into temptation and made love a little later, enjoying the feeling of sliding my cock inside her, feeling her legs tight to my body as we kissed a little, tried to keep the noise down, and when she enjoyed an orgasm while on her back, the smile on her face... it was something I'd remember for the rest of my life.

Waking the next morning and stepping out into bright sunlight, Valerica was sat by the fire. I took a seat, breaking apart some bread, offering her some which she politely refused. She kept giving me looks, which I couldn't interpret, so she eventually stated rather bluntly, "You made love to my daughter last night."