Eyrie of Alduin

"Princess." Lucius teased, deeply bowing towards Ciri with an hand, while sat Odahviing's lowered wing.

"Never should have told him." She grumbled under her breath, but nevertheless took his hand with a small smile.

"May Kynareth guard the two of you on your journey as you pass through her realm." Jarl Balgruuf came to say his goodbyes.

"Thank you, Jarl." Ciri turned with a smile.

"Mm, thank you for helping us. No one else could." Lucius replied climbing up to sit on the dragon's neck, Ciri holding on behind him.

"You're either the bravest person I've ever met or the biggest fool." Irileth said to Lucius.

"Not much of a difference between the two." He joked. "Ready when you are, Odahviing." He informed the beast.

"Hold on! I won't catch if you fall." Odahviing barked in short amusement.

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.

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The sun was already setting when Odahviing flew down onto Skuldafn. The rays that peaked over the towering peaks of white reflecting in their eyes.

No clouds loitered in the sky or near the mountain whites, but still a deep and gnawing heaviness lingered in the air. Old stone walls hidden by the encasing land stood tall in vigil for the old dragon cult. Even now, the dead worshippers of Alduin's fold guarded the carved pillar entryways.

An ill conceited darkness poured out from the arches above the eyrie's sanctum, and two masked eyes lifelessly stared at the new arrivals. Silence... All but the subtle winds, and crash of Odahviing's claws scratching the stone he landed on rung around the chasm of Alduin.

"Thanks for the ride Oda." Ciri chirped and pat the dragons head.

"This is as far as i can take you, Dovahkiin. Kul kein drog... I wish you luck." Odahviing huffed as he flapped his might wings.

"Are you alright, Lucius?" Ciri asked, noticing his silence. " Did my feminine touch make you shy~" She teased.

"We both know that wouldn't happen" He grinned "...No, i can feel something watching us." He finished, and scanned the area.

"Something is in the air. I thought it might have been the altitude we're at..." She replied, drawing her sword.

"Hmm. Well, Alduin won't kill himself." Lucius said, joining Ciri in drawing his sword.

"You have better eyes...Can you see anything?" Ciri asked, remembering his mutation from their last battle with Alduin.

"Darkness. A deep dark in the temple of two black eyes... That's all." He drawled in dread with his glowing blues.

"That wasn't ominous at all." She whispered.

Lucius made his way across the stone bridge of the chasm in front of him. Cautiously peering past each arch and pillar for any of the draugr he knows wanders the halls and fields of the ruin. Ciri doing the same but downing a black potion, making the veins on her eyes darken and her pupils exploded like a stalking cat.

The newly enhanced emerald eyes caught a brief sparkle across the bridge and deftly deflected an arrow with her sword.

"Archers." She called to Lucius, flashing away before he could reply.

Lucius caught a fireball in his hand, spun to send it back towards the draugr mage who cast it. The tormented undead soldier came charging down a set of stone steps towards him as the blast of fire took its arm.

Ciri dispatched of the archers with ease with her dance like swordplay and glanced at Lucius who finished off his foe with a quick slash of his oddly dripping sword.

"These dead are smarter, Ciri." Lucius claimed as he joined her up the stairs.

"I noticed. They waited until we got to a poor position... Good slash by the way, still a bit sloppy, but good for you." She winked.

"Still waiting on my lessons, do excuse my performance." He gave a sweet closed eye smile.

"Still waiting on my necklace, haha" She joked.

"Dragon up ahead...But, it's just waiting there on top of the pillar." He curiously studied the dragon as it stared him in the eye. "It won't fight?" The baffled Lucius voiced.

Lucius forced himself to release dragonrend onto the dragon and crippled it to the ground. "I'll kill the dragon you get the draugr, yeah?" Lucius yelled, as he warded the dragons furious stream of frost.

"Sure, you're the dragon slayer here." Was Ciri's quick response.

'Good. I want to test something.' He thought, smelling his blade with a sinister grin.

He danced past a volley of raining arrows to advance on the downed dragon, leaping over a rapid swing of its barbed tail and landing on its scaled back. Quickly lodging his sword into its head, filling its bloodstream with his magic.

The dragon reared back as the beast's eyes clouded over into a milky white, its strength slowly faded. Black magic taking its hold over the body while it thrashed its head around in a desperate plea.

"Fus!" He cast, slamming its head into the floor.

An arrow lodged itself into Lucius's armour, bruising his ribs as the dragon's cries fell silent and the shrivelled corpse burnt into the wind and the soul was eaten.

'Frost breath...could be useful.' Lucius massaged his arm while jumping of the dragons skull.

He cast a long chain of black coloured lightning, watching it chain into three draugr on the temple walls, turning them to ash.

"Damn, that hurt." Lucius cursed pulling out the arrow, and with a golden hand he healed his rib.

"Hey Ciri. If your so good at fighting and have these weird space powers. Why are you running?" He asked as Ciri finished her fight and walked up to the temple gates.

"They pop up randomly and come in groups. Some are much stronger than the others too." She blandly replied.

"Yeah, stupid question. I wonder why they haven't come here yet... Do you think they know about me?" He pondered as he opened the black steel gates of the temple.

"Who knows... Magic is much different to them. They may have scried you in dreams, visions, or some type of searching artefact and decided to keep clear." She theorised. "They're a persistent bunch of bastards though, so there's a reason they aren't here yet." She finished.

"Hmm, i'm glad they aren't here, whatever the reason may be... We'll deal with them later." He smiled at her as they came upon another puzzle door, guarded by a heavily armoured overlord.

" We need to focus on a certain winged problem first... But, thank you." She shyly hid under his gaze.

'That's not like her.' Lucius noted but saved his musing for later.

"There's a gap under his breast plate." Lucius told the girl beside him.

"I see it." Ciri replied.

"I want to test something, if it works you can kill it easily." Lucius requested.

"Go ahead." She stepped aside, watching as the overlord menacingly walked towards the idle Lucius.

"Iiz Slen Nus!" A whirling mass of ice cold power came out Lucius throat and encased the draugr in a thick layer of immobilising ice. "Useful indeed." He muttered as Ciri finished him off.

"Got us a claw here." She said, waving around the key to the puzzle door.

"You know what to do." He smiled at her.

Ciri twirled the key around and opened the door in a dusty cloud of the shuddering door as it lowered.

"Word wall ahead, Lucius." She called to him as he waved the dust away.

'Strun?' He learned, swaying as he soaked up the word. "Storm call? Sounds powerful." He voiced.

"Come on. The exit seems to be past here." Ciri said.

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Rough one writing this. I spent all last night planning for the story and then woke up at 1pm to play 4 hours of overwatch 2 with the boys + girl i used to play with years ago. Was nostalgic af...

I need to figure out a way to make Ciri ageless too...

Have a good one,

Your "patently evil" Author ;)