...Into the fire

"A little over a month huh? Things are getting out of hand fast."

Rictus rubbed his tired eyes after the debriefing with Ken and Moira who tried catching him up with what had been going on recently. They had both left so he could have a moment to gather his thoughts. It had taken some time, but he had a better grasp of what had happened in his absence. Not much good apparently.

The first and most obvious change was the Restored now controlling Castle Volkihar. After Serana and the others had reappeared, they had been confronted by Moira who was hiding in the room. It had been tense, but thankfully things did not turn violent. They had quickly rushed away from the castle and back towards the Restored. Ken had tried keeping Rictus's disappearance silent, but it was all for naught. The most widespread rumor was about how Rictus was trapped in a magic ritual in the vampire's castle.

This knowledge quickly spread among the Restored and worked them into a frenzy. They were prepared to rush at the castle for their leader regardless of the consequences. Thankfully, Ken was able to get them ordered and prepared for the battle instead of letting them simply charge it. With the help of the Main Minions, especially Dravynea, they actually created bridges across the water. The bridges kind of zigzagged across the Sea of Ghosts as they followed along the many small islands in the sea. This made the process faster and more efficient than if they just tried cutting straight across the water. Before the Restored attacked, Ken had rapidly transported some of the initial wave of Dawnstar members across Skyrim. They were the distraction while the Restored created the bridges. Once those were done, sheer numbers overwhelmed the vampires. It had helped that some vampires had already defected at the words of Alucard, Serana, and Valerica.

The biggest reason for the successful takeover was for a different reason. Harkon was not there. He had been Ken's biggest worry during the assault, but he had never revealed himself. Ken personally thought he had gone chasing after Serana and the others who had continued looking for Auriel's Bow. It wasn't until after the battle that he realized Harkon may have been doing more than just chasing his family.

Large bands of undead and daedra now roamed northern Skyrim, the areas closest to Solitude were hit the hardest. No one knew where they had originated, but everyone felt their impact. Small settlements had been completely wiped off the map. Even larger ones like Dragon Stone had nearly fallen from the relentless hordes.

From what Rictus gathered, it wasn't a real zombie apocalypse like in stories from earth. The bite of a zombie could pass on a rotting disease that if it isn't treated will turn the victim into a zombie, but that didn't happen very often. Instead, it seemed as if every vampire, necromancer and unsatisfied conjurer in Skyrim had been united under one banner. There were even sightings of liches leading other undead in attacks across the countryside. Also noteworthy were the number of bonemen, warthmen, and mistmen. It seems deals with the Ideal Masters had been made. How Harkon had created such a force was a bit of a mystery, but he hadn't lived so long just because of luck.

All these attacks had really set back the Legion's war effort. They spent a lot of time and effort preventing these attacks, but they were stretched extremely thin by this point. The fact necromancers could appear and disappear suddenly did not help matters. With the Empire so distracted, it gave the Stormcloaks a great opportunity to expand their influence. There was a slight problem though.

For some inexplicable reason, dragons seemed to appear more often in the East of Skyrim compared to the other parts. They had been wreaking havoc all over while raiding the different settlements for food and fun. Few normal people had the abilities of turning a dragon away, much less defeating one, which meant most places suffered until the dragon got tired of them.

Despite all these things going on, the civil war still hadn't stopped. Both sides tried taking advantage where they could. Legion soldiers would sweep in after dragon attacks, taking over and providing aid where they could. Stormcloaks would do the same thing after attacks from the undead. Large battles were an immensely bloody affair for both sides. Dragons were attracted to the sound of battle while necromancers could easily take their pick of new minions.

On top of all this, Morthal had gone silent. No information had come from the city in quite a while, and neither did people for that matter. The Restored had lost contact with what few informants they originally had as it seemed no one ever left the city at all. It was extremely worrying, but at least there was a report from Falion who had recently arrived at White River Watch with Jarl Ravencrone's youngest child. Their story spoke of a town complete subjugated by vampires. Had this happened in the game, it would not have been that big a deal since the town was not very large. This was not the same city from the game though. Morthal was one of the major holds of Skyrim. If it had fallen, then the vampires had gained a significant number of allies.

The Restored didn't have the numbers for a full investigation, or subjugation if true. Thankfully, they had great relations with an order dedicated to the eradication of vampires and other deadra. Telling the Dawnguard and Vigilants about an entire town subjugated had prompted them to rapidly mobilize. From what he was told, Dante was leading a force to investigate the town, and he was not alone. Morrigan had left the College alongside her lover. Seems she had been quite upset at the vampire attack against Dante.

Rictus couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. The vampires there didn't stand a chance. Of all the Skilled, Morrigan was the one he would least like to fight. Sure, the Sneak would be a nightmare, and the Destruction could probably unleash the more devastating individual spells, but Enchanting was an entirely different beast. All the Skilled could make super strong Minions which would give them a small elite force under their control. Given enough time and materials, Morrigan could outfit an army. Even someone without training was deadly with a powerfully enchanted sword. The weakest could become as strong as a veteran with the right enchanted armor. Morrigan had been given time against the Vampires. Having basic enchantments which were super effective against the undead only made things easier. Most of the Dawnguard and Vigilants probably had at least minor enchantments on all their gear by this point.

Thinking of vampires though, Rictus couldn't help but think about Serana. They had been able to find Darkfall cave with the help of Moira and the Forsworn, who were having some difficulties adjusting to ruling but that was something else entirely. The group had set off in a hurry to find the bow and stop Harkon. Ken had even sent Reysera, Miruma, and a couple of his lieutenants with them as some extra protection. Of course, the official reason was for their added protection, but it wasn't the only one reason. He had remembered some stories Rictus had mentioned about a hidden valley somewhere in the mountain peaks of Haafinger. If they found this forgotten vale, Reysera could set up a teleport portal for the Restored. Her portals were not nearly as efficient or pleasant as the ones Rictus made, but they worked. Then the valley could provide the Restored a new start away from all the existing powers. It would become their fortress, if it existed of course.

There was only one more large piece of interesting news. Mirajane had called on the Restored for a favor. She had seemed disappointed Rictus wasn't there, but her quest couldn't wait. She had gone on a delve into Blackreach and needed supplies. Thankfully, Ken and Rictus had already made plans for such a delve, so it didn't take Ken any time to put that into motion. No fixed return time was given, but it shouldn't be much longer at all.

Rictus knew she was going to find the Elder Scroll which was needed to defeat Alduin. It also meant it wouldn't be long before Mirajane confronted the World Eater. Such a fight would be one told for ages to come. It also signaled the 'End' of what was considered canon for the game. Sure, there could be some other little things, but his foreknowledge was basically nonexistent past that. It would be…interesting to see what would actually happen after Alduin's defeat.

At that moment, Ken walked back into the room with a severe expression on his face as Moira waited at the door.

"We are being attacked again. This one seems more serious compared to the others."

There had been periodic attacks on the Castle since it had fallen. Part of the reason it could even happen was because the bridges had greatly expanded since its captured. There were now two stone walkways connecting the castle to the land. They weren't really the most reliable of things because of the waves and ice, but they served their purpose. Apparently, the ones controlling the undead took advantage of the bridges by sending probing attacks against them. Some undead would fall from the bridges, but it didn't really matter as they would just walk across the sea floor. Rictus thought having all the undead walk under the water would be more strategic, but he wasn't complaining at them bottlenecking themselves.

Feeling a little frustrated at being out of the loop for so long, Rictus was actually kind of happy they were under attack. This would be a great way of relieving some stress for him. Not the healthiest stress reliever, but still effective. As he was walking, he shot a glance at Moira. '…Maybe after the battle there will be a different kind of stress relief. I'm sure she missed me at least a little.' Catching his look, she blushed just a little as she gave him a saucy wink. Her swaying her hips a little more than was necessary and the hungry look in her eyes was not lost on him either.

As he passed various members of the Restored, each would stop and salute him with a joyful look on their faces. Whispered words of how they never faltered followed in his wake. While word had quickly spread, it wasn't until they saw him that they truly believed he had returned. Cheers greeted him as he stood on the castle walls. The sight of their leader healthy and back among them did wonders for the Restored. Rictus couldn't help the smile on his face or the warmth in his heart at their cheers. These were his people.

His happy expression quickly turned dark as he looked out at the large group of undead charging them. He grunted as he noticed how some undead were marching under water as well as across the bridges. Seems someone over there had a brain after all.

It didn't change anything though. Those monsters wanted to hurt and kill his people. That was simply unacceptable. It was time to let the world know he was back, and he knew exactly how he would make that statement.

"DUR NEH VIIR!!"

All the Restored stood in awe at hearing their leader let out a Shout. No one knew he could do that. His legend only grew larger as they witnessed it. The awe turned into reverence at what they witnessed next though.

Durnehviir appeared in all its majestic undead glory while wrapped around the closest castle spire. Taking in the surroundings, a truly massive roar ripped from his maw. He then turned towards Rictus.

"Ah! The free air of Vus at long last!"

The dragon's head tilted to the side as it took in a massive breath. A scary, but pleased, look came over its face which only became more pronounced as Durnehviir took in the approaching undead.

"You honor me once again Qahnaarin. After this feast, I will teach you the first word of Soul Tearing: 'Rii', as promised."

With that, the dragon let out another roar before taking to the skies. Rictus looked imperiously down on the undead as Durnehviir completely devastated them. Who would have guessed that an immortal undead dragon necromancer of immense power would be so effective against undead and mortal necromancers? Getting an itch in his left arm, Rictus decided it was time for him to join in the slaughter.

As he casually dropped from the castle walls and charged the undead horde, he completely missed the looks his people were giving him. If any of them had ever had a doubt about his power, seeing an ancient and powerful dragon submit to their master only reinforced his image. Ken let out a sigh with a smile splitting his weathered face as he glanced over at Moira.

"Try to keep up you old hag."

She let out a condescending laugh while covering her mouth.

"Oh, I think an ancient coffin-dodger like you will be the one left behind."

She quickly jumped from the wall and levitated to the ground. Not to be outdone, Ken hooked a grappling hook against the battlements before repelling down. Rictus wasn't the only one who had improved his abilities. Seeing him land beside her, Moira let out a chuckle.

"Seems an old dog can learn some new tricks."

No more words were shared between them as they both rushed forward, determined not to be left behind after so recently being reunited with Rictus. Seeing their actions, the Restored streamed out of the Castle with a roar. Emboldened with hope and fiery devotion, not a soul faltered as they bulldozed their way after their leaders. Nothing could stop them now.

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[AN]: Well, that was a quick summary of some of things which happened while Rictus was gone. Like I mentioned last week, I hadn't originally planned on a time skip, at least not one this long. Things had started dragging a little for me though, so I wanted to speed some things up.