The Beginning of the Journey - An unexpected reunion

Sovngarde.

Alduin, the eldest of dragons, addressed his lieutenant, Odahviing, who had just emerged from under a pile of rubble.

"Oga, you are still putting too much power into the spell, and it's turning from point to area spell. And yes, Odahviing, I'm addressing you. Get used to your new name." scolded Alduin as he brushed off some stone dust.

"Soon the fire atronach cave will be ready, my lord" replied Odahviing, from a pile of rubble.

"I agree, but our goal is to teach you control over magic, not to carve a hole in a rock. Destruction magic is more stubborn than Restoration or Alteration magic, but despite this, its character is similar to that of the Dovah" said Alduin, sitting on a boulder and looking at an object he was holding in his hand.

At first glance, it was an ordinary ebony dagger, of which the Dragonborn had personally seen at least two, but this particular specimen was distinguished by an aura that ordinary ebony could not emit. It was similar to the aura of Daedric weapons, but thicker and without an emotional undertone.

Daedric weapons and armor were divided into simple and true, depending on the method of manufacture. In the case of the simple method, several drops of blood from the heart of a higher Daedra, such as a Dremora, were dripped onto the leather parts and then thrown onto coals, on which the ebony blank and steel parts were heated. In some cases, human hearts were used instead of the heart of a higher Daedra, but in this case, the item lacked the necessary strength and sharpness, despite the number of hearts of men or elves used. This method was used by mortal blacksmiths and weak Daedra, if they managed to get the heart of a higher Daedra.

True Daedric weapons and armor were made in a completely different way, and the process of their manufacture was much more complicated.

The parts, blanks, and the item itself went through a series of rituals of tempering in the blood of lower beings who died in terrible agony and the blood itself carried the echo of the victim's suffering.

The process was laborious and time-consuming, but the weapons and armor created in this way were lighter, stronger, more durable, sharper, and of higher quality than any other analog.

Only Dremora used such equipment, even considering their counterparts from lower castes as inferior beings, creating their own ammunition. However, this weapon and armor had one significant disadvantage - they were tied to the soul of the Dremora for whom they were created, and in the case of his final death, by capturing the Dremora's soul in the Black Soul Gem or Azura's Black Star, they would be destroyed.

This fact put a cross on the very idea of ​​keeping at least one copy of such equipment after stopping the Heart of the World.

The Dremora souls dissolved in the Ocean of Oblivion, taking their relics with them, and the exceptions were their artifacts created for fun over mortals and not attached to the Daedra's soul.

Alduin learned all of this from his Dragon Priests, particularly from Konahrik, the High Priest of the Dragon Cult. At one time, a priest who held this title had been conducting research on the nature of Mehrunes Dagon, and Alduin himself had helped him by loosening the tongues of the summoned dremora and conversing with the Prince of Destruction several times. However, the darkness that had gathered around Odahviing's training spot pulled Alduin out of his musings.

He stopped twirling the ebony dagger in his hands and got up from the boulder, noting how tense Odahviing had become.

The darkness continued to thicken, and Alduin keenly felt the bottomless aura emanating from it, constantly changing but always radiating deep hatred and the desire to destroy.

"I NEVER THOUGHT THAT THE FIRST ONE TO HOLD THE BLADE OF WOE AFTER ALL THIS TIME WOULD BE, AS THE MORTALS SAY, MY GRANDSON." a voice said, sounding like a mixture of millions of different voices coming from all directions at once.

One mention of the blade's name was enough for Alduin to understand what entity had taken notice of him.

"The Blade of Woe... the shape-shifting dagger blessed by Sithis himself... How could I not recognize it?" Alduin mentally resented.

"Sithis" Alduin hissed through his teeth. "I didn't expect you."

"THE YOUNG ONES HAVE SUCCUMBED TO PRIDE. SO BE IT, FOR THE MISTAKES OF CHILDREN ARE PAID FOR BY FATHERS, AND THE SINS OF FATHERS ARE PAID FOR BY SONS. THE TIME FOR THE BLADE OF WOE TO RETURN TO THE MORTAL REALM HAS NOT YET COME, ALDUIN."

With a firm grip, Alduin held the dagger tightly in his hand, unsure of what to say next in response to the Sithis sudden monologue.

"WE SHALL MEET AGAIN, GRANDSON, FOR THE SEALS OF ANUI-EL GROW WEAK." the voices said, and the darkness began to dissipate.

After a few moments of silence, Alduin exhaled slowly and raised his dagger to the sky, looking up at himself in the reflection of the blade.

"This is not how I imagined my grandfather's arrival."

"What was that, my lord?" Odahviing asked, trying to calm the shaking in his hands.

"Sithis" Alduin replied shortly. "Now i wonder what Anui-El, the father-mother of Akatosh, has to do with the seals. Go back to your training, Odahviing; I need to hide something."