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Chapter 152: Chapter 145

"Jinn required a variety of Alchemy ingredients. There is a shop not far ahead that has everything she needs." Artoria replied, lightly tugging on my arm to lead me in that direction, her empty hand holding a basket. "I have been here a few times in the past days as I have ran errands."

"It\'s kind of you to do these things for everyone."

"I do not mind." She smiled. "I enjoy this place, this city and people are very friendly."

"I like this here too, I fell in love with it after coming here for the first time." I gave a wistful smile. "If there weren\'t dragons running around, this place would be perfect."

"Yes, dragons." She pursed her lips. "I do not care to think about them for the moment, I wish to enjoy our last bit of time together for a while."

"You\'re right, let\'s not worry about any of that right now." It wasn\'t hard to guess she wished to have a peaceful time together and not create any kind of stress or anxiety about what\'s going to be happening in the future. For this moment, we were just out shopping without any other responsibilities. "Is this the place?" We approached a building near the center of the market, a sign hanging above with a cauldron on it.

"Indeed, let us enter." She continued to lead up, pushing the door open, a bell greeting us as the person behind the counter perked up.

"Artoria, back already?" The woman had a gentle smile on her face.

"I have returned, Arcadia. It is lovely to see you once again." Artoria greeted the woman quite familiarly. Did she make a friend while she was out and about? I was happy for her, even if it was just a passing acquaintance.

"Oh, and who\'s this?" The woman gave me a once over. "The boyfriend you mentioned?"

"This is Wilhelm, my boyfriend." Artoria nodded and introduced me.

"A pleasure." I said politely.

"You weren\'t lying, he is quite fetching, isn\'t he?" She grinned, making Artoria look a bit bashful. "What can I do for you, darling?"

"I require another batch of the materials I purchased previously." Artoria stated, handing over a list.

The older woman took it, pulling it up to her eyes. "Lets see here...Frost Salts just came in and are fresh. The Briar Heart is good for a few more days, if you want it. Otherwise, the other stuff is more common and I have it all." She set the parchment down on the counter.

"The Briar Heart will be acceptable." Artoria confirmed. "Please wrap everything up and I will pay in full."

"Right away, sweetheart." The woman went to her shelves and started grabbing various items and setting them all in a pile. "The total should be...314 septims." She stated, wrapping everything up in parchment and putting it all neatly on the table.

"Thank you, Arcadia, your services are impeccable as always." Artoria praised, setting the coins onto the table and taking the contents, putting them all in a little basket she was carrying in her empty hand.

"Come back soon." Arcadia waved us off, Artoria pulling at my arm again as we left the shop.

"You know her well?" I asked.

"A passing familiarity." Artoria replied. "I have been to her store several times now, I had thought it appropriate to become friendly with the owner."

"Hmm...what else do we need?" I looked around. "Rin need some stuff, right?"

"Indeed, she asked me to get some metals." Artoria nodded.

We continued walking through the market, people hawking their wares, and various stall owners trying to grab the attention of passerby\'s. Every so often we would stop at a corner, or a stall, haggle with the owner or purchase an item, filling up Artoria\'s basket further.

"Oh, these look good." I commented, a stall full of produce. "I\'ll take two, please." I set a few coins down as I was handed a couple apples, giving one to Artoria.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"The Apples here are always good." I said idly, taking a bite. "Anything else you need, maybe pick some stuff up for dinner tonight?" I asked.

"The sounds like a wonderful idea." She smiled bright, eating her fruit. "I shall procure some ingredients. Would you please take care of our voyeur?"

I paused for a moment. "You noticed her too?"

"Yes, I was content to ignore her, but the constant eyes on the back of my head are starting to become annoying." She let out a small huff.

"Alright, I\'ll go see what she wants."

"Thank you, Wilhelm." Artoria stood up on her toss, placing a kiss on my cheek.

"Of course." I smiled at her, stepping back and moving towards an empty area.

I leaded up against the side of a building, appearing calm while I finished off my little snack. "Are you going to come out or not?" I call out lightly to my surroundings.

"I\'m surprised you knew I was here." A feminine voice approached me, hood over her head, hugging the shade.

"Serana." I greeted curtly. "I think it would be more surprised if I didn\'t notice you. And Artoria noticed you before me, she did not enjoy your constant spying." I turned to face her. "You seem at ease walking around in the open, did you take my advice I wonder?"

"I did meet the Jarl." She admitted. "He did not appear thrilled to see me or accept my presence, but he was willing to listen to Thorum who pleaded my case. Since then I\'ve been free to come and go without being attacked."

"Well, he is a practical man. I doubt he would have thrown you out or killed you even if Thorum wasn\'t there, probably just tried to get something in recompense for letting you stay." I shrugged.

She pursed her lips, crossing her arms. "I see." She said simply, letting out a sigh. "I...should apologize for spying on you and Artoria." She looked a little sheepish, leading me to believe it wasn\'t malicious in nature. "I just.....didn\'t know how to approach and was waiting for an opportunity so it wouldn\'t be awkward." She revealed.

"You have my attention now, what do you want?"

"I wished to know more of what occurred when my father died. I visited the castle myself to see what happened, but it was most rubble and nothing important remained." She explained.

"There wasn\'t really much to add." I wasn\'t really hiding anything important beyond Meridia\'s involvement. "We fought, I killed him and any of his people who still remained, then looted his castle. But now that I have you here, I do have a question myself. What are your intentions with Thorum? I hope you aren\'t just leading him on for your own benefit." I didn\'t wish to meddle too much, but I would alteast make sure she isn\'t just leading him on or something.

She blinked at me, seemingly surprised by my blatant words. "I....don\'t know." She said a small bit of hesitance in her voice.

"You don\'t know?" I raised an eyebrow.

She frowned. "Do you have any idea what its like to have your entire life flipped upside down, everything you know to suddenly change? Then I meet Thorum who was charming, kind, and welcoming to me when I was lost and unsure of what to do. But I\'m....."

"A vampire?"

"Yes." She said quietly

"So, what\'s the problem?"

"What?" She looked at me in confusion.

"What exactly is the problem? It sounds like you\'re just using the fact that you\'re a vampire as an excuse. No one\'s telling you to suddenly fall in love or even have any kind of relationship, but if you\'re holding yourself back because something stupid like that..."

"Stupid!? I\'m a vampire!" She hissed. "I feed on people, drink their blood, how is that not a problem for someone like him? Have you seen how people around here treat him? He\'s a hero and he willingly comes and spends time with someone like me who is reviled just because they exist."

I looked straight at her, wings sprouting out of my back, giving her a raised eyebrow. "I\'m not exactly normal either."

"W-what?" She looked surprised, I guess Thorum didn\'t exactly tell her.

"You aren\'t a monster." I stated. "So what if you\'re a vampire? Hell, a lot of the companions aren\'t \'normal\' either."

"You know about that? Thorum said it was a secret." She muttered.

"Oh, so Thorum knows as well, that\'s interesting." I rubbed my chin. "I never made a big deal about it because it doesn\'t matter. They aren\'t going around killing innocent people, why the hell should it matter?"

"It isn\'t that simple." She scowled.

"Meridia, the Daedric Lord, is my lover." I retorted, making her eyes widen. "It\'s only as complicated as you\'re making it. If it doesn\'t work out, it doesn\'t work out." I shrugged. "If you don\'t want to return his feelings, then be upfront about it. Don\'t spout some bullshit about you being a Vampire as a justification."

I withdrew my wings, and turned around to leave.

Once again, it wasn\'t my place to meddle. She just needed a bit of a reality check, whether something happens or not is none of my business.

I let out a sigh, moving back towards the market area.

Since when did I become the authority on relationships?

I walked back up to Artoria as she inspected another stall of goods. "Did you take care of it?" She didn\'t look up.

"I did, she was just a little hesitant to come speak." I replied. "Nothing to worry about, we can just continue our date." I took her hand into mine.

She smiled brightly at me, the kind that could make my heart beat quicker. "Yes, I have some more places I wish to visit."

"Lead the way." I chuckled.

I didn\'t mind spending one of my last couple days here like this, I was going to be away for a while and I wanted Artoria to be happy when I left. Nothing big had happened yet so I didn\'t feel stressed about leaving right now. I felt like there were still a lot of things to do in this world, but I wasn\'t pressed in any true way at the moment.

Everything will come to a head eventually, and I\'ll be here when that happens.

***

Talos POV

I watched upon the mortal realm, the various races toiling about their daily lives. It was a small joy in my immortal existence, a remembrance from when I too walked upon that land and lived among their number.

Tiber Septim, Ysmir, Talos, Dragonborn, and many more.

They were all names, all identities I could claim, and they still were spoken upon the winds of Nirn even to this day. But for this particular era, there were only a few that took prominence as the world tilted on the axis of oblivion. An old prophecy which cast two sides against each other, the World Eater and the Last Dragonborn.

I had watched my brother, barer of a small fragment of Akatosh/Auri-El/Father\'s soul. Compared to their other brethren, it was but a small candlelight swaying in the wind. I could see all of my siblings as I watched from upon mine throne, but my youngest brother was perhaps my favorite to view.

An intrinsic connection I could access due to our shared origin.

Memories of when I was mortal, they did not have much baring on my current existence, mine divine person, but that small tinge that remained still brought a certain fondness when I allowed myself the brief moments to submit to the nostalgia.

Thorum, that was the name of the youngest. It was a good, Nordic name. My Ysmir parts seemingly nodding in approval.

From the moment he was a babe, I cast my gaze towards him, his entire life but a mere flicker in my eyes. The briefest of moments I could allow myself the amusement of watching him grow, but for him it was the passing of many seasons.

The little rascal, I admit there were a few moments I chuckled at his antics. A little dragon he certainly was, even as a little milk drinker as the Nords say. His life was not a happy one for much longer, his village having a run in with a band of brigands and killers.

He was among only a few survivors.

There were many ups and downs in his life, even having been a thief for a time. Yet, he somehow grew up to be an admirable man, someone I would welcome into Sovngarde when the time came. He had quite a few adventures here and there, finding friends and comrades, losing some and parting ways with others, yet he carried on with a smile on his face.

Things were relatively calm, even when Alduin reemerged....at the incorrect point, Thorum did not garner any more of my attention than I was already giving him.

Not until the outsider appeared.

Even at their first meeting, the strange person was a passing curiosity that I deemed unimportant. He was amusing, something I could attribute to many mortals, but nothing beyond that. Well, I will admit I had a small bit of good will towards him after hearing he had embarrassed one of those Thalmor who denounce my existence.

No, he didn\'t make his existence truly known until Mirmulnir descended upon the mortal city for the first time after Alduin returned to the normal flow of time. Just as Alduin was different than the others, I too was different than father\'s pieces, yet I could know another dragon\'s name just at a glance, even without my divine might.

Mirmulnir was one of the smallest pieces cast off by Father, one of the weakest. It would have been a good opponent for the youngest, perhaps the closest dragon in strength to him. A coincidence of events that led the weakest dragon to be the first to face off against Thorum, is what I would say if I did not have true knowledge of the world\'s workings.

The threads of fate that intertwined the youngest and the other pieces of father. Events would unravel in a way to give the youngest a fighting chance against the eldest.

What should have been a battle that forced the youngest to grip victory by the jaws and relish upon his first triumph over another dragon was instead interrupted by the outsider.

Y Ddraig Goch.

The name shouted by the dragon hidden in that strange red gauntlet.

The Red Dragon Emperor he called himself, yet the image of him as he projected himself to anyone with the correct sense, couldn\'t deny the visage

There was but one problem.

No dragon by that name existed upon Nirn, nor the realms beyond. Mirmulnir was right to call it an abomination, it held none of father\'s essence, no piece of the god\'s soul. Yet, it could not be denied that the creature was a dragon.

And a strong one at that.

This strange person, this outsider. Not even father knew from where he came, the strange creature in the skin of a man. His equally strange magics that seemed utterly foreign to any who beheld them as well.

If that was not enough, Meridia was keeping a proactive gaze on him. Not the most vile of her brethren, but a Daedric Lord she still remains.

How amusing it was to hear that Meridia and the outside had become lovers. Beyond the bewilderment at the reveal, I cared not for the Daedric Lord did not seem to reach for the youngest. But it further emphasized the mystery behind the one called Wilhelm.

The outsider returned after a small period again, when the youngest was face to face with more of his kin. At this point, Thorum was on his way to becoming a true dragon amongst father\'s pieces, perhaps only equaled by a select few still flying in the world. Besides the oldest of course, Thorum was still no match for the World Eater.

The outside returned, and with him, strange new things also appeared. Weapons I had no knowledge on, yet held the touch of divine, powers that he could not find the origin of.

I had sense it, during the battle. When part of father\'s soul that resided in the dragon known as Gehvodaak had been utterly destroyed. Luckily, Thorum was able to absorb it before the outsider did any more damage.

Since that time, I had subtly steered any more of father\'s children away from the outsider. Even father had been concerned about the implications behind his pieces being destroyed and not returning eventually.

It had set a strange precedent. To actively usher dragons, through unconscious means, away from the last dragonborn that should have been hunting them as the outsider was waiting nearby.

The uncountable number of threads that held fate together began to unravel around this strange creature. Things that should have happened never came to pass, others were forcibly overtaken – usurped, and by some luck, others were completed by their intended recipient. Thorum meeting the spawn of Molag Bal....yet not acquiring the Elder Scroll for himself. Hidden away in that strange building he calls a house, full of things not known to this world.

The threads just continued to pull apart when the outsider\'s companions appeared. Another dragon unknown to these lands, unknown to the creator and father of dragons. That wasn\'t all, a golden light that shined within that smaller dragon\'s soul.

Beautiful was a word that failed to appropriately describe it. The strange person/spirit that walked the world in a way that was similar to the souls of Sovngarde, yet utterly different. The other spirit, the one the outsider called \'Jinn\'. It was something touched by divine hands, yet we could not recognize its origin among our fellows. Was it possible the \'others\' had found a way to enter Nirn without our notice?

No, such a thing wasn\'t possible under our notice, and it was unlikely they would willingly return to these lands.

The outsider just continues to be an anomaly, one that had garnered the attention of others who know the threads of fate. Taken the Eye of Magnus, as the mortals have called it and repurposed it into a sword of great power. The Staff of Magnus also falling into his hands, and there are his other artifacts of unknown origin.

That sword Thorum was given, \'Anti-Dragon\' the outsider called it and I would believe his claims. It had a pulpable dislike for my kin, enough that I could \'feel\' it through the link, not that it was anywhere strong enough to reach me.

So many questions and too few answers.

I continue to watch the youngest, and I hope that this iteration of world does not end, I have grown to quite like it.

***

Wrapping up this part of Skyrim. My original intention was to finish Skyrim up proper in this Arc, but I realized it would take way too long, so i\'m either going to do it in smaller bursts or another arc at another point in time. Wanted to do a Talos POV without doing an interlude, to give the perspective of another \'god\' that is watching everything unfold with confusion at what he\'s seeing.

Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my /astoryforone.

Got a discord up, come chat or ask me questions. Code is -- JbwkdNDt7F