Chapter 2

Prophecy

Horrigoth raised a torch as he looked over the legendary Alduin's Wall. He started on the left and began walking right.

"There must be something here! Something about your transformation and its meaning! If only the Blades would aid me. However, I'm not willing to betray Paarthurnax."

Alduin walked over to the center carving. "This looks nothing like me! They got the number of horns wrong completely!"

Horrigoth had an idea. He drew a steel dagger, snuck up behind Alduin and slit her palm before shoving it onto the mural's center carving.

"That hurt you oaf! I should- I should- Why can't I remember the word!" Alduin had planned on insulting him with dragon language, but for some reason... she couldn't remember the words.

"Doesn't matter. Look." Horrigoth released her hand and the mural started to movein front of them. The dragon's head moved up and its eyes swiveled around before the panel sunk into the floor.

"Blood seals. I figured such would be the case. Come on, let's see if this leads somewhere worthwhile." Horrigoth raised a hand and activated Magelight, lighting the way for the two.

Shorty into their "crawl", they came upon webs. LOTS of webs. Horrigoth stopped and looked uneasy.

Alduin raised an eyebrow and put a hand on her hip. "You're kidding me? You're not afraid to fight me and seal me away but you're afraid of a few little bugs? I"m rather insulted you think so lowly of me."

"Little? They're the size of BEARS! Maybe bigger even! And the legs! Don't get me started on the legs. And those mandibles..." Horrigoth was visually shook up.

Alduin laughed. "This is hilarious! The legendary Dragonborn afraid of FROSTBITE SPIDERS!"

She then used her hands to make "mandibles" over her face and wiggled them around. "Oh look I'm a spider! I'm going to eat you and tie you up and hang you from the ceiling!"

He crossed his arms and growled. "That isn't funny. It isn't that I haven't fought them before. I just don't enjoy it. What I'm about to do is Ironic really. Stay here."

He began taking off his clothes.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Alduin yelled at him.

"This." His eyes grew wide and his muscles began to ripple and shift as his transformation began. Hair covered his entire body as he finished changing.

When he was finished in his place stood... a werewolf. It ran forward, leaving Alduin a bit shaken. She gathered his belongings and continued.

The Wolf-man massacred the spiders one by one, until the giant version slowly descended from the roof. He let out a howl of defiance and the spider hesitated.

The spider was promptly torn limb from limb and stabbed in the "head" before dying. Horrigoth soon after reverted to his Nordic form.

"So you're a werewolf then?" Alduin questioned as she handed Horrigoth his clothing.

The Dragonborn nodded as he finished dressing with a silver ring on his right hand.

"Yes. This Silver Ring has a special enchantment that prevents the natural transformation by way of the full moon. It also helps suppress the... hunger." He reactivated magelight and the two began walking again.

Several dozen Draugr and a puzzle later they arrived at another wall. It was as ornate as the first; intricate carvings adorned its surface. Before the two could continue however, a coffin slid open. A Draugr Death-lord appeared, wielding an Ebony Warhammer.

The being charged forward. Unable to cast an offensive spell, Horrigoth cast Dragonhide, the most powerful Alteration spell available, ready for the strike. But the creature wasn't aiming for him...

It was aiming for Alduin.

The hammer connected, but not with Alduin. No, it connected with Horrigoth's back.

There was pain, yes, but it was more like a hard slap on the back then a crushing blow from the weapon.

Horrigoth opened his right hand and a violet orb appeared. He flexed his fingers and a Bound Sword appeared. He grasped the handle, turned, and struck the undead being.

It stumbled but was not heavily injured.

"Alduin," Horrigoth looked over his shoulder. "Stay where you are. I'm going to mix spells... this could get messy."

In one hand a flame appeared. In the other, sparks.

Slowly he joined the two spells, Incinerate and Thunderbolt, into one attack, which he launched at the Draugr.

There was a large flash and then an explosion. Lightning shot in every direction.

Horrigoth turned. "Get down!" He shoved Alduin into the room behind them and shut the doors.

"You were a fool to try combining those two spells! Anyone with half a brain knows that different spells don't mix!" Alduin lectured Horrigoth.

"You don't need to tell me that! I"m Archmage of the College of Winterhold! I specialize in Destruction magic so I KNOW it's dangerous." The two glared at each other before Horrigoth turned and opened the doors again.

"Well it's dead," he commented looking at what was left of the corpse. He reached down and took the Hammer. It might sell for a bit.

He then looked at the wall. "Well...this is unpleasant."

Part of the mural was gone; destroyed by his attack.

"Unpleasant? UNPLESANT? Now how are we going to see what happens?" Alduin walked over to Horrigoth and had her face practically inches from his face.

"Well would you rather us be killed by the Draugr?" Horrigoth yelled back.

Alduin reared her arm back and punched Horrigoth in the face at full force.

This didn't achieve much.

"What was that for?" Said the Dragonborn.

"F-For... FOR DOING SOMETHING FOOLISH!"

Horrigoth sighed. "Perhaps it is Talos' will. Regardless let us try and interpret what's left of the wall."

The two made their way over to the piece.

"This first part shows your fall from the sky and your new form." Horrigoth looked at the carvings.

"This part... a group of dragons, united against me I assume... Perhaps the Ancient Dragons that Odaviing mentioned?"

The destroyed part came next, so he skipped it.

"Then..." He stopped. The Hero from the previous panel... lie on the ground, blood pooling around him.

"..I die." His body went numb. He had brushed with death so many times before but this mural...if it told it to be so...

Alduin sighed. "That's not all to it you fool. Keep interpreting or I'll kill you now myself!"

Horrigoth nodded. "This... this looks like you. This symbol is for "shout"... but you can't speak dragon, can you? Maybe... Maybe I can teach you the shout now that you're mortal..?"

"What shout?" Alduin said, annoyed.

"Dragonrend. If Dragons can't use it because they can't comprehend it... maybe since you're not truly a dragon..." He turned to Alduin and placed his hands on her shoulders.

She jumped. "W-what?"

"Would you be willing to kill them? Kill those who once served you?" Horrigoth looked her dead in the eyes.

Alduin shook off his hands. "Don't be foolish! I'd never betray a Dragon! Especially not for the likes of you! You're the reason we got into this situation anyways!" She turned from him and crossed her arms.

"Very well. Then I must find a way to prevent this from happening." Horrigoth wasn't surprised at all of her answer.

"Fool, there is one more image! At the end!" Alduin pointed to the last image.

"It appears to be you as you are now looking into this circle, seeing your true self and the dragons from the other panel slain in front of you." Horrigoth believed in the guidance these walls brought. Alduin obviously didn't.

Horrigoth regained his composure and motioned to a path on the right. "From my experience in dungeons such as these, there is always a shortcut back to the entrance. We should return to Paarthurnax with this information."

Alduin sighed angrily and followed the Dragonborn. Should the prophecy come to pass then she wouldn't have to worry about him much longer...

Meanwhile the Ancient Council had gathered. Six reddish-orange dragons looked at one another.

"So,Alduin,our former drog,has become fahdon to our Paal ,the Dovahkiin.This is most unfortunate." The first said matter of factly.

"As it stands, the Sahlo Dov have mostly turned,to whal an army with Paarthurnax." another added.

"Zeymah, there is but one option;we fent kill the Dovahkiin and free Alduin of this spell." the third said.

They all looked to the "youngest" of them.

"Drogdwiinjot, you fent be tasked with this."

The dragon bowed his head lightly. "Very well.I fent enjoy tearing the Dovahkiin's flesh from his queth!"

The two returned to Paarthurnax and explained the mural and Alduin's inability to speak dragon.

"I am... sorry should that prophecy come to pass. As for Alduin, … her... inability to speak dragon may have something to do with your seal, Dovahkiin."

Horrigoth looked down at Alduin. He found it kind of funny; just one month ago he looked up at Alduin from the ground as the great dragon tried to kill him.

Now? Now Alduin was at least a foot shorter than him.

"What are you staring at?" The ex-dovah said with a scowl.

Horrigoth crossed his arms. "I just realized how short you are compared to me now."

She growled. "My height is of no meaning! I'm still stronger than you!"

"Not particularly, especially now that you've lost your power to use shouts. If it weren't for those horns I'd call you a regular Nord."

This infuriated Alduin even more. "How DARE YOU compare me to... to the likes of yourself!"

She reared back a hand and, to both of their surprise, slapped him across the face, a step back from her punch earlier.

"What in Talos' name was that? Did... did you just slap me?" Horrigoth exclaimed, confused.

"W-what does it look like? Of course I did! You needed to learn your place Dragonborn." the last word had undeniable venom behind it.

"The bloody hell do you mean I need to learn my place? If anything you do! Face it!" He grabbed her wrists and held her arms down.

"You're a mortal now! You have limitations as do I! You aren't all powerful! You aren't a Dovah! You aren't a world-eater anymore! You're just one young lady who has a god complex! Well get over it!" He caught himself surprised at his tone and use of the word "Dovah".

"..." Alduin was in shock. No one had ever talked to her in that tone. It honestly drove her insane that he not only had but he was right! She let his words sink in; the hardest blow was when he specifically called her Dovah;just because she couldn't speak the language didn't mean she couldn't understand it.

Reality hit like a war hammer to a rabbit's skull; she was mortal. She was a Nord... well aside from her horns, which she hoped stuck around. She was weak. She was small. She wondered, was this how all the Nord she had terrorized and even eaten felt before their dooms?

This feeling was... unfamiliar and it downright scared her: Powerlessness. Weakness. Mortality. Three things a Dragon could never understand, yet now she saw them clearly.

Horrigoth released her wrists. "I... apologize for letting my anger get the better of me. It was unbecoming of the Archmage of the College of Winterhold and myself as a warrior. It doesn't matter what you were once, whether either of us likes it or not, you are a lady and I must treat you more respectfully."

Alduin's rage began to build again. Was he looking down on her because of her gender? 'No...' she thought, 'he isn't looking down on me. He had a code of honor and he violated it.'

Alduin pulled her hood up over her horns. "That is understandable. I might have just gained a small amount of respect for you."

Horrigoth was then extremely confused. "What?"

Alduin didn't understand the heat on her face, as dragons did not have such feelings. "F-fool! Just because I have some respect for you doesn't make me any less your enemy! Don't grow soft Dragonborn, or I will kill you!"

Paarthurnax watched the exchange with intrigue. 'This shall be an interesting development indeed.' the great Dovah though as he chuckled inwardly.

So, I got a review mentioning in-story translations, and I've decided to take that idea for use.

Drog= Lord

Fahdon= friend

Paal=Foe/enemy

Sahlo=Weaker/lesser

Dov=Dragon

Whal=Gather or form

Zeymah=Brothers/brother (in this text, the former)

Fent= Shall

Drogdwiinjot= Name, meaning "Lord Steel Maw"

Queth=Bone/Bones

In case you didn't already know...

Dovahkiin=Dragonborn

Dovah= Dragon

Dov=Dragonkind (the Dragon Race as a whole)

Sorry about the lack of epic storybook text this chapter.

Anyways, Chapter 3

"Mortality"