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For a moment Dardeh thought that Sayma was heading toward the building off to their right, a small structure with trees at each corner and a beam of blue light reaching skyward from its center. He would have welcomed that; even a lifetime of working in the hot and stuffy interiors of mines hadn\u2019t prepared him for being in this degree of brutal heat with the sun beating down on his head.\u00a0 But Sayma veered off to the left of the building and headed toward one of the many tall and slender pillars that dotted the landscape.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t seem especially concerned by the heat, dashing down the far side of the dune and out toward the expanse of reddish sand.<\/p>\n
Dardeh sighed and picked up his pace. I\u2019m too big, this armor is too heavy, and my Nord blood is looking for snow right now. I wonder if I could\u2026 What in Oblivion is that?<\/em><\/p>\n At the ridge of the next dune a coppery-colored creature appeared, crawling up from the far side.\u00a0 It reminded him of the chaurus he\u2019d encountered in dark caverns, but it was much bigger. In spite of how hot he was, he shivered inside his ebony shell.\u00a0 He drew his sword and caught up with Sayma, who had readied her bow and was taking aim on the beast.<\/p>\n \u201cDune ripper,\u201d she murmured. \u201cNasty things. They shoot fireballs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, good,\u201d he grumbled as she let fly an arrow that should have skewered the creature. At the last moment, though, it turned to its left and the arrow flew harmlessly over its back.<\/p>\n \u201cDamn,\u201d Sayma hissed, readying another arrow.<\/p>\n This time, Sayma\u2019s shot pierced the dune ripper\u2019s side and took it down instantly. Dardeh sheathed his sword and followed her down the slope toward the carcass.<\/p>\n \u201cBryn was right. You are good,\u201d he said as they reached the beast. \u201cAnd this thing is huge!\u201d\u00a0 It was, too; it was at least half again as large as the biggest chaurus he\u2019d ever seen, with mandibles that he was happy could no longer pose a threat.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks,\u201d she grinned, retrieving her arrow. \u201cI\u2019ve had lots of practice. Sometimes the best way to take out a target unseen is from a good distance away.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh shuddered inside his armor again. \u201cUm, yeah. I keep forgetting what you do. Of course you\u2019re good.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma slipped him a sideways glance. \u201cI learned the bow a long time before I came to Skyrim, Dardeh. I wasn\u2019t really planning on following in Father\u2019s footsteps, you know. I was perfectly content helping the Guild rearrange the Empire\u2019s wealth.\u201d She pointed forward and started trotting up over the next enormous dune by way of the slight valley between swells of sand. Dardeh did his best to keep up. \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting to be chosen by \u2026 well I don\u2019t know what you would call the Night Mother, but she picked me and there\u2019s nothing I can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh grimaced. \u201cI know what that\u2019s like. I never asked to be the guy who had to battle Alduin. It just happened.\u201d He sighed. \u201cI was just about to take off my armor, too, and run in just clothing.\u00a0 Glad I didn\u2019t do that. Those dune rippers don\u2019t look like something you just casually fight.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma laughed. \u201cThat\u2019s for sure. Bows are good to have around here.\u201d She started up the side of the next dune; Dardeh followed, wishing that he couldn\u2019t feel trickles of sweat running down his sides under his armor. Sayma must have sensed his discomfort.\u00a0 She turned and said \u201cI\u2019m sweating up a storm, too. But don\u2019t worry. Where we\u2019re going is in a very shaded spot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent,\u201d Dardeh said, grinning. He would be happy for shade, since the cacti and tufts of tough brush told him they weren\u2019t likely to find trees any time soon.<\/p>\n It seemed to him as though they were circling slowly to the northwest, around the edges of a large sandstone hill that rose from the surrounding desert. But he wasn\u2019t sure. For all he knew they\u2019d turned northeast again. It was disorienting at best; everything was in shades of orange or beige except for those few shriveled-looking cacti bravely reaching skyward under the blistering sun. There wasn\u2019t enough of a breeze to cool them, but when a stray drift of air did pass it brought nothing but the scent of dust and heat with it.<\/p>\n Sayma stopped just before one of the cacti and peered up at the sky, shading her eyes with her hands.\u00a0 Dardeh did the same.\u00a0 There were large birds, perhaps vultures, circling around the peak of the hill next to them.<\/p>\n She waved him forward.<\/p>\n \u201cDown here. And watch your step. I landed on my face coming down this slope the last time I was here. That sand looks soft but it\u2019ll take off your skin real easy.\u201d\u00a0 She took a few steps forward and disappeared.<\/p>\n Alright then. What\u2019s this?<\/em><\/p>\n Dardeh eased himself toward the edge of what turned out to be a deep depression \u2013 a trench, almost, leading down and into the side of the sandstone hill.\u00a0 The flag marking its entrance was low enough into the passage that he nearly missed it. He darted down the path after Sayma, into the deep shade, and breathed a sigh of relief as he wound his way through the boulders and the temperature dropped markedly.<\/p>\n Up ahead of them he could see trees, and a structure of some sort.\u00a0 What drew his eye, though, was a bright blue-white spot in front of the building.\u00a0 They slowed to a walk; and as they drew closer he saw that the spot of light was in fact a figure.<\/p>\n \u201cA ghost?\u201d he whispered to Sayma.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d she said quietly, giving him a quick smile.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone you\u2019ll recognize, I think, given the stories you\u2019ve told.\u201d\u00a0 She made her way to the house and called out to the figure seated there.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve brought him, as you asked.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Dagnell,\u201d the low rumble responded.<\/p>\n Sayma chuckled and shook her head.<\/p>\n Dardeh felt a shudder roll up his spine. He knew the voice as well as he knew his own. In fact, the two of them sounded very much alike, as they had each of the other times he\u2019d met Jine in dreams.\u00a0 But his dreams had shown him how Jine had appeared as a living man, not the translucent figure nodding a welcome to him in the middle of the Hammerfell wastes.<\/p>\n \u201cJine,\u201d he said, climbing the stairs to stand before the ghost.\u00a0 He recognized Jine\u2019s broad chest bared above the close-fitting barbarian armor.\u00a0 His hair was the same, the torque about his neck the same, and everything about him as Dardeh remembered.\u00a0 But he could see the wall of the stucco home through Jine\u2019s chest. \u201cThis is so strange.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSon of my son,\u201d Jine greeted him. \u201cYou had not seen me as I am, before, but as I was. Only my thoughts could reach you before now. This is the place where I have remained for longer than I could say.\u201d\u00a0 He rose to his feet and turned toward the door. \u201cCome,\u201d he said, disappearing inside the house.<\/p>\n Dardeh shook his head and turned to Sayma, questioning. \u201cHe called you Dagnell?\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma grinned. \u201cYes. He wasn\u2019t taking no for an answer when Bryn and I met him, either. For some reason I don\u2019t mind. Let\u2019s go inside. I know what he wants to show you, but I don\u2019t know what he wants to say.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright. This isn\u2019t the very strangest thing I\u2019ve ever done, but it surely comes close.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrust me, I understand. I never thought I\u2019d be coming through a corner of Coldharbour to get to this place the first time.\u201d She grabbed Dardeh\u2019s hand and gave it a squeeze. \u201cI don\u2019t know why you and I have had these things happen to us, Dar, but I\u2019m sure there\u2019s a reason.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see if we can find out what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh had to fight to contain his surprise as he stepped into the home\u2019s large single room. The specter of Jine stood looking down at a skeleton stretched out on the bed.\u00a0 Dardeh took the opportunity to examine Jine again. Seeing him in the light of day, in what he hoped was wakefulness and not just another dream, was different; and he was surprised.<\/p>\n He\u2019s no taller than I am.\u00a0 He seemed so \u2013 huge \u2013 in my dreams of him. But look at him. He\u2019s got lots of muscles, that\u2019s for certain, but he\u2019s like me. Short, and wide.\u00a0 And he looks almost sad.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHere I have lain for many an age,\u201d Jine said quietly. \u201cWhy these bones have not dried and blown away in the winds, I do not know. Why I have been cursed to stay with them is a matter only Sadraaka could tell. But the curse has been lifted; and now, if my bones are laid away, I may rest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSadraaka? Who\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBryn found a book about her. She was a mage,\u201d Sayma said, \u201cback in the time of High King Harald. Fairly powerful, but jealous of Archmage Gauldur\u2019s superior power. She tricked Gauldur\u2019s sons into killing him, thinking that she could be Archmage in his place, but Harald exiled her instead. Her tomb is just north of here, Dar.\u00a0 When the Yokudans came to this part of Hammerfell they established a city there but broke into her tomb and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe wasn\u2019t happy, I take it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot at all. All the people there died and their spirits roamed the city ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh wrinkled his brow. \u201cJine just said the curse was lifted.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma nodded. \u201cBrynjolf and I found the place when we were here before. It was\u2026\u201d she paused, frowned, and then shook her head. \u201cIt was a near thing. We almost lost him. So many angry spirits, Dar. But we got through it and managed to defeat Sadraaka and break the curse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOk,\u201d Dardeh said, \u201cbut what does this have to do with us, now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSit, Dardeh,\u201d the ghost said, waving at the small table nearby. \u201cAnd I will try to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh sat on one side of the table and watched as Jine took the other seat and Sayma wandered around the room. He remembered sitting across the table from his father, in a dream. That had been strange. He remembered sitting in a chair next to his very angry father, in a different dream, and that had been unsettling. This was both; for not only could he see Jine in the chair across from him, he could see the chair behind Jine\u2019s back and could look through Jine and out the open door of the house. He tried his hardest to focus on the man and not his ghostliness, but it was difficult.<\/p>\n Then Jine began to speak, and Dardeh forgot to think about the fact that he was a spirit. His voice seized Dardeh\u2019s attention in a way that he thought he should recognize. It reminded him of\u2026 something he couldn\u2019t quite put a finger on.<\/p>\n \u201cI told you once how you are the heir to a long line of those with power. Power over serpents. Power over others. Great power that has felled anything that stood before it, though it has manifested in different ways through the ages. Some generations were quiet. Our ancestor Avik charmed snakes \u2013 an amusement at best, but one that he did skillfully, and one that nevertheless brought him wealth. Some generations were warriors. I came here with the Yokudans who conquered this part of Hammerfell \u2013 or thought they had. But always the power has repeated itself, has carried itself through the years, on and on.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh was mesmerized by Jine\u2019s low, hypnotic tones. Yes. I can hear it now. Charming the snakes. Charming the people, the power of the voice. The power of\u2026 the Voice.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt has been a never-ending cycle, son of my son. The years of anger and revenge, of birth and of killing, have repeated over and over through the generations, one act feeding the next without end or hope of end.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that why my father is haunting both of us?\u201d Dardeh asked. \u201cBecause there is no end?\u201d<\/p>\n Jine shrugged. \u201cIn your father, the power was twisted. It is hard to know why. Perhaps it was too strong in him, too close to the end. Perhaps a part of him knew the change was about to come and fought against it. I do not know. But in him, the power became hatred and darkened his mind. His work fed into that. It has kept him in this world beyond his span of years. Our people tell the story that even though the hunger of Akel caused Satak the world-snake to bite its own heart and die, the hunger refused to stop and the cycle repeated; likewise, Dadarh\u2019s hunger was too strong to die even though his body met a violent end.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh heard a hiss and looked up to see that Sayma had sat down in a chair in the opposite corner of the room, and was shaking her head. That has to have hit close to home for her, he thought. Father was in the Dark Brotherhood and now she is the Listener.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what can we do, Jine?\u201d he asked quietly. \u201cWe can\u2019t just let this go on. It is killing me from the inside out. I am losing my mind. I don\u2019t want to end up like him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is why you must end it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh\u2019s frustration exploded. \u201cI have to end what?<\/em>\u201d he bellowed, tossing his hands up. \u201cWhat, exactly? And how<\/em> am I supposed to do this? Why me? WHY ME<\/em>? All I want is to live my life with my family!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDar,\u201d Sayma said softly.\u00a0 He turned to look at her as she shook her head, and shook his own in return, feeling ashamed of himself for the outbursts that seemed to come more frequently with every moon that passed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m sorry, Jine. But ever since my Ma passed my life has not been my own! And I thought it would be the opposite. It\u2019s been years<\/em> now! Everyone wants something of me. Everyone expects\u2026\u201d He ran one hand up over his head, surprised for a moment at the bushy hair he found where there were normally tight braids. I don\u2019t even recognize myself any longer.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cEveryone expects the Dragonborn. One of the greatest men ever to have lived,\u201d Jine replied calmly.<\/p>\n Dardeh sank back into himself with a nearly audible thud, completely chastened. \u201cNot a bad deal,\u201d<\/em> Neloth the Telvanni mage had told him. \u201cThe second-strongest Dragonborn ever to have lived.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n I need to stop this, if nothing else. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou have already ended part of it, Uetonga do Ueetonga,\u201d Jine said formally. \u201cYou have caused one of the great cycles of time to stop, at least to the extent that any of the great minds are able to foresee. The World-Eater died by your hand. All things felt his end. What is beyond, we cannot know.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh snorted. \u201cWell sure. And Paarthurnax told me that maybe this world was supposed to be the egg of the next. Well, if it was, I\u2019ve certainly managed to break it wide open.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if it was not, you have still ended a cycle of misery,\u201d Jine answered, his voice flat, his tone allowing no room for argument.<\/p>\n \u201cWell what else am I supposed to do, then?\u201d Dardeh snapped. \u201cEnd our line? I\u2019ve already done that, just by being born, Jine. I\u2019m married to a man. There will never be another male in our lineage.\u201d<\/p>\n Jine looked across the room at Sayma. \u201cI think you are wrong,\u201d he said softly. \u201cI have seen a young boy, born to a Nord father and a mother of Yokudan heritage. A favored mix, the same one you possess, Dardeh. You and your sister share many things. A father. Power. And you are both setting things right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean, Jine?\u201d Sayma asked quietly, her hand resting softly atop her belly where, Dardeh realized with some amount of embarrassment, the next generation lay waiting for its turn. Of course there was another son in their line. His name was Brynjolf.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth of you are ending the circles within circles, daughter. You could call them curses, perhaps. Dardeh ended Alduin\u2019s cycle. You and your red Nord ended the curse of Sadraaka. You both are playing parts in ending the war that never really ended, what your teachers the Greybeards called the unending season of violence. And those close to you are bringing cycles to an end as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh squinted at Jine.\u00a0 His head hurt, trying to keep track of it all.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand you, Jine. Speak plainly. By the gods I\u2019m helping in the war, yes, even though I swore I\u2019d never do it because I hate it. I want it to end. I want people to be able to live their lives and the killing to stop. But what do you mean Sayma is? And who else? Roggi, my husband?\u201d<\/p>\n Jine nodded. \u201cDaughter, you put in motion events that will end a cycle hundreds of years long when you slew the Emperor.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh\u2019s eyes widened, and he turned to stare at Sayma.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n She frowned, and nodded without speaking.<\/p>\n \u201cDardeh, your husband is ending his own circle, a violent circle that involves the one called Ulfric and which is bound up in the war. This I have seen. You are helping him to do this. It is part of why your mind is so uneasy, my son,\u201d Jine said. \u201cAnd your Nord,\u201d he continued, looking back at Sayma, \u201cstruggles to end a cycle of violence of his own, a smaller circle to be sure but one no less painful for being small.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll of you worked to put the spirits of the Yokudans to rest here,\u201d he continued, his voice becoming ever more powerful and commanding. \u201cYou put the spirits of the honored dead at ease in Sovngarde. You ventured to a plain of Oblivion and brought the spirits of your husband\u2019s former lovers to their peace. You freed Solstheim from repeating a cycle of bondage. You have put to rest the spirits of many of the dragons. All of these things were hard, and painful, and yet you all have persevered.\u201d<\/p>\n He waved one hand at both Dardeh and Sayma.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I ask you to help put me to rest. There is a place, to the northwest. A temple. Take my bones there and I will be able to sleep, at last. I will lead you there.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. We can do that. Is that why you needed to speak to me? Is that why I left Skyrim in the middle of a civil war to come here?\u201d<\/p>\n To his great surprise, Jine grinned at him.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, in part. But you needed to understand, son of my son. You are not mad. Your mind is troubled, but that is merely a sign of your greatness. You have an important role to play in this life. And both of you must find Dadarh. You must talk to him. You must convince him. It is not for him to slay Ulfric Stormcloak. Ulfric himself is part of much larger events that must yet come to pass. So are your husbands, both of them. Just as you have done for all the other spirits, so you must do for your father. You must end it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut \u2026 where is he?\u201d Sayma asked. \u201cHow could I even begin to search? The last time I saw him was on Stros M\u2019Kai and I was a small child. That was more than twenty years ago, Jine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot see the place clearly,\u201d he rumbled. \u201cIt is a dark place. Empty. There once was life but now there is nothing. The unfinished task connects him to this place. You must put him to rest so that events may unfold as they must, and to bring peace to your own minds.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh sat staring in awe at the ghost of his ancestor. His words may not have been Dovahzul, the kinds of words Dardeh himself used, but they nonetheless moved him in more than an emotional way. He felt almost compelled to do as Jine asked.\u00a0 And somehow, much to his surprise, he felt calmer. He looked at Sayma and nodded, and she smiled and nodded back.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know where he is or what we\u2019ll say, but we\u2019ll do it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAlright then,\u201d he said, rising from the chair. \u201cLet\u2019s see what we can do about packing these bones for the trip.\u201d<\/p>\n He glanced at Jine.\u00a0 He thought he saw a smile.<\/p>\n __<\/p>\n It was still beastly hot out on the unsheltered surface, and Dardeh was even more uncomfortable for having a large bag of human bones on his back as he ran. Things in front of his eyes appeared to undulate as waves of heat rose from the sands. He glanced back at Sayma; while there was a sheen of sweat on her forehead she clearly was not in as much discomfort as he was.\u00a0 Up ahead of them, Jine ran effortlessly.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t just that he was dead, Dardeh thought. He ran like a man of the Alik\u2019r, easily, with a gait that spoke of acceptance of and love for the land around him.<\/p>\n Something about that thought made Dardeh relax.\u00a0 He might be in a shell of ebony but fighting the land, and the heat, would only make matters worse.\u00a0 It seemed to him that the weight of his armor and weapons, and the bones of his ancestor, and his own stocky body suddenly lessened.\u00a0 He smiled to himself; and to his surprise, Jine turned and grinned back at him almost as if he knew what had just passed through Dardeh\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n This is no stranger than anything else that has happened to me in the past few years. <\/em><\/p>\n They ran in companionable silence for a good long while, making a gentle northwest circle around the far side of the mountain that contained Jine\u2019s home.\u00a0 An enormous stone building off to the north came into view as they neared the far edge of the mountain.\u00a0 Sayma pointed at it, and called it Al Shedim, and said that she and Brynjolf had spent a lot of time in it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be passing close by that, the way we\u2019re heading. I\u2019d just as soon never step into it again, though,\u201d she laughed. \u201cThere are way too many ways to get killed in there.\u201d<\/p>\n Jine led them to a small oasis, where Sayma submerged herself into the water.\u00a0 Dardeh took off his boots and waded in, and then splashed water over his head and neck; but he didn\u2019t want to take the time to get out of his armor and then back into it. It was just as well. They paused only for a few minutes and then started across the sands again, this time slightly more north than northwest.<\/p>\n As they topped a dune not too far from Al Shedim, they ran across the carcass of a dune ripper.\u00a0 Sayma pointed at it and shook her head.<\/p>\n \u201cBrynjolf killed that one. I\u2019d have thought its carcass would be gone by now.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh was working himself up to a snide comment about the desert being as dry as a bone, and then considered how very tasteless that would be given the bundle he was carrying, when Sayma pulled out her bow and dropped into a crouch.\u00a0 She pointed ahead and downhill and fitted an arrow to the bowstring.<\/p>\n There was a live Duneripper on the next slope ahead of them.\u00a0 In fact, Dardeh realized in dismay as he squinted into the distance, there were several of them.\u00a0 If they hadn\u2019t been moving, he might easily have missed their presence until he\u2019d wandered into their pincers.\u00a0 He pulled out his bow as well and watched to see what Sayma was going to do. Glancing to the side, he saw Jine pull a spectral bow; and he blinked in surprise, wondering yet again how a ghost could kill a live creature.<\/p>\n Sayma\u2019s first arrow struck home cleanly, but did not kill the first of the rippers.\u00a0 It rushed them as she fired again, overshooting it as it moved forward.\u00a0 She swore loudly.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on!\u201d Jine shouted, firing a spirit arrow at the creature and striking it in the side.\u00a0 Dardeh found himself rushing alongside Jine, trying to get his bearings; but the dune ripper was hurtling toward them too quickly.\u00a0 He reacted out of instinct.<\/p>\n \u201cFUS- RO DAH!\u201d<\/p>\n The creature was caught by the force of his Shout and flipped down the hill, onto its back, flailing wildly to right itself.\u00a0 Jine rushed down the slope after it, shouting \u201cDie, beast!\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m never going to hit this thing with an arrow while it\u2019s squirming. <\/em>\u00a0He drew his swords and followed Jine.<\/p>\n An arrow whizzed past his ear on the right.\u00a0 Sayma was shooting from the top of the hill they\u2019d been on. Dardeh watched it fly straight and true; but the dune ripper wiggled at the last moment and the arrow buried itself into the coppery sand below. Dardeh turned to look back at Sayma and watched as she loosed another arrow, her pale eyes narrowed and eerie against the black of her hair and clothing.\u00a0 This time the shot felled the creature \u2013 an impressive feat to Dardeh given the distance it had run from them.<\/p>\n Dardeh put away his weapons and followed his sister as she began trotting once more to the northwest.\u00a0 They crested the next dune.<\/p>\n Things got weird.<\/p>\n The dune ripper they had just killed had been running for an outcropping of rocks. It turned out that in a gully beneath that outcropping of rock no fewer than eight more adult dune rippers had taken up residence.\u00a0 They were everywhere. Their eggs lined the area. They crawled up out of their den, one after another, and began attacking.<\/p>\n Dardeh had thought the battle at Fort Greenwall was confusing, and so it had been; this was worse.\u00a0 He and one of the dune rippers fought, Shouts against fireballs, while he unloaded arrows as fast as he could, screaming at the insect and screaming at the pain of the fire it spewed.\u00a0 Jine ran ahead into the gully and began slashing at others with spectral scimitars.\u00a0 Sayma stood at the crest of the hill and fired her bow, again and again.\u00a0 Dardeh heard Jine shouting in Yokudan and he answered with Dovahzul, trying everything he knew against the beasts. Unrelenting Force threw the dune rippers backward, but not for long; Ice Form slowed them down, but only for a moment. When the creatures spat fireballs, the explosions ricocheted between the sandstone walls of the gully, amplifying their effect, making his ears ring, and adding to the chaos.<\/p>\n At some point he heard Jine yelling \u201cI\u2019ll crush you like a bug!\u201d and laughed out loud in spite of himself.\u00a0 Some quiet corner of his mind wondered whether this was what it would have been like to have a father – to have a male relative close at hand while he was growing up. It was just a fleeting thought, though, because the dune rippers required his full attention. But he reveled in the experience in spite of the danger, running side by side with his ancestor, fighting a common foe.<\/p>\n He kept checking over his shoulder, to make sure that Sayma was safe.\u00a0 Sayma was as strong a woman as he\u2019d ever met, but she was carrying a child. He didn\u2019t want her to come anywhere near one of the fireballs, or risk herself to those mandibles. He listened for the twang of her bowstring, the raspy sounds of her shouts and oaths, and he fought as hard as he could to make sure his sister could stay back and use her archery skills from a safe distance.<\/p>\n It seemed to go on for hours. It was probably only ten minutes. Finally, just as Dardeh was pushing himself up through the sand on the far side of the nest, toward the last dune ripper, he heard Sayma shout from behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cDar! Duck!\u201d<\/p>\n He crouched.\u00a0 An arrow flew over his shoulder and caught the beast squarely in the head.\u00a0 It shuddered and dropped to the ground, sliding downhill in the loose sand.<\/p>\n \u201cWell done, daughter,\u201d Jine said, turning to face Sayma as she ran to the carcass and pulled her arrow free.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize these bastards had a nest down here.\u00a0 That was ridiculous.\u00a0 Are you ok, Dar?\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh grinned, looking between the two of them.\u00a0 Is this what it would have been like to have a whole family, growing up? I could have gotten used to it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I\u2019m fine,\u201d he answered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure which one of us made the most noise, though.\u201d<\/p>\n Jine and Sayma swapped a glance. One of Jine\u2019s eyebrows rose. Sayma looked back at Dardeh and laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah. I get it.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get going,\u201d he said; but he smiled anyway.\u00a0 The three of them settled back into that steady pace that swallowed distances and continued toward the northwest.\u00a0 It was still blistering hot outside, but somehow Dardeh didn\u2019t mind nearly as much as he had earlier.<\/p>\n The sun was preparing to drop behind the mountains when at last Jine pointed ahead of them.\u00a0 Sayma stopped for a moment and shielded her eyes from the glare.<\/p>\n \u201cThis temple. I\u2019ve been here before. But there was nothing in there but an open basin, Jine. Where are we to put your bones?\u201d<\/p>\n Jine just shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cCome,\u201d he said, moving forward.<\/p>\n Dardeh ran ahead, just over the crest of the dune, and saw what they were looking at: an elegant temple, its entrance flanked by palms.\u00a0 Movement caught his eye.\u00a0 The temple was also flanked by another pair of dune rippers.<\/p>\n \u201cGods damn it,\u201d he growled.\u00a0 He pulled out his bow. But before he could nock an arrow, Sayma had taken down the beast on the right.\u00a0 The other flung a fireball at them, which zipped by Dardeh\u2019s ear just a bit too close for comfort.\u00a0 Sayma\u2019s arrow found it just a moment later.<\/p>\n \u201cStupid things,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n Jine led the way into the temple, and the siblings followed behind him.\u00a0 Dardeh stopped for a moment, marveling at the beautiful construction of the building; then he proceeded into the central area, trailing along behind Sayma.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d she said as they reached the structure in the middle and walked inside.\u00a0 \u201cThis wasn\u2019t here before.\u00a0 How\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n In the center of the mostly-enclosed room was a pedestal, covered in brightly-colored tile, surrounded by pillars. It looked as though there had once been some sort of enclosure there, to Dardeh\u2019s eye.\u00a0 On the tile floor, directly in the center of this octagonal platform, there was a plain stone container.<\/p>\n \u201cA coffin?\u201d<\/p>\n Jine nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThis is the place, son of my son.\u00a0 If my bones are placed in this coffin I will be able to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d Sayma murmured.\u00a0 \u201cWhen we were here before there was a basin. An empty basin, like the ones outside in the courtyard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, child,\u201d Jine said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cThis is a temple built by the Alik\u2019r who came to this part of Hammerfell, so very long ago that I can barely remember it. I helped to place these stones, these pillars\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He ran his hand down one of the sandstone columns and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cHere is a part of my soul, in this place.\u00a0 Here that part of me which stands before you now can take its final rest. Please,\u201d he said, turning to Dardeh and pointing to the bag of bones, \u201cput me in the vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh could think of nothing to say. It seemed too solemn an occasion to add his uninformed remarks to the mix. He set the bag down on the floor and moved the coffin\u2019s lid aside, then carefully removed Jine\u2019s skull from the bag and placed it gently into the coffin.\u00a0 Dardeh was confused, as well.<\/p>\n I\u2019m Nord. I\u2019ve always been Nord. But I know that part of my blood is the blood of the ancient Alik\u2019r who came here long ago to try to make a life. This place speaks to me.<\/em><\/p>\n Sayma moved to stand beside him and took out another bone. Together they worked, quietly, reverently, reassembling the skeleton of Jine inside the stone coffin.\u00a0 When at last the final piece had been laid out, Dardeh looked up at Jine, questioning.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re done.\u00a0 What now?\u201d<\/p>\n Jine smiled. \u201cI feel at peace, for the first time in so very long. Now, my children, you must close the coffin. I will finally escape this world and begin my journey to the Far Shores. Perhaps I will see you there, some day, when you are done with this world.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh waited, caught Sayma\u2019s gaze, waited for her to nod her agreement. Then he reached across the coffin and slid the heavy stone top back over the coffin. It dropped into its final position with a thud.<\/p>\n Jine was already starting to fade. He looked from one to the other of them and nodded. \u201cThank you, my children. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n And then his image dissipated, and he was no more.<\/p>\n Sayma smiled at Dardeh without speaking.\u00a0 She knelt on one side of the coffin and closed her eyes.<\/p>\n Alright. I can do that. I don\u2019t know what Talos thinks of Redguards and their afterlife but if nothing else he will understand me and my good wishes.<\/em><\/p>\n He knelt on the opposite side of the coffin from Sayma.\u00a0 The two of them stayed there, quietly meditating for a long time, speeding the soul of their ancestor on his way.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n For a moment Dardeh thought that Sayma was heading toward the building off to their right, a small structure with trees at each corner and a beam of blue light reaching skyward from its center. He would have welcomed that; even a lifetime of working in the hot and stuffy interiors of mines hadn\u2019t prepared … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/4-2-17-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart II: The Storm<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"