{"id":634,"date":"2021-03-22T21:03:15","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T03:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/?page_id=634"},"modified":"2022-07-06T11:31:16","modified_gmt":"2022-07-06T17:31:16","slug":"chapter-24-qaralana","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/volume-1\/part-1-moonlight\/chapter-24-qaralana\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 24 – Qaralana"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cBeing deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.\u201d – Lao Tzu<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Qaralana didn\u2019t understand what was going on.<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019d been standing beside the dragon\u2019s bones, and an enormous sound had split the air. She\u2019d heard a word within that huge sound – \u201cDovahkiin\u201d – and then Roggi had taken off up the road as if the gates of Oblivion had opened at his heels.<\/p>\n

I have no idea what that meant, or why Uncle Roggi looked so frightened. <\/em><\/p>\n

She ran after him, her heart pounding. When the adults were afraid, she was afraid. That had been a constant, throughout her brief life. They\u2019d seen things, had experiences that she could barely imagine, and they knew when to fear and when not to fear. When Uncle Roggi was afraid, Qara was terrified.<\/p>\n

She was just turning up the pathway to Mammoth Manor when she heard the door slamming into the wall behind it. She heard Roggi\u2019s bellow ricocheting off the walls inside the house.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cDardeh! Dar?\u201d<\/p>\n

Is he okay? What is Roggi worried about? What is wrong with Uncle Dar? <\/em><\/p>\n

She heard the door on the far side of the house slam.<\/p>\n

What she didn\u2019t hear, she suddenly realized, was the horrible, wracking cough that had been carrying all the way down the road the previous day. It was entirely too quiet; eerily so. A chill ran up her spine.<\/p>\n

Oh by all the gods. Please tell me that he\u2019s not\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Her heart started pounding as she approached the house. Not only could she not imagine her world without Dardeh in it, she couldn\u2019t imagine what would happen to Roggi if he ended up alone.<\/p>\n

Roggi shouted again.<\/p>\n

\u201cDar!\u201d<\/p>\n

This time it was a different sound she heard in Roggi\u2019s voice. She wasn\u2019t entirely sure what she heard \u2013 but she did know that it was coming from the deck, outside. Rather than going through the house she trotted around the corner, between the smelter and the deck.<\/p>\n

There they were, the two of them. Dardeh sat on one of the benches, calmly smiling up at Roggi \u2013 who, she thought, looked as though he\u2019d aged five years in the last ten minutes. They stared at each other, silent, with entire conversations happening in the expanse of their gazes: fear and longing, reassurance and love.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As Qaralana walked up behind Roggi she confirmed what was so important about what she was seeing. And what she wasn\u2019t<\/em> hearing.<\/p>\n

It IS silent. Uncle Dar\u2019s not coughing! He\u2019s really not coughing anymore! What\u2026?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you alright?\u201d Roggi said, finally breaking the silence.<\/p>\n

Dardeh nodded. \u201cMuch better now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Qara and Roggi gasped. For what had always been one of the deepest and most resonant voices in the large group of extended family was wispy and low. It wasn\u2019t that she couldn\u2019t understand what Dardeh was saying, not at all; but his voice had a bubbly, raspy sound to it, as though he needed to clear his throat. It made her want to clear her own. She\u2019d heard people sound this way before if they\u2019d yelled too long and too hard and hurt their throats as a result. She\u2019d heard people who were ill sound like this as well; and while that would have been her first thought given how hard Dardeh had been coughing, he wasn\u2019t coughing any longer. In fact, he no longer had the look of dire illness about him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour voice, Dar.\u201d Roggi was very quiet as both he and Qaralana moved up to stand nearer to Dardeh.<\/p>\n

He heaved a great sigh and nodded. \u201cIt\u2019s gone. Pretty much shot. But it\u2019s ok. I won.\u201d He glanced at Qaralana and frowned. \u201cThe cough\u2019s gone, too. I suspect I know why. Are you<\/em> alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe?\u201d Qara looked from one to the other of them. \u201cYeah? I\u2019m\u2026 pretty sure I am?\u201d She couldn\u2019t keep the uncertainty out of her voice; and it was the truth that she was completely uncertain. She had no idea what was going on, or what Dardeh meant, or what had just happened to her and to Roggi, out on the road. Not really. \u201cWhy do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roggi shook his head and addressed her without breaking eye contact with Dardeh. \u201cHe\u2019s talking about the Greybeards calling for you, Qara,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cI thought\u2026\u201d His voice thickened with emotion. \u201cI thought that meant Dardeh had died. For a minute I thought\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh smiled and shook his head. \u201cI would never leave you, Roggi. I don\u2019t think I could if I wanted to. You give me strength. And I\u2019ve really needed that strength, lately.\u201d His eyes glistened with unshed tears.<\/p>\n

Qaralana\u2019s head spun. \u201cI still don\u2019t understand. One minute you\u2019re sick, Uncle Dar, and the next\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh smiled at her. \u201cAnd the next you\u2019ve devoured two dragons, used a Shout you never learned, and had the Greybeards call you Dovahkiin. I\u2019d be surprised if anyone in Skyrim missed hearing the Greybeards just now. Cyrodiil, too, I\u2019d reckon. I could hear the dragons from here, and I heard you use Dragonrend. What I think that means is that I\u2019m no longer the Dragonborn, Qara.\u201d He and Roggi exchanged another look. Then he nodded at her again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Qaralana looked at her beloved uncles, both of whom were staring at her; and her knees began to shake. \u201cI don\u2019t know what you mean. I don\u2019t know what Dragonrend is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh grinned. \u201cDid the first dragon catch fire when you killed it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh\u2026 yes. And it was destroyed, all except for the bones.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded. \u201cAnd you absorbed its energy, yes? Felt all warm, and full?\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara swallowed hard. \u201cLike I was going to burst open.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh smiled up at Roggi again. \u201cYou saw it, didn\u2019t you. I know you must have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cOf course I did. But we didn\u2019t have a chance to talk about it, really, because there was another dragon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh nodded and turned to Qaralana again. \u201cAnd when you were fighting the second dragon, what was going through your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara chewed on the inside of her mouth, frowning. \u201cLet\u2019s see. I was trying to figure out what kind of dragon it was. I was afraid Uncle Roggi didn\u2019t realize it was there, because its attack was so quiet.\u201d She paused, trying to remember the particulars. The creature had jumped over them, again and again, so quickly that she couldn\u2019t get a good shot in on it \u2013 and she wasn\u2019t much of an archer, so it had put her at a real disadvantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd?\u201d Dardeh\u2019s bubbly, raspy voice was gentle, but persuasive.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I was really mad at the stupid thing, because it wouldn\u2019t land anywhere! It kept hop scotching us, and I\u2019m not anywhere near as good with a bow as Chip is. I wanted to go at it with my blades, and I wanted Uncle Roggi to be able to hit it with his sword. All I could think of was the same thing I yelled at the dragon who flew away, in Ivarstead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI yelled\u2026\u201d she looked into Dardeh\u2019s intense gaze, suddenly afraid. \u201cI told it to get down. Onto the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell it wasn\u2019t quite that,\u201d Roggi said quietly. \u201cIt was more like\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoor,\u201d Dardeh said, slowly, frowning as the sound left his mouth. \u201cZah. Frul.\u201d<\/p>\n

They were just syllables as he uttered them: small, and flat, and quiet. He lowered his head for a moment; and Qaralana was taken aback to see several fat teardrops drop onto his clothing, making large round spots.<\/p>\n

\u201cDar,\u201d Roggi breathed, as if in shock. He reached out to lay a hand on Dardeh\u2019s shoulder. Dardeh reached up to cover Roggi\u2019s hand with his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gone, Roggi. I can\u2019t do it anymore.\u201d He lifted his head then, and wiped his other hand roughly across his eyes. \u201cBut Qara can.\u201d He smiled at her. \u201cCan<\/em> you do it again? Can you Shout? Yell for me, exactly the way you did it at the dragon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara was shivering. She closed her eyes, remembering what she\u2019d felt and thought as the ugly green dragon danced just out of the reach of Roggi\u2019s greatsword. Without opening her eyes, she thought it again: Get DOWN here! <\/em>But what came from her throat was a huge sound, full of rage, and command, and the need she had felt at that moment to dominate and destroy the huge creature, as she had its beautiful, icy cousin.<\/p>\n

\u201cJOOR- ZAH FRUL!\u201d<\/p>\n

It crackled out across the lake, reaching the sunken tower of Ilinalta\u2019s Deep and rebounding, traveling back to them and returning \u2013 several times over, before the sound finally dissipated. Qaralana opened her eyes and stared at her uncles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2026 did that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, you did,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cYou did it before, too. I recognized it because I\u2019ve heard Dar use it so many times\u2026\u201d He trailed off and looked at his husband, his face wreathed in sorrow. \u201cIt\u2019s called\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s called Dragonrend, Qara,\u201d Dardeh rasped. \u201cIt\u2019s a Shout, in the language of dragons. Dovahzul. It\u2019s a special Shout, one that was created by mankind to control the dragons, especially Alduin, the one I killed who was called the World-Eater, the Eldest Son. They can\u2019t understand it, because it contains the idea of mortality. But if you can Shout it, you can bring one to ground, and hold it there for awhile, maybe long enough to kill its body.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, niece,\u201d Roggi finished, \u201cyou<\/em> \u2013 and only you, I think? \u2013 can absorb its soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably,\u201d Dardeh said quietly. \u201cWe won\u2019t know for certain until I\u2019m near a dead dragon. But I\u2019m sure I will never Shout again. I\u2019m pretty sure that means I\u2019m back to being nothing more than a miner, Roggi.\u201d He grinned, lopsidedly. \u201cCan you still love someone if he\u2019s nobody special?\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara watched the two of them as if from a distance, in a fog. She knew what all these things meant, in theory at least. But the idea that they were talking about her \u2013 that was almost too much to comprehend. And yet, she could feel the power that she\u2019d taken from the two dragons, filling her up. She had felt the muscles in her own body produce the huge sound that had come from her and reverberated across the lake. She knew her uncles wouldn\u2019t lie to her.<\/p>\n

Three days ago I was worrying about what to plant in my garden. Now I\u2019m\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

It was when Roggi made a strange, choked sort of sound that she was able to wrestle her attention back to what was happening around her. He was holding his hands out to Dardeh, and his eyes were as moist as Dardeh\u2019s had been a few moments earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cDar. You will never, ever be \u2018just a miner.\u2019 I\u2019ve told you that before. You\u2019re the one who gave me the courage to keep going when I thought my life was over. You\u2019re the reason I kept putting one foot in front of the other all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh chuckled. \u201cNot Ulfric?\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara felt her eyebrows rise. What does Ulfric have to do with anything?<\/em><\/p>\n

Roggi snorted as though he was angry, but his eyes glimmered with love. \u201cNo, not Ulfric. You. Besides,\u201d he said, waggling his eyebrows, \u201cyou\u2019re hardly a nobody. Thane in Whiterun. Thane in Markarth. Thane in Falkreath. Thane in Windhelm. And wasn\u2019t there an offer in Winterhold too, at some point? I forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, yeah, I get it,\u201d Dardeh laughed. \u201cTell you what. I feel better, but I\u2019ve been sick for a long time and I could really use some of that special tea you make. If you still think that old dream of mine is still worth dreaming, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Dar, I sure do,\u201d Roggi said softly as though he and Dardeh were the only two people in the world, pulling Dardeh up to his feet. \u201cDahmaan hin hahnu,<\/em> my love. Now and forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qaralana blinked. Roggi\u2019s words had not even a hint of power to them, but she recognized them and what they meant. They were in the dragon tongue and they meant\u2026 Her mind cast about for meaning, and as if someone had opened a book to the appropriate page and laid it before her, the meaning came clear. Remember your dream.<\/em><\/p>\n

I wonder if anyone will ever speak to me with that amount of love in his voice.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRemember your dream,\u201d she murmured, not quite realizing that she\u2019d spoken aloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that it\u2019s that exciting a dream, Qara,\u201d Dardeh said, chuckling. \u201cTwo old men making each other tea. But I\u2019m sure you must have more questions than you know what to do with right now. I don\u2019t know whether I\u2019ll have all the answers, but I can at least give you more information than I had before I had to climb up that bloody mountain to meet the Greybeards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roggi turned to her and smiled, releasing one of Dardeh\u2019s hands but holding firmly to the other. \u201cCome on inside and I\u2019ll make us all some tea,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a lot to take in, even for me, so I can only imagine what you must be feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded. \u201cYes, I\u2019m\u2026 a little\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOverwhelmed?\u201d Dardeh said in his new, wispy voice. \u201cI don\u2019t blame you. I am, too, if I really admit the truth. It\u2019s going to be hard to get used to just relying on my sword arms again after so many years. So let\u2019s go talk about it. I have at least a few answers for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

And thus, Qara found herself some time later, seated on the floor in front of the fireplace, between her two uncles. Roggi had made them all tea, and food, and they\u2019d refreshed themselves before settling in to talk. Dardeh had, between and through mouthfuls, told her the legends of the Dragonborn, and Alduin, and Paarthurnax, and the great heroes who had worked together to create the Dragonrend Shout. Qara had nodded so many times she was half afraid her neck would be sore the next day; but it was so much information to take in that she didn\u2019t want to interrupt Dardeh with questions.<\/p>\n

Roggi did that for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, Dar,\u201d he said finally, \u201call this being the case, why were you coughing? And you keep saying that you were fighting. Who? You killed Alduin. And Miraak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh shook his head. \u201cNo, that\u2019s just it. I didn\u2019t kill Miraak. Hermaeus Mora did. I just went through Oblivion to soften him up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara laughed. \u201cWent through Oblivion. Nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dardeh frowned. \u201cNo, I\u2019m serious. I literally went to Oblivion. Apocrypha, to be exact. That\u2019s where the problem started. I\u2019ve been fighting myself, really.\u201d He turned to Roggi and reached across the space to squeeze his hand. \u201cCan you get something for me? Upstairs. In my pack. At the very bottom are some letters, tied with a leather strip. I think it\u2019s finally time to share them with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara had just begun to feel a little more settled. Yes, it was tremendously strange to think that yesterday she\u2019d just been a kid helping Dardeh off the dock, but today she could absorb a dragon\u2019s soul. But it had happened. It was a fact. She was learning about it from the only other living person who\u2019d had this experience. The fact that this was also a blood relative who she adored had been helping her to feel calmer about things.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s telling me he\u2019s been to Oblivion?<\/em><\/p>\n

Roggi returned with a thick packet of papers, and handed it to Dardeh.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the one?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh nodded. \u201cYeah.\u201d He untied the letters and flipped the top one open, smiling as he read down the page. \u201cSee, here\u2019s the thing. When I went to Solstheim, I was chasing the Cultists who almost killed you, Roggi. You remember that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could I forget?\u201d Roggi frowned; and Qara followed suit. She\u2019d never heard this story before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it wasn\u2019t all that long after I got there that I realized that even though Miraak was behind the Cultists, he wasn\u2019t the real danger. The real threat was Hermaeus Mora. Here,\u201d he said, handing the letters to Roggi. \u201cI never sent these to you, but you should see them now, I think. I think now\u2019s the time, at last.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Roggi scanned down through the letter, Dardeh turned to Qaralana. \u201cYou see, Mora wants power. And knowledge. And he was using Miraak as a tool to try to get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara\u2019s head hurt, trying to follow what he was telling her. \u201cAnd who was Miraak?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh nodded. \u201cI forget you don\u2019t know all this. He was a Dragon Priest, back in the days of the Dragon Cult. He eventually had his temple on Solstheim destroyed by the dragons and their other priests and was jailed there. For eons. And why? Because he found a Black Book that took him to Apocrypha \u2013 where he met Hermaeus Mora and became his servant in exchange for immense power. Mora taught him a Shout that he could use to bend others to his will. He tried to use it against his masters, the dragons.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped, noticing that Roggi was staring at him. Something unfathomable to Qara passed between the two men. Dardeh heaved a heavy sigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned that Shout, too,\u201d he rasped. \u201cI had to, in order to get to Miraak. But it\u2019s an evil thing, that Shout. It\u2019s the culmination of every bad thing about having the dragon blood in you. It feeds that desire for domination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDar,\u201d Roggi said quietly.<\/p>\n

Dardeh shook his head and turned to face Qaralana again. \u201cYou see, the way I was able to find Miraak was through Hermaeus Mora\u2019s Black Books, which took me to Apocrypha myself. I\u2019d met Herma Mora before, once, here in Skyrim, and told him I would never serve him \u2013 but those books kept increasing my powers as Dragonborn whether I liked it or not.\u201d He closed his eyes and frowned as if in pain, before opening them again and looking directly into her eyes. \u201cI could reduce a man to ashes with a Shout. With a couple of different Shouts, really. Nobody should have that kind of power. People died because I was trying to get to Miraak.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped and took a sip of his tea before continuing. \u201cSo I got to him. And I had him almost dead. And Hermaeus Mora intervened, killing him before I could. Then he told me that I was his new Dragonborn \u2013 his new servant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roggi interrupted them again. \u201cDar, these letters.\u201d He cleared his throat as though he was having a hard time to speak. \u201cI can feel how distressed you were. How you thought it was all your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was. I was the one who killed all those people. The Skaal would have kept their secrets if not for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve talked about that before. You had no way to know what was going to happen. Hermaeus Mora was the one causing the problems, not you. But Dar\u2026\u201d Roggi paused, gesturing with the papers. His hands shook. \u201cYou said in them that the reason you never sent them was\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh smiled. \u201cThat I thought about you every single second of every single day? That I was in love with you and thought you\u2019d never feel the same about me? Yes. We’ve talked about that before, too. Remember?\u201d His voice was small, and raspy, and so very different than it had been just a day before; and yet it was warm and full in a way that it had always been.<\/p>\n

Qara felt herself getting emotional, wishing she could sink through the floor, or disappear. I shouldn\u2019t be hearing this\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cEven then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven then. From the moment I met you. But I thought I was the one who was a problem, and I was so alone and afraid. And I\u2019ve been afraid, ever since then. Afraid that Mora was going to take me over after all.\u201d He looked back to Qara and grinned. \u201cDon\u2019t give me that look. Yes, even the Dragonborn gets afraid.\u201d The grin faded. \u201cThe more time went by \u2013 the more dragons I absorbed \u2013 the stronger I got? The harder it\u2019s been to keep him out of my mind and away from my power. He wanted it, Qara. He wanted to use me to get control over Tamriel, by virtue of my dragon blood, to get into the Imperial Library for all its most priceless and secret knowledge. It got really bad just before you were born. Then we had a few years of peace; but he\u2019s been at me again for a year or more. And then who knows what he would have done, if he\u2019d gotten hold of the Empire?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so you killed your own voice?\u201d Roggi asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. I did. You\u2019ve seen first-hand how dangerous I was, Roggi, especially with that Shout.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roggi frowned. \u201cYeah, I have. I have to admit it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe harder he tried to get me to Shout, the more I coughed, holding myself back. I had to muster up the courage to do it, Roggi; but you gave me that courage by being here with me, always. I would have let that cough kill me if I had to, so that he wouldn\u2019t get access to me. That\u2019s what I meant when I said I\u2019ve been fighting so hard. And now it\u2019s over. I knew it was over yesterday, when Qara ordered me into the house and I could feel her power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qaralana had been processing all of this, slowly, and thought she understood what he was saying \u2013 at least in general terms. But her mind suddenly found the final piece of the puzzle and snapped it into place, and she started to shake.<\/p>\n

\u201cUncle Dar,\u201d she said, her voice wobbly. \u201cDoes all of this mean that he\u2019s going to come after me, too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope not, little girl,\u201d Dardeh said gently. \u201cThink about it. You have no reason to go read any of his Black Books. Miraak\u2019s been dead since well before you were born. The only reason I met him in the first place was that I was trying to defeat Alduin, and he\u2019s<\/em> gone now, too. The crazy mage who thought he could become Dragonborn through our bloodline is gone, turned to dust while you were just a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh. Oh, I hadn\u2019t thought about that. But then – why? Why can I do this now, just as you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, Qara,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Greybeards told me that the gods put a Dragonborn into the world at times of great need. There must be a reason why your gift is revealing itself now. I just don\u2019t know what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDar,\u201d Roggi said quietly, \u201cshouldn\u2019t we tell her?\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara\u2019s gaze snapped to Roggi. \u201cTell me what? And you\u2019d better<\/em> tell me, if it\u2019s something important! I need to know!\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh grumbled. \u201cAll right. You may as well know. We think you absorbed your first dragon just before you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara\u2019s head swam more, as they took turns telling her about Sayma\u2019s encounter with the dragon, and how they hadn\u2019t been there, and how it was the only possible explanation for why the dragon had been destroyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mother has some power in her. Not much, but enough to be able to understand Dovahzul. You took the rest. That\u2019s why you could Shout at the dragon today.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head. \u201cIt still makes no sense. I didn\u2019t know the words!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I did,\u201d Dardeh said gently. \u201cThere\u2019s more than one way to learn the words of power, Qara. One of them is to receive the knowledge directly, from a dragon like Paarthurnax, or from one of the Greybeards. I learned a number of words that way.\u201d He smiled again, and reached out a hand to touch hers. \u201cWhen you touched me, to help steady me into the house and then up the stairs, I could feel your power. After you gave me that tea, I was very relaxed and my mind must have been open. And that was the Shout that was on my mind, because I was fighting Hermaeus Mora so very hard all day long. I\u2019ve never done it before \u2013 never transferred my understanding of a Shout to someone else \u2013 but I\u2019ve known how it was done for a long time now, and I think that I must have done it then, inadvertently.\u201d<\/p>\n

All three of them sat in silence. Qaralana felt stunned; and Roggi looked as though he felt the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell. That might explain some things,\u201d Roggi muttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike what?\u201d Dardeh asked.<\/p>\n

Roggi grinned. \u201cLike how I knew what you said to Edwyn Wickham that day, up on the roof of the College. There\u2019s no good reason in the world that I should have suddenly been able to understand that language after all that time of just hearing\u2026noise. I sure can\u2019t do anything with the words myself. I think that\u2019s the reason I\u2019m still alive, Dar. I think somehow, something in you gave me the power that I needed to stay strong, long enough for you to get rid of him and help me live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh chuckled. \u201cYou\u2019re the strongest man I\u2019ve ever met, Roggi. In a whole lot of different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara knew she was missing nuances of meaning in this exchange that she would never understand; but she did have to suppress a giggle when she saw her uncle Roggi blush furiously. He smiled, an almost shy smile, to her mind, and spoke again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell it wouldn\u2019t be the first time I was strong because of you, Dar. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d have made it after you went to Sovngarde if I hadn\u2019t had that little bit of hope that you\u2019d come back for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh grinned at him. \u201cSo I guess you don\u2019t think I\u2019m crazy any more?\u201d<\/p>\n

Roggi chuckled. \u201cHeh. No crazier than I am.\u201d He looked down at the packet of letters and rose from his chair. \u201cI\u2019m gonna go put these away. For safekeeping. They\u2019re pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qaralana and Dardeh rose as well, and watched him walk slowly up the stairs. She turned to her uncle and smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou two are really something, you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh nodded. \u201cHe\u2019s the love of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope I have someone like that some day. But in the meantime, Uncle Dar\u2026\u201d She stopped, not quite sure what she wanted to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m scared. I don\u2019t understand why this has happened to me, or what I\u2019m supposed to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh nodded. \u201cWhy you? It\u2019s in our bloodline \u2013 our Redguard side. I\u2019ll explain it to you sometime, but for now I think you\u2019ve got enough to chew on. I don\u2019t know why it happened right now, either, Qara. There must be something important that you need to do. But I\u2019ll help you all I can. I know so many Shouts and can help you with them if you need help. I can take you up to meet the Graybeards if you want.\u201d He reached out and gathered Qaralana into a hug.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust know that you\u2019ll never be alone. Not as long as either one of us draws breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Qara felt her eyes stinging with tears; but she wasn\u2019t going to let this very brave and strong man see her cry. She pulled back from him, smiled, and nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Uncle Dardeh. I\u2019m glad I\u2019ll have your help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, Dovahkiin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that means\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dardeh at-Dadarh of Markarth, her uncle \u2013 half-Nord, half-Redguard, descended from a long line of those with great power \u2013 looked at her and smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means Dragonborn,\u201d he said. \u201cIt used to be my title. Now it is yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, she thought as she smiled back at him, I don\u2019t know why.<\/p>\n

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Home Previous \/ Next   \u201cBeing deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.\u201d – Lao Tzu Qaralana didn\u2019t understand what was going on. They\u2019d been standing beside the dragon\u2019s bones, and an enormous sound had split the air. She\u2019d heard a word within that huge sound – \u201cDovahkiin\u201d … <\/p>\n

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