4E 202, High Hrothgar
Gerron Ironbreaker
When Gerron had planned out the Peace Summit, this was the very last thing he had in mind.
He had expected some trouble to come their way, sure. Perhaps a duel would have broken out between Ulfric and Tullius. He'd even accounted for the chance that some assassin might make an attempt on the Emperor.
But Alduin himself, crashing High Hrothgar with another Kruziik at his side?
That blew their expectations way out of the water.
And now, here he was, boots grinding into ice as gale-force winds tore around the courtyard, conjured by none other than Odahviing. Gerron's mind rattled between awe and calculation. The sheer destructive potential of that shout, of those cyclones… the pressure systems, the spirals, the density of air itself bending under draconic command.
His system was going crazy as it analyzed Odahviing. The incredible thing was that he knew he could replicate it.
'A few rune-etched turbines, with a soul gem core and dwemer steel…' The thought came unbidden. 'It wouldn't even be that hard.'
He shook it off with a laugh. 'That comes later. First, don't die.'
When the summit was over and they have plans on beating back Alduin and Harkon, he's going to have to make some time to tinker.
He surged through the storm, hammer raised, and slammed it square into the crimson dragon's snout. Bone-cracking force met scale and Odahviing reeled, roaring.
Savos Aren wasted no time in utilizing the dragon's lapse of concentration to begin dispelling the cyclones. His hands carved intricate sigils mid-air as six Storm Atronachs appeared around him. Each one whipped their lightning-like arms in counter-rotation to bleed the whirlwinds apart.
"It takes six of my atronachs to cancel a single shout," Savos muttered grimly, sparks crawling across his fingertips. "These dragons are no joke."
Gerron barked a laugh as his boots hit snow again. "Told ya! Kruziik aren't your garden-variety wyrms!"
A thunderous crack sounded as a radiant greatsword of pure light slammed Odahviing's back, forcing him down. Isran's eyes blazed gold with Stendarr's Light, power radiating through him.
"Less talking, more killing!" the Dawnguard leader growled, golden warhammer materializing in his grip.
"Music to my ears," Gerron chuckled, charging alongside him. Savos's bolts arced overhead, lighting up the storm like midday sun.
Odahviing bared his fangs, wings thrashing as he bellowed "Kul krif joor, you mortals are worthy! Witness the power of Odahviing! SU GRAH DUN!"
The shout slammed through the air. Gerron recognized the words after spending some time with Kiera. That was the Elemental Fury shout.
Gerron barely had time to curse before the dragon's movements blurred into lightning-quick swipes. The tail whipped around faster than a ballista bolt.
It was only instinct that allowed him to react. Gerron dismissed the hammer into storage mid-swing, both arms shooting out to catch the tail.
The impact shuddered through his bones. His boots carved trenches into the snow. The force could have flung a mammoth, but Gerron only grinned through gritted teeth.
"Hup—" He twisted, muscles straining. "—HUP!"
With a guttural roar, he lifted Odahviing clear off balance and slammed him into the ground. The shock rippled like an earthquake.
"Savos, heads up!"
Gerron heaved the dragon skyward, wings flailing. He knew for a fact that Odahviing still couldn't fly from Kiera's Dragonrend.
The flailing dragon made an easy target for the Archmage, who unleashed a gargantuan beam of piercing lightning that hit the dragon and burned a hole clean through Odahviing's wing. Gerron could feel goosebumps forming on his skin from the level of electricity in the air.
Isran was on him instantly. Dozens of golden swords rained down from the skies like divine judgment, pinning Odahviing to the stone. He shrieked, scales blackened and bleeding, thrashing in fury.
Gerron was grinning like a madman when the dragon landed, hammer recalled in a flash. He brought it up in an arcing swing that cracked Odahviing's chin upward with a clang that echoed across the mountainside.
But the dragon's speed hadn't gone. A talon lashed out, too quick for him to twist out of the way. Though he managed to angle his body enough that the claws only scored shoulder to hip, leaving a jagged scratch mark on his ebony armor.
"Damn," he hissed, stumbling back. He looked down at the gouge. His armor, his masterpiece, scarred by one swipe. And instead of despair, a twisted pride flickered in his chest. "Guess I'll need to make it tougher."
His grin widened.
The hammer vanished again, this time he drew Spellshield and Spellbreaker Sword. Both made of solid dragonbone and enchanted, the runes he etched still fully charged. A dark blue aura pulsed at the edges of the Spellbreaker Sword, ready to carve through magicka.
Isran's warhammer of light smashed into Odahviing's head. Gerron followed in with a vicious slash across the stomach, the enchantment flaring as they unraveled the dragon's natural magical protection. Blood sprayed that steamed across the snow.
Odahviing spun violently, wings whipping winds into a lethal spiral. Gerron and Isran were hurled back.
"FUS—"
He could feel the pull in the atmosphere as Odahviing snarled.
Gerron pulled Isran behind him and raised his shield. The Spellshield flared, expanding into a molten-orange ward that grew into four times its size.
"—RO DAH!"
The wave of force, that decimated everything it passed through, impacted the ward, and Gerron could the bones of his forearms rattle. But the ward held. The force was funneled inward, absorbed, then reversed.
The shockwave was reflected, snapped back, and slammed into Odahviing's chest and staggering him.
"Now!" Gerron roared.
The six Storm Atronachs converged, lightning spearing into the crimson beast. Savos raised his hands high, pulling the moisture of snow and fog into jagged ice that crept up Odahviing's legs and up into his lower body, freezing him to the mountainside.
The combined shockwave and the frozen lower body made the dragon tilt back, dangerously close to the edge of the mountain.
The dragon roared in fury, pinned and crackling, wings spasming.
"Push!" Isran bellowed.
Gerron slammed his shoulder to the frozen dragon, muscles screaming. Isran mirrored him, radiant gauntlets of golden light forming in his arms as they shoved together with every ounce of strength. The ice cracked, the cliff edge loomed.
Odahviing thrashed, eyes blazing with humiliation. "To be defeated like this… by mortals… humiliating!"
"Get used to it!" Gerron spat.
One last shove, and the ground gave way.
The crimson Kruziik let out a deafening roar as his bulk toppled, claws scrabbling at stone before gravity claimed him. He tumbled down the sheer mountainside, vanishing into mist and cloud below, his scream echoing across the Throat of the World.
The courtyard shook with the aftershock. Gerron straightened, breathing hard, eyes locked on the cliff's edge.
"One down," he muttered, breathing hard. "Too many left to go."
…
4E 202, High Hrothgar
Kiera Fendalyn
"FO KRAH DIIN!"
Frost roared from her lungs, a breath of frozen winter that streaked across the courtyard. It struck Alduin squarely in the chest, ice racing across his black scales. For a precious heartbeat his movements faltered, just enough for Vermithor to lunge and rend deep furrows along the World-Eater's back with his claws.
Alduin hissed, steam spewing from his nostrils. His head snapped around, purple light glowing in his jaws. "KRII LUN AUS!"
His Voice heralded doom. Vermithor shrieked in agony, his body shuddering mid-flight as the Marked for Death shout devoured his very essence. His wingbeats faltered, strength bleeding from him as he plummeted hard into the snow.
Kiera's heart lurched as she felt his pain through their bond, though she had no time to hesitate.
"WULD NAH KEST!"
The world blurred into streaks of white and black as the whirlwind carried her forward. Dawnbreaker gleamed like a star in her grip as she pointed it forward. She became a spear of light, closing the distance in less than a blink.
Thick though Alduin's scales were, they could not withstand the wrath of a Daedric Artifact, not when driven by the speed of the Thu'um. Dawnbreaker plunged between his ribs, golden fire erupting from the wound.
Alduin bellowed, storm clouds forming in the sky once more, his body thrashing in fury.
Kiera wrenched the blade free, her left hand channeled Accelerate.
The magic thrummed through her legs and she leapt back, narrowly dodging as the dragon's massive neck that whipped past, fangs snapping where she'd just been.
Then Alduin inhaled, and the mountain trembled.
"FUS RO DAH!"
The shout was nothing like before. This wasn't force, but pure annihilation.
The courtyard disintegrated in its path. Stone turned to powder, rocks to cinders, snow to steam. The air vibrated with destruction as the blast rolled forward as the very heavens shook.
Kiera froze, breath catching. There was no outrunning it.
Then a shadow swept over her.
"Dovahkiin!"
Paarthurnax crashed down in front of her, wings spread. The wave slammed into him with the might of oblivion. Kiera screamed as the force hurled them both back like leaves in a gale, her body skidding across snow and ice until her lungs emptied in a choked gasp.
She blinked blearily, and froze in horror.
Paarthurnax's right wing was gone, the one he had used to shield her. Not torn. Not broken. Gone. Reduced to drifting black ash that scattered into the blizzard winds.
"Paarthurnax!" Her voice broke. She struggled to rise. "Dammit!"
The ancient dragon groaned, his body trembling as he forced himself to shield her still, even crippled.
Above, Alduin rose higher into the storm. The Dragonrend dissipated as his wings stretched wide, blanketing the sky as each beat shook the heavens. His voice thundered across the Throat of the World as blood dripped from his wounds.
"Your dov fall, while I rise. Hi los sahlo Dovahkiin. Your voice is too weak to bind me."
Kiera staggered upright, chest heaving. Her entire body ached, the snow stinging her lashes. Vermithor lay wounded, writhing in the distance. Paarthurnax could barely move.
And still, she forced herself to stand. Dawnbreaker remained tight in her grip, golden fire once more burning bright.
"Tough words, World-Eater," she spat, forcing steel into her voice. "Tell me, when was the last time someone scarred you like this?"
Alduin's eyes narrowed.
"And besides…" A grin formed on her face. "…I'm far from alone."
A blur dropped from the sky as a warhammer crashed onto Alduin's skull with an explosion of blue sparks.
A loud, sickening crack echoed down the mountain as the World-Eater reeled.
"Come get some, you ugly son of a bitch!" Gerron Ironbreaker roared.
Alduin plummeted like a stone, slammed down toward the courtyard, right to where Serana was waiting.
Dozens of spectral bats burst into being, each one releasing a high pitched shriek. With one sharp gesture, Serana unleashed them. They streaked toward Alduin, each detonating on impact in concussive bursts of flame. The sky filled with smoke and blood-red sparks as the World-Eater crashed into the ruin of the courtyard, buried in a haze of fire.
"Hey, you used the spell I gave you!" Gerron said cheerfully he landed beside Kiera, eyes alight.
"Exploding Familiars. It's a good spell." Serana smirked, though she tilted her head right after. "How did you even get on top of him? He was flying."
"I jumped." Gerron replied simply, as if it were obvious.
Kiera laughed as she rose back up. Across the battlefield, the dragons Alduin had brought with him smoldered in defeat, their forms unraveling into ash and soul-fire in their deaths.
The power of five dragons rushed into her simultaneously, burning her veins and filling her lungs until her very skin glowed with the Dragonborn's gift.
"Dragon aspect…" Paarthurnax breathed from behind her.
"What about the others?" Kiera asked, not taking her eyes off from the smoke.
"Savos and Isran went to help the others. Ulfric, Balgruuf, and the Emperor are preparing to go down to Ivarstead to help in the defence against Rahgot. I sent Bronze with them to keep an eye on things." Gerron explained, rolling his shoulders. "Also, just a heads up, Odahviing's probably still alive. We just tossed him down the mountain."
"Then we should make this quick." Kiera nodded.
"Carcette and Tolan are fine. The three of us killed Sahloknir." Serana chimed in. "They went back inside the temple to take care of the wounded."
The mountain shook as the World-Eater resurfaced, roaring in fury. His scales were charred and many of the spikes across his back had broken. Rage and heat radiated from him like a furnace, like a god refusing to bow.
The three of them stood together, side by side. Eyes locked on the figure of nightmare before them.
Only this time, not one of them had an ounce of fear.
Gerron cracked his neck, hefting his hammer. "Ready to take this bastard down?"
Frost started billowing out of Serana's palm, her gaze steady.
Kiera leveled Dawnbreaker, its golden flame igniting once more. She smiled, defiant. "Let's."
…
AN: The mortals do a counter attack! This chapter was fun to write. Gerron beating down the dragons with his fists will never get old.
Hope you guys enjoyed it, fight scenes are hard to write especially since the enemy isn't humanoid. You gotta imagine what beasts with different limbs would do when pushed.
Vermithor and Paarthurnax are down, but the fight ain't over yet. Alduin vs the heroes of the current generation coming up next chapter!
As always, more chapters are available on my Pat_reon. Chapter 70 should be available by the time this chapter was posted. Just look up my name and you'll find me.
Cheers guys and see you next time!