199 Chapter III: The Dawnguard

"My lord." Alor calls out from behind me as we ride closer and closer to our destination "A question if you do not mind?"

I briefly look at him and see an expression of focused curiosity "Ask."

"Can you tell me more about the general abilities of a vampire?" He had already pulled out a thickly bound book and quill "I feel that knowing about our enemies' strengths and weaknesses would be wise before we engage."

"A wise precaution." I nod "Very well then, vampires are strongest at night and are weakened by natural sunlight to differing degrees depending on their power, magical sunlight is outright deadly to them."

"Ah, so that is why you asked about our solar magic! I see." He enthusiastically scribbles as he talks.

"Indeed" I hum and resume my lesson "They have an affinity for cryomancy, necromancy, and hemomancy while having a low affinity for fire and even being vulnerable to pyromancy, their affinity for restoration of any kind is practically non-existent. They are physically stronger than non-vampires, faster than us, and have a high healing factor which depends on their blood satiety, speaking of blood satiety the hungrier they are the more feral they become. In conclusion, you should either burn them with fire, scorch them with sunlight, or strike them down with silver weapons, preferably by way of stabbing."

The sound of furious scribbling and the slow trotting of hooves is all that we hear for the following minutes as the massive nerd called Alor straight up draws multiple diagrams and plans of attack. His hand stops suddenly and he looks at me once again "Why silver weapons specifically?"

I pull out a large block of iron and start lazily transforming it into a silver spear "Silver is highly poisonous to Daedric and undead creatures, specifically against those who are under greater influence like the werewolves and vampires, add to the fact that vampires are also undead and a silver butter knife will likely serve you better than an ebony blade." I pause for a moment, furrowing my brows "I am not precisely certain as to why silver is so potent against such creatures. It could be its inherent purity and the long-term belief in said purity or it could be an Aedra, likely Stendarr, changing the substance so that mortals may shield themselves from the evils of the world."

A set of runes carves itself into the still malleable spear and I lazily drag a greater soul gem across its surface, enchanting it on the spot. I toss it to a very confused Alor "There you go, this thing should help you channel solar magic and let you stab them good in a pinch."

He lowers it into his hands with telekinesis while still gaping at me "P-pardon the stupid question my lord but d-did you just create and enchant a spear while riding a horse?"

I turn my head and smirk at the poor lad "My control over soul energy is the greatest in the world, or so I like to believe." I frown lightly "Even then it is preferable to use proper facilities but we are on a bit of a time limit and I'd rather have you properly armed."

"You have my deepest thanks of course." He bows as well as he can while mounted "But... what I truly wanted to ask is... how does one get that good?"

I chuckle "Well in my case that would be diligence and the blood of a god, I am a bit of a cheat you see." Before his shoulders can slump in defeat I add "You could very well reach such a level but it will take you a lot of money, dedication, and talent."

The pure childish smile on his face that follows my words is infectious.

Moments later Nightshade, who had been riding ahead, finally returns to us and simply states "We are here."

The entrance to the Dayspring Canyon was as incredibly thin as I remembered it to be, so thin in fact that I would either have to leave my horse or widen it if I wanted to enter.

'Better not immediately alarm our hosts' I mutter as I dismount "Tie the horses, we shall move on on foot."

As we are finished doing just that Nightshade speaks up "Should one of us not remain to guard them?"

I wave her off "Do not worry, I have it covered." I point my hand toward the horses and mutter "Arise."

A dozen shades suddenly appear around the rattled mounts (Save for Glitterhoof of course, he was too majestic to fear even death) and immediately position themselves as to best remain unseen.

I receive no further complaints as we skulk through the rockbound passage.

----

The canyon itself looks resplendent in its summer bloom, there is so much green here and in combination with the small creek flowing to the east, I would be hard pressed to even notice the imposing fortress looming above it.

I take a deep breath of the pleasant air here and start walking up the dirt path leading toward the fortress. Not a minute later a well built older Orsimer steps out from behind a wooden palisade.

"Who goes there?" The gruff orc asks.

I pull out Isran's letter and levitate it to him "Reyvin Dagoth here by invitation of Isran of the Dawnguard." As he grabs the letter I add "Kindly tell your friends to stop pointing their crossbows at me, it grows more annoying by the second."

The way that the Dawnguard members surrounding us flinch at my words makes me break out into a fit of chuckles. The Orc notices this and grunts while waving his hand in a specific pattern and soon six of his comrades step out of the treeline, their weapons lowered.

"Apologies for the cautious approach Court Mage." The Orc speaks again "One can never be too prepared when going against vampires." 

"I'd be offended if you were any less paranoid if I am being honest." I smirk "Can my followers and I pass now or do we still need to posture for a while?"

His chuckle reminds me of grinding stones as he steps out of our way and points at the fort "Welcome to Fort Dawnguard, I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Why thank you" I quip and continue walking like I own the place, my two Falmer vassals being far less relaxed but still keeping up.

As we ascend to the large gate we cross paths with a Breton man, his eyes immediately show excitement as he sees me "Ah, Thane Reyvin! I am glad you decided to humor our request, please follow me."

He does not wait for us and barges inside... 'whatever' I shrug and follow behind him.

"-and now you come here begging for my protection when you have all been discounting my warnings for years!" A tall Redguard grows, almost yells, at a balding Nord.

"And we were all wrong Isran!" The Vigilant of Stendarr retorts in despair "You were right and we were in the wrong! Does it satisfy you now that we have paid for our lack of faith? Are you happy that the Hall of the Vigilant has fallen to the abominations?" He practically hisses at the Redguard.

Ah, so that also happened then... A bunch of Daedra hunters died, how sad.

"I..." Isran is stunned for a moment before letting out a tired breath "I never wanted for this to happen."

"None of us did." The Nord also loses his fire and slumps his shoulders.

"Terribly sorry to interrupt your little quarrel there." I insert myself into the conversation while looking at Isran "I presume you are Isra-" I do not even get to finish the sentence as I predict him throwing a sunbolt at me.

I do not move or react, partly out of sheer incredulity and partly to show off, as the low adept level spell fizzles out before even touching my robes.

My eyebrow twitches violently while Alor points his new spear at the Breton's throat and Nightshade prepares a rather massive ice storm spell.

"I mus-" Isran begins to speak but I do not allow him to continue as I overcharge a solar blast spell right below his feet, completely blinding everyone in the room. All of them cover their eyes as I glare at the Redguard, whose own eyes had teared up from the immensely bright burst of light

"How is that for a greeting you asswipe?" I hiss in annoyance.

He wipes his eyes while glaring at me "I see you are no vampire."

"Well fuck you too." I flip him off "Didn't think to ask me for confirmation or something before you decided to behave like an overly excited Justiciar?"

At this, he does turn a bit sheepish and coughs into his fist while forcefully retaking his gruff expression "Apologies." He states simply and like nothing happened he starts his spiel "Am I to presume you are the Royal Court Mage?"

"You presume correctly." I drawl "Dagoth Reyvin the Flame-tongue" I bow mockingly and then point toward my still alert vassals "And my followers, Nightshade and Alor."

Isran nods "As you know, I am Isran the leader of the Dawnguard. The man next to me is Vigilant Tolan." The Vigilant gives me a very respectful bow as he is introduced "And the Breton currently under threat for his life is called Celann."

"You may lower your weapon Alor." I tell the Falmer who does so without a hint of hesitation.

Isran narrows his eyes as he looks at the two Snow Elves "You do not look like any elf I've ever seen."

"They are Falmer I rejuvenated" I interrupt harshly "Let us discuss what we are all here for and not gossip like a bunch of taverngoers."

The Redguard and I stare at each other for a long while "Very well" Isran breaks off the staredown and agrees gruffly. He then turns toward Tolan "Tell me Tolan, what is this place you've seen the vampires venturing into, Dimhollow?"

"Yes." Tolan nods "Dimhollow Crypt, Brother Adelvald was certain it hid some long lost vampire secret hidden within its depths. I have no way to confirm his doubts but if the vampires are moving about in there I shudder at what they might find."

"A moment please." I interrupt and just to make certain activate my clairvoyance. Moments later I get a somewhat positive feeling confirming my earlier knowledge "Yup, something important should be there."

The Vigilant looks at me oddly "You've... seen it?"

I tilt my head "Not really, I got a vague feeling but it fits with what you have said."

"Never hurts to get extra confirmation." Isran looks at me with approval "Then we should move as soon as possible to stop whatever they are doing."

"A good enough suggestion." I nod "Though maybe someone should remain here to ensure you have enough new recruits and whatnot." Having Isran there when Serana wakes up sounds like a recipe for disaster.

The Redguard frowns deeply at my words "You are right, I need to gather as many people as possible before the vampires start attacking the unguarded villages." The man is an obvious warrior and no matter how much he may speak about proper preparation he still seemingly hates administrative work.

"Fucking Ulfric" I hear Celann mutter to my right.

Isran ignores him completely and tries to continue speaking but Tolan cuts him off "I will go as well."

"You sure you want to risk the future of your order in Skyrim?" I ask with doubt in my voice, the man was one of the rare Vigilants of Stendarr still living in the north after their hall was attacked by the vampires.

He looks down "I must fight to avenge my fallen comrades."

"Whatever suits you." I shrug "The Vigilants are an annoyance to my people so go on ahead and die a glorious death."

His eyes narrow but he doesn't take the bait.

"You seem confident that you will be able to take them on on your own..." Isran says meaningfully "Are you certain you do not need assistance?"

"Nah" I wave him off flippantly "Better focus on training your lads up so they can survive a fight against a servant while I go and blast the bigger ones to pieces. Fighting vampires without powerful magic is something only great warriors or great numbers can do."

"And good tactics." The Redguard adds with a smidgeon of pride.

"That too." I point a finger gun at him, much to his confusion "So you stay here and train them to shoot properly while I go and see what the bats are all about."

As I turn to leave I suddenly remember something and pull out a tome "Oh and here is everything I could gather about the Volkihar with my personal notes." I toss it at him and he seems genuinely grateful... Then I unload about a hundred silver ingots on his floor "And here is something for a good old stabbing... Enjoy!"

I leave the castle with a newfound purpose... the dumbfounded expression on Isran's face keeps me cackling for hours.

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We drink to our youth

to days come and gone

for the future of Skyrim

is to give me my stone

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