Chapter XCIX: The Fateful Deed
Shor watches over the most judicious personage of It's Just Bob as they earned (and totally did not buy) their way into the Halls of Valor. They have joined the eternal feast, forevermore free of the mines.
Celebratory soup shall be distributed as is customary.
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(General POV)
The great wyrm's shout shook the earth of Sovengarde but the heroes did not scatter as he wanted them to, instead only a few of them moving back and shouting at the skies to hold back the storm of meteors.
The rest of them wasted no time and charged at the beast as one, the famed hunters of their number aiming for his vulnerable spots with unerring accuracy, incapable of doing much damage but more than able in distracting the beast and disorienting it.
Their comrades, those armed with melee weapons of whom there was a far greater number, charged forth with no hesitation in their eyes and loud battle cries on their lips, the great Shield-Thane of Shor himself leading them at the fore, followed closely by Ysgramor of Atmora and Olaf One-Eye of Whiterun.
Minthara's very soul was screaming at her to follow them but she had better control than that, and awaited an opportunity with the rest of the tongues present that were not warding off the storm above them.
Alduin's snout shook violently as an arrow hit his empty eye-socket, doing no true damage but sending him reeling with a growl of pain, the fury in his remaining eye burning brightly. He reared back and suddenly burst forward, scything through a dozen heroes in a single movement and only getting stopped by Tsun's powerful axe-swings that made him swerve to the side and simply roll over a particularly unlucky swordsman.
Within the same movement, Alduin straightened himself and made an odd if still fearsome hop of the ground, his wings beating and the word of flight already at the tip of his tongue.
Yet he would be given no opportunity to wreak havoc, as five voices joined as one and shouted ""JOOR ZAH FRUL!!!"" cutting off his path and inflicting weakness upon his body.
Alduin's wings beat uselessly and he was sent falling to the ground, but he was unsurprised by this and immediately growled "SAHROT RAH SLEN" Sending new might flowing through his massive body and easily deflecting the slash of Olaf One-Eye aimed at his throat, crushing the ancient dragon trapper under his grip and leaving only a bloody smear.
His desire to gloat would have to wait though as the great axe Wuuthrad found itself lodged in the offending hand, shearing off a claw before the dragon could retaliate and even then he was held back by the dogged pursuit of Tsun, who brought his own axe to bear and warded off the lethal counter-strike aiming for Ysgramor's head.
The dragon's other limbs were not nearly as harried however, as his tail killed entire groups with each swing and his other claws rent the heroic souls asunder with each rapid grasp.
So enraged was he that he failed to notice a comparatively small shadow hovering above him, the shout of "KREN SLEN SOS!" slamming into his still weakened scales and cutting massive bloody gashes all across his body.
The World Eater howled and looked up just in time to see his prophesied nemesis falling upon him with crimson scales covering a good part of her face, her blue eyes narrowed in draconic slits and her hammer already mid-swing.
He moved to dodge aside, only to suddenly be slammed by a spike of earth-turned-steel that was not there a moment ago, his retreat was equally blocked as more and more of said spikes gouged small wounds into his sides, the entire spell easily recognized as coming from the winged figure above, one almost as hated as the Dovahkiin.
He could only raise both hands in defense, growling hatefully as his bones cracked under the weight of the enchanted hammer and began to mend themselves, and suffering a new slew of attacks to his sides.
The winged elf never stopped with his spells however, and Alduin knew that he would have to deal with him if he wanted to focus on his youngest sibling. His mind raced as he engaged in a rapid exchange with Minthara, their rapid exchange of shouts and strikes forcing the heroic band back, and when a blast of wind struck him in the snout he suddenly remembered that the elf had been unable to resist his manipulation of time.
Grinning hungrily, Alduin roared a simple "FUS RO DAH!" At his sibling, forcing her to turn ethereal for a moment to resist the thunderous force and immediately using the opportunity to chain into a follow-up shout "BO VEN LOK TIID!" His entire form blurring in an instant and launching him upward as the Dragonborn could do naught but watch while she awaited her shout's effects end.
But to his surprise, the elf was still moving at the exactly same speed, teleporting out of the way the moment the first letter of the whirlwind sprint came to Alduin's mind. Growling with annoyance, Alduin commanded "HAHDRIM VONUN!" And the elf suddenly turned a lot more cautious, moving around constantly and never standing in one place.
For all his accomplishment in countering the elf's capabilities, Alduin was not left unpunished for his words. Storms of fire ice and lightning came from every direction, the very air transforming into volatile Magicka which was then immediately hurled into the World Eater's hide only to be followed by another strike a moment later.
And as if that was not enough, Reyvin gleefully used Sovengarde's malleable nature to turn the very air Alduin was trying to use to shout into a sea of razorblades, very fragile by their own nature but more than enough to cause immeasurable pain to his opponent each time he took a breath.
Another series of Dragonrend shouts covered the skies, and Alduin was forced to move away, passing hundreds of meters in a split second and just barely managing to avoid getting clipped by Minthara's own shout.
His entire maw was now bleeding though, as he was made to use shout after shout to keep dodging the dragon-rending curse that would JUST. NOT. STOP. COMING. Such was his rage in that moment that he forsook his pride and used the immense reserves of Magicka piled within this divine form to impose his will upon the world.
All the blood which flowed from him stopped its fall and floated in the air, all of it elongating and turning to large cursed spears with only a nudge from his grand will, and aiming for the army of heroes below.
He did not bother aiming for the elf however, for all his power he knew he was not skilled enough to punch through his wards if he were defending himself alone, but if he were to target the entire defenseless army with cursed godsblood...
Just as he expected, the elf's eyes widened as he beheld the future of the army, and he immediately teleported to a hover just above ground, a massive ward covering all of them as he slammed his staff into the dirt.
And then all of the spikes aimed directly at him.
It was the difference of a millisecond that decided the fate of Alduin's gambit, as a metal figure formed behind the elf, taller than most mortals, and started piling ward upon ward upon ward in front of him.
But just as the spears were about to reach the ward, they all swerved to the side, all of them aiming to the Dovahkiin who was also trying to help her ally as best as she could. Her eyes, and those of the elf, widened briefly but not swiftly enough for them to react.
Much to Alduin's utter fury, others yet occupied the battlefield, and in an act of self-sacrifice bereft of any hesitation, Tsun shoved Minthara out of the way and was nearly turned to a smear of blood as almost every part of his form was struck with bloodspears.
As the World Eater allowed himself a short gloating huff at the death of the annoying guardian, Reyvin wasted no time on worry like Minthara did, and his eyes suddenly lit up with a familiar glow of greenish blue cyan of the Eye of Magnus...
And then Sovengarde began to unravel.
A storm of purple flames began dancing in the skies, so great in numbers that the entire horizon had been overtaken by the swirl of flaming bolts, the very sky they danced in becoming part of the apocalyptic spell, so much so that in that moment Sovengarde was almost turned into yet another star in the skies.
Reyvin grunted as his gauntlets started emitting a hissing noise and smoke began leaving them wherever it could, his rings so burdened by the Eye that he almost overdrew even with their specific enchantment hard at work.
And just as Sovengarde was about to well and truly pop under Magnus' gaze, Reyvin released the spell.
Alduin's senses screamed at him that death was coming, and all he could do in that moment was roar out as many words as he could before the sea of flames struck him "ULSE QAH VIIR!" Followed swiftly by "STRUNMAH!"
A mere second had passed since the spell began forming, and he had no further time to prepare himself as the firestorm finally came upon him. The purple flames, cursed to Oblivion and back and charged with the aura of Mehrunes Dagon himself bit at Alduin's enhanced scales and burned harshly through his unhealing wounds, all he could do was keep curling closer and closer around himself in hopes of surviving as pain overwhelmed all of his senses.
It was that same pain which made him forget that he was facing an army, and a moment later he was slammed with another quintet of rend-curses, allowing the flames to cut through his scales and begin frying him alive.
His mind blanked, and the divine power he so proudly leashed to his will escaped its bounds, allowing even more fire to reach through his defenses and unleashing pure destruction upon the land.
A hundred heroes practically disappeared as the wave of blackness struck their already reduced army, only the sudden appearance of a smoky-grey aura covering them preventing the rest of them from meeting such a fate.
Reyvin's crouched form panted as he forced more and more of his recently-enhanced divine aura forward, countering the wild release of what was effectively a wave conceptual 'end' energy as his mind could best describe it in its current rattled state. The spell had taken a lot out of him and he was still reeling from channeling so much Magicka through him that he went straight through the delicious high and into the hangover.
A wild berserk roar drew his eyes up and what he saw made him both grin and sigh at the same time, as the utterly roasted form of Alduin barreled towards the remnants of the army with reckless abandon, not even a new wave of four dragon-rends from those who still had the faculties to shout slowing him down as he descended and began devouring the still defiant souls.
Reyvin sent a quick glance to Minthara and she understood immediately, jumping into the fray and making sure that no further soul reached Alduin's maw with wild strikes of her hammer, even as what few he had already consumed immediately went to healing his wounds and pushing out the course still lingering on his now scale-less form.
In a roar of mindless rage, Alduin's eye snapped to Reyvin and the dragon immediately leaped at the one his instincts told him was guilty of wounding him.
Reyvin tried getting up with the help of Akulakhan but the dragon was far swifter than previously and the automaton was nearly rent asunder as it was batted away and a now clawless hand (courtesy of the Dragonborn punishing him for escaping) slammed into Reyvin, sending him flying away and breaking numerous bones and most notably his neck as his armor did not so much as cushion the divine gut-punch.
There was a tiny twist in the air and all saw Reyvin's body break in two and fall upon the ground like so much wet rag.
Alduin let out a triumphant roar as his faculties began returning to him, his pain all but gone under the sheer glee he felt at the sight of his downed foe, the same creature who had defied him so many times over. Feasting on soul which now weakly floated in the air shall be a delight he had not felt since his dominion of the mortal world!
So gleeful was he about the confirmed death of his enemy that he outright ignored an arrow lodging into his empty eye socket. 'They'd get their turn' He thought happily as his maw went wide open and he stepped forward to devour the elf's soul.
Minthara, who had appeared near the now corpse a mere instant later stared at the fallen remains and blinked... She could feel the soul hanging about and moving slowly away as it was dragged toward some form of afterlife.
She blinked again, and then everything went red.
"JOOR KRIIN ZAH FRUL!"
(Reyvin's POV)
'Just as planned' I grin and mentally apologize to Minthara as my soul form bursts away from my not-corpse. My body on the ground was perfectly fine, as the effects of my robes turned me incorporeal and allowed me to teleport away in an instant while time slowed so quickly even Alduin did not have time to react to what I did next.
All the lifeforce held within the Mortal's Razor, some of it even belonging to Alduin himself, I directed into one singular spell. An illusion so powerful it would make Alduin believe he devoured my soul when he ate it, and all the others truly believe I was well and truly gone.
The manipulation would no doubt earn me a rather earned kick in the dick but the decisive moment was approaching and she needed all the hate she could get to push into that shout. A shout which left a perfect opening for yours truly to do his work.
My soul form, which had grown quite engorged ever since I got a sip of some of that Lorkhan juice from Shor's avatar in the hall, flew rapidly into the skies, Auri-El's bow brimming with power in my hand as my shroud perfectly concealed my aura and what I was about to do.
On the ground I saw Mitnhara absolutely go wild with how she was smacking Alduin around, who was so weakened by the shout he could barely retaliate as he was quite literally being thrown around with each strike sounding louder than a thundercrack.
I could already see his wings start beating, his instincts preparing for an escape before his mind could catch up, and that just wouldn't bloody do.
The situation called for some thorough fuckery and so I decided to do something I avoided like the plague, I began to pray. "Dagon" I intoned "Destroy my enemies!" And Auri-El's bow was covered in a destructive aura.
It would seem the Aedra and Daedra were all watching, as they should. Good.
"Akatosh" I continued "Punish your traitorous child!" Followed by another crackle of golden power "Mephala, hide me from my target!" My shroud's aura enshrouded the bow "Kyne, may your winds guide my strike true!" The winds around me began picking up.
And then came the most important I would beseech "O Magnus!" I intoned even louder "Grant me the tools to reach my goal! Grant me magic immeasurable!"
The architect of the world responded immediately, and his staff which I brought out began to transform. The bottom gained a groove and ethereal fletching, while the four spikes atop the staff began twisting around each other, all of them entwining so perfectly their form now represented a spiked arrowhead.
I wanted to end it all with this strike but before Magnus' gaze finally left me, he warned me it would not be enough, I could not kill him with this so all I could do was ensure he could never again escape us.
As I prepared my strike, a stray thought wormed itself into my mind and I smirked "Dagoth" I whispered now as I prepared to loose my arrow "Defy the false divine." Power burst from within me far greater than even when I blocked Alduin's own might, all of it flowing into Magnus's staff that was now an arrow.
And then I loosed.
Time seemed to slow down as the arrow sailed through the turbulent skies, and yet it was neither slowed nor was it thrown off target. I saw Minthara slam Alduin's remaining horn off his head, even as he failed again and again to regenerate, and I saw her hit his jaw but a moment later, the movement making him rear back just perfectly for my strike to meet its target.
"You forgot to refresh your seer-block bitch." I muttered with a grin and watched.
I watched as the arrow slammed into his back, I watched as his wings were sent flying away from his body and his tail was rent from his back. I watched as the ensuing explosion sent him reeling forward into yet another slam from Minthara's hammer which completely removed the right side of his jaw even as he tried dodging, screaming in pain as he was.
So potent was the magic charged within the now disintegrated staff, that should Alduin survive, he would never have wings nor a tail again.
'Not that I would ever permit something like that' I thought and reappeared next to my body, slipping into it as if putting on a pair of socks and standing up. My illusion was gone and a couple of the heroic huntsmen looked at me with widened eyes and then at the destruction below Alduin's body.
I paid them no attention however, as in a wild flail Alduin had just managed to push Minthara away and his jaws were just about to grasp the form of Felldir, the only man still standing from the trio who banished him all those eras ago.
My hand was already grasping the Razor and mid swing when I cracked the increasingly malleable space of Sovengarde, and appeared below him, ramming the whole thing into his gaping jaws and outright exploding his entire snout.
The ensuing roar of pain was almost saddening to hear.
Minthara ignored the suddenness my presence for the moment, immediately taking the opportunity and leaping up, her hammer held in both hands, before slamming it down atop Alduin's head and pulping the fucker's brains on the spot.
I was rather miffed then as his claws began swinging around wildly, ripping Felldir apart and almost doing the same as Minthara had it not been for Ysgramor leaping in front of her and losing his left arm for the trouble.
"Well then" I mutter as I deflect a pathetically weak backswing of his left hand with Blasphemy "If the brain doesn't work then the heart will."
"Yes" I hear Minthara hiss next to me, still refusing to meet my eyes "Let us dig the black thing out!" And she leapt forward again, the spike of her hammer digging into the still flailing god's chest as she quite literally began digging through him with wide and powerful swings.
My other staff, and my only staff now, extended in my hand and I began casting spell after spell. My Magicka was well and truly burnt out by now but the dregs could still affect the Sovengarde air enough to penetrate Alduin's weakened form, and especially his innards.
Alduin's pained roars grow quieter with each moment, and in a last ditch attempt to save himself he tries to roll away and slam both his hands into his sides at the same time, inevitably pulping whoever was quite literally digging through him.
I allowed no such nonsense, as a syringe of Magicka potion slammed into my neck without a care about the ensuing pain and I felt the power begin bubbling in my blood anew.
Spikes rose from the ground, transforming from earth to iron to steel and then to orichalcum as I pushed my mind further than ever, some of them blocked Alduin's side, some blocked his hands, and some blocked the opening in his chest just in bloody case.
I effectively had him crucified by the time Minthara roared a roar of her own and quite literally pulled the fucker's heart out, slamming it into the ground and delivering another swing into his neck just for good measure.
The battlefield turned dead silent then, and even before the remaining Nord heroes could break into their loud cheering, the blood of Alduin's heart began flowing upwards, and then slammed into Minthara's chest.
Or at least the amulet hanging off it.
A downright unimaginable amount of power flowed into the Amulet of Kings and by the time the storm of blood subsided, Minthara had slumped against Alduin's dead head and a new gem could be seen glinting in the ancient symbol of Akatosh's favor.
All the Nords were kneeling now, even those who had their brains hanging from their heads.
And then her eyes met mine and the air around me went cold.
Before I could so much as blink I was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug, quite literally as I could hear my bones creaking "Mercy!" I croaked as Minthara decided to 'hug' me even closer and promptly knee me in the dick.
All I got in response to my pained groan was a cruel and emotionless glare accompanied by a thin smile which held no warmth. Only the hidden hunger in the depths of those blue eyes made me think I was not about to die, though I would no doubt come close.
It would seem I was indeed in terrible danger.
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SAHROT RAH SLEN = Might God Flesh
KREN SLEN SOS = Break Flesh Blood
BO VEN LOK TIID = Fly Wind Sky Time
HAHDRIM VONUN = Mind Unseen
ULSE QAH VIIR = Forever (or Eternal in this context) Hide/Armor Undying
STRUNMAH = Mountain
JOOR KRIIN ZAH FRUL = Mortal Slay Finite Temporary
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