It had been at least ten years since his Grandmaster had called Arngeir to the summit. There were times when the other Greybeards forgot that they had a leader other than Arngeir, one far more ancient and powerful. Each time any of them climbed to the peak, they would return all the wiser for it, thanks to the Old One's meditations. It was a high honor to be called to the Throat of the World.

In his old age, it took Arngeir nearly a full day to make the climb and shout his way to the summit. Eight hours and fifty-seven "Lok vah koor"s later, he stumbled towards the Wall, huffing for breath. He bowed deeply.

"Alok, fahdon. Rise, my friend," Paarthurnax rumbled. "I have not called you here today for formality, but for a zoor."

"Zoor?" Arngeir asked, puzzled. There were few Words that he still did not know.

Paarthurnax ruffled his tattered wings and inclined his head. "Zoor." He repeated, fixing his cloudy eyes on the grey-clad man. "A story."

"Krosis..." The dragon looked away, lost in some other time. "Perhaps it is more of a Vothlo, a confession that I have yet to make to this age of man. Make yourself comfortable, mal gein (little one). We may be here well into the moon's watch over her dark skies."

And as his master began the story, Arngeir was pulled into a strange, old world, as if he was watching it all from a bubble of inconsistency in time.

The legends say that Kynareth, the wind goddess, was the spark that lit the fires of rebellion of Alduin's people, that she was the one who sent Paarthurnax from his path of dominion to a more just and honorable way. The legends tell of Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, Hakon One-Eye, and Felldir the Old, and how they banished Alduin from his time to the next era. The legends are songs of glory sung in the name of the Last Dragonborn, and how she slew the World Eater in his asylum in Sovngarde, ending his reign of terror for the rest of the ages.

But the legends have lost shards of the whole truth.

Her name was Riivahlok, and as her brothers Alduin and Paarthurnax were World-Eater and tyrant lieutenant, she was Essence Guardian, keeper of balance, first daughter of Akatosh. Alduin's duty was to destroy the world, and her's was to ensure the next one's longevity.

She kept the watch on that day, perched at her post on the peak of the Throat of the World. The setting sun cast long shadows on the ground below, and made it harder to distinguish the washed out landscape from the burning dragonfires in the man-cities below. A whirl of air and bronze wings blew past her as another dragon alighted on the rocks.

"Drem yol lok, briinah. (Greetings, sister.)" Paarthurnax greeted her. Riivahlok inclined her silver-blue head slightly to acknowledge him.

"Kolos Alduin? (Where is Alduin?)" She sighed.

Paarthurnax huffed a small flame. "Wo mindok," he grumbled, aloof as ever. "Who knows, likely spreading havoc and murder below."

Riivahlok slid her golden eyes to him. "You speak to me in the Common Tongue, zeymah?" She said in surprise.

Paarthurnax stared back in defiance. "We are the dovah thur, the dragon overlords of jul, (Dragon gods; man) we should command them in their own tongue. Why not practice it amongst ourselves?"

Riivahlok snorted. "Dreh ol hi lig. (Do as you please)." She coiled her tail around herself, the webbed barb swirling up torrents of snow. "Nii los spein. Rok kent gevild mu'ulaav. (It grows late. He needs to hold his council.)" The she-dragon spread her pearlescent wings and dipped down, launching herself into the air without another word to her younger brother. She felt a pang of guilt for being stout with him, knowing that he looked up to her and Alduin, but today she had little patience for his lack of formality.

In fact, Riivahlok had had it with both of her brothers' conduct. Despite the gods and Daedric Princes' discontent at the way Alduin was attempting to turn over the era, neither of them made any change to the cruelty of the self-proclaimed Dragon Cult established in Skyrim for the dominion over mankind. The three of them, she and her brothers, had one duty, but where liberties were optional, Alduin had taken them all, despite his sister's warnings against giving power to the "dragon priests". On top of it all, she enjoyed a good dose of power and dominion as well as any other dragon, but she had no love for torture and cruelty.

Alduin was quickly identified as he soared over a small farm, flame spouting from his ebony jaws to bathe the brittle, dry grasses below in red and orange flames. Flying wide circles around the black dragon was a smaller, red one. As Riivahlok approached, she saw the second dragon pause in flight and hover as Alduin dipped down and scooped a female farmhand from the ground in his teeth, bearing her into the sky. Riivahlok could hear her screams of pain and terror, increasingly frantic until she was flung back down to the earth with a dull thud. She growled under her breath and pulled into a dive, aiming towards Alduin. He was staring intently at the flames below him, unaware of her approach until she skimmed his side, snapping at his horns harshly. He pulled away with a road and growled a challenge, then recognized her.

"Riivahlok," he greeted, "Lost hi meyz wah aav ko dii kred? (Have you come to join in our sport?)" Riivahlok bared her teeth at her larger, older brother. "Hi lost nid hasok, zeymah. (You have no discipline.)"

Alduin roared angrily, lunging forward at her and swiping her face with his tail-blade, leaving a scarlet gash. "Dreh ni lahk zey, prahkem, (do not chastise me, snake)" he hissed, flying above her so that Riivahlok was in his shadow. She did not so much as cry out in pain, but spoke evenly.

"We hold council in Sovngarde this night. Not even the World-Eater can deny a request for audience from the gods." The black dragon made to wound her again, but this time she dodged to the side and caught his tail with her own. Alduin growled at her. "Fahvos dreh hi tinvaak niist vun? Lost hi naram ful fond do jul tol hi hind wah tinvaak med gein? (Why do you speak their tongue? Have you grown so fond of man that you wish to speak like one?)"

She remembered what Paarthurnax had said about sharing the humans' language to better understand them, and realized that she subconsciously agreed with her brother's thinking. She intoned another sentence in their language: "If you claim to have dominion over both man and beast, then I suggest that you learn to speak their tongues as well as our own. Dovahzul is the high tongue, no doubt, but will Man see you as anything beyond a growling beast? Is fear not better when laced with respect?"

Either unwilling to admit to her logic or not understanding the human language, Alduin growled again and hissed a short jet of flame at Riivahlok. "Zu'u faas ni rah. Zu'u los Al-Du-In, dovah rah do oblaan tiid! (I do not fear the gods' displeasure. I am Alduin, the dragon-god of destruction!)" He said stubbornly, then turned wing towards the Throat of the World.

The red dragon now dared approach her. "Drem yol lok, Odahviing," she sighed. He hovered closer, licking the bleeding gash along her cheek. "Dii Iilah, (my moon)" He murmured, "Fahvos dreh hi tholah Alduin? (Why do you not fight back?)" Riivahlok didn't answer, but looked towards the rising twin moons.

"Zu'u fen ni nuviis mu'ulaav dahvulon. Vos mii daal wah leret. (I will not attend council tonight. Let us return to the Eyrie.)" She decided.

"Ton krosis," Arngeir interrupted, pulling them both out of the vision, "a thousand pardons, but haven't you told us that Odahviing was Alduin's right-hand dragon? Why would he fear approaching his sister?"

Paarthurnax dipped his head. "I will get to that, mal gein."

Arngeir desperately wanted to also ask why no one had heard of the she-dragon of Akatosh, but decided against it for fear of testing Paarthurnax's patience. So he settled for another question about Odahviing. "Do dragons...have lovers?"

The rumble of laughter from Paarthurnax was so deep and prolonged that Arngeir thought he would surely die for lack of breath. But finally, Paarthurnax gave an answer. "Geh, yes," he hurred, "dovah mate for life. It is rare that every male finds a mate, but we are not like lesser beasts who mate with any female who would cross their paths." Arngeir opened his mouth to say more, but thought better of it, and sat in flushed, embarrassed silence as Paarthurnax continued.

The Eyrie was the dragons' nest. By the time the current age of man rolled around, the soft stone of the mountain had given in to the elements and crumbled to dust, leaving no visible trace. But in its prime, the mountain was dotted with caves, large and deep, and in every cave by night slept a dragon. The three highborn of Akatosh lived near the peak, with the lower, mortal-born dragons lived on lower levels.

Odahviing was not liked by Alduin, but had been close hatchling friends with Paarthurnax, who was the same young age as him (by dragon terms,) and especially favored by Riivahlok. Alduin did not approve of his sister choosing a mate of low status as the Snow Hunter, so he offered the red dragon a chance: to serve as his aar, his squire, to either prove himself worthy or die a worthless death. Like all dragons, Riivahlok was not particularly fond of emotional connections, but she was warmed by Odahviing's simplicity and honesty, and impressed by his prowess in battle. She herself could easily take on any dovah, save her elder brother, but Odahviing ran up a close second to her skill. She trusted him more than anyone else, and he loved her with more devotion than any other dovah could ask for.

Riivahlok crouched by the open air of their den, the night air caressing her wounded cheek. It still stung furiously, but dragons healed faster than most.

"Hi dreh ni hind praan? (Are you not tired?)" Odahviing asked, coiled further back in the cave. He had lifted his head when he saw that she was still not beside him.

"Krosis," Riivahlok sighed, turning away from the night.

"Fos nuthaak hi? (What bothers you?)"

"Nid do naan havoth…(Nothing important)"

The silver dragon touched her nose to her mate's, and he licked her wounded cheek tenderly. She lay down beside him, flank-to-flank, and he flung his wing over her, pulling them closer together. They rested their long, serpentine necks on the stone cave floor, and soon succumbed to the calm of sleep.

"Riivahlok." A soft, feminine voice called out to her. She blinked her eyes open in shock and found herself in a grassy field on the moors, a tall, slender woman clad in lavender robes standing before her.

"My lady Kynareth," she quickly got to her feet and dipped her head respectfully.

"You did not accompany Alduin and Paarthurnax this night," the goddess said, not unkindly, but curiously.

"Krosis, Kynareth," Riivahlok apologized. "Alduin and I have quarreled much recently. I did not want to bring our discourse before Akatosh."

Kynareth nodded in understanding. "Very well. Walk with me, Guardian."

Dragon and woman, they began to cross the moor, which seemed to have no end. "Alduin has made a claim of godhood." Kynareth said uncomfortably. "You have witnessed this." Riivahlok inclined her head again. "This is not as Akatosh had planned."

The dragon blinked at the wind goddess. "Then why grant him such power? Did Akatosh truly expect Alduin to not try to impose dominion over mankind and conquer them as his own?"

Kynareth smiled tightly. "The Great Dragon did not want this world to end in fire. Alduin was sent to consume the evils and corruptions of man, in a way that would teach them what true power and justice were. But the wars that your brother has started are far from purgatorial in nature. Man will be destroyed if this continues as it is."

Riivahlok paused. "Why did you summon me here?"

"I have the right to share dreams with you, as do any of the other deities with the mortal plane."

Riivahlok clenched her jaw. "You know what I mean," she said as respectfully as possible.

Kynareth laughed, a light, tinkling sound. "Akatosh created you to be the counterbalancing force to your two brothers. You are the 'rii-vahlok,' essence guardian. Essence of the world. Essence of everything, time and space. What is it that your kind says in greeting? 'Drem yol lok.' Peace, fire, sky. What do you think that means?"

"Peace without, fire within, sky above and below," Riivahlok replied immediately, quoting her father.

"That in itself was your first teaching, was it not?"

Riivahlok turned away. "I see your point. Alduin has strayed from his destined path."

The wind goddess nodded, turning her face to the breeze. "Perhaps the next age will be one of man, not dragons," she mused, half to herself.

"What would you have me do?"

"Peace, child," Kynareth placed a hand on the side of Riivahlok's neck. "The answers will come to you sooner than you think."

"Praad."

Riivahlok drowsily raised her head. Pre-dawn light trickled through the clouds and into the cave entrance, silhouetting Odahviing's frame as he landed on the precipice, a goat in his jaws. "Pruzah nir, (Good hunt,)" she appreciated, allowing him to lay the goat within her reach.

"Naak nel, (Feed quickly)," Odahviing hurred in reply, "Alduin lost mii nok nev wah jul akriim dahsul. (Today, Alduin wishes to burn the capital city.)"

Riivahlok frowned. "Bo amvit. Zu'u fen aav hi. (Fly ahead. I'll catch up to you.)"

She finished her meal quickly as the red dragon dipped his head and took wing due north. Riivahlok gingerly picked up the remains of the goat and tossed it over the edge of the Eyrie. She watched it spiral and tumble to the earth far below, shattering into several fragments. Rolling her shoulders, Riivahlok launched herself off the edge of the cliff and headed after her mate and brothers.

The city was licked with flames as she approached from the South. Hundreds of her kind circled the sky, although many lay dead on the ground, surrounded by the fallen bodies of thousands of men.

She released a jet of white fire, illuminating the lightening sky. "Riivahlok!" The dragons roared her name as she approached, and she made her presence known once more with a loud roar.

Alduin streaked across the city, his scarlet flames bathing the ground below. She could smell the stench of rotting and burning corpses. When she signaled her arrival, he paused in his rampage and banked sharply, turning towards her and approaching.

"Briinah," he greeted. "Kogur anhiim. Genun zey tol hi los nid nikriin vax! (Take the citadel, prove that you are no coward-traitor!)"

"Dovah!" he roared, getting the attention of the other dragons present. Riivahlok saw Paarthurnax perched on the outer city wall, turning towards them. "Lingraav Riivahlok gevahzen ek bal. (Let us see Riivahlok prove her worth.)"

She curled her lips back and growled, then turned angrily and flew towards the blue palace. Alduin was calling to the other dragons to fall back, and she knew this was both to make a mockery of her for challenging him the previous day and to test her fidelity. She felt their eyes on her.

The inner walls and parapets were already burning and demolished in several places. Her eyes detected the volley of arrows a split second before the whizzing of bowstrings, and she dipped a wing to avoid them. Turning tightly, she flew over the top of the walls, flaming the archers below, clearing the turrets in one run. The dragons roared in approval, tightening the circle that they had formed around the palace.

Riivahlok approached and examined the courtyards. The surviving guards were falling back to the keep, undoubtedly to protect their Jarl. Bloodlust singing in her ears, she pulled her wings in and fell into a steep dive, colliding with the great wooden doors of the palace and bursting through. Alduin bellowed, stirring the watchers into a frenzy, and they bathed the courtyard in fire to cut off others from entering after Riivahlok.

Dazed, she stumbled to her feet in the cloud of dust and debris. The guards that had not been killed by the falling wall were charging at her bravely. Sweeping her tail around, she knocked the vanguard aside, hearing the satisfying crunch of bones and armor on stone. As she heard the others draw their swords, she snarled, and they staggered backwards, the reek of fear rolling off of them in waves.

"Give me your leader, and your deaths will be quick," she growled.

"Argan is dead."

Riivahlok arched her neck to see the speaker, an old man at the back of the hall. The soldiers parted respectfully to allow him to pass, and he approached her. Flanking him to the left and right were two light-haired Nords, a male and female. The three of them looked at her directly in the eyes without flinching.

The old man spoke again. "Are you not Riivahlok, first daughter of Akatosh, the keeper of balance?"

"Geh," she growled.

"You call this balance? You call this destruction purity?" The female Nord yelled. Her voice was deep and resonant for such a small creature.

Riivahlok bristled, the spines along her neck lifting. She swished her tail. "You have no right to question me, joor. My destiny is far beyond your fathoming."

"You are too proud, beast!" One of the soldiers cried out and charged forwards, swinging his sword at her foreleg. She snapped her jaws and sliced him in half, spitting out his torso. Blood dripped from her jaws.

The other soldiers charged forwards after their fallen comrade. Riivahlok hissed, "Faas!" and they froze in terror, the red glow of her magic reflected in their eyes. She whipped her barbed tail around once more, slicing two entirely in half and knocking the rest to the far wall, where they fell and did not rise again.

The blonde Nord started to draw her blade, but the male put his hand over hers. "Enough, Gormlaith. It's over. Let us not die in blind rage and fear."

Blind rage. The bloodlust faded away, and all hostility suddenly drained out of her. Suddenly self-aware, Riivahlok's stomach churned at the taste of human blood in her mouth. What have I done?

"Peace, child." Kynareth's words echoed.

Riivahlok dug her talons into the stone and debris. She looked at the dancing fires illuminating the hall, and beneath the layer of dust and blood, sculptures, statues, paintings, silver and gold table settings, and a golden throne. Humans are not so different from dragons...she thought, they appreciate the small things that we do. They seek representations of themselves in their effigies and treasures, their art and their lives. They fight to their dying breath, yet know not to succumb to the primal instincts that are the weakness of my kind…

And suddenly she could see it all. She knew what the purification of the world would take. She knew what the next era would be, and it was not the dragons, but Men, who would have dominion over the earth.

"Tiid klo ul," she intoned, and a blue sphere emanated around them. Things seemed to cease moving outside, with flecks of dust, debris, and ash hanging suspended in the air.

Help me, Kynareth, she prayed silently, and then spoke another three words of power: 'Kaan, Drem, Ov." Blue light washed over the Nords, and their faces of terror slowly relaxed into uncertain calm.

"Dragon-magic," Felldir whispered. "Hakon, Gormlaith, bring me closer."

"Felldir," Hakon protested, "she'll kill us all."

Felldir shook his head. "Her Words do not seek destruction. Look at her eyes. The bloodlust has faded."

Gormlaith adjusted her grip on her blade and paced forwards. The dragon did not move. When she paused within range, knuckles white over her sword-hilt, she looked up, directly into the beast's eyes. The dragon lowered her neck, so that her great silver head was tilted right in Gormlaith's face. The Nord could feel and smell dragon breath on her face, but was paralyzed, captivated by the huge, golden eyes before her. She was absolutely vulnerable; all the dragon had to do was open her jaws and Gormlaith would practically fall onto her teeth. But by the same token, all it would take was a single, well-aimed swing of her blade, and she could have the head of Riivahlok, sister of Alduin, scourge to her kind. Yet, for some reason, she had no will to do so.

She felt Felldir and Hakon approach behind her. Her blade fell to the stone with a sharp clang.

"Speak, dragon." Hakon growled.

"Drem." Riivahlok whispered, arching her head back and closing her eyes briefly. Her spell over Gormlaith was broken, and the Nord staggered back, clutching at her brother's free arm.

"Hakon," she panted, "if the beast meant to kill us like the rest, she would."

"Do not call her a beast," Felldir said quietly. "She is Riivahlok, daughter of Akatosh. And she is no longer blinded by primal instinct. She surrenders her soul to us, while we know that she could have ours at any moment, should she desire it."

"Ever have I wanted only to serve my purpose," Riivahlok rumbled, "but that purpose was unclear until now. My kind and I have slaughtered your people like cattle, and you fight back with a vigor that none of us expected. There has been too much bloodshed on both ends. The time sphere will wear off presently, we cannot speak much longer. Listen well.

"Alduin must be defeated. You do not have the assets to do so on your own; you are mortal, he has the blood of a god. But it is his claim to godhood that blinds him to his own limits, and those are what we must exploit. I will teach you the Voice. Only our own power is enough to destroy the World-Eater."

The light above them pulsated and flickered. Riivahlok arched her neck and breathed a pulse of white flames, encircling them with fire and smoke. She pulled a fallen guard's round iron shield towards them with her tail, and then slashed at her foreleg with her own barb, bleeding into the dish of the shield. "Quickly," she urged. "Drink."

"Drink?" Gormlaith wrinkled her nose.

"By all the Divines, why should we trust you?" Hakon said incredulously.

"Drink," Riivahlok repeated, "And then hide yourselves under the rubble. Do not leave this place until I come back for you."

Felldir said no more, but stooped to the crimson pool and cupped his hands in the warm blood, bringing it to his lips. Exchanging uneasy glances, Gormlaith and Hakon slowly followed suit. Riivahlok kicked the shield away, spilling the rest of her blood across the stone. "You bear my scent, and a very small amount of my magic now. Please. Hide yourselves."

The three Nords scrambled for the far wall as the blue sphere disintegrated around them. They crouched under a fallen pillar and pulled themselves into shadow. For one final moment, Gormlaith locked eyes with Riivahlok for a second time, and then the dragon turned away, pausing to pick up the fallen crown of the Jarl and a burnt corpse before making her leave.

Riivahlok presented the crown and the body at Alduin's feet. The dragons roared their approval, but Alduin swept them both away with his tail and took a swipe at Riivahlok's head, which was bent in submission. He nicked one of her horns, and she flinched slightly, but did not look up.

"Zu'u los vosotivaal tol hi fund lost wah brah faal Zul fah grik vobalaan paal…(I have disappointment that you should use the Voice against such a foe unworthy)," he growled in her ear with a snort.

"Zu'u drey fos Zu'u lost wah. (I did what had to be done.)" She replied quietly.

"Dovah, lif!" Alduin commanded. With a great rustling of wings and scales, the army of dragons took to the skies. Only Paarthurnax, Alduin, and Riivahlok remained.

"Hi fen kos sent voth ahst faal Ruus do faal Lein...dahvulon. (I will deal with you at the summit tonight.)" Alduin threatened, red eyes ablaze. He turned and followed his dovah to the wings.

Riivahlok stood still on the parapets, watching Alduin's black shape fading into the horizon for several minutes. Paarthurnax approached her quietly. He eyed her injured leg, and then snaked his tongue out and tasted her tail-blade. "Fos drey hi dreh? (What have you done?)"

"Hi fen ov zu'u, zeymah…(you must trust me, brother)" she said quietly.

Paarthurnax closed his eyes. Arngeir drew a breath. "The blood...she created the line of the Dragonborn...Then she took you to them…"

"Geh." Paarthurnax rumbled.

"But...what happened to her? Why do the legends not speak her name, if the two of you worked in unison to give the gift of the Voice to mankind?"

The dragon blinked his eyes open. They were clouded with sadness. "I share this with you today because it is a great tragedy that her name was lost in time. Riivahlok was erased from the records of the dovah by Alduin's command, and even Kynareth did not deign to bring the legends of her name to the mortals, that she might be remembered. I pass this lore onto you today, Arngeir, so that the full truth of the story of Alduin, mankind, and the Dragonborn will be known throughout Skyrim and beyond."

Evening came, and she left the Nords in the charge of her brother while she flew to the Throat of the World to meet with Alduin. As she alighted at the peak, her wings drew up clouds of snow, stirring into the perfectly clear night. Alduin was sitting atop the craggy rocks, staring down at her with malice.

"Hi vosotiiv zey. (You disappoint me.)"

"Zu'u fozir hi nid, Alduin. Hi lost hin malun wah tinvaatey ko daar lein, ahrk Zu'u lost dii. (I owe you nothing, Alduin. I have my role to play in this world, and you yours)." Riivahlok replied calmly. She paused then, meeting her brother's blazing stare as he leapt down and crouched before her, arching his neck above her. Tipping her head up defiantly to meet him at eye-level, she continued, "Ahrk hi lost fey nol hin ven. Hi vosotiiv Akatosh. (You have strayed from your path. You disappoint Akatosh.)"

The black dragon snarled, slashing at the snow with his claws.

"Hi los nid. Hin faskom fah jul lost led hi hondativ. (You are nothing. Your fondness for man has led you astray.)"

Riivahlok looked at her brother sadly, knowing in her heart of hearts what would transpire. "Zu'u hind nunon drem fah hi, zeymah. Nuz zos wey tol, Zu'u lost kiin wah drun drem wah lein. (I wish only peace for you, brother. But more than that, I was born to bring peace to the world.)

"Nid," Alduin said. "No, hi lost kiin wah dir (you were born to die.)"

He snapped his jaws at her then, missing her neck by an inch as she pulled away. As she scrambled to her feet, he lunged forwards and knocked her to the ground, pinning her by shoulders and wings. He raked his talons down her side, opening four weeping wounds on her flank, before she spiked him with her tail, digging into his side and puncturing his lung. Alduin roared, his breath troubled.

Riivahlok kicked him off of her, buffing him with her wings as she finally stood, facing him. Baring her teeth, she circled him, head low, spines flattened against her neck. Her blood dripped onto the snow, leaving scarlet drops where she trod.

They charged each other at the same time then, colliding with a sickening sound of scales grating against one another. Riivahlok clamped her teeth down on Alduin's shoulder, dislocating his right wing. He slashed at her neck, roaring in pain. Shifting her weight to her hind legs, she drew herself up and tipped the other dragon off balance, sending him sprawling through the snow. Before he could recover, she flew over to where he lay, slashing his other wing open, tearing through the sails with her talons while she crippled his hind leg with her jaws, snapping through the bone. Alduin reached up and tore a chunk of flesh off of her back, and she finally staggered away.

The World-Eater lay there, struggling in vain to stand on his one good leg and torn wing. His breath came in gasps, the wound in his side filling his lung with blood. Riivahlok was not unharmed; she stood a ways away, legs trembling as she bled from her wounds, the snow beneath her stained red.

"Til praag ni kos dinok dahsul, (there need not be death today,)" she said softly, limping closer to her brother. He snarled at her and snapped at her feet, causing her to draw back another pace.

The sound of approaching wingbeats brought their attention to the skies. With another eddy of snow, Odahviing landed heavily beside them, taking in the scene with wide eyes.

"Fos koros? (what happened?)"

"Prakem los vax," Alduin snarled, jerking his snout towards Riivahlok. "Rek lost vodein ek eylok fah faskom do jul. Krii ek! (The snake is a traitor. She has abandoned our kind for the soft men. Kill her)"

Odahviing looked at his mate with a pained expression. She met his dark green gaze evenly. "Zu'u drey fos lost wah kos drehlaan, (I did what had to be done)" she whispered, praying that somehow he would understand, that someday he would know her motives. "Dreh ni vogekhrin nol hin meyar ven fah giif do dii (Don't leave the life you've earned for the sake of my deviance.)" Riivahlok then turned back to Alduin, moving close enough to stand directly over him. "Vahraan," she breathed, and there was a crunching noise as his bones realigned and his injuries were healed.

He immediately leapt up to his feet and flipped Riivahlok over onto her back once more. She let out a growl of pain as he dug his claws into her stomach, roaring in her face as he tore her open from the base of her neck to her flank.

"Odahviing," he called. "Zu'u lost ofan hi pogaan grozein wah gevahzen hinmaar. Dreh daar nu, ahrk hi fen mahfaeraak kos dii zok ov. Krii ek. (You have had many chances to prove yourself. Do this now, and you will be my right hand for all days to come. Kill her.)"

"Rek los gebran, (she is finished,)" Odahviing said, looking down at Riivahlok's shaking frame, his voice tinged with a hint of sadness.

"KRII EK!" Alduin bellowed, snapping at the red dragon. While his gaze was turned away from her, Riivahlok opened her eyes and nodded weakly at Odahviing. He blinked back at her, and then hardened his expression. Alduin smiled, stepping aside to let Odahviing pass to stand over Riivahlok.

Odahviing looked into her golden eyes one last time before placing one clawed foot on her shoulder, and biting down, tearing her throat open. He stepped back and turned away, looking hard at Alduin. The black dragon was watching with loathsome content at his sister's death throes.

"Bo, (come)" he finally said to his new lieutenant, turning to the sky and taking wing, leaving Riivahlok to the night. Odahviing did not turn around as he followed.

Lying in the snow in a growing outline of her lifeblood, Riivahlok could feel her life fading rapidly, and her vision was beginning to fade and darken around the edges. The stain in the snow was now large enough that she could see it spreading around her. She struggled to draw a breath through her torn throat, shaking and coughing as it only sped up her hemorrhaging. She closed her eyes, praying that Kynareth would protect her brother and keep him safe and his mission secret. She prayed that Odahviing would forgive her. She shuddered, and felt cold for the first time in her life, as her fire died out. And as her consciousness slipped away, she caught the scent of Akatosh in the cold night air, and felt his spirit come to guide her to Sovngarde.

AN: This has been something that I've fiddled with for a while now. I've been playing Skyrim since its release, five years ago now. My experience with RPGs has always seem so detached, but with Skyrim, something about it all was so atmospheric and capturing that I actually felt a part of the story, that my character actually had a life of her own. So I began to outline a new story, for working on after the completion of my original novella, focusing around her life before and during Skyrim, her motives for following a bunch of crazy old people into what they said was her destiny, and a bit more about the origins of the Dragonborn. This oneshot is a kind of side piece to that fic, explaining the background of Riivahlok, who is one of my OC's for Sil do Yol. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading. Please leave a review? :)

~Silver