Dragonborn Saga

Chapter 772: Reflections

The fleet of the Golden Army landed on Castle Volkihar after a massacre, leaving no vampires alive. The castle itself was destroyed, and the core of Harkon’s domain was shattered. With news arriving that the core force of Clan Volkihar had been unleashed on Skyrim’s less protected settlements, Jon did not fly into a fit of rage but contained the anger of the fifteen thousand Nords he commanded.

He convinced them not to act hastily and return to their home holds just yet, explaining that the vampires wanted to spread their forces thin and deal with them one by one.

For that, he suggested that the 5,000 legionaries return to Solitude hastily and prepare to relieve and defend the village. Meanwhile, the thousand-strong warband of each hold, numbering 10,000 overall, would march south from Haafingar to the Reach and eradicate every vampire along the way.

From that point, all armies would march east to Hjaalmarch, Whiterun, and Falkreath. After that, the march would continue to the Pale, Winterhold, Eastmarch, and the Rift.

Many questions were raised, and many people were displeased with the situation. The Imperials distrusted the Stormcloaks passing into the western holds, and the Stormcloaks distrusted the Imperials approaching the old holds. As Falkreath was in Stormcloak territory and the Pale was in Imperial territory, feelings were quickly inflamed, and it seemed that a confrontation was about to happen.

Jon shouted at the group, without using his Thu’um, and stated he would not face the vampires with a fractured front. He also said that if they didn’t cooperate, he would handle it alone, and they would go down in history as a bunch of sissy milk-drinkers who needed a Dragonborn to resolve every minor issue.

Of course, many people did not succumb to his obvious provocation, but it still worked, as it was publicly delivered. With everyone departing, Jon and his troopers were the last to stay on the Isle of Volkihar to address the few remaining tasks.

This led both Jon and Serana into the secret laboratory of Valerica, Serana’s long-lost mother.

"Look at the place. This has to be it! I know she was deep into necromancy—I mean, she taught me everything I know—but I had no idea she had a setup like this," Serana said as she stepped into her mother’s secret lab.

"You’ve never been here?" Jon asked.

"No," Serana replied. "Mother had her secrets—her aims and means. I have come to realize that I was of the latter type—just another means."

She said so as she walked around the lab, moving things abruptly, quite unlike the Serana in the game, who was far tamer and more lost.

"I see," Jon said and followed inside, hands behind his back. "Since the Moondial led us here, I assume your mother left some kind of clue."

"Certainly. I mean, look at all this," Serana said and browsed her mother’s ancient collection. "She must have spent years collecting all these components."

She then turned to where Jon stood at a stone ring on the floor.

"And what’s this thing? I’m not sure about this circle, but it’s obviously something," she said as she examined the circle with interest.

"Strange, isn’t it?" Jon asked.

"What is?" Serana looked at him.

"You chose to replace your mother with another, one more actively involved in your life. You wanted a mother so you wouldn’t be left alone if that new relationship didn’t work out."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I mean, after all the effort you two made to get away from each other, she leaves you these clues to follow and find her, while you are completely engrossed and don’t mind it at all."

Serana stared at Jon for a while before shaking her head.

"It’s our thing," she stated.

"A mother and daughter thing?" he asked.

"More like it’s the way she taught me things. Everything is a puzzle; I get asked the questions first before learning the answers, and all answers must be worked hard for, not just handed out easily. Else, what is the point of cramming one’s brain with knowledge if all answers were presented effortlessly?" she explained.

Jon found himself unable to argue with the logic. He gave a nod and replied:

"It’s a good teaching method."

"An infuriating one, too. A teacher knows all the answers, but what they pass down is more experience than knowledge. It’s good indeed, but the point of knowledge is to continue where others left off." ℞аꞐ𝔬ΒЁŠ

"Also true. A balanced mix of both methodologies would be highly beneficial for education."

Hearing him say that, Serana frowned and asked:

"Why are you suddenly interested in teaching methodologies?" she asked.

"I’m not," he said and shrugged. "I’m a great teacher in my own right, and I have my own mother and master, Nurina, to thank for that."

"So you’re testing me."

"I never intended to hide it."

"Why?"

Her question made Jon raise a brow, not expecting such a question from someone with her intellectual prowess.

"Why not?" He turned fully to face her. "You’re the mother of my child. A competent educator is the most elementary thing I expect you to be."

"And if I weren’t?" Serana questioned with a quick and sharp tone.

"What would you expect?" Jon asked.

"You would take the child from me?" Serana asked, taking two steps backward.

"That would be between me and Lamae; you have no agency to dictate what should or should not be done," Jon replied with a cold tone.

"I FORBID IT!" Serana shouted and took a defensive position, gradually stepping back.

Jon let out a tired sigh.

"With all due respect, Serana, you’re still but a pawn; you have little control over your fate, let alone a child you want entirely for yourself."

"I don’t want her entirely for myself. She… she won’t be taken away from me."

"Not in the sense you’re imagining. I would never separate a parent and a child for no good reason," he said and stared at Serana with an unnerving gaze. "Don’t give me a good reason. So far, you seem capable. I like it that way, but you’ll need assistance, lots of assistance."

"I don’t want anything from you."

"Really?"

"The Blood Matron was the one who made me reveal it all to you. If she hadn’t…"

"I would have found out a different way; it would have ended badly," Jon said, and his words reverberated in the ancient lab. "Lamae was wise not to make an enemy of me, but also wise to seek alliance through you."

"…"

Serana remained silent, understandably, leaving Jon to continue speaking:

"I don’t hate you, Serana. I’m just disappointed and a little upset."

"Then… you won’t take her away?" Serana asked, her voice a mess of emotions, holding her belly with both arms.

"No. As long as you’re a good influence on my child, I won’t do such a horrible thing. However, you’re far from ready to be a mother."

"What?" Serana looked at him, scared and shaken. "But you said…"

"I know what I said. You’re just not listening," Jon said and shook his head. "To be a parent in times like ours, with people like us, we need to know more about parenting. People study for years of their lives to get a career and be independent, so they can start families and live on their own. Starting a family and raising a child are even more critical endeavors. If not done right, too much pain and suffering will result. Of all people, I can’t believe I’m lecturing you about that."

"What do you want then?"

"I won’t ask of you what I wouldn’t do myself. I’ll bear the responsibility and learn how to raise a child. I’ll even put my work aside and halt a few projects just to read about being a parent, to ask those who raised their children well, and to gather all that knowledge and practice it the right way."

While there was tension between the two, Serana’s subsequent nod at least brought them to an understanding regarding their child, a step that they would not regret in their future.

But still, there was the matter of finding Valerica.

Jon already knew most of the clues for turning the stone ring on the floor of the laboratory into a magical portal leading to a realm of the dead known as the Soul Cairn; it’s the place from which he summons most of his undead, a realm of supernatural godlike entities known as the Ideal Masters, ancient necromancers who created and maintained this realm even before the First Era.

Once the portal was open, Jon was ready to step in.

"You have life growing within you. I’ll go and bring your mother alone," Jon said, telling Serana not to follow.

"But you, too, have life. The Soul Cairn admits only the dead," Serana argued, "Either you trap part of your soul in a gem, or you enter it as a vampire."

With the traditional game choice presented to him, Jon shook his head and replied:

"I don’t need to. My soul is already fragmented across my Seven Sins. I can leave four of them here, and that would be half of my soul. The realm of the dead won’t bar me like that."

"Very well. Do what you must, but… don’t harm her, please."

Hearing that Serana was not as angry with Valerica as before, Jon sensed some growth in her, and he was pleased he would not have to contend with excessive family drama after he extracted Valerica from the Soul Cairn.

However, it was too early for him to celebrate, for the moment he stepped into the portal and disappeared into its magical vortex, something happened in the room where Serana remained.

One of the intact walls alongside the lab started to shift and display a glass-like reflection; a strange light came from within, attracting Serana, who approached it with worry.

There, she saw something that made her step back, a sight she had not seen for thousands of years.

Had she been asked to guess, she would have thought it was an illusion fabricated by some evil magic, but what she saw was undoubtedly the truth.

"Serana, my daughter."

The image of Harkon Volkihar emerged from the glass-like reflection, but the other figure beside him was far more shocking than anything Serana could have imagined.

"Serana… Maker… look at you."

And the word just escaped Serana’s mouth.

"Mother!"

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