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The climb up the rest of the mountain did not take long. It was a surprisingly clear day, and you only had to worry about the wind. As you neared the peak, Clarity was focused solely onward. As she instructed you on how to fight a dragon, what to watch out for and where to strike, she never looked back. It was all you could do to make sense of her instructions over the wind. As you both reached the peak of the mountain, you grip your sword tightly. You are now on a flat ridge, and as you look on, you see a large pillar standing before you, a golden face mounted on the top that looked as if it was dwarven. Two smaller pillars stood to either side, and two small chests stood at the base of them. It was windy, it was cold, and there was no dragon. You look to Clarity, but she was only staring at the pillar. You check your surroundings thoroughly. There is a steep rock face behind the pillar, and several snow drifts hanging down the mountain. There is a large open area of fairly flat, snow covered ground, but nothing to indicate a dragon’s lair. Clarity finally moves. She approached the stone pillar slowly. She unsheathed her daedric sword and placed it onto the ground, along with it’s sheath. Wrapping her cloak around herself, she then sat down. Not knowing what exactly to do, you move forward and sit down next to her. You sense that she does not want to talk, but you have nothing to say anyways. After awhile, you build a fire and try to shield it from the wind with the large pillar. You both sat there for five hours.
You look up at the sky, and seeing the sun, you guess there was maybe an hour of sunlight left. You hope that you don't have to fight in the darkness. After hours of sitting perfectly still, Clarity opens her eyes and stands, bringing her weapon with her. You look up at her, trying to find her eyes so that you can follow. You feel a gentle gust of wind, a different direction than before, and a low growling sound as something large lands next to you. You hurriedly stand and back away from the pillar, now seeing a large dragon perched on the top of it. The dragon was a sickly orange color, with green spots here and there. As the creature breathed, a green haze emitted from its massive jaws. Ignoring you, it spoke to Clarity in words you can’t understand. He spoke in a low growl. You do not detect any aggression in his voice, and are surprised to see Clarity only standing there, not speaking a word. Her face is expressionless, but looking closer, you can see her eyes glow with rage, flames burning brightly within them. Vedinok continues to speak, his tone sounding as if he is trying to coerce Clarity. Clarity says nothing still. Vedinok’s tone slowly changes, until he seems annoyed, and then he starts to sound as if he is taunting her. His voice grows louder with anger, until finally Clarity closes her eyes and shouts: “Wuld!” Shorter than a blink of the eye, Clarity is soaring through the air, her sword in both hands, aiming for his throat. Vedinok’s eyes widen, and with a powerful backwards thrust of his wings, he shoots into the air. You are knocked backwards into the snow, and lose sight of the two dragons. You try to stand, and find yourself being hauled up onto your feet. Clarity has a scroll in her hand as she starts to back away. Explaining that Vedinok would be retaliating soon, she asks you if you remember that spell she had gotten. You nod. She opens the scroll and starts speaking in dragon tongue. Finally, she casts out her hand and envelopes you in magic. As the spell was completed, the scroll turns to ash in her hands.
“Now get ready!” she says.
Your sword drawn, you look up into the sky for Vedinok. The magic spell she cast over you seems oddly warm, and aside from a minty flavor in your mouth, you do not feel any different. You look at Clarity as she says “Come on, I plan to end this quickly.”
You see Vedinok then, coming around the peak and heading, not for Clarity, but straight for you. You panic only for a second, but then you set yourself into the ground, bracing for his assault. Vedinok slams into you, not exactly what you were expecting, and sends you into the air. You finally collide with the rock at the base of the peak. As you land on the ground, you immediately stand up. It was amazing, you didn’t feel anything, almost as if you were hit with a giant pillow and landed on a soft bed. You ready yourself again. Across the landing, you see Clarity and Vedinok fighting. Vedinok blasts green poisonous spew at her, which she avoids by ducking behind large boulders. You can see the rock were the acid landed disintegrate and crumble. The dragon launches itself into the air as you make your way over to it. You look for Clarity but do not see her anywhere. As Vedinok flys behind the peak once more, you suddenly find yourself alone. You stand there for several moments before you hear the cry of what sounds like Vedinok, followed by a different dragon-ish roar assumed to be from Clarity. You see them now, Vedinok was plummeting towards the landing. As he crashed into the ground, you see Clarity mounted on his back, her daedric sword piercing his scales, in-between the shoulder of both wings. She calls for you as she leaps off of the dragon. You run to her and she grabs your arm. “Time to end it.” she says, and shouts “Feim!”
The blue haze from days previous surround you once again. She drags you over to the dragon and guides your sword into it’s body. From what you see, you think you are piercing it’s beating heart. As the world around you turns to normal, you and your sword materialize. Suddenly Vedinok unleashes a horrible cry of pain, and as the color begins to drain from his scales, he says, with surprise “Dovah…kiin….” before becoming silent, once and for all. You stand away as the dragon begins to burn, his flesh rising into the air, until all that is left is his skeleton. You feel a rush of energy flow into you, and as it does so you think you hear quiet whispers, which you can only assume is the voice of Vedinok. His soul is now yours.


Continue With:
Clarity Beckons - Change

This image continues from:
Clarity Beckons - Climb