I, Draugr chapter 15 (Patreon)

"Looks like we are in a bit of a pickle, huh?" I drawl out as I cross my arms, my gaze fixed towards the enormous footprint – or clawprint – in the ground, showing the passage of the enormous titan that Alduin brought back to life recently.

"I hate pickles…" Gretel mumbles aloud from behind me, and I nod in agreement at that.

I hate the damn things too.

"No wonder those guards never made it back…" Hildr muses, a frown visible in her lone green eye as she glares towards the pit from where the Dragon crawled out. "The hell are their swords and arrows supposed to do against something of that size?"

Nothing. It'll be more like mosquito bites for the Dragon, if they even manage to stab through his scales in the first place.

"Leo, what do we do?" Aurelia asks softly, head turning to look in my direction. She's so cute when worried. "We are too close to Falkreath to fight something of that size… If we even can bring it down."

"This is nothing compared to the Dragons near Whiterun…" Yeah, Yolosqah was powerful as hell, but he wasn't this massive.

Now, size might not mean strength, and it does make the Dragon a big ass target for me, but that is kind of useless unless I can deal a truly fatal and deep blow.

The ass-explosion way might not work either, as while it might do a lot of damage, it might not be enough to deal a massively fatal blow. And then the Dragon will be on guard.

This is truly vexatious.

Hildr lets out a low noise, "You two fought against the Dragon that attacked Whiterun?" Her voice is full of surprise, which is reflected in her lone, visible eye.

Aurelia nods, then waves a hand in my direction, "Leo is the one that killed it." I give the stunned Hildr a victory sign while Gretel gapes at me with sparkles in her eyes.

"I've killed two so far." I drawl out, then nod towards Aurelia, "She killed one that was more powerful that both of them combined." She flushes bashfully at my words, throwing a pout my way as she does so.

What? You can't put me on a pedestal and expect me not to do the same with you. Foolish woman.

"So you have experience. That's good." Hildr nods, arms crossing below her bust, "What's not good, is that you are around." She turns her glare towards her sister, who pouts and glares right back.

"I can fight too!"

"No you won't." All three of us say at the same time, our voices serious and harsh.

Gretel's pout only grows as she stomps her foot in a cute manner, "I know magic too! Like big sis!"

I sniff and cross my arms, "Oh yeah? And what almighty Spell might you have that is capable of tearing through the magic resistant scales of a Dragon?"

Wait, don't tell me…

Gretel smirks, lifts up one of her small palms, scrunches up her eyes in concentration… And creates a small, glowing sky-blue orb. A Magic Missile.

I couldn't help the snort that escapes me, "Indeed, that is a fearsome Spell." I give Aurelia a look even as she grows visibly exasperated, "I say she can join."

"Hell no." Hildr cuts in with a flat stare, "That's literally the weakest spell in existence!"

"Is it though?" Aurelia face-palms, "It's what I used to blow the guts out of a Dragon, after all."

…

Silence.

Gretel is now staring at the small orb in absolute wonder and with a manic smile on her face, while Hildr openly gapes at me.

"Bullshit." The woman growls out, then throws a look towards the exasperated Aurelia. "Please tell me that he's just bullshitting…"

Aurelia sighs softly and gives Hildr a genuine apologetic look, "I'm afraid not… His Magic Missile is truly horrifying." She throws a look my way, then nods towards Hildr, "Show her."

I shrug, then raise a hand and create a brightly glowing white-blue orb, far bigger and more brilliant than the one above Gretel's palm.

Then I let it shoot off into the distance, releasing a sharp and booming crack as it pierces the sound barrier with laughable ease, raising a massive cloud of dust and making the long hair of the two tall women beside me blow high in the air.

Hildr's arms drop to her sides as she gapes at the now distant glittering star that is my Arcane Cannon, the blast of air from it departing away from my palm now slowly calming down.

"What the fuck." Hildr mutters aloud, utterly gobsmacked at my godly Spell that should be a just a thing for children to play around with.

Aurelia nods with another sigh, "Yeah, that's just… Well, Leonidas." Hey, I take offense to that!

"What even are you?" Hildr asks while looking at me like I am some twisted sort of eldritch creature. Which I might be.

"Just a dumbass here to cause problems for mortal and Gods." Aurelia whines and nearly sobs at my words.

Because she knows I fucking mean it.

Hildr just shakes her head and disregards me as crazy, which is on point. "I can help you two fight the Dragon." I'd raise a brow at that if I could, "I'm a Conjurer, and my Familiar is very powerful, so I can stick back and close to my little sister while my Familiar assists you all."

I hum softly and cross my arms. More help can be welcome, considering the kind of beast we might end up facing. "What can it do?"

"And how confident are you in your Familiar?" Aurelia asks right after, before blinking and raising a placating hand, "I do not mean to look down on your capabilities, but this is a Dragon we are talking about."

Hildr shakes her head with a light smile, showing that she isn't offended by Aurelia's words, "I've been growing it since I was young, so for more than two decades by now. It might not be a Dragon Slayer, but I am confident in him being capable of dishing out a beating, and taking one."

Growing her Familiar? Does she mean as in, she feeds it Magicka and it grows through time?

If so, that sounds quite fascinating.

I don't think that my System limits me when it comes to learning Magic, it simply grants me slots for certain Spells that I fancy and grants me the ability to make them more powerful through the usage of Souls.

I should really find ways to learn more Skills and grow my capabilities, lest I stagnate.

Maybe even use a Dragon Soul to empower the Skill that makes my Frost Magic so much stronger than normal.

"I think it's worth a try." I shrug towards Aurelia, before turning my gaze towards Hildr, "Though, if things start going wrong, grab Gretel and run away, alright?"

Hildr frowns at that. She might look and sound rough, but she gives me the impression of a very kind woman, "Will you two be alright…?"

I give her a thumbs up, "If there is something I am absolutely confident in, then it's my natural ability to piss off any and all beings with just a few eloquent words."

She gives me a weird look, and Aurelia nods with a light smile when Hildr seeks her opinion, "You're a weird dude."

"That's part of my charm!" She just ignores my words. Rude.

I childishly kick the grown at that, earning a cute giggle from Gretel while Aurelia once more gives me a strangely heated stare with flushed cheeks.

What have I done?

Either way, putting that aside, I set my hands on my bony hips and give the ladies a look, "So, shall we follow the footprints?"

Hildr nods, bringing her little sister closer as she does so, "The ruins of the Shrine of Akatosh are close by. Barely a few minutes of walking."

I nod and take point with Aurelia, who I easily notice is both nervous and afraid. While she has gotten better, her trauma due to Alduin's sheer might in Helgen is still present, even after her battle with Yolosqah.

There – unfortunately – is not much I can say to make her feel better currently. I can only stand by her, and hope that it does something.

The ground crunches under our boots, the surrounding valley being a mix of a swamp with lots of scattered rocks and debris. Plus a lot of claw shaped craters from our resident Kaiju Dragon.

There are even plenty of abandoned buildings, some even looking like mills and farms. "The hell happened here?" I ask aloud, taking note that some buildings don't seem to have been abandoned for long.

"The Civil War happened." Hildr drawls out, no small amount of anger and disgust in her voice as she scowls towards the surroundings. "These used to be fields and farms that fed us in the past… Then the Imperials and Stormcloaks waged war over them. Over our City."

"When the Imperials started gaining the upper hand and people favored them over the Stormcloaks, a Mage was hired to come here and ruin the land, making it unable to bear grains and let livestock graze the fields."

"By my estimation, it'll take years for the fields to recover." Jesus fucking Christ…

So they basically went 'If I can't win, I'll make it so neither of us can', huh?

Is that why there basically is no Imperial presence in this region? We did run by a hidden camp that may house Stormcloaks, but I didn't confirm their presence there at the time.

I stand by the fact that neither side of the war is the good one, but the Stormcloaks clearly are assholes.

I shake my head and turn my gaze forward, where I take notice of a large rocky hill far ahead of us that will cut off our path.

I follow it towards the right, where it quickly grows smaller until it stops, then follow it back towards the left, where it grows bigger and bigger and…

I reach out and stop Aurelia in our tracks, then look back at Hildr, "Go and conjure your Familiar." Her eyes widen at my words as she pulls her sister close, "We found our Dragon."

Aurelia gives me a confused look, which lasts just a second because the earth starts shaking in the very next one.

Hildr does not waste a second in picking up Gretel and rushing back, putting a great deal of distance between her, us, and the rising beast ahead.

The rocky hill was not a rocky hill. It was the Dragon's fucking tail.

The ground trembles and quakes as an enormous figure rises, sending dust and debris falling and crumbling in all directions as the earth groans with each movement from the giant beast.

Wings the size of a ten story building spread wide, and a massive head slowly turns to regard us with a lone glowing golden eye. "First, they send useless gnats…" The Dragon rumbles, voice so loud that even Aurelia winches.

As it stands and moves, I take in the rocky exterior of his body, watching how the earth and stones and debris just cling to his scales like they are magnets.

He kinda looks like Godzilla, now that I think about it…

"And then the Dragonborn…" A long breath is exhaled from the Dragon's jaws, his enormous body turning to give us his full attention, and showing us that yes, he is as tall as fucking Dragonsreach itself.

Lowering his head, the Dragon lets out a long and low growl that shakes the earth and air as he focuses his gaze upon Aurelia, "Come to fell me, my kin?" He chuckles as he slowly draws back, "Truly a joke, what Fate is playing on me…"

Why does he sound so… Sad? Even his gaze appears melancholic.

Aurelia slowly draws her Enchanted Greatsword while releasing a tense and long breath of air, "We don't have to fight, but I doubt you'll kindly leave…"

The Dragon chuckles at her words as I grip my staff tightly, "As if that is even possible." Giant eyes narrow, and massive claws flex and dig into the earth, "You may be mine kin, but you are different from us." With that final scoff, his enormous right claw rises in the air and comes crashing down towards us.

I tilt my staff as it lights up with a near-blinding light before a deafening crack ruffles my robes and the earth below my feet, a quickly charged Arcane Cannon smashing like a meteor against the palm of the giant claw.

It easily blasts through the cover of earth, dust and stone that acts like an armor for the Dragon, the impact so great the claw was pushed back and the armor covering it all the way up to the wings scatters down, revealing dark-gray scales beneath.

The giant Dragon scoffs once more and bares his teeth while giving his claw a light shake, "A mere annoyance." He growls out before I hear Aurelia draw in a sharp intake of air.

                                                                               "Yol-!"

The air around her warps, and the stones scattered around start visibly melting as she narrows her eyes.

The Dragon recoils back, eyes going wide-

                                                                              "TOOR!"

A blinding Sun erupts into existence, turning night into the and lighting up the whole valley as a literal tsunami of white-hot flames crashes forward with all the force of a truck going downhill.

A roar shakes the valley through the crackling of the scorching flames, Aurelia's Shout having left a massive molten trench behind, a crater filled with molten slag now standing below the enormous Dragon.

"You have felled a strong brethren of mine, it seems…" The Kaiju Dragon growls out, his earth and debris armor now completely gone and melted into slag, while his scales now bear visible scorch marks.

His gaze seems to change at Aurelia's prowess, seemingly holding a hint of hope and satisfaction in it.

"You alright?" I ask towards Aurelia, who nods with a frown despite the way she is rubbing her throat.

Such a powerful Shout, and all it did was give the guy some mild burns. This is gonna be though…

I breathe in, despite the fact that it's a very useless action, then grip my staff tightly as the gem at the top starts lighting up, then glowing brighter and brighter.

Grasping the staff with both hands, I twist my body and call on my Frost Magic.

The air instantly visibly grows colder as snowflakes form around me, frost spreading across the ground and forcing Aurelia to step away from me as I gain the Dragon's whole attention.

I'm gonna pump a lot of Magicka into this, then use that.

With a tight grip, I swing the frost coated Staff forward and-

                                                                                      "Iiz!"

I use Draconic Chant, and watch as Reality itself shifts and twists before me a gargantuan wave of ice spires rushes skyward with a loud crackle and ear-deafening shattering sound as the bright and sharp ice thorns ram into the giant Dragon, his size making him get hit and drowned by the enormous mountain I threw at him.

I breathe out and take a few steps back, having thrown around a third of my reserves into that wave of ice.

If that does some damage, then I can throw even more Magicka into that Spell, as it is very easy and quick for me to recover my reserves.

In fact, I am nearly full once more.

I have four Souls left, and my Ray of Frost requires three more for an Upgrade… Yeah, I'll need it.

[Ray of Frost]

Release a rush of glacial air from your fingertips. From a gust of air, to a roaring blizzard. It is up to you to see how far this goes.

Modifications: Beam Size x3! Power Up x2!

(5/5)

Spell 'Ray of Frost' has been Maxed!

Spell 'Ray of Frost' has Evolved!

[Winter's Wrath]

A Domain of glacial, biting winds with no mercy, and sharp, deadly icicles flying around faster than the eye can perceive.

Once cast, this Spell does not differentiate between friend or foe.

Modification: Domain Size x1!

(1/10)

Can't use it now, but it sure as hell is going to be useful against this big son of a bitch!

The sounds of ice-cap shattering brings me out of my musing, and I twirl my staff as the ice spires collapse, and the giant Dragon comes back into view, covered in frost and releasing a long breath of foggy air.

If I could, I'd grin viciously at the clear wounds on his body, some of the ice spires having stabbed deep into his flesh and having left behind dozens of now large bleeding holes.

"Meddlesome mortal…" The giant and not too pleased Dragon growls my way, and I just give him a shrug without care. "Fine. Come then, grant me one last good battle."

I'd narrow my eyes if I could. Why did he word it like that? Like he knows he is going to lose?

With a swing of his giant claws, the Dragon tears apart the massive structure of ice before stomping forward, and I pause when Aurelia whispers softly and just disappears from right next to me.

Next second, the Dragon howls in pain and stumbles to the right, rivers of blood gushing down from a massive gash torn open over his belly.

That woman…

I shake away my admiration for that beautiful woman and simply grip my staff tighter, only to tilt my head when the ground shakes beneath my feet… Yet the Dragon isn't moving?

I look down and watch as orange light draws closer and brighter from behind me, making me turn around and- "What the fuck is that?"

I can only watch as a giant flaming beast charges past me with a loud, deafening roar before throwing itself at the wounded Dragon.

Massive flaming arms wrap around the Dragon's neck, then twist with a roar as the demonic being kicks off one of the Dragon's claws, bringing his body crashing down upon the earth, creating a massive crater below them.

The very earth sinks and sends massive clouds of dust in the air as the Dragon roars, while the being made out of flames stands and roars once more.

Looking at it better, it looks like a giant, muscular Minotaur, but with a pair of massive horns above its head and with a body coated in thick roaring flames.

I throw a look back and see Hildr in the distance, her face scrunched up and seemingly a bit pale.

Her lone eye meets my gaze, and she nods seriously as the flaming demon stomps on the Dragon's head.

"One annoyance after the other!" The Dragon bellows, swatting the massive flaming demon across the clearing with a swing of his massive claw before it straightens itself, "First that fool that brings me back, then those gnats, and then you all!" Man, he's really fuckin' pissed, huh?

"Popped a vein, did ya?" I call out cheerfully, not really minding the glowering glare he throws my way.

The flaming demon rams into his side before he could say anything else, and I lift my staff as I pump my Magicka through it, another deafening blast rocketing off as I fire an Arcane Cannot.

The blinding projectile rams right into the Dragon's neck, forcing it to stagger and give the flaming demon a chance to punch it in the face. Very hard.

Then night turns into day once more as Aurelia uses the Fire Breath Shout close to the Dragon's head, engulfing the valley and his massive body in a storm of white-hot flames.

Luckily, the flames seemed to empower the demon Hildr conjured, as it grows bigger and more muscular, a flaming blade manifesting in his right claw before he plunges it deep in the Dragon's left forearm.

The giant Dragon growls, then swings the stabbed arm upward, slamming it into the demon and sending it flying high in the air. His wing then folds, getting punched through yet stopping the majority of the power behind my Arcane Cannon shot.

As he does that, his long tail stabs upward, skewering the demon clear through as his head turns to try and find Aurelia.

I click my tongue as the demon disperses into embers, so I fire off another Arcane Cannon.

Then another.

Then another.

Again and again.

As I do so, I keep walking forward, staring straight at the Dragon as he staggers back from each powerful blow, uselessly using his torn up wings to cover his body and dampen the power.

"You know…" I start as I fire off another Arcane Cannon that slams straight against his throat, "Your eyes really piss me the fuck off."

I've seen that gaze before, and I'll never stop hating it.

This Dragon, he wants one last battle, a battle where he is sure he will die permanently, both in body and Soul, due to Aurelia being present.

He is fucking suicidal.

My Magicka flows into my staff like a raging river, and the usual bright glow turns into a blinding sun as a miniature sparkling orb appears above the crystal.

The kick-off of the overcharged Arcane Cannon nearly sends me on my ass, but it does destroy the ground below my feet as it fires off towards the Dragon, who is too slow to try and dodge the Spell going beyond the speed of sound.

And I watch as it hammers straight against his wide chest, caving it in and visibly cracking his scales and flesh, turning it all into pulp and hitting him with so much force and speed that his upper body is lifted partially off the ground.

Even as the Spell fades away once the power is used up, I can still see the sheer damage it did in the caved in chest left behind.

The Dragon hacks up a great deal of blood, massive claws tearing through the ground like butter as I resume my walk. "Aurelia, stand back." My gaze flicks to the side, where the woman had put some distance between her and the Dragon the moment I fired off my Arcane Cannon.

She frown my way, gaze filled with worry, but I hold her gaze until she nods. Good, no need to worry about friendly fire then.

"Say…" I start, resting the staff over my shoulder as I walk closer and closer to the bleeding and wounded Dragon, "If you want to die so much, just kill yourself."

"You're wasting our precious time here." The Dragon stills, and his eyes narrow towards me as his labored breathing fills the air, "I mean, I'm wasting time here fighting against a dumb Dragon that gave up on trying to become better."

He once more stills, and I'd smirk if I could. I knew it.

The words he said before we fought… He does not wish to fight, or be violent. He doesn't want to stick to his evil nature.

"You're so fucking stupid that you cannot even comprehend that you can change, and instead seek Death. A glorious Death, even." I shake my head with a sigh, and the Dragon growls, claws digging deeper into the earth.

"There is no changing my nature, mortal!" There we go, got him talking!

I chuckle and jab my staff in a certain direction, "There's a Dragon on top of the Throat of the World that proves otherwise, you fucking dimwit!"

That brings him to a pause, his gaze following the direction I am pointing towards to stare at the distant and still visible enormous mountain that is the residence of Paarthurnax.

"He changed! He overcame his evil nature! He is against everything Alduin stands for, but you're too much of a fucking pussy to even try and fucking do that!" I cannot help myself. My voice grows louder as I speak until I am outright shouting at a damn Dragon.

"You'd rather pick the easy fucking way out than actually try and change! What a fucking pussy!"

The Dragon roars, a sound overflowing with fury as he rams his claws into the earth, sending a tidal wave of debris and dust in all directions.

"You know nothing about change!" Sadly, I know quite a bit about that.

I scoff and swing my staff wielding arm to the side and pump Magicka through it.

                                                                                  "Fo."

It was instant.

Like a nuclear bomb going off, but instead of an all-powerful shock-wave of heat and pure force, what spreads in a gargantuan dome is a howling storm of biting icy winds and sharp icicles.

The valley becomes a land of frost and snow instantly, with the Dragon barely even having a second to blink before he is covered in biting frost and being battered by sharp icicles that dig through his scales and flesh.

I put half of my reserves into Winter's Wrath together with Draconic Chanting… Jesus fuck, I hope Aurelia is out of the radius of this thing. I don't even know how wide the scope is!

"I certainly know more about it than you, ya fuckin' overgrown lizard!" I call out with a cackle as the Dragon staggers and grits his sharp rows of teeth.

"Enough!" He bellows, the shout so powerful he actually disrupts the howling winds momentarily, "You know nothing of my plight, and dare make fun of me for it!"

Slowly, his frozen wings spread wide as he stand son his hind legs, uncaring of making his body an even bigger target for the roaring storm that I can easily see through somehow. "I care no longer for a final, honorable battle! I shall brings you down, even if it is the last thing I do!"

Wanting a Dragon claim me as their final kill is quite honorable, I gotta admit…

"That so?" I shake my head, "You get one shot at this, then. Don't disappoint me." What's this?

Am I excited?

And here I thought I couldn't get adrenaline with a dead body.

Or is this the magical equivalent to it?

I just know that throwing so much Magicka around is just… intoxicating. It feels good. Very, very good.

I grip the staff with both hands, then open the dam for my reserves and just let them flow freely into my staff.

The Dragon flexes his claws, then breathes in, making the very air shudder as the roaring winds waver.

                                                                                  "GOL!"

The valley cracks and shudders, the very earth quivering under the Shout of the Dragon.

                                                                                  "GOLZ!"

Spires of stone and earth rise from the ground with loud, horrifying groans as if the very planet is being disemboweled.

                                                                                     "LEIN!"

And then everything goes deadly quiet, as if the world is awaiting one final order… And if I could, I'd be covered in terrified goosebumps right now.

This is not a three-word Shout-

                                                                                       "BAH!"

Are you fucking kidding me!?

The Dragon raises his claws up high, ready to slam them into the ground, clearly telling me that the Shout is not a breath attack, but some form of wide area of attack!

                                                             "He speaks the truth, brother."

Just as the Dragon brings himself to slam the claws down, my whole body is nearly toppled over when my roaring and enormous Winter's Wrath Domain just… Pops.

A blast of force displaces the air, the earth, and turns the land into a barren valley of nothingness.

The molten trench is gone, the spires of earth and stone are gone. Even my frost and icicles are just… gone.

What the fuck…?

I straighten myself, then turn my head towards the powerful voice that disrupted everything, and my gaze lands on a massive gray Dragon covered in battle scars and spiky scales.

He may not be as big as the Dragon I am facing, and yet… Something in my head just screams Dangerous.

Even the titan of a Dragon is trembling before this newcomer that put a stop to his Shout.

With a flap of his wings, the Dragon that I know for a fact is Paarthurnax lands gracefully on the ground between us, gaze calm and wise.

"May we put this squabble to an end, my friends?"

I couldn't help myself.

I use my staff to point towards the wounded Dragon.

"He started it!"

Man, having Paarthurnax stare at me with so much disappointment really hurts…

A.N. Not gonna make all Dragos the 'Rawr! We wanna rule!' dumb fucks like in the game. I want more Parthubros! Uff!

Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed the… short? Long? Medium? Chapter, and sorry for the wait, just done recovering from me recent cold.

I'll try and post another one in the next few days! I should get my ADHD checked and get some meds, maybe they can help me focus.

Either way, lots of thanks for your support, ya lovelies!

Toodles!