The Ballad of the Dragonborn Four: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Way of the Voice
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It was mid-morning the next day and as promised, the Dragonborn were getting ready to leave. Rahm-Ku left Lydia instructions to mind Breezehome while they were gone and to send a courier in case there was an emergency. At Renee's advice, Hiccup and J'Kiir locked their Daedric artifacts in a chest and hid the chest in the house. By far, Lydia had no clue of what the boys had come across and the Dragonborn prefer to keep it that way. Aela had also returned that morning with Skjor's body, but only she and Renee knew what will go on in the future.

Each of the Dragonborn prepared themselves for that day. After cleaning it, Renee wore her leather armor that she received the night before. She decided to just bring a steel sword and a hide shield. She wanted to travel light, but did made sure she was well armed.

Rahm-Ku decided to wear the mage's robes he received from Farengar the day he and his companions discovered they were Dragonborn and some boots. He had finished reading the majority of the books he had received from the court wizard and was only bringing one of the Altercation books and one of the Illusion books with him. He also had a book for a basic Flame spell and a Lesser Ward book for Hiccup during their trip. He had made sure after his outburst to finish teaching Hiccup the local language the previous day so he could heal himself. Although Hiccup had yet to know how to access his own magicka reserves, prompting the Argonian Mage to teach him how to on the way.

J'Kiir was dressed in his own fashion of leather armor, the Elven bow on his back along with a full quiver of steel arrows. He also made sure that Toothless' saddlebags were empty save for the essential supplies. He also made a quick trip to the general store to sell the items he acquired since Helgen and adding more coin to the group money satchel.

Hiccup was also given some fresh clothing for the day. He discarded the Imperial armor he had been wearing for the past few days and settled for a green tunic and dark pants. He had to buy a complete pair of boots but only was able to wear only one. It was J'Kiir's suggestion that he'd use the remaining boot as storage, but he decided to just leave it behind.

As Hiccup saddled Toothless and the others placing the necessities into the saddlebags, J'Kiir whispered to his fellow Dragonborn.

"Don't look now, but we've got some spectators."

Sure enough, upon careful gazing from the others, the Dragonborn and the Night Fury could see the townspeople cast curious glances at the five.

It wasn't the first time that they had been given such glances, mostly by curious children or fretful adults. It took a couple of days before the local gossip chain told them about what the five of them did at the watchtower and that the four teenagers were Dragonborn. Of course, there were some interactions between the local heroes and the people when the former did various jobs, but other than that, the people kept their distance.

Now that the five of them were finally leaving for High Hrothgar, the domain of the Greybeards, the townspeople couldn't help but get a final look at the Dragonborn and their trained dragon.

"Let's just finish up. The sooner we get to High Hrothgar, the better." Rahm-Ku whispered.

The rest of them nodded as Hiccup took out the map of Skyrim from one of the saddlebags.

"So why did you want me to bring out the map, Renee?" He asked.

Renee approached him as he placed the map on a covered barrel.

"You say Toothless can fly us to High Hrothgar, right?"

"Right?" Hiccup asked.

"But here's the thing. We want to show our respect to the Greybeards and I think the best thing we should do is climb the 7,000 steps."

The boys gaped at her.

"What!?"

Renee sighed as she pointed to a spot on the map.

"We can do it once, alright? Climbing the steps will show our respect, which is what we need to do if we're gonna get any answers. So we can…fly…to Ivarstead here in the Rift and walk from there."

"Why Ivarstead?" Rahm-Ku asked.

"Because that's where the steps begin." Renee answered him.

Looking at the map, J'Kiir spoke. "At least it won't take us a few hours to get to Ivarstead. Although it may take us sometime to walk up the steps. I should say it will be at least two hours by the time we make it up there at a good pace."

None of the boys said anything else about the hesitance in Renee's voice. After becoming a werewolf the previous night, the three decided to let her take it easy for a while. Thus, Hiccup voiced that the Dragonborn should fly up to High Hrothgar on Toothless than walk, not wanting to cause Renee to 'go wolf' in impatience. A look from J'Kiir's eyes told the Rider and the Mage that it would be best to do as Renee explained.

With the supplies set, Hiccup got on the new saddle he crafted the other day in between examinations of the Centurion leg he got from Bthardamz. Following him were Rahm-Ku, Renee, and J'Kiir. "Hang on, guys." Hiccup announced, causing the Dragonborn to grab on to the one in front of them while Hiccup held a grip on the saddle.

"Alright, Toothless. Let's go!"

With a jump, Toothless obeyed his rider and took off, leaving a bewildered Whiterun behind.

As they flew southward, J'Kiir gave directions.

"Ok. Remember Haemar's Shame, Hiccup?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

J'Kiir continued. "Follow the stone path from their and we should reach Ivarstead in no time."

Rahm-Ku then spoke up in a strained voice. "Renee. Could you loosen your grip please? I can hardly breathe."

Both Viking and Khajiit looked to the pair and indeed found Renee's strong arms wrapped around the Argonian's waist tightly, her eyes closed not of the wind, but of fear.

"Sorry about that. But I won't let go until we are safely on the ground."

J'Kiir gave a laugh.

"Who knew that the strongest among us is afraid of flying?"

Turning her head to the Thief, the Warrior snarled.

"Easy for you to say! You're not the heaviest amongst us! One wrong move and one of us drops like a rock!"

"Don't worry about it, Renee. If you fall, Toothless and I can catch you." Hiccup spoke.

J'Kiir held his tongue while Rahm-Ku found himself able to breathe again as Renee loosen her grip.

"You better. Or my ghost will come back to haunt you."

The quartet remained silent as Toothless followed the trail around the mountain, the land of Falkreath vanishing at the pass and the Rift coming towards them. Upon passing the pass, Hiccup was finally able to see what the Rift looked like properly, since the last time he was here he was unconscious and carted off to his execution. Despite it being towards the end of summer, autumn had defiantly come in the Rift. Birch trees covered the landscape in a sea of white bark and golden leaves. There were other kinds of trees, too. But the birch was far more prosperous. From their position in the sky, the Viking could see rivers and a lake towards the east.

Complete with the clear blue sky, the Rift was just as magnificent as Falkreath.

"Just another mile until we reach Ivarstead. We should land around here." Rahm-Ku's voice snapped Hiccup out of his thoughts and back to the present as he proceeded to land.

"Sorry about that, guys. I couldn't help but admire the view."

Upon landing, the first to hop off of Toothless was Renee, who was happy to be on the ground.

"Thank the Divines!"

Hearing her, Hiccup patted a disgruntled Toothless on the head.

"Don't worry about it, bud. She'll come around."

The five then looked to the ledge above them.

"I think the Greybeards will understand if Toothless misses a few yards of stairs, right?" J'Kiir asked.

Getting the hint, Hiccup motioned Toothless to climb up to the stairs a few yards above and for him to wait until the four of them catch up.

It was an easy walk from their location to Ivarstead. They did look around as they walked for any dangerous wildlife and the possibility of more enemy dragons flying about as well as keeping an eye on Renee. They reached Ivarstead in a matter of minutes and were one step closer to their answers.

"Only 7,000 steps to go." Hiccup joked.

"And then some." J'Kiir added.

It got them a good laugh out of the group, much to their relief.

Passing the small hamlet, they found the steps across the second bridge since the town came to their second destination. The villagers gave them odd looks, but shrugged them off as word of what happened at Whiterun had yet to arrive. This was a relief to the four Dragonborn as they started their way up the steps.

But as they walked several steps, they spotted something not too far off the path: a small shrine with an inscription on it. Renee was the one who read it aloud while the others, save for Hiccup, read along.

"Before the birth of men, the Dragons ruled all Mundus. Their word was the Voice, and they spoke only for True Needs. For the Voice could blot out the sky and flood the land."

"Any idea what that means?" Rahm-Ku asked the Nord, who shook her head in response.

"Not much. I think I heard something like this when I was little, but I don't remember."

"Think maybe the Greybeards know?" Hiccup asked.

They all just shrugged their shoulders as Rahm-Ku took out a blank book and wrote down the etching.

"Possibly. But there might be more as we go up." Answered the newborn werewolf.

Sure enough, after about a half mile upwards, a second tablet was sitting there with a hunter leaving it. He nodded to the teenagers as they approached the tablet. Rahm-Ku read it aloud.

"'Men were born and spread over the face of Mundus. The Dragons presided over the crawling masses. Men were weak then, and had no Voice.' I guess these must be some sort of timeline about how the Thu'um came to be."

They met up with Toothless at the third etching farther up the trail, which J'Kiir took a crack at reading.

"'The fledgling spirits of Men were strong in Old Times. Unafraid to war with Dragons and their Voices. But the Dragons only shouted them down and broke their hearts.' Looks like mortals rebelled with the dragons, but they proved to be too much."

Renee then looked to Hiccup as five of them continued to walk up the steps.

"I wonder why your dragons don't Shout like the ones we've been facing since we first met."

Hiccup looked at Toothless and patted him on the head.

"I don't know. But if the dragons here could use their Thu'um to force men to submit to them, I'm glad they didn't reach Berk along with our own dragons."

"But who says they hadn't?" J'Kiir asked rather ominously as they continued.

They found another traveler praying at another etching about a few miles upwards. By then, the air was getting pretty thin and the quintet were forced to reduce their pace as they struggle to keep a steady air supply. Renee read the etching aloud.

"'Kyne called on Paarthurnax, who pitied Man. Together they taught Men to use the Voice. Then Dragon War raged, Dragon against Tongue.'"

They kept their silence, not wanting to bother the other woman, the five just walked on, making sure Toothless wasn't seen by the pilgrim. But as they reached a ravine after they continued walking, they found their trail blocked by an unwelcomed creature. It was white as snow and looked like a mad ape. There was only one thing that came to Hiccup's mind when he saw this multi-eyed creature.

"Frost Giant?"

Renee answered as she jumped into the fray with Rahm-Ku casting a flame spell on the attacking creature.

"Frost Troll!"

Toothless growled as the pair took out the Frost Troll. J'Kiir didn't even need to fight as the combination of sword and magic defeated the troll in a matter of minutes. J'Kiir then got to work harvesting something from the troll.

"Gods, J'Kiir! What are you collecting this time?" Hiccup protested.

J'Kiir answered him as he continued to scrap a gelatinous substance from the creature and placing it into an empty container.

"Troll fat has multiple properties, such as being able to resist poison. However, if mixed wrong, it could cause hallucinations and even deteriorate one's health. Thankfully, all trolls are weak against fire."

After J'Kiir collected the sample and they continued on, Hiccup whispered to Toothless.

"Looks like there's more than just native difference between us and Tamriel, eh bud?"

They found more etchings as they continued on, each on the Tamrielans translated for Hiccup and Toothless.

"Man prevailed, shouting Alduin out of the world. Proving for all that their Voice too was strong. Although their sacrifices were many-fold." Spoke Rahm-Ku.

Hiccup's eyes widened at the word 'Alduin.'

"Guys. Why do I get the feeling that word's important?"

"You're not the only one. My fur bristled at the sound of that name." J'Kiir spoke, smoothing his exposed fur out.

The Khajiit read the next etching as they came to it.

"With roaring Tongues, the Sky-Children conquer. Founding the First Empire with Sword and Voice. Whilst the Dragons withdrew from this World."

Renee read again as the found another etching.

"The Tongues at Red Mountain went away humbled. Jurgen Windcaller began His Seven Year Meditation. To understand how Strong Voices could fail."

Then Rahm-Ku once more.

"Jurgen Windcaller chose silence and returned. The 17 disputants could not shout Him down. Jurgen the Calm built His home on the Throat of the World."

They then came across a statue of Talos just as they could see the monastery around the corner. J'Kiir was the one who read the etching.

"For years all silent, the Greybeards spoke one name. Tiber Septim, stripling then, was summoned to Hrothgar. They blessed and named him Dovahkiin."

Hearing that last one, Hiccup turned to Renee and spoke.

"Didn't those guards back in Whiterun mentioned something about a Tiber Septim when we discovered we were Dragonborn?"

Rahm-Ku nodded as he answered.

"Tiber Septim, or Talos as he was originally called, was the first of the Septim Dynasty of emperors. I did a bit of research and apparently, he was what we are. Although the concept of Dragonborn still draws me a blank."

The quintet reached one last etching right in front of the monastery as Hiccup spoke before Renee could read.

"Let me read it this time."

The trio of natives looked to Hiccup with confusion before Rahm-Ku spoke.

"You sure about that? You're still learning the language."

Hiccup held up a blank book of his own, a suggestion given to him by the Mage before the left Whiterun.

"I think I can do this."

The three looked at each other before giving the Viking a supporting nod. He then looked to the etching, using his book as a cheat sheet, then read aloud.

"The Voice is worship. Follow the Inner path. Speak only in True Need."

J'Kiir looked at the etching and nodded.

"He got it right."

The remainder sighed in relief as Rahm-Ku spoke.

"I guess I can teach you how to use magic, now."

But before Hiccup could speak, Toothless walked to the doors of High Hrothgar and sniffed. Catching a calm scent, he motioned to his Rider and their new friends to the door.

"Think they're expecting us, Toothless?" asked Renee.

The Night Fury pushed opened the door, indicating to the four that Renee's assumption was right. Without another word, they followed the dragon into the monastery.
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The dim monastery at least provided shelter from cold wind but did little for the thin air. The grey stone structure reminded Hiccup of the Great Hall back on Berk, minus the Vikings and the tannish coloring. He and the others followed the Night Fury into the center of the monastery, where it was the brightest. Standing before them were four elderly men dressed in grey, hooded robes. One of the men, who was distinguishable by the knot in his beard, approached the five and spoke.

"So…four Dragonborn appears, at this moment in the turning of the age."

Renee was the first to speak, bowing slightly to the man.

"We are answering your summons."

The elder raised an eyebrow before he continued.

"We will see if you truly have the gift. Show us, Dragonborn. Let us taste of your Voices."

The four looked at each other before lining up. One by one, the Dragonborn shouted fus, making sure their aim was away from them. Seeing the force leave each one and away from them, the elders widened their eyes faintly. The elder that spoke did so once again.

"Dragonborn. It is you. Welcome to High Hrothgar."

He then approached the four of them.

"I am Master Arngeir. I speak for the Greybeards."

One by one, the Dragonborn bowed to the Greybeards.

"We are honored, master. I am Renee of Skyrim."

"I am called Rahm-Ku of Black Marsh."

"I am named J'Kiir. Born in Elsweyr."

"And I am Hiccup, I'm from the northern island of Berk. And the dragon with me is my best friend, Toothless."

To the other Dragonborn's surprise, Toothless also bowed in respect of the human elders.

"Could it be possible…that Toothless knew about the Greybeards long before?" Renee thought in suspicion.

Acknowledging the five, surprising them even further that the Greybeards were neither surprised nor freighted, Arngeir spoke.

"Now tell me, Dragonborn, why have you come here?"

But before Renee could answer respectively, J'Kiir beat her to it.

"As Renee has stated, we are here to answer your summons, master. But if I may be so bold as to ask, what does it mean to be Dragonborn?"

Arngeir answered the student.

"We are here to guide you four in that pursuit, just as the Greybeards have sought to guide those of the Dragon Blood that came before you."

This caught interest to the non-Nords, Hiccup speaking out.

"You mean…we're not the only ones?"

Arngeir shook his head.

"None of you are the first. There have been many of the Dragon Blood since Akatosh first bestowed that gift upon mortalkind. Whether you are the only Dragonborn of this age…that is not ours to know. You are the only ones that have been revealed thus far. However, at such a fact that four Dragonborn were born and found simultaneously…that is an extremely rare occurrence. Perhaps, you are the first in that knowledge."

The four remained silent in surprise. Was what the Tamriel Trio had heard upon their return to Whiterun true? Could the emergence of four Dragonborn mean a great disaster is upon them? They remained silent as Arngeir spoke up.

"We are indeed honored to welcome four Dragonborn to High Hrothgar. We will do our best to teach you how to use your gifts in fulfillment of your destinies."

"What are our destinies?" Rahm-Ku asked.

"That is for you to discover. We can show you and your siblings the Way, but not your destination." Arngeir spoke.

However, one part in the sentence caught the Dragonborn's ears.

"Siblings, master? What do you mean?" Renee asked.

Arngeir answered her, gesturing to Toothless first.

"The dragons that preceded your friend's ancestors were born of Akatosh. Those dragons were sons of Akatosh and brothers of their fellow dragons. To have the Dragons Blood in your veins makes you a sibling of not only these dragons, but of your fellow Dragonborn as well. So despite being born to different families and of different races, all of you are blood-related siblings."

That was a slap in the face for all of the Dragonborn, even Toothless was stunned at this revelation. Looking at the Tamriel Trio with the knowledge he had received, Hiccup made the connection as to why he felt so comfortable amongst the three.

They were his brothers and sister.

But, then what does that make Toothless and all of the Northern dragons? Siblings? Cousins? That would be another question that Hiccup would have to look hard in finding the answer to. His questions would have to hold as Arngeir spoke on.

"All of you have shown that you are all Dragonborn. You have the inborn gift. But do any of you have the discipline and temperament to follow the paths laid out for you? That remains to be seen. Now. Shall we begin?"

The four paused and looked at each other for a moment before giving a nod.

Thus, the Greybeards began the lesson with Arngeir speaking.

"Without training, you have already taken the first steps towards projecting your Voices into Thu'um, or Shouts. Now let us see if any of you are willing and able to learn. When you Shout, you speak in the language of dragons. Thus, your Dragon Blood gives you an inborn ability to learn new Words of Power.

"All Shouts are made up of three Words of Power. As you master each word, your Shouts will become progressively stronger. Master Einarth will now teach you four 'Ro,' the second word in the Shout you have demonstrated for us: Unrelenting Force. 'Ro' means 'Balance' in the dragon tongue. Combine it with 'Fus,' 'Force,' to focus your Thu'um more sharply."

It was then that Einarth whispered the word towards the ground in front of them. To the Dragonborn's amazement, the word, though in the dragon language, glowed on the floor. Like before, the quartet gazed upon the word, letting it engrave into their minds. Little did the four of them know that their irises glowed as they learned the word. Once the word on the floor faded.

This action didn't go unnoticed by the Greybeards.

"You learn a new word like masters…you truly have the gift." Arngeir spoke.

"But learning a Word of Power is only the first step… you must unlock its meaning through constant practice in order to use it in a Shout."

The four were about to gape in shock until Arngeir spoke again.

"Well, that is how the rest of us learn Shouts. As Dragonborn, you can absorb as slain dragon's life force and knowledge directly. As part of your initiation, Master Einarth will allow you to tap into his understanding of 'Ro.'"

At that, Einarth gave a light bow and, to the four's surprise, the same ethereal threads that enabled them to learn the words they found flowed from the elder and surrounded the quartet. It wasn't long before Ro was unlocked for them.

"Now let us see how quickly you can master your new Thu'um." Arngeir instructed.

Motioning the four to a spot across from where they originally stood, he continued to teach.

"Use your Unrelenting Force shout to strike at the targets as they appear. First, Renee."

As she got into position, Renee waited as the others watched from the side. Although while she waited, her attention turned to the three boys she traveled with. After years of being a Sabre Fang-raised orphan, she finds out on this particular day that she, in fact, had three brothers. Three odd brothers, sure, but brothers none the less. She snapped out of her stupor as one of the Greybeards shouted at the center of the diamond pattern on the floor.

"Fiik…Lo…Suh!"

It was then that an ethereal image of the castor appeared in front of her. Getting the hint, Renee tested her Voice.

"Fus…Ro!"

The sudden force was stronger when she just used fus, so she had to brace herself for the boomerang effect that followed. Arngeir nodded and motioned Rahm-Ku forward.

"Very good. Your turn, Rahm-Ku."

Rahm-Ku nodded and followed Renee's lead. Like before, he practiced Shout when a specter appeared. Once he was done, J'Kiir was up, then Hiccup, although it was difficult for him to brace himself with the prosthetic leg.

After each of them tried the new word once, the Greybeards allowed them to practice out in the courtyard behind the monastery for the rest of the day and they would learn the next lesson the following day. This gave the four of them the time to talk to each other in between turns.

"So. What a day, huh?" Hiccup asked.

"You got that right." Renee spoke. "I'm more stuck on the fact that you guys are my brothers."

"You're not the only one, Renee. I think that is the only thing that's been nagging at me more than the rest of the questions I have." J'Kiir added in as he got up to bat.

"And I'm already adapted to have four sisters. I wasn't expecting to have one more and three brothers out in the world." Rahm-Ku spoke as he sat down on the monastery steps with his newly found siblings.

Hiccup laughed as Toothless chased the target baskets that the Greybeards allowed them to practice on.

"If only you guys were in Berk three years ago. My dad would've…"

But his words trailed off as he remembered something from that time.

Noting the pause, the Tamriel Trio looked to their new brother.

"Everything ok, Hiccup?"

But Hiccup didn't say anything. What was flashing in his mind right now was his battle with the Red Death, more importantly, the moment he blacked out.

"I just remembered something. When Toothless and I took out the Red Death three years ago, I saw something before I blacked out. I thought it was just my imagination at first, but with what's been happening the past few days, I think I know what happened."

"And what's that?" J'Kiir asked.

Hiccup answered.

"Before I passed out, I thought I saw flames coming from where the Red Death crashed and surround me. But now that I think about it, I think I absorbed her soul instead."

That got the Trio's attention.

"You absorbed her soul?" Renee asked in shock.

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders.

"I think so. I'll have to ask Master Arngeir or one of the others on how I can tell if I absorbed a dragon's soul or not."

The four pondered for a while until Toothless decided to intervene by picking up a basket with his mouth and tossed it onto Hiccup's head. This earned a hearty laugh from the Viking's siblings. He smirked at his Night Fury as he took off the basket.

"Oh, you still wanna play, huh?"

Toothless wagged his tail eagerly in response, earning more laughter from his rider's siblings.

A grin forming, Hiccup tossed Renee the basket.

"Renee!"

Renee got the idea and caught the basket before tossing it in front of Hiccup, who released the Shout that propelled the basket a good distance, allowing the humans, the Argonian, and the Khajiit to watch as the Night Fury chased after the basket like a dog with a stick.

Renee laughed as Toothless handed her the basket.

"Alright, my turn."

The Dragonborn spent much of the day using practicing their Thu'um by playing fetch with a cow-sized black dragon.