Saphire leans against a wall and looks carefully around the corner to see who is waiting down the hall. And saw that at least in this hall nobody was. Only a body with piercing wounds ''Meaning trap." Muttered the female sneasel.
In her work for the companions, she took a job that told her to clean out a bandit camp... said camp happened to have the entrance to some ruins, and of course many of those bandits have run inside it as well after witnessing how she was demolishing her group.
On hindsight storming in by jumping in from the top of a tower and kill as many in their shocked state as possible wasn?t a smart idea at all. But on the other hand... taking them all out at once is nowhere possible with her alone and any lack of long-range options. And bringing along others didn?t come up in her mind until she found the camp.
Also, she wasn?t good enough to get each of them one by one. So her plan was to use her limited sneaking skills to get on top of said tower, throwing away the guy who happened to be there (She wondered why nobody heard him scream or the sound of bones snapping on impact) and jumped, landing on an orc and began to rampage.
Also at first, she thought the guys fleeing into that cave entrance were for setting up a trap or back exit. Little had she expected to find ruins in there.
Of a design,, she never saw in Skyrim. Neither Nordic Tomb nor Dwarves Ruins. Which confused her greatly. She had tried to recall if she at least heard of the designs but nothing came up either.
Anyway, she was soon realizing as well it was trapped and full of creatures. Luckily for her: The bandits were forced to pass them before her. And with that many monsters and traps are either revealed or disabled.
Now about that latest dead bandit... how did he trigger- AHA! Pressure plate just at his feet. Grinning to herself, she jumped over the plate, took any values that she could find on the dead body and walks down the hall... which I kept enlightened by strange crystal structures.
The interior design was long halls and rooms made of stone plates, held in place by black wood. With crystals growing out of the centre of each wall and ceiling piece and enlights the part once she got close enough. While it will, in the long run, reveal she is still tailing these guys, she was also forewarned that something is up ahead if she is seeing light.
If her orientation didn't get lost entirely during the trip so far, Saphire wandered six floors down and at least two kilometers into the west... was she still in the Markath territory by now or is she already in High Rock?
It doesn?t matter for her. What matters is that she is going to finish that job. And if she were right, it means she has still to kill six more bandits. No wrong. Five. Just passed a room where she found the next body, together with...
''From all the creatures I have run into today, THAT?S definitely the last one I figured to see!" and her mind screamed at the fucking question how a by the legendaries and gods damned dragon got in here. Sure the hall was large enough for it to fly and fight. But still leaves the question: How got the dragon in here? As for how it died it was at least clear... a statue lays broken by his neck, so the bandits somehow dropped it on him from one of the higher positions and snapped said neck that way.
And again this statue shows only what she has seen in dozens already in those ruins. A robed humanoid with a mask showing a kind of bird.
Not very helpful if you have no clue what you are working with. ''I wonder how far I am still from whatever this place is trying to protect?`` she muttered to herself.
As far she could tell the traps and creatures protecting the place are going deadlier by the moment. And somehow it gets at least maintained far enough that the creatures are still alive. From one of the few bandits that she caught since this merry chase, she knew that the bandits only found by luck this place... and that according to the only mage they have this place is predating Nordic tombs. And those things already predates the first Era.
That all Saphire knew... she wished she paid more attention to father's history lessons.
She keeps processing along the path and even went one floor down and... go completely back? She huffed as she marched the kilometers she walked in one direction back... but further, this time for her confusion until she reaches a large chamber... and in there she found the remaining bandits.
Trying frantically to open up a door behind a large... stone cocoon? At least I think so... thought I got weary as I saw that only four more bandits are standing there, with no sign of the fifth.
She draws one of her two blades and looks carefully... then she heard something, her feather twitches and whirled around, just in time to see the missing fight trying to split her skull with a Warhammer, but the Sneasel was faster, sidestepping the attack, before slamming her blade inside her opponent and tackle him against the stone cocoon before pulling out.
The bandit dropped down slowly while smearing his blood on the stone object. But Saphire cared little about this and turned, seeing the other bandits have drawn their weapons as well. Sapphire and the bandits were about to fight... as they felt suddenly a pulse... and then a second one.
Then a third. And everybody slowly turned their gazes towards the source of those pulses... the stone cocoon. And Everybody was slowly stepping away from it.
Then a heavy sound was heard, and they turned the door they all came from are shut by heavy stone block. That and the ever growing strength behind the pulses. They looked at each other and Saphire said out loud what everybody was thinking: ``Shit'' and with one last white pulse, everything went wide... and Saphire felt herself slamming against the wall, her body screaming in pain from the hit and whatever this white light does before all went black.
Groaning in pain, Saphire slowly opened the eyes and felt very weak. So weak that she could barely move. And that was something she couldn?t understand. She had taken lots of hits in her life. And many were able to knock her out. But none of them made her feel that weak.
"Ah. You?re awake. I was wondering if you would die anyway." spoke a voice above her "Would be a pity for you to survive my awakening only to die shortly afterwards."
Die? What is this person talking about? Forcing herself to roll on her back, she stared up at the head that looked at her... a birds head... with horns. Piercing blue eyes... black and red in colour...
Suddenly a realization began to hit the young sneasel. This head... could only belong to... and she forces herself to move. Against the wall. To reach a sitting potion. The bird didn?t say anything, just watch and Saphire got a better look. White fur around the neck. The wings showing like an extension of the body. On the end of the wings claws.
``you... you're Yveltal.'' whispered Saphire in surprise, the eyes widened, unable to really feel anything than her weak body, even her feelings rather numb ``But... how...''
``Oh? You wonder how you're alive?'' asks Yveltal with an amused tone. ``Despite you being around as I reawakened and got you hit with my Oblivion Wing like those others in this room?" the head lowering to her level "First of all. I wasn?t using full strength. Take it as a morning stretch after waking up. And second..." and Yveltal got up to full size again "You?re stronger than you thought. Not many can claim to have survived that move, even if it were rather weak.''
Yveltal paused "Well... many would claim that if they were still alive after Dialga knows how long I slept. But 7 times of 10 I didn?t have lethal intentions of using it. But what hit you as I got up, that was relative unrestrained and lethal to anybody too weak to take it. And since you're a sneasel... you can guess the rest.''
Sapphire nodded. Her weak natural defenses shouldn?t have allowed her to take the brunt. And she was Arceus damned the one who stood the closest to Yveltal?s sleeping body. Of those still alive at this point of course. And she has heavy doubts that her armour could have given her any protection at all.
Sapphire looked up at the bird of death and narrows her head. With rest, she could properly get fine enough to somehow leave this place and reach a city... if she isn?t going to die from hunger or worse thirst first. ``So.'' she said to the flying dark type ``What will you do now after waking up?''
Yveltal stretches a little ``Well... three things. One is getting out of here. Just need to find the switch to open the exit for me. Two, finding Xerneas. She will properly wake up soon. Just hoping she isn?t in the great marsh again. Last time finding her was a pain. Afterwards, we meet up with Arceus and get up to date with everything... like every time we went for our one thousand years slumber."
Then the gaze looked down on Saphire and she could swear a smirk was forming in his face ``And third... I am making you my champion!''
That shocked Saphire enough that she shouts ``What???''
``Come on. Is that really that surprising?'' laughs Yveltal ``You survived literally me waking up. And you're the first Mortal to talk with me without begging me not to kill you for Arceus knows how many hours first. Or being over-eager to prove themselves... well. With my role I am not surprised that mostly psychopaths want to be my champions." and shakes the head.
Then he looked at her again ``Anyway. I name you my champion. Now time to give you the two signs of your position.''
``T-two? Not one like the D-''
``Do you think we Legendaries are like the Daedric Princes?'' laughs Yveltal with amusement ``They copied that from us. But hold back one core aspect from this deal. Properly as they cannot recover from that as easy as we do.''
"And why should I accept the champion title of the bird of death?" asks Saphire hotly. "I am not keen on being a walking disaster that kills everybody on the way.''
Yveltal looked down on the sneasel and sighs "Every time I wake up the same old story... my reputation went down, and assume the worse upon seeing me." and shakes his head "Look. I am an alright guy. Good, I am the Bird of Death but I represent the necessary destruction. The kind that happens naturally. Not that mass slaughter you mortals enjoy and call it war or the like. At least I haven?t gone my way out to wipe out a species as the original Companions did under Ysgramor.''
``You... knew Ysgramor?'' asks Saphire in surprise
``KNew him? That guy hunted me. First to force me to join his genocide war, and as I declined he spend the rest of his life to try and kill me. Even ruined one of the meetings I have with Xerneas.''
``You... do understand each other?" Sapphire asks.
"Gets easily angry when I ruin one of this fairy?s favourite places." shrugs the dark type bird "But else a very decent one. And unlike some other pairs of thick heads, Xerneas and I understand that there must be a balance between our respective roles. And don't try to enforce our domains on the one of the other.''
Sapphire was at a loss. Yveltal shrugged "Well, since you got some doubts how about this deal: I get you out, drop you by somebody I know, let him take care of you for a few days, I come back and then you can still say no, deal?''
The sneasel took that moment and given how she is feeling and that she will properly not be able to return to Whiterun or even the closest settlement in her current state, she nods ``Deal.''
"Good" the dark legendary nods and looks around "Nowhere was it... Ah! Here!" and his beak hits a seemly decorative shield but the shield gave away, revealing it to be a large button. Then he grabbed Saphire with one of his feet as the ceiling was starting to open up, revealing a tunnel upwards. ``I hope you don't mind getting wet.''
Wet? What does he- Oh no!
---------
Bursting out of the river within the lands of Markarth, Yveltal let out a loud screech which was heard far and wide before he flaps a few more times with his wings to get orientation and turns towards the west.
Saphire spluttered and coughed out water as she was carried byte bird and wondered if anybody would notice that a lot of water was right now filling an underground tunnel system... and wondered how high this system would be filled.
``Enjoying the sight?'' laughed Yveltal and earned a small glare from Saphire
``After nearly drowning?'' she snapped ``You aren't like the last one that carried me. A dragon that tried to fling me off a mountain.'' she shouts and tried to scratch him and shout in frustration as she couldn't.
``And you survived how?''
``Grabbed his feet, climbed his body and then cut his wings to force a landing.'' she explains ``before I got hold of a war axe and hit him often enough to carve the skull in. Now get me down or I break your bones''
The bird visible whines as he continues to fly "Then don't kill the next one you see. He?s a friend of mine... and to come to think of it one of the few decent dragons I know."
``There are decent dragons?'' asks the female in surprise
``They are only a few... and by some you need to stretch the definition a bit but yes. There are'' explains Yveltal and laughed ``And if nothing went wrong during my sleep, one is still ruling over an island he found before you mortal managed to rebel against the dragons and knocked them off their high horses. Only went with his true loyal followers there and while he has officially slaves, everybody knows they are just the most convicted to his cause. Heck, some are willingly carrying his offspring."
``DRAGONS CAN BREED?" shrieks Saphire in slight horror. It was bad enough they had to deal with pieces of Akatosh here. But in prospect, they could multiply...
"Don?t worry. The conditions are very specific and contain things that the majority of dragons wouldn?t dream of doing. In fact, the one I talk is the only dragon I am aware that he got even any kind of offspring... or mates on a general level. And I doubt that changed in the last thousand years. And he is at it for millennia."
Sapphire paled more, at the thought of how many offspring that dragon had. That must be an army by now. Wait...
``how come that there isn't an army of dragons in the air then?'' she asks with the hope that there might be a problem with having offspring for dragons.
``While the kids are, as far I know with some of the aspects of the dragon, they all take more after their mother. Only getting an affinity for the Thu?um, long life and some other things from their father. But I have yet no one truly born as a dragon. Unless the mother was a dragon type. And don't ask why the island wasn't overpopulated last time I was there. I have no freaking clue what he is doing with all those descendants of his.'' while flying up on the throat of the world and upon its peak, Yveltal threw Saphire into a snow bank, who shouts a protesting "Hey!" before unleashing the signature cry which was soon followed by a roar. And Saphire as she got up, strong enough to be able to stand again, though she doubts she could get far by any means. But she glared at the bird "What is wrong with you, you giant bird brain!!!''
The dragons lands close by ``Drem Yol Lok, Yveltal. It has been a millennium since I last saw you. I take you were sleeping in the time?''
Landing on a nearby wall that reminds Saphire of those word walls she saw in some crypts and dragon protected places. Through the wall was empty for some reasons. An oddity but since she couldn't read Thu'um anyway and never cared to know, she didn't bother further with it. Only watching a dragon and the bird of death conversing now.
``I was" was the bird?s nod "Woke up just a few hours ago thought for some reasons a few people were around. Including the girl I brought along." and the dragon looks at Saphire with a nod of acknowledgement
"Drem Yol Lok, freezing dark one," he said and Saphire understood he was referring to her typing.
Sapphire on the other hand simply crossed her arms and snarls "Hello bis scaly idiot friend of big bird idiot."
To which Paarthurnax laughed heartily "Well it seems, the one you have chosen is quite tempered. I am a bit surprised you even consider somebody like her as your champion.''
"That wasn?t showing until I picked her up" Yveltal laughs "But I still stick to what I said: I am making her my champion. Just need her recovered. Don?t want to kill her by accident when we do the procedure.'' and smirks to Saphire ``Have fun with the Great Beards!'' and flew off.
"Come back here!" shouts Saphire "And get me down from this place! I demand it from you!" and shouts in great anger as the legendary Pokemon didn?t listen to her call, causing her to scream in fury. She turns around and glared at the dragon who only laughed ``A feisty champion he got this time.''
"Don?t call me that!" she snarled and points her claws at him "I don?t want to be associated with the Bird of Death! Or with a bloodthirsty dragon!''
``It seems you have to learn a few things, child.'' mused Paarthuax and tilts his head ``Not to mention you need to calm down. Not every problem can be solved by punching it. Or let your anger take control of you to deal with it.''
"Helped me a lot in the past!" she grunts and went forward... only to fall down due to her body not fully recovered and as such, she shouts once again in great anger and frustration.
``By the nine. It seems that we got quite our work cut out with her.'' whispered the dragon and shakes his head and whispered, "Just like her mother."
