Chapter 9: The Blessings of Nature (1)
The next couple of days, Marcus threw himself into training, and Skjor was more than happy to help him, or beat him up, whichever you prefer. He was also getting used to living in his new home. Neither Marcus nor Aela were good cooks, but Lydia made up for that. The huntress would go out during the day, hunt whatever game she found, and bring it to Breezehome. Lydia would help her with skinning the animals and then cook something for the three of them.
During those two days, Marcus had also been going through the memories of Mirmulnir. He was trying to learn more about the Dragons and their Thu'um. One thing he understood is that those creatures are prideful and arrogant beyond belief. In their eyes, they were the strongest beings on Nirn and had no weaknesses, which in a way was true.
Another being that the Thu'um wasn't just simply shouting, it was something far more profound. Successfully done, it bends the laws of the world to do their bidding and cause an effect. Mirmulnir knew how to use only four words. Fus or power, which Marcus already knew. Ro or balance, the continuation of Fus, making the shockwave even stronger. Yol or fire, sending a blast of fire instead of a shockwave. And finally, Toor or inferno, the continuation of Yol, making the blast even stronger. He had been trying to use all the new words he learned from the Dragon, but since they weren't engraved in his soul like Fus was, they didn't come to him as easily. So far, he had little to no success with them.
Marcus had some success with his Dragon thoughts. Well, success wouldn't be the right word since he couldn't prevent those thoughts, but he learned how to ignore them. They were more like a nuisance at this point, but from time to time, he got stronger than normal urges.
Through Mirmulnir's memories, Marcus saw that he had a faint blue aura around him during the fight. He understood the faint blue aura was Magicka and had tried replicating that feat during the past two days. But again, he had little to no success with that as well. Marcus visited Farengar to return the book the mage gave him and ask him about this. He didn't dare stay long with him, however. After getting another book from the mage, The Basics of Destruction Magic, he ran away from there as fast as possible. The way Farengar stared at Marcus like he is the finest specimen, scared even the Dragon within him. Both were in agreement that they wouldn't be visiting the mage anytime soon.
During his escape, Balgruuf had called him to inform him that the Greybeards had summoned him when he was unconscious. The Jarl told him they are an ancient and honored order that dwell in their mountain sanctuary High Hrothgar, which is located on the highest mountain peak in Tamriel, the Throat of the World. Supposedly, the Greybeards are masters of Thu'um or the Voice, they live in absolute silence to better attune themselves to the voice of the sky. If Marcus didn't have Mirmulnir memories, he might have believed that. But he knew that even the Dragons, who spoke the language freely and as arrogant as they were, wouldn't call themselves masters of the Thu'um. A master of the Voice would be someone who could freely bend the laws of the word, he would be a God amongst men. If the Greybeards were such fierce characters, then even the Dragon crisis will be nothing for them.
He also visited the Temple of Kynareth, to check up on the injured guards. There he witnessed the priests and priestesses healing the good men. Marcus was more than intrigued about that. He sought out the head priestess, Danica Pure-Spring, and asked if they could potentially train him the Healing spell. At first, she refused him, saying that's the job of a priest and not a warrior. Marcus argued that if he gets injured, which he knew he will, while nowhere near a temple, there would be no one to heal the Dragonborn. He didn't like using his title to gain special treatment, but he felt that the Healing spell would be important for him. Especially since the low-quality Health potions were healing him a lot slower than before. He wasn't sure if it was due to his body getting used to them or if because he had gotten stronger, but either way, that wasn't a good thing for him.
In the end, Danica relented and gave him a book, The Basics of Restoration - How To Heal Your Patient. She told Marcus, he can come to her whenever he had questions about the book. Which he was sure he would have to do if the book was anything like The Basics of Destruction Magic. The first book Farengar gave him was somewhat easy to understand, but the second one not so much. To him, it was like a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Mumbo jumbo that was actually true and worked, just not for him. The only thing he understood was:
1. Connect to your Magicka.
2. ???
3. Cast the spell you want.
Danica also asked him for assistance, to help her restore the Gildergreen, the large tree outside of the temple. The three had been planted as a seedling in the early years of Whiterun. Disciples of Kynareth could sense something holy in it, and traveled far to hear the winds of the Goddess in its branches. Until the tree had been struck by lightning. She believed that the tree is not fully dead but in a deep slumber. Apparently, the Gildergreen had been grown from the Eldergleam, one of the oldest living things in Tamriel.
Danica thinks that if they get sap from the Eldergleam, they could restore the Gildergreen to its former glory, but to do that, they need a special weapon, the Nettlebane. The weapon was created by Hagravens, women who were once witches, but they had exchanged their humanity to turn into something else, a mix between a human and a crow. They bear a vitriolic hatred against nature and hunt down Spriggans to capture and sacrifice them for their rituals.
Danica was even able to point him to a place, Orphan Rock, where she believed a Hagraven resided. When Marcus asked her how she knew, she admitted that two of her priestess weren't happy with being only healers and ran away from the temple to study under a Hagraven to become witches and learn the arts of Destruction. Which begged the question, if studying Destruction magic made someone evil, but Danica informed him that how one used the magic mattered, and witches didn't use it for good.
This is how Marcus found himself passing Riverwood with Aela. He had wanted to grab Lydia and Norrmir, but the huntress begged him to go only with her, saying she had something important to show and speak to him about. Marcus wanted to get them a room in the Sleeping Giant, but that idea was quickly scrapped when Aela told him they would need to be in the forest, far away from other people, for their talk. He also didn't want to meet Camilla since he didn't know how to deal with her. And the longer he stayed in Riverwood, the bigger chance of meeting her.
They were walking on the road pass Riverwood when Marcus started pondering what exactly did Aela want to talk to him about. And the more he thought about it, the more nervous he got. Was she already tired of him? Did she want to leave him somewhere in the forest, but then, why did she already move her stuff in his house? Or maybe she even wanted to kill him in a place where nowhere will find him? Maybe she wanted the house for herself? He wasn't sure what Aela wanted to talk about, but he hoped that it wasn't anything as bad as he thought. She was more than just his lover. She was his friend and emotional support in a world that was out to get him. He took a peek at her, and the huntress also seemed nervous, even though she was hiding it.
Aela wanted to tell him about her secret, but she was afraid to do it. What if he runs away and informs Balgruuf? She will probably never get to see him again. But what if he calls her a monster and attacks her? Would she even blame him? Will she be able to even defend herself? She didn't want to admit it, but deep down she knew, she cared about him more than anyone else. She wouldn't even dare strike back. Just the thought that this might be the end of their relationship made her shudder in fright.
Both of their thoughts were interrupted when they reached the city of Helgen. Or at least what was left of it. The entire place had been razed to the ground. The only signs that there was a city once there was the rubble from the buildings.
"A Dragon did this?" Aela asked in surprise while looking around.
"Yeah..." Marcus weakly confirmed. He still couldn't believe that he had managed to survive and escape from here.
"I'm starting to wonder how we even managed to survive and slay a Dragon." Aela said.
"Mirmulnir was one of the weakest Dragons, but this was done by Alduin, The Wolrd-Eater. He is the oldest and strongest of them all. He is the leader of the Dragons." Marcus explained. The fact that he would have to fight him at some point scared him to death. How was one supposed to fight a calamity, a force of nature?
"Do you think we can beat him?" Aela asked. Marcus felt happy that she said we, instead of you, but he wasn't sure if he wanted her to be anywhere near Alduin when he had to fight him.
"I don't know. I honestly don't think I'm strong enough to fight him. I did get stronger from absorbing Mirmulnir's soul, and I did learn more about the Dragons from him, but Alduin is on a whole other level." Marcus answered truthfully.
Aela nodded and smiled at him. "Then we will hunt down Dragons, so you can absorb their souls until you are strong enough to face him!" Her words relieved him. He wasn't sure what she wanted to talk to him about, but he didn't think she will dump him after this.
Marcus hugged her tightly. "Thank you. I don't think I will be able to do it without you. Without your support, I'm not sure if I will be able to go on."
Aela looked at him and smacked her lips against his. "I'll be there for you as long as you don't push me away." The thought of telling him about her secret scared her, but she mustered her courage and led him out of the razed city.
Aela brought him in the forest nearby and looked around to confirm there is no one around. She took a deep breath and said. "Marcus... I don't want to keep hiding things from, so I'm going to be honest with you." She took another deep breath. "I'm a Warewolf." She was looking at the ground, not even daring to look at his face.
Marcus took a step back and gulped. "You didn't bring me here to eat me, did you?" He didn't know much about Werewolves, but Hadvar and Ralof spoke with venom about them. Then again, they spoke the same about pretty much anything that wasn't a Nord.
"No! I would never! I care too much about you to do that!" Aela denied and finally dared to look up. Marcus smiled at her and brought her in for a hug. "I don't care what you are, I care about who you are. And you are Aela the Huntress, my mate, and dearest friend. The person I care about the most in this world." Aela smacked her lips against his and wanted to shred his clothes right there and then, but they had a task to complete.
After their brief moment of passion, she released the kiss and stared at his blue eyes. "Let's go deal with this as soon as possible. I want to go back to our house and make you happy."
"Well, I can't say no to that, now can I?" Marcus asked with a smirk. "No, no, you can't." With that, the two continued on their way to Orphan Rock, which was about an hour away from where they were.
When they neared the location, they heard a voice that sounded nothing like a human chanting, and the screams of a man. They sped up their pace, and on a small hill, they saw a woman with shriveled skin and claws instead of hands, holding a dagger and using it to carve runes on a Nord. Besides the Hagraven, laid a woman in black robes with a weird creature made of wood next to her, and one more woman wearing the same robes was standing beside them.
"We have to stop them." Both Marcus and Aela quickly pulled an arrow and shot it towards the Hagraven. The woman that was standing up stood in the way, raised her left hand, and a barrier formed in front of her. Both of their arrows bounced off, but the barrier trembled from the attack.
The Hagraven screamed something unintelligible to the witch, but the black-robed woman was somehow able to understand the monster. "I will stop those intruders no matter what."
The witch raised her other hand, and fire appeared on it. Before she could even manage to send the attack, three more arrows hit the barrier in front of her and destroyed it. Another arrow then flew and lodged itself in her head.
'I'm sorry, but this had to be done. You were sacrificing people.' Marcus justified his action as the last arrow was shot by him. 'To live, you have to adapt, that is the way of the wild.' He repeated the mantra and prepared to deal with the Hagraven. At least she was a monster that was no longer human.
Before they could attack the Hagraven, the witch that was laying down screamed as black light covered her, the wooden creature, and the Nord. In seconds, her body transformed to look identical to the Hagraven. Both monsters screeched and prepared to deal with the two that had nearly interrupted the ritual. Each Hagraven created a barrier with one hand while preparing an attack with the other. One, shot a blast of fire, while the second, shot an ice cone towards them. Aela and Marcus dodge out of the way while shooting arrows towards them.
The huntress was an expert with the bow and had little to no problem shooting arrows while running. Each of her shots landed accurately on one of the barries, but the Hagraven's shield was a lot stronger than the one the witch had created. It wouldn't break from just a few arrows.
Marcus, on the other hand, wasn't as good as Aela. An arrow or two would hit the barrier, but he would run out of arrows before he could manage to destroy it. He was a lot better with a bow, but he didn't think he can deal with the Hagraven from a distance. His only option was to bring the fight up close and personal against the magical creature.
Quickly, he unsheathed his sword and grabbed the small shield that was hanging on his hip before dashing towards the Hagraven that was focused on him. Ever since he absorbed the Dragon's soul, his strength had increased by leaps and bounds. He was still nothing compared to the older Companions, but he was almost on the level of the younger ones. After dodging a few fire blasts and blocking one with his shield, he reached the Hagraven. He took a blast of fire to the face, which only staggered him for a moment.
Marcus had sought advice from Vilkas on how he could increase his fighting skill faster. He didn't want to put others in danger when he was supposed to be the one to slay the Dragons. But he also knew that he wasn't skilled enough to fight monsters and Dragons with his meager skills with the blade. The only advice Vilkas had for him was to continue honing his skill through training and fighting. However, he also came up with a fighting style for him. A fighting style that was deadly for others, but not so much for Marcus. It involved taking deadly hits from the enemy to dish out even deadlier upon his opponents. The only problem with that fighting style was that he needed to have a high pain tolerance, which Marcus was already building up, thanks to Skjor beating him to near-death every time they sparred. He still didn't understand why the old Companion started hating him all of a sudden.
After taking the blast, Marcus spun around the barrier that only blocked the front of the Hagraven. The witch had just become a monster and wasn't used to her new body. She couldn't react, nor knew how to use her claws to defend herself. With a simple thurst of his steel sword, he pierced the head of the Hagraven. She was still a human-like monster, so she couldn't survive the attack. Marcus had taken a blast of fire, but he was half-dragon, and Dragons were masters of the flame. Not only was he somewhat resistant to the element, but he had also gained a bit of Magic resistance from absorbing the Dragon soul.
The other Hagraven screeched before her barrier grew in size and surrounded her. She was a lot more proficient in the Arcane Arts compared to the other, considering Aela still hadn't destroyed her spell when she had hit it with over a dozen arrows already. Lightning gathered on the Hagraven's hand, and she shot it towards Marcus. The electricity latched onto his steel sword before traveling to him, making him spasm from the attack. He had a bit of Magic resistance, but he wasn't immune to Magic.
Being electrocuted was not a pleasant feeling, and Marcus learned that the hard way. His nerves were going haywire, and he needed to do something fast. However, he couldn't even take a step towards the Hagraven to try and stop her spell. As a last resort, he opened his mouth. "FUS!"
Marcus didn't how the shout would effect Magic since he had never used it before in such a situation, but it went a lot better than expected. The shockwave that exited his mouth not only pushed the lightning away from him, but once it reached the barrier, it also pushed it away from the Hagraven, before sending her flying. Marcus fell on his knees, breathing heavily with his skin charred from the lightning and fire blast he took head-on.
The Hagraven was just about to get up when a large wolf head, connected to a slender human-like body with fur, appeared above her. Before she could process where the monster came from, the Warewolf started swiping at the Hagraven with its claws. Even when she died, the Warewolf didn't stop and continued attacking until the Hagraven was nothing more than mincemeat.
The Warewolf then ran towards Marcus, who was weakly trying to stand up. The moment he saw the beast in front of him, he thought he was as good as dead. But after his blue eyes looked in the yellow ones of the beast, he saw no malice in them, only concern.
"Aela?" Marcus asked with a hoarse voice. "Is that you?" The Warewolf let out a low grunt before transforming back to a beautiful naked woman with reddish-brown hair. Without saying a word, Aela took a potion out of his pouch and poured it in his mouth. Still, Marcus didn't fully heal from that single potion, so she gave him another one. He shed his charred skin like a snake, and a new one formed within minutes.
"Feeling better?" Aela asked gently.
"Much better. Thank you." Marcus answered.
"I'll go grab my equipment, so why don't you find the dagger while I put something on." Aela said with a smile and turned around, swaying her hips back and forward. Marcus couldn't resist staring at her shapely naked figure. No matter how many times he saw her, he was always mesmerized by how stunning she looked. He shook his head before standing up.
Marcus was easily able to find the Nettlebane, a dagger made of pure black metal. He met up with Aela, and the two found a place a distance away from Orphan Rock, where they could set up a camp for the night. Both of them were resistant to the cold, so they didn't bother with making a fire, they just placed a single bedroll, which Aela carried with her. As much as he wanted to sleep together with her, that wasn't an option in the wild. One always had to stand guard in case something unexpected happened during the night. In the morning, they picked up their stuff and returned back to Whiterun to inform Danica that they have acquired the Nettlebane.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
nogainjustpain
nogainjustpain Uh, the video card on my laptop went puf puf, so I had to write this on a tablet. I'm kinda broke right now and can't fix it immediately, so for the next week, chapters would probably as short as this. I'm also not sure how many I will be able to get done since it's a lot harder when you don't have a reference to work with.
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