A/N: HUN KAAL ZOOR! Zachary is summoned on patreon!
(Hero Champion Legend 'Call of Valor Shout')
Will post an extra for his honor as I will do from now on for every new Patron.
Sorry about yesterday, guys. I was doing a job application in Cairo ( T ʖ̯ T)
Also, you guys ain't voting or commenting... 5000 votes for extras, remember? Chop chop!
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The old shaman Storn Crag-Strider is a major character in the Dragonborn DLC of the game, he is very knowledgeable about the All-Maker... very knowledgeable to the point that some higher beings lust for his knowledge.
What he told me about gaining a permanent blessing from the All-Maker was really interesting. I already have two Permanent Blessings, the 'Agent of Talos' and the 'Agent of Kyne' which both Fortify my Thu'um, the Agent of Kyne empowers my Thu'um and the Agent of Talos make me recover the ability to Shout another Thu'um faster, I acquired them both at some time I am not aware of but mostly due my late actions of always wearing a powerful Amulet of Talos and building a Temple for Kyne or something along those two.
The All-Maker, however, has a different set of rules to bless those who achieve the 'Oneness' with the nature. The 'Oneness' can be achieved by making a successful pilgrimage to the Six Stones of the All-Maker, this pilgrimage strengthens the presence of the All-Maker and grants one random blessing of the six blessings of the All-Maker to the pilgrim.
It wasn't as unicorns and rainbows as I imagined when Shaman Storn started telling me a story of an old Skaal Hero who managed to restore the gifts of the All-Maker to the lands of the Skaal years ago, his name is Aevar Stone-Singer.
In a time long ago there was peace in the Land. The sun was hot and the crops grew long, and the people were happy in the peace that the All-Maker provided. But the Skaal grew complacent and lazy and they took the Lands and all the gifts the All-Maker had given them for granted. They forgot that the Adversary is always watching and that he delights in tormenting the All-Maker and his people. And so it was that the Adversary came to be among the Skaal.
The Adversary has many aspects. He appears in the unholy beasts and the incurable plague. At the End of Seasons, the Skaal also know him as Thartaag the World-Devourer (Alduin). But in these ages he came to be known as the Greedy Man.
The Greedy Man lived among the Skaal for many months. Perhaps he was once just a man, but when the Adversary entered into him, he became the Greedy Man, and that is how he is remembered.
It came to be one day that the powers of the Skaal left them. The strength left the arms of the warriors, and the shaman could no longer summon the beasts to their side. The elders thought that surely the All-Maker was displeased, and some suggested that the All-Maker had left them forever. It was then that the Greedy Man appeared to them and spoke.
"You of the Skaal have grown fat and lazy. I have stolen the gifts of your All-Maker. I have stolen the Oceans, so you will forever know thirst. I have stolen the Lands and the Trees and the Sun, so your crops will wither and die. I have stolen the Beasts, so you will go hungry. And I have stolen the Winds, so you will live without the Spirit of the All-Maker. And until one of you can reclaim these gifts, the Skaal will live in misery and despair. For I am the Greedy Man, and that is my nature."
And the Greedy Man disappeared.
The members of the Skaal spoke for many days and nights. They knew that one of them must retrieve the Gifts of the All-Maker, but they could not decide who it should be.
"I cannot go," said the Elder, "for I us must stay to lead the Skaal, and tell our people what is the law."
"I cannot go," said the Warrior, "for I must protect the Skaal. My sword will be needed in case the Greedy Man reappears."
"I cannot go," said the Shaman, "for the people need my wisdom. I must read the portents and offer my knowledge."
It was then that a young man called Aevar lifted his voice. He was strong of arm, and fleet of foot, though he was not yet a warrior of the Skaal.
"I will go," said Aevar, and the Skaal laughed.
"Hear me out," the boy continued. "I am not yet a warrior, so my sword will not be needed. I cannot read the portents, so the people will not seek my counsel. And I am young, and not yet wise in the ways of the law. I will retrieve the Gifts of the All-Maker from the Greedy Man. If I cannot, I will not be missed."
The Skaal thought on this briefly, and decided to let Aevar go. He left the village the next morning to retrieve the Gifts.
Aevar Stone-Singer was set to retrieve the gifts and was aided by the All-Maker, he performed the pilgrimage to the Six Stones of the All-Maker successfully and saved his people. From that day on, the Skaal upkeep the tradition and encourage their young warriors and hunters to go through it. In another meaning, it is the clan's Coming of Age test.
"So, it can be performed in not a ceremonial way and at any time of the year." I made a speculation.
"Indeed. The young Aevar Stone-Singer was only guided by the All-Maker with no ceremony whatsoever. Whoever intends on doing the pilgrimage will be guided too." Shaman Storn replied.
"What about being an Outsider?"
"Outsiders are always welcome here as long as they don't corrupt the land of the All-Maker like how the Imperials did two hundred years ago."
"Oh! I know that story."
"You do?"
"Yes, during the Bloodmoon of the Daedric Prince Hircine, the Skaal were being attacked by the were-creatures and the Imperials from Raven Rock caused a lot of disturbance. It was the Nerevarine who saved the Skaal by doing three Rituals or something along those lines."
"So you are knowledgeable about such a thing, that is indeed a true story that not all Skaal know." Shaman Storn confirmed my words.
I was being looked at in a new light when I talked with the Shaman about the All-Maker and the history unknown to some. Of course playing some 'Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind' helped grandly.
I was also told that it is advised to take a number of six people on the pilgrimage at minimum so that all the blessings can be distributed as the Skaal descendants do it, they go in one group to lessen the danger but only six of them get the blessings and later come to be the Shamans, the Warrior Commanders, the Chiefs and all that.
In the end, a feast was thrown and a small drinking party was held as the traders are really appreciated around these parts.
Now both the Skaal and Raven Rock will see me the Dare Dragon Company as their exclusive trading partner as long as I make more bonds with them. This pilgrimage will smoothen the business in the future and may add to my power if it went the right way.
After all was said and done, we were showed to the guest rooms in the Great Hall of the Skaal. It was a quiet night in a place that felt Nordic enough rather than the Alien nature of Raven Rock.
We woke up earlier than usual the next day as it seems that the Skaal start the day by Dawn. I forced everyone up as soon as possible and even made Nefertiti go into Human Form.
"The duty of guiding you around the Stones of the All-Maker."
Frea daughter of Storn met us with two Skaal boys.
"I thank you in advance and apologize for the trouble."
We got ready and left with Frea right away.
***
The Stones of the All-Maker are six, the Water Stone, the Earth Stone, the Beast Stone, the Tree Stone, the Sun Stone and the Wind Stone.
"According to the story of Aevar Stone-Singer, the first stone he was guided to by the All-Maker was the Water Stone, Far north of Raven Rock, along the coast." Frea acted as our guide as we headed back to Raven Rock.
The road was peaceful with the help of Alina's new Spriggan friend that kept protecting us through the trees. If one concentrated the Detection Magic on the Flora around, one can sense some traces of the Spriggan.
The walk didn't take long and we arrived to Raven Rock at the Afternoon. Frea and the Skaal boys went to the market to arrange sone shipments for their clan then continued to the north with us.
To the north, the road was unmanned and narrow, it started going up to a snowy hill after some time. After two hours of walking, we finally stumbled on some trouble.
"Riekling!"
The two Skaal boys shouted and readied their weapons. To their shouts, a funny thing emerged from the snow.
What the boys called a Riekling was a small goblin-like creature with a pale blue skin wearing fur and holding a short spear. One can simply think of them as snow goblins.
"Jyyyyyyyoooooor!"
That Riekling saw us and started making strange sounds and screams. Soon after, a swarm of these creatures appeared.
"Find cover! They will throw the spears." Frea shouted and hid behind a rock.
We followed her silently and hid behind cover.
"They are too much, these pesky creatures! We need to shoot back at them." Frea said.
"Forget it. Their number is big, we need to go back." One of her followers shouted.
It seemed that they got overwhelmed easily.
"Alina, how many?"
"47."
"Good, whoever have the least kills will treat the others." I said.
"Hey, you still own me chicken shawarma with tahini and pickles." Jullanar remembered something I was trying to shake away.
"We'll go on three... three!"
I cast 'Bound Armor' and covered myself with a full body armor suit, then cast 'Bound Bow' and started shooting an arrow after the other.
"Dirty!" Jull was infuriated and jumped off her cover aiming her crossbow at anything that walks.
"Not losing!" Wulfur charged out of his cover with Bjorna both carrying big weapons and shields.
"Nefertiti, let's leave these idiots alone." Alina took Nefertiti to the side to have a fluffy time together.
I ignored all the small spears that were thrown at me by the Bound Armor and kept putting down the Rieklings with the Bound Bow. My archery skill became a bit rusty but I sure did fine.
Wulf and Bjorna charged together and fought back to back attracting a big number of the Rieklings.
Jullanar, on the other hand, was going full on Rambo Mode and started shooting every Riekling in sight. She ran forward as she was shooting and once she got cornered, she switch to the spears of the Rieklings and started sticking them in their skulls.
"Kuuuuuuuuuwaaaaa!"
A loud cry came from the beach side, ten Riekling appeared riding on boars. These are the Riekling Riders and their Bristleback Boars.
They saw us and charged towards our direction.
Bjorna and Wulfur were getting ready to block the chargers but a figure bypassed them like a bolt of lightning. This was Jull.
"Hey! Be careful."
She ran towards the riders alone and jumped at one of them sending one away with a flying kick. She used the Riekling as a foothold and jumped at the other kicking it away, she kept throwing spears and weapons around making a comical scene. The last Riekling Rider was kicked on the ground with a spear on its chest.
Jullanar snorted as she dusted her hands off and picked up her crossbow. She aimed it at me and shot a bolt.
I was standing still and the bolt bypassed me, it hit a Riekling that was feigning death behind me, it died with a high pitched shriek.
She walked towards me with a solemn face and stood a few steps away.
"Alina, the score?" She asked.
"Jon got 18, Bjorna and Wulfur got 22..."
"Wait! Why are they combined together?" I asked.
"We are a team." They said.
The nerve!
"Jullanar got 17 Riekling and 10 Bristlebacks. Total of 27."
"Come on! You counted the boars?"
They clearly planned this one.
Jullanar smiled as got closer to me and whispered.
"Bitch better have my Shawarma!"
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This Chapter comes to you by the good graces of Zachary! PAH YEIN, All Hail.
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"Ouch! Ouch! I am sorry, but me down." Jull was struggling as I kept carrying her... from her ears.
There is nothing more painful for an elf like being carried from their little pointy ears.
"Got your feelers hurt, babes?"
"It is painful dammit!" She said as she was holding to my arms and lifting her body up.
"Who is whose bitch again?"
"I am sowwy! *sniff* it is me."
"Congratulations for the reboot." I put her down.
The Skaal boys and Frea had came out long ago but they were in there little conversation of counting the how many we killed or how awesome we are or something along those lines, not really sure... what is important is that we are expecting them to say some words of admiration.
Frea talked to Alina and Alina seemed to be handling the socializing as usual, her charm is top notch and she always smile at people which makes her the best to talk too rather than three hulklings (Jon, Bjorna, Wulfur) and one crazy elf.
"This way, the Water Stone is close."
We rallied up further behind Frea who led the way again. A minute and a hundred steps later, we could see a giant stone pillar up on those hills. It was enveloped by a green aura of majesty and as we got closer to it, we would feel its healing effect.
Strangely, Alina and Jullanar paused first for some reason.
"That is some Deja Vu I got there."
"Me too, sister. Look at the size! It is almost the same."
"I know!"
They looked at the stone and then looked between my legs.
What the...!
My expressions couldn't be kept straight anymore and I glared at them to get back in line before anyone notices their weird action. Just because we used the Aura when we slept together once (to intensify things) doesn't mean you should remember it with each large stone pillar that emits a green aura. Good grief!
Anyway, we arrived on top of the hill and there we got a closer look at the stone pillar. There was a small pool of water around it and it was the place seemed peaceful and quiet.
"We should now meditate for the All-Maker. It is hard for outsiders to do it because of the lack of faith but father said you will all do just fine. First, you need to place your hands on the stone all one at a time and try to activate it fully. Who is going first?"
"I will." Wulfur said.
He said and I nodded to him. I have spent some time with him explaining my theory of the All-Maker and all this and that so he was already good to go. He entered the pool of water and it almost reached his knees, he then placed a hand on the stone and closed his eyes to get the feel of meditating. It wasn't hard for him as I hammered some of my magic theories into his brain when he was young so it took him a minute until some green runes on the stone lit up from the bottom of the stone.
"That was... fast." Frea looked at Wulfur with admiration and she smiled ear to ear.
I noticed how she was looking at him since yesterday but I am sure that this airhead didn't get a clue.
"Humph! I am next." Bjorna walked past Frea with a snort.
Wulfur came back and Bjorna did as he did. It took her way more than him but she did it in the end. She finished and came to Wulfur's side.
Jullanar was the next to go and she did it the same time as Bjorna, she clearly doesn't have that much faith in any proclaimed god like me.
"Okay, Nefertiti. You're up." I put Nefertiti down in front of the pool.
"The girl, she is too young to understand the ritual, I am going to..." Frea said in a worried tone.
"No, thank you. She'll do just fine, ain't that right, girl?" I looked at her and asked.
"Mhm!" Nefertiti turned serious and nodded right away.
Such an adorable little thing!
She looked at the stone with seriousness and stepped on the water, we could see a black veil of darkness covering her feet and she calmly walked on water.
"This is!" Frea didn't imagine to something like that. Actually, no one did.
"Water Walking Magic!" I said to cover any misunderstanding.
This little rascal has developed a new Shadow Magic ability, let's call it 'Shadow Step'.
She walked like that on the pool until she reached the stone and touched it with here tiny hands.
{Hooman, now what?} I could hear her thoughts asking me what to do through the mystical bond we share.
{Just let you mind seep into the stone and think of a beautiful being of light that is on the other side of the stone.}
It was a simple as she can understand, that what I could only tell her.
What happened afterwards was bizarre, the Stone Pillar shone right away and another set of runes appeared above Wulf's and Jorna's.
"All-Maker! It took her just a second!"
"What in the world? Is she blessed by the All-Maker?"
The Skaal trio gasped right away.
This was truly unexpected, I know cats are awesome but this cat is breaking the records.
She turned around and ran happily towards me.
"Sir Jon, your daughter is truly blessed." Frea said something that made the five of us freeze.
Daughter, huh?
I looked at Nefertiti and carried her up on my arm.
"Yes, she is." I couldn't help but to confirm it.
"Our daughter." Alina stuck closer to Nefertiti and made the image look whole.
The three of us looked at us and got our moment there. We indeed look like a family except that who knows us know that we are both 17 and Nefertiti have the appearance of a 7 years old kid.
"Okay, Alina. Your turn." I said and Alina walked to Alina walked towards the stone pillar in the pool.
I looked at Nefertiti and whispered, "In your human from, always call me 'Daddy' and Alina 'Mommy'!"
"Call me big sis!" Jull said.
"And us uncle and aunt." Wulf and Jorna also wanted to take a part in.
While we were making distributing the fluff, Alina stood at the pool and cast a spell to walk on the water, her spell was unusual as the water under her feet froze, I love that she always do her own things with her 'Child of the Storm' style. He Frost and Wind magics are really top notch because of Kyne's Favor.
She touched the Water Stone with her hands and it didn't take her a second, just like Nefertiti, the Runes on the Water Stone were activated right away.
"Again?"
"By the All-Maker!"
And she just did it, she was a bit surprised but she acted in a calm manner anyway.
"My turn then."
I handed Nefertiti to Alina and walked in the pool right away, I also touched the Water Stone and its top Runes glowed with no pause.
"This is... the whole family is blessed!" The Skaal kids were not as surprised and came to a good conclusion.
"What now?" I walked out of the pool and asked Frea.
"Just give me a second to calm down... Phew! The pilgrims need to wait for the Swimmer the follow it under water with an empty waterskin or a flask then bring back the Waters of Life from the underwater cave the Swimmer will guide to. You guys should decided which one of you will go for a swim, please pick your best diver for the task." She said.
Best diver?
I looked at my people and questioned, we are Nords so we swim a lot but it is a bit hard to do so in Winterhold.
"I'll do it." Jorna said.
"Wait! It is not easy to..." I wanted to warn her but Alina stopped me.
"You may not know this but Bjorna was born on a boat, she is second only to Uncle Njord when it comes to diving."
She is?
Well, I am seeing her in a new light now.
"Fine, Jorna. You're up."
We all were in agreement and it seemed that Wulf was aware of Bjorna's skill in water.
"What is the Swimmer?" Nefertiti asked something we failed to notice.
"Oh, sweetie! It is a holy beast sent by the All-Maker to help those who want to complete the Trial of the Water Stone. Remember, harming the Swimmer is a bad thing." Frea said.
"Okay."
We walked a few meters to the west and there we arrived at the beach.
"Here you go cousin, a 'Water Breathing Potion' and some 'Snowberry Extract', you will never get cold underwater with my special extract."
"Thanks, cousin."
Alina evoked a spell and aimed at Jorna.
"With this you will swim faster." She said.
"Thanks, Alina."
Bjorn was removed her boots and light armor and walked to the water with her clothes. She gulped the two potions I gave her then waited. A few seconds later, some creature came out of the water.
"It is a Horker! A Black Horker!" Jullanar was stunned with what she saw.
Horkers are grey Walruses with with three tusks instead of two, they are peaceful as long as no one goes into their territory.
"This is the Swimmer, please follow it underwater and never harm it."
"Okay... one last thing!" Jorna was about to leave but she turned around and grabbed Wulfur then...
"Okay, take it easy!" I couldn't help but laugh. How bold of her! I could see her looking at Frea for a second there... so she noticed too. Mark your territory, girl. Mark it... all the way in, up and down, good jon.
'System, take a pic!'
After the long kiss, she turned right away with a red face and walked stiffly in the water.
The Swimmer noticed her and turned towards the sea and dove in, she hurried up and jumped in the water too.
***
Time passed and Bjorna was gone for almost 15 minutes, the potion I gave her can work up to an hour so she should be just fine. However, Wulfur started to get worried.
"Alina, what do you see?" Wulfur asked.
"She is swimming like a fish but I can hardly see anything around her, scrying underwater is not easy."
Alina was setting on the land, activating her mask that glew red and she started to scry for Bjorna.
Around a minute later, she gave us an update.
"She is coming."
Bjorna seemed to be swimming up and reached the sea surface as soon as she went out of the water cave. We could see her swimming this way when we used our Auras to see further.
She arrived at the beach and crawled on all four, her muscles were all stiff.
"Good job, Jorna." Alina said and cast a strong healing spell with Wulfur.
Bjorna stood right after it.
"Damn that was hard!" She complained.
"What happened down there?"
"It was amazing! I went after the Swimmer and it led me to a strange cave underwater, in the cave there was a space I could breath in and a some undead skeletons that were punched right around easily. I found a water spring and took some in this waterskin."
"Good job, you can now come and offer the Waters of Life to the Water Stone." I said.
We all returned back to the Water Stone and offered the water, Bjorna spilled the water one the stone pillar and the light around it turned from green to blue with a healing sensation that enveloped all of us.
"I am glad that the All-Maker has a sense for the light effects. Doesn't happen that often in Skyrim."
"Yeah."
Alina and I joked about the Healing Light but we were aware that this light of healing was too overpowered to be considered an ordinary healing magic.
"With this the Water Trial is done, we can head south to the Earth Stone now." Frea announced the end of the first trial.
"Won't we get any blessing now?"
"No, it is only after you finish the sixth one that when the All-Maker gives his gifts."
"Glad to know."
We agreed to go back to Raven Rock and spend the night there.
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