Dragonborn Saga

Chapter 359 Among the Vampires

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Jon opened his eyes and sat up to see himself in a dark room lying on nothing but the cold floor. The room was large and had a high ceiling with two platforms on both left and right, at the end of the room there were many windows with the light of day coming down through them, that light fell on the apex of the room illuminating the only object that is placed there.

A blood fountain with a demonic head that the blood comes of its mouth to a sink under it all on a pedestal.

A Shrine of Molag Bal.

The blood flowing through the demonic head was not normal. It was thick as if made of a liquid plastic yet still with the luster of the blood.

Jon looked at the shrine carefully and realized where he is.

Volkihar Castle.

He was speechless and lied on the ground again.

"... Just give me a break."

He wasn’t in any mood to feel good about anything.

Why on Nirn did this happen?

He didn’t really need to ask himself the question. It was clear after all. Lord Harkon on Clan Volkihar is looking for two certain Elder Scrolls for a certain purpose.

How does Jon know all that?

Like anything else. From the game, of course.

Still, this was no ordinary questline, this was a DLC Main Questline.

It was the ’Dawnguard DLC’ but...

"... Didn’t it start a little bit too early?"

Jon wondered to himself.

"What started too early?" A voice asked Jon.

Without getting up, Jon looked with his eyes towards the source of the voice then looked averted his eyes again.

"You and me... we shouldn’t have met just yet. Fate has been altered... Sigh! I guess I am to blame." Jon replied nonchalantly.

A man walked out of the shadow from the side of the room and stood beside the Shrine of Molag Bal.

Jon sat up then checked himself to see himself completely fine. Not even a scratch or a bite mark... not even a chained or having his Magicka locked.

Jon grinned as he looked at Harkon and spoke.

"I don’t like being underestimated but I think I should thank you for doing so."

"How so?" Harkon’s deep voice echoed around the room.

"Well... for now I seem to be free of any restrictions. I guess I can just teleport away, you know. Even under your nose." Jon said as he stood up.

"You can? Don’t worry, I am not planning on keeping you in the castle if it is against your will." Harkon said as he looked with ridicule at Jon.

"... Then I’ll be taking my leave."

Jon turned around and walked towards the end of the room. He tried to open the door but it was locked. Jon looked back at Harkon who waved his hand and the door opened, with a nod of gratitude, Jon walked out of the room.

He knew that the exit is right to the east through the main hall of the castle. Jon simply walked with sure steps through the corridor that was way larger than the game. He then arrived in the main hall and saw the horrifying scenes in it.

Even though his heart was ready, he flinched with disgust and looked around cautiously.

Down in the hall, there was a number of long dining tables with all scenes of gore around them. People in dark leather customs gathered around other people devoid from clothes or dignity while being preyed upon... not in a cannibalistic fashion but in vampiric one. Other humans were gathered in a corner in the room dressed in rags and chained by the necks. These are the human cattle hunted by the vampires.

In a fit of disgust, Jon almost mustered up his Voice and shouted this place to Oblivion but he knew better. He just walked lightly through the hall under the curious gazes of those vampires.

He crossed the bloody floor to its other end and soon reached the stairway leading to the entrance hall and from it to the gate of the castle. Even the gatekeeper didn’t stop him and let him out.

Jon had a bad feeling about this as he stepped out of the castle.

Ten minutes later, he returned to the castle once again.

He was standing in the middle of the main hall surrounded by that gory scene. He was not caring about any of it anymore as he faced Harkon who was sitting in the central throne in the middle of the apex of the room.

Harkon looked at Jon with a lazy attitude showing no emotions on his face. The Vampire looked dignified from all angles, a well-trimmed beard, a pale middle-aged face, fancy clothes, glimmering gold eyes with the white of them turning red. The man can be painted and his image will sell for a crazy price.

Still, none of that was in Jon’s mind. He was more concerned with what he experienced outside the castle.

"This isle... is it in Mundus?" Jon asked.

As he got out of the castle, he didn’t detect the natural law of the Mortal World and felt he is in a different realm. He couldn’t Teleport away.

"It is." Harkon replied dismissing Jon’s initial doubt.

"And the mists around it, that is by no means natural."

"It is not." Harkon confirmed.

As Jon walked out of the castle and couldn’t Teleport away, he tried to walk away from the isle and it happened to be surrounded by mist. Each time he walked through the mist brought him back in front of the entrance of the castle once again.

He tried hard but with no result.

’Nefertiti, you hear me?’

’Yes.’

’Can you explain any of it.’

’No. You are in a strange place. But the Shadow World is natural, all I could see is you turning around and going back again.’

’I see... the mist.’

Nefertiti was hidden in Jon’s shadow all the time since the time the vampires appeared until now. Even when Harkon charged at Jon to teleport away, Jon managed to pass the [Cube Ring] and the ’Eldergleam Branch’ to her.

It was advantageous to have a friend in the Shadow Realm where the Daedric Princes can’t even see.

Still, the situation was not pleasing. Shadow is not responding and the System is unable to reach the Augur.

Jon sighed inwardly and spoke to Harkon.

"So... this castle and the island... are they some sort of your area of influence?"

"Domain." Harkon corrected Jon.

"... I see... interesting." Jon looked around the interior of the castle that didn’t resemble anything Nordic, Cyrodilic or even Breton.

It felt like a dark fantasy old castle lit with the bare minimum amount of candles.

Still, the term Domain was something Jon never heard of in the game or read about in the book but he could make an uneducated guess. Probably a place where Harkon has some influence on Space and Magicka allowing him to practice his will in any sort of phenomenon just like that mist out there.

’No, wait! There was something similar if not far greater.’ Jon thought.

That’s right. There are the Daedric Princes and their Realms.

The term ’Domain’ may refer to a Realm of Influence just like the Daedric Realms to their respective princes. Applying the sense of the ’Domain’, it will mean that Harkon has an area in the world under his control too.

The question now... to what extent?

Full control sounds impossible but it is the worse situation that can happen so it shouldn’t be overlooked.

Always assume the worst that can happen.

Harkon gave Jon the courtesy to collect his thoughts. He was actually not thinking of it that way, he was enjoying the sight of a mortal trying to fathom his power which in his eyes superior to any mortal... then he remembered something.

"Boy... that woman who came at the end..." Harkon spoke.

"Hm? You mean my Grandmaster?" Jon replied nonchalantly which got on the nerve of Harkon.

"That woman... who is she? Where is she from?" Harkon asked with contempt clear in his tone.

The vampires around the hall read the annoyance in their lord’s tone and withdrew away from his sight to the sides of the hall.

Jon one the other hand was grinning back at Harkon.

"My advice, don’t look for her. She is more dangerous than what you think and one of four absurd sisters to a father who is more absurd than anyone I know." Jon said with a faint smile then continued. "If I were you, I’d swallow my own pride and..."

Before Jon could continue, Harkon’s index finger moved and a powerful force lifted Jon up the air crashing him to the ceiling then pulled him down crashing him down at Harkon’s feet.

Surely Harkon felt better for punishing the insolent mortal. Well... that was the case until Jon bounced off the ground like a monkey.

"Hey! That was uncalled for! I was just giving my sincere advice."

The situation was ridiculous. Not even those Nobel Vampires would walk out of a thrashing by their Lord this lively.

"Let’s hold the matters of no importance for later. Now, I wish to know something from you, boy." Harkon returned to his previous mood right away.

Jon felt his pained body and replied at Harkon.

"By all means, Lord Harkon."

"First, let me ask you. How do you know me? You recognized me right away back there."

Jon smiled and thought of an answer before speaking.

"Hehe! You are right, I always knew I’d meet you one day but it seems like Fate has brought us together sooner than I expected."

"I heard you mentioning about it being a bit ’early’."

"Exactly. Sigh! Fate was not friendly to me this young man lately since I really fucked things up with the Daedra. This one on me, I know, but my old bones deserve some rest... tsk tsk, the Daedra are cruel taskmasters." Jon made a remorseful monologue.

"And how exactly do you know of Fate?" Harkon asked.

"Simple, I am the damn child of the damn prophecy. At least give me some damn credit and accept that I see some weird shit in my dreams about the past, present and the future. You know it, I wouldn’t be here kept alive if I am of no use, right?"

"Right." Harkon stood up. "The Elder Scrolls."

Harkon seemed amused for some reason.

"At first, when I heard about you 17 years ago, I didn’t know your puny clan of mortals could manage to hide you right in the open. None could tell you were alive and somehow our best seers couldn’t find out the truth about your life or death. Yet here you are telling me that we have a date of fate..."

"I wouldn’t really call it a date..." Jon interrupted displeased by the word ’Date’.

"... I still had that doubt that the prophesied child with three Elder Scrolls may not relate to the ones I am looking for but here you are confirming it. I must admit that you are a herald of good news, boy." Harkon walked around Jon while speaking.

"Thanks... I guess."

As Harkon stood behind Jon, he put his hand on Jon’s shoulder and stood beside him.

"You and me have a lot work to do then." He said and sat back at his throne. "Where are the Scrolls?"

"Hmmm..." Jon seemed unwilling to answer. "Remind me again of that Prophecy you are after... Ah! ’Tyranny of the Sun’. That sounds like a good name for Little Jon. Hahaha!" Jon cracked a joke that only he could understand and continued. "Let’s see... ’Among the night’s children, a dread lord will rise. In an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men, darkness will mingle with light and the night and day will be as one’."

Different to his solemn appearance, Harkon was delighted by hearing the prophecy from another.

Jon continued.

"As far as I am concerned, the Age of Strife is upon us and the Dragons haven’t shown themselves yet. Also, as the prophecy foretells ’Only the Blood of the Daughter of Coldharbour will blind the Eye of the Dragon’. There are only two Daughters of Coldharbour and these are your wife and daughter."

Jon was right and Harkon didn’t respond.

"How cruel! I knew you always had a lust for power but to offer your Missus and Baby Girl for Molag Bal to ****. I mean, I don’t want to judge since I own a Bathhouse business but we call that being cucked..."

Jon couldn’t continue his words as Harkon moved his finger once again and Jon was blasted away to the wall on the other side of the room.

"Until he learns how to use his mouth in my presence, he stays with the cattle." Harkon said to one of his attendants.

Jon’s felt a bit dizzy but he got what he wanted. Some time away from Harkon’s questioning.