Serana


A tough and gruff looking orc out in Riften was the first actual exposure to the Dawnguard. A bunch of vampire hunters or something. He appealed to the sensibilities to one such as yourself. The adventurous and brave hero that you were with the idea of slaying some bloodsucking fiends... and who were you if not someone who liked to have at least a little thrill. Might want to hide all the cheese wheels in your pack though.

With his advice, you were sent further east within the Rift to a small crevice that broke out into a mountain pass. And soon enough, that opened to a sprawling--if not a little pretentious--castle that was the Dawnguards home base. Fort Dawnguard. So creative... regardless, a redguard named Isran then directed you toward Dimhollow Crypt for an Elder Scroll that would apparently overturn the tides against the daedric beasts.

An entire cave full of blood-sucking vampires... the most baffling part about it was that it took you a longer time to heading there than it was to actually clear the cave. They were all a bunch of pushovers who barely even deserved your strikes or the crackle of magic. Deeper inside broke out into a rather ornately carved cavern with a platform of stone arches surrounding a button. The 'toughest' of them all had been awaiting your arrival, some schmuck named Lokil.

His corpse now hung over the edge of the railing, turning into ash. Disappointing.

Stepping over to the center where the button was, purple fire made of pure magicka erecting through the gaps within the chamber. And of course, the single button in the center of the platform.

Aw shit, a puzzle. Trial and error it is.

Orbiting each obelisk around the circle, it didn't take long until things started clicking into place. The final obelisk slotting into its rightful place, the center mound glowered with in anticipation of what. Vampires.... vampires... oh right, blood. Ow. Slicing open your palm was probably the most damage you've taken all day. The stone opened wide enough for a stone sarcophagus to arise from the ground. The lid slid open, revealing an absolutely beautiful young woman dressed in the same vampiric bodice as those whom you've already killed nestled within the stone. She looked like she had been kept from aging since the eras far before your own. And in her hands, gripped tightly between her nails, was the Elder Scroll that you were looking for.

The woman stirred, collapsing down onto her knees but not without keeping her tight-grip on the ancient scroll before pushing herself up to her unsteady feet. Piercing orange eyes glowered in your direction, the smell of blood fresh on her nose but mostly on your body, before they narrowed. She didn't seem threatening nor did you seem to intimidate her. If anything, she was just simply confused. Had her father finally sent someone out to retrieve her? Or in the 'best case', the Elder Scroll?

"...Who are you..?" she asked, giving your appearance a brief look up and down. "...My name is Serana. Were you sent to wake me?"

It had been some weeks since Serana first reawakened from her sarcophagus and she had been reaccustomed with Skyrim. She had been traveling around Skyrim with you. It was her first choice, actually. She didn't receive a warm welcome from her father upon her return which was about as normal as breathing was. But, he was overjoyed by the sight of the Elder Scroll.

He allowed you to live only because you brought his daughter (but mostly the Elder Scroll) back into his hands. And now, you were out doing fetch quests for him until they found the Moth Priest to read the damn thing.

It was a good thing Serana had been aching for fresher air away from the keep. And like it had been in the 2nd era, nothing had really changed in her time away. There were still Reachmen in the western part of Skyrim--though they were significantly lessened since the last time she had saw them (go figure)-- and the racists in the eastern part, berating the Dark Elves or any non-Man race for that matter who walked close to that stone fortress that made Windhelm.

To her surprise, Windhelm wasn't the Capital City anymore. But, she supposed Solitude did make a better choice.

There was always something that managed to surprise her. Maybe not the cold (her Nordic blood kept her warm despite being an ancient Vampire), but the people were much kinder. Perhaps being governed by someone who wasn't a tyrant like her father made people a little more pliant to be around her. Even now, while you both found rest here in Riverwood, one of the children was staring at the hooded vampire. Obviously, people were wary of her appearance, thinking her' sick and in need of a priestess' even with her peculiar eyes, but others simply left her alone. The child, a small girl, gave a small wave before continuing about her day, leaving Serana to brood at the sound of the blacksmith's hammer clanging into heated metal behind her.

Nice. Besides you, when was the last time she had earned a smile from another person?

It wasn't long until she heard the familiar footsteps of her companion to her right. Break time was over. Serana's hooded gaze moved away from the blank spot of dirt she had been staring at, meeting your eyes halfway. "...Where to next?" she asked, propping her elbows along her knees and placing her chin between her palms. Her black nails drummed along her cheeks, awaiting the next leg of your shared journey before you would both have to get back on track and continue doing her father's bidding.

"No... Serana... your own father..."

Those were the last words Serana heard from her father before his flesh burned from around his skeleton in a flash of red flame. It was a hard fought victory, one she wasn't even sure that they were actually living through.

You both had surmised the plans to 'blot out the sun' when you read the Elder Scroll and the details continued to compound with every revelation that continued to build. Valerica's disappearance into the Soul Cairn, the final living Snow Elves in Knight-Paladin Gelebor in Darkfall Cave and Arch-Curate Vrythur in the Forgotten Vale (whom you both also fought and killed). Most importantly, the founding of Auriel's Bow that you still wielded in shaky hands after the laborious fight. Harkon was dead.

Serana's heart, if it were even still beating, pounded in her ears. All of that adrenaline in her body fled from her system quickly, leaving hints of relief and oddly enough, regret. She had killed her father. He wanted to enact that awful plan of his, so really she had no choice - but to see him, reduced to a pile of red ash, stripped away from his former status like this... She could only feel sorrow for the father she once loved.

"Well..." Serena said, in a grim tone. Her eyes strayed from the pile of ash for a moment to find yours, "Now that's done." Her lame response was born not out of her usual stoic coldness, but of odd emptiness. What was next for her? What was next for the both of you? Of everyone in the entire world right now, she trusted you the most. I mean, awakening her from her slumber and not taking advantage of her is one thing... but going along with this prophecy plan only to save her from it and actually free her from the clutches of her father's palm was another near-incomprehensible thing. There was a power vacuum in the court, now that Harkon was gone, and neither of you were particularly fond of any of the court.

Serana didn't really have a clue of what she wanted to do next.

Did you?

The actual lands of Skyrim was growing... repetitive. Going from Whiterun to Solitude. Markarth to Morthal, Falkreath to Winterhold. Bandit camp after bandit camp after bandit camp. it wasn't a super long journey in either direction for any of the major cities, but there was that feeling of staleness that was hard to shake. Harkon was long gone, Miraak was defeated and even Alduin, the World-Eater, was just some memory to the people of Skyrim while the Civil War continued to rage on. Bandits continued to pop up like silverfish breeding in the woods.

As 'exciting' as that was, it was time to shake the monotony up a little.

On the last leg of the latest journey, you laid back in the corner of Whiterun's bustling streets. People greeted you like normal, giving their morning spiel before continuing on with their days. It was that monotony that you were going to break. Once you were sure that no one was going to come disturb you for a moment, it was time you made your move. With a little 'razzle-dazel', a black bar with a small dialogue box appeared at the bottom of your periphery. The text-cursor blinked, awaiting that first line of commands or modding that would spice things up.

It was time to give all the women some big ti- "What're you doing back here?" The ever familiar voice of your companion creeping over your shoulder wasn't super uncommon. If Serana didn't wish to be heard or seen, she made it so. Really wish she would do that in moments that were actually appropriate for stealth, but that was neither here nor there. Serana stared forward up until she peeked over your shoulder, looking down at the floating command console. She squinted. "A... mod console?" asked Serana, the hooded vampire unable to hide the confusion in her voice. Her unnatural eyes adopted a very curious look. "Sounds like something out of a fairytale. Or is it one of those ancient Dwemer things that we normally find in the ruins?"

Might have been easier to show her than explain the meta elements of this floating console...