Chapter 52 -- The End of Madness
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There was no direct road leading from Fort Dawnguard to the shoreline that would lead across to Castle Volkihar. That meant horses were loaded down with supplies as well as soldiers, so it ended up taking three whole days, not helped by the weather that slowed our progress to a crawl more than once. But we travelled in quite a large number, the ranks of the Dawnguard swelling since my first days with the organisation.
Arriving on the exposed and desolate north-west coast of Skyrim, the closest fortification was Northwest Keep, which I knew was inhabited by the Thalmor. Though I would have loved nothing more than clearing it out, now wasn't the time to go picking another fight. Not yet, anyway.
We camped a final night, making final preparations for the next morning, agreeing to travel across at first light.
Getting across wasn't a major problem, agreeing to just take a few soldiers over on the boat and making sure we were not seen doing it. I was sent over first with Serana, scoping out the area around the castle, but there were no obvious patrols, so we simply remained on the beach, establishing a perimeter, until the others joined us. Including Lydia and my three Companions, there were perhaps forty of us in total. More than enough to take the castle in my opinion.
Crouching behind a boulder, the bridge leading to the castle around one hundred metres away, Isran asked Serana, "Will they see us approach?"
"To be honest, they probably already know we're here." She looked at me. "Ragnar, all I can suggest is that you clear a path to the main gates with that gift of yours. Once we're inside, Isran, you take everyone and head to the main hall and then push them back. Ragnar and I will peel off. I know where my father will be waiting for us. He'll want to face me alone, hoping to convince me to give up the bow."
"Okay, I'll have a last word with the men, then we'll make our move," Isran said, moving off.
I stepped closer to Serana. "You ready for this?" I asked quietly.
She took a deep breath. "Always knew this day would come eventually, when I'd have to choose between my father or my mother. But he's insane, Ragnar. He's been consumed entirely by this ridiculous prophecy. I see no other way of dealing with this other than killing him."
"Can you do that?"
She met my eyes. "I haven't come all this way to hesitate now. It... Won't be easy. He's still my father. Somewhere deep inside is the father I grew up with and adored. But that's far too long ago now. Far too much has happened between then and now. I can't forgive him, no matter what he tries to say."
"I'm by your side all the way."
She leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Thank you, Ragnar."
Unsheathing my sword, I heard the call of 'Forward!' from Isran, Serana and I leading the Dawnguard towards the bridge. The gates ahead opened, vampires flooding out to meet us. The gargoyles to either side of the bridge woke up at the same time. I gestured for Serana to hang back a couple of steps as I strode forward confidently. Once they were in range, I unleashed my Thu'um.
YOL -- TOOR – SHUL
There were immediate cries as vampires and gargoyles found themselves doused in flames. With a final cry, we rushed forward, hacking and slashing our way forward. Serana was firing all manner of spells. Recognising fire worked best against her own kind, it was amusing to see flames shoot from her palm, enormous fire balls flung into the distance, leaving those close for us to deal with swords, axes and shields.
Getting across the bridge didn't take too long, in all honesty. Once we had the upper hand, Isran yelled for Serana and I to break through and make for her father, the Dawnguard would deal with everyone else. Taking Serana by the hand, I stabbed and hacked my way forward, making it through the gates, quickly followed by Lydia and the three Companions, who veered off one way as Serana told me to head left.
We entered the chapel cautiously, our eyes searching left and right for any sign of Harkon. She pointed ahead towards what I thought was a fountain. When I stated that sentiment, she shook her head. "That is no fountain, Ragnar. It is a shrine to Molag Bol himself." Waiting next to the shrine was Harkon. Or, it may have been Harkon. "And there is my father. In his other form, naturally."
I stepped towards the middle of the room, confidently if not arrogantly, my bloodied sword pointing down for the moment. Serana stayed at my side, matching each of my steps with her own. She took the bow from her back, taking an arrow and nocking it, readying to fire when required. Surprisingly, Harkon spread his arms wide.
"Serana, my darling daughter. I see you still favour keeping a pet."
"You know why we're here, father. It's time to end this madness, once and for all."
"Of course I know why you're here. You disappoint me, Serana. You've taken everything I've provided for you and thrown it all away for this pathetic being."
That was the second jibe he had sent in my direction in a matter of seconds. My hand gripped my sword that little bit tighter and it took all the self-control at my disposal not to charge forward or just unleash my Thu'um and begin hostilities. Serana must have noticed the slight change in my body language as she moved a hand from her bow to my sword hand. It was the briefest of touches but one her father couldn't have missed.
"Provided for me? Are you insane? You've destroyed our family and brought terror to the people of Skyrim, all over some prophecy that you barely understand. But let me tell you something, father. I do now understand the prophecy. I know who was responsible. And he is now dead. So I say this. No more. I'm done with you. And you will not touch Ragnar. Not now. Not ever."
He hissed. "So, I see this dragon has fangs. Your voice drips with the venom of your mother's influence. How alike you've become."
She scoffed, almost laughed at him. "No. I'm nothing like my mother, because unlike her, I'm not afraid of you. Not anymore. Not with Ragnar by my side."
He looked in my direction. "It appears I have you to thank for turning my daughter against me. I knew it was only a matter of time before she'd return with hatred in her heart."
"You don't need to thank me. She reached this point on her own. Your pathetic attempts at parenting were more than enough to lead her along this path. All I've done is help her and show her there is another way."
Her father scoffed. "You don't care about Serana. You're only interested in the power of the bow."
"That's where you're wrong. I care next to nothing for the bow. It is a means to an end. But you... You don't just threaten our existence as humans, you threaten Serana herself with your stupid prophecy. The simple fact is that I won't let you hurt her. Not anymore. And never again."
"The vampire hunter will protect and care for the vampire? You'll kill her as soon as you're done with me."
"That's not going to happen. I'd never harm Serana. I will only ever stop those who would cause her harm."
"And why is that?"
"Because I love her."
He laughed long and hard at those four words. All that did was infuriate me further. I'm tired of people laughing at me. If Serana or someone I know, respect, or love does it, it's not meant to offend me. Sometimes, I am an idiot and say silly things. But when a foe does it to mock me, it simply leaves me wanting to cut them in half. "You... love my daughter? You love a vampire?"
"I love her enough to die fighting you if that is what's required. I love her because of who she is, not what she is. That's never bothered me. And she knows that."
"And what do you think of all this, Serana?"
"I love him too." I couldn't help but smile when she said those words without hesitation, considering it was her father. "And together we're putting an end to your madness."
He shook his head, almost sadly, not that I felt an ounce of pity for him. "Then my daughter is truly lost. She died the moment she accepted a mortal into her life."
I'd like to say that it was a long fight, that it was honourable, that we fought heroically, that it would be sung by bards for centuries to come. But it was nothing like that. It was an ugly, brutal fight. It always would be against a creature such as Harkon. He was powerful, able to withstand the power of my Thu'um more than once. But he could not withstand bloodied arrows that were fired by Serana.
He summoned his own creatures, of course. Powerful gargoyles that left me distracted, leaving Serana to face her father alone. The one clear memory I have of that fight is when he attacked her while I was distracted by a pair of gargoyles. All I remember is her scream as she took the full brunt of an attack I didn't see. I remember glancing back to see her crumple to the ground and fearing that she was dead. And then the rage built within. The sort of rage that felt like my blood was boiling. The two gargoyles I was fighting were dead in seconds. Then I focused all my anger on Harkon. He appeared pleased with himself as I faced him down, casting another concerned glance towards Serana.
"She will recover eventually. And then I will ensure my victory by using the bow. Her sacrifice will ensure the dominance of my kind."
"Over my dead body."
He laughed at me, which simply increased my rage further. "My dear boy, that's exactly what I'm planning."
"Your kind will soon be extinct."
He scoffed at the remark. "And what of your supposed love for Serana?"
"I know what she is. But I love her for who she is. And she will always be under my protection. From you. And from anyone out there."
"Pathetic. You will never understand the power that she or I wield."
"I know enough." I raised my sword. "Now, enough talk. Let us end this, once and for all."
I ignored all the wounds I would receive. I know blood was dripping from me in the end. Somehow, I still don't know how, I survived the fight. But I didn't get the killing blow. I'd done enough to wear him down through sheer bloody mindedness. But it was Serana who got in the fatal shot. Unbeknownst to her father or myself, she had woken up and managed to move herself into a seated position. It was only when she called out my name that I knew what she was doing, pushing Harkon back enough to see an arrow fly into his chest. Then another one joined alongside. Then a third and fourth. I stepped back as a bright light appeared in his chest and I took a few steps back as a blood curdling scream escaped his mouth.
He then seemed to disappeared into a fine mist, for a brief few moments, before he reformed as a swarm of bats, which flew around the chapel twice. I tracked the bats, waiting to attack wherever they landed. They stopped near the shrine and I followed. He formed into Harkon, the more human looking kind, as blood poured from the wounds in his chest, from out of his mouth and nose, and I knew the end was near. I felt a presence alongside, glancing to see Serana still armed with the bow. She said nothing as she simply raised it and fired a final arrow, right where his heart may have once been, a long time ago. That ended it as he cried out one final time, saying only his daughter's name, before he dissolved into nothing more than a pile of ash.
Serana seemed to stagger and I threw an arm around her waist as she leaned into me. She gestured with her head and I helped her forward towards the remains of her father. "I'm sorry, father. But you left me no choice," she muttered quietly. Then she turned towards me. "Hold me. Please," she nearly pleaded.
She shed no tears for the man but I wrapped both arms around her, resting her head against my chest, both of us breathing deeply as it had been quite the fight. We heard no sound from outside, figuring the fighting had ceased out there as well. Taking her by the hand, I led her outside, where a few Dawnguard were walking around, putting their swords through the few bodies that may have still caused a problem. Aela, Lydia and the twins glanced in our direction and grinned, Isran approaching us.
