The Dragons Are Back (Miraculous Ladybug X The Elder Scrolls Crossover)

Chapter 32: To be a Dragonborn

Alix skated as fast as possible towards the park. Paarthurnax had sent her a message via Marinette to meet up with him the next day in the wooded area of the park that she typically would train her Thu'um in.

She found him perched upon the large rock in the clearing as usual, but without the soft, kind expression he usually wore. Instead he seemed weary.

"I am sorry, Alix. For both your loss and for not telling you that you were Dragonborn."

Alix stiffened. "You knew?"

"Yes. I could sense your draconic soul, but I chose to stay silent. I told the other dragons to not tell you." Paarthurnax rubbed his eyes.

"I was actually planning to tell you yesterday, but I guess Miraak ended up doing that for me," he added bitterly. "I wanted to use Dragon Aspect to breach the topic and make it slightly less awkward for you. You are able to use that Shout only because you are Dovahkiin. A mortal would have no draconic side to draw on in order to use it and dragons are already physically, well, dragons."

"So Dragon Aspect is basically just me wearing my... dragon-ness on the outside?"

"Yes. Here is what will happen over the next three months: I will continue to teach you Shouts, but also how to channel your dragon soul to learn those Shouts faster, as well as how to fight with a weapon. A dragon by the name of Yoltuheim I have paid to forge a shield that will protect you from Miraak's magic and the weapon you master that will be unbreakable and enchanted with the power of Chaos. Understood?"

"Yeah. Um... do you know anything about Miraak? Other than what you said in the lecture you gave at my school?"

"When Miraak stumbled across the Black Book I mentioned, the Shout he learned was Bend Will, which gives the power that you call mind-control. He used this to make dragons into his slaves and used a different four-word Shout called Devour Soul to instantly consume the souls of dragons to gain power and heal himself."

"He could devour dragon souls?"

"Yes. All dragons and Dragonborn can, but they need to kill the opposing dragon or Dragonborn first. Miraak used Devour Soul to bypass that. To my knowledge, he still has three dragons in his service: Kruziikrel, Relonikiv, and Sahrotaar. Sahrotaar is his personal mount."

"So he was the serpentine dragon who let Miraak ride him?"

"Yes."

Alix sat down, going through all this new information in her head.

"Miraak said that I had to face him alone, but that I could bring a single dragon to fight his dragons and that if I broke either of those rules, then my dad and Jalil would die." She buried her face in her hands. "I can't face Miraak alone."

"Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you can defeat Miraak."

"What if I can't? What if I'm not strong enough? He's got thousands of years of experience on me and he's in a realm that you once said had every book that was, is, and ever will be! Who knows what kind of dark magic he's learned in there?! I've never killed anyone before, I don't think I'll be able to do it. What if-"

"Alix, stop," Paarthurnax said firmly. He set his thumb on her shoulder.

"You can defeat him. He may have gained power by killing dragons and working with a Daedric Prince, but you gained power by study and meditation, and you learned just as fast. I think that you have a deeper understanding of your power than he does, which will give you an advantage.  Where the Thu'um is concerned, knowledge is power, as each word not only describes but is the thing it means. What sets the Thu'um apart from normal magic is that it relies upon knowledge of the nature of reality itself. You don't and never needed to kill or collude with Daedra for your power. It's all your hard work with just a sprinkle of my guidance."

Alix slowly looked up.

"Do you really believe that?"

Paarthurnax smiled. "Yes. Now, let's start our lesson."

Maybe... maybe I have a chance at defeating Miraak and saving my family after all...