“Let’s just get to Gran Soren and be done with it,” Lena and her companions stood on top of a cliff overlooking much of the land before them. “There – you can see the city in all its splendour.”

“It isn’t Gran Soren,” Scorpio said quietly. “This is Vernworth, the capital of Vermund. We are not in Gransys.”

“It does look awfully similar though,” Lena squinted at the horizon. “The layout of the city, the ruined aqueduct in front of it, down to the watchtowers and coastal outline… It’s just bigger.”

“Well, they do say that all these worlds were designed by the same hand,” Rook agreed, also surveying the area. “We pawns see a lot of them, it’s hard to keep them apart. Let’s go and get you arrested, as planned.”

This was one of the rare occasions when Lena actually planned to get arrested. She had a letter for the Captain of the Guard which should get her off the hook. In theory.

…

“So, you are indeed a true Arisen,” the Captain was satisfied, having read the letter and closely examined the scar on Lena’s chest. “And your heart is missing, indeed. And you have pawns with you. Hmm… I guess I have to believe it. You must be the current Arisen, Ser…”

“The current Arisen?” Lena looked up in surprise. “Do you mean to say there are more Arisens here?”

“Oh yes, past Arisens who failed to kill their dragon or simply walked away,” the Captain shrugged. “Plenty of them around. They are immortal, of course, but pawns stop following them, pawns only follow the current Arisen.”

“Arisens are not immortal,” Lena wasn’t sure just how much the Captain knew about this whole Arisen business. “Arisens can fall in battle and die. All past Arisens also perish when ‘the current Arisen’ as you put it, kills the dragon and regains his or her heart. Unless this world works differently somehow?”

“No, this is about right,” the Captain agreed. “Only the past Arisens here don’t perish when the dragon is killed. They only perish when the current Arisen ends the cycle instead of killing the dragon… Except that the cycle then restarts again… I think… The Great Reset they call it… But it is only a legend. All great past Arisens have killed their dragons, that’s the right thing to do because that makes you the Sovereign of Vermund. Until such time that one of the future Arisens kills their own dragon and replaces you… Err… I’ve never known a king who would willingly relinquish his crown though…” He added in a low voice, seemingly to himself. “The details are shrouded in history!” He confidently continued. “It has been centuries since the previous King of Vermund killed his dragon, and no one knows what happened to the sovereign who reigned before him! This is also not important. What is important however, is that we are currently without a king at all. Yes, Arisens are mortal, and I should have thought of that, because our last King, our last reigning Arisen, was murdered! We have Queen Regent now instead, the last King’s wife, and she wishes to crown her son as the King of Vermund. Except that he is not an Arisen, and therefore cannot be our king…” The Captain looked at Lena triumphantly, having talked himself out of that corner. “Our rightful sovereign is you, Your Majesty!”

“WHAT?!”

“I pledge my fielty to you, the true Sovereign of Vermund!”

The Captain went down on one knee and bowed his head as he pronounced his oath, leaving Lena utterly stunned.

“Err… Umm… Captain… please rise,” she finally managed to say. “That’s rather unexpected.”

“Perhaps,” the Captain continued in a more relaxed tone, standing up. “But it’s how it is. It is your duty, Your Majesty, to seek out and kill the dragon, not to shirk it, not to fail, it is your duty to the people of Vermund, as you are our true sovereign.”

“Riiiight…” Lena squinted. “So by addressing me as ‘Your Majesty’ you plan to have me undertake all sorts of tasks for the good of the people of Vermund. Clever, Captain Brandt.”

“You are either the true Arisen and therefore our rightful sovereign, or you are an imposter and I’ll have you quartered and hung by the morrow. Your choice.” The Captain put his hand on the hilt of his sword, his face impassable.

“Well, as long as we understand each other, Captain,” Lena smiled at him. “As your true sovereign to whom you just now pledged your fielty, I need you to prepare the ground and make a list of those tasks that need doing…” She sighed with resolve. “While I start asking around about the dragon.”

“As you command, Your Majesty!” The Captain clicked his heels. “Oh, and by the way… you are now persona non grata at the castle because Queen Regent will not suffer a true Arisen at her court. The Guard is sworn loyalty to her, but they answer to me. You will therefore be allowed to walk the castle grounds, but should you set foot in any of the buildings, you will be arrested and thrown in the gaol. Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I must do my duty. So a little discretion on your part would not go amiss…” His voice trailed off as he took in Lena’s appearance – her dark leather armour, her daggers, her soft, quiet boots. “A thief, is it?” He grimaced, but quickly straightened his face. “It is of no import, Arisens come from all walks of life.”

“Thief – no. Thieves die by my hand.” Lena suddenly recalled in all vivid detail the bloodbath in Riften.

“I see,” the Captain nodded approvingly. “Good luck to you, Assassin.”

…

“What a mess!” Lena was retelling that interview to Rook and Scorpio. “I have no wish to become the sovereign of Vermund!”

“It doesn’t look like you have a choice in the matter,” Rook shook his head. “At least not yet. Getting quartered and hung is the less agreeable alternative. Did the Captain say what he wanted you to do?”

“Find and kill the dragon,” Lena shrugged.

“A mere trifle,” Scorpio nodded. “Where do we begin?”

…

As it turned out, Captain Brandt did come up with a number of tasks for Lena to do, mostly involving sneaking around the castle at night, preferably without getting caught. He had no idea how to locate the dragon however, so he suggested to travel the land and see if anything turned up.

“You might want to start in the village of Melve, Your Majesty,” he pointed it out on the map. “They’ve recently suffered an attack by the dragon, so that may be a lead.”

Melve was a coastal village like any other. When Lena and her pawns arrived there, it was just being attacked by a dragon.

“How convenient!” Lena cursed. “All right, let’s join in the fun.” She drew her daggers and charged at the dragon without hesitation.

“Has she gone soft in the head back in her own world?” Rook turned to Scorpio as they started preparing their respective incantations. “Daggers against a dragon?”

“No, you just watch,” Scorpio grinned, hitting the dragon with a lightening bolt. The dragon stopped spitting fire for a moment, then shrieked in pain and surprise watching thick red blood spilling from deep gashes on its leg. It tried to lift off but found the wings perforated too… It didn’t take much longer and a combined force of the village militia and Lena’s pawns had the dragon lie dead. That was too easy.

“This isn’t a dragon,” Lena was examining the body. “It’s a drake of course, so may be a wyvern or some such,” she got up turning to her pawns. “Small and sickly, too. You do not kill a real dragon with daggers.”

“It wasn’t your daggers but the strength of your will, my hero!” A young woman with a bow wrestled her way through the crowd to where Lena was standing. “You are the Arisen! You must be!” Her eyes were sparkling, her lips were parted, her chest was heaving with excitement…

“And you are..?” Lena tried to cool things off.

“I am Ulrika, I lead this village in the fight against the dragon!” She answered proudly. “I welcome you to our village, Ser Arisen!”

“Your village is fighting against the dragon..?” Lena looked dubious and was about to say something unflattering, but Scorpio quickly intervened.

“Ser Arisen will be delighted to avail herself of your hospitality, Ser Ulrika,” he offered gallantly. “We live to serve.”

…

“That Ulrika is a bit odd,” Lena was musing when they finally left the village of Melve the next day. “She fussed around me as if I am a knight in shining armour…”

“Well, some women prefer…” Scorpio started saying but Lena cut him off.

“Yes, I know!” She nearly screamed. “Just like that Queen What’s-Her-Name in Gransys!” She rolled her eyes. “But don’t I get a say in the matter, too?!”

“Apparently not,” Rook chuckled. “Although it does make for decent entertainment…”

They walked in silence for a time, only interrupted by screams of goblins and howls of wolves that foolishly crossed their way. When the night fell, they set up camp on a clearing. With the four of them sitting around the fire, Dennis, their third pawn, casually observed: “Incidentally, I notice that all of us pawns are men. I wonder if it says something about the Arisen’s preference.”

“Yes, it does,” Lena looked up sharply. “Women are annoying.”

“Interesting,” Dennis continued, grinning. “But this one Arisen whom I served, insisted on hiring exclusively women… I wonder why…”

“So how did you get in, then?” It was Scorpio who looked up this time.

“He couldn’t find a female fighter with the right skills,” Dennis shrugged. “He had me wear a petticoat all the while…”

“Each to their own,” Rook closed the discussion. “Slaying a dragon while wearing a petticoat still counts. Come on, it’s time we slept. I’ll take the first watch.”

…

The roads of Vermund and neighbouring Battahl were long and winding, circling around high cliffs and deep ravines, and although neither country was very large in area, travel took a lot of time. Travel and battles, as the lands were filled with aggressive beasts.

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. The tasks that Captain Brandt penned for Lena, sent her all over the place, and often it was up to her to decide what to do next. Between the fighting and court intrigue, she had little time or energy left to think of home since she could not leave until she got her heart back from the dragon. And even then, finding a way to get back to Tamriel would prove a task in itself, just like it was in Gransys.

One night they were camping among red clay cliffs of the desert of Battahl. The night was pitch black as it could only be in the desert, with stars shining brightly above their heads. The world was reduced to a starry sky and a circle of light from the fire with four people gathered around it. Crickets were heard in the dark. All else was still.

Rook quietly got up and walked into the darkness, sitting down on the edge of a cliff, his back turned to his companions. He just sat there, looking at the stars.

After a while Lena joined him.

“You miss Benita, don’t you?” She said quietly. “It’s been a long time. Have you often been recalled since last we met?”

“Occasionally, yes,” he nodded. “For Benita it only lasts a few hours each time, perhaps I’d be gone overnight at most. For me, however… it varies,” he sighed. “You know how it works. Time loops and we are returned to the same night as when we were recalled, more or less. At least Benita doesn’t age while I’m away, that is my only consolation.”

Benita was Rook’s human wife, she would grow old and die like all humans must, while Rook would go on living the life of an immortal pawn.

“I shall release you the moment you ask for it,” Lena looked at him, but he kept looking at the stars. “It’s been three months. Surely, that’s long enough for anyone.”

“Ordinarily, yes,” he nodded. “But you are not just another Arisen. You’re a friend, and I’ll stay for as long as it takes, for as long as it makes sense for you to have me around. After all, there are mages more powerful than me, to be sure.”

“To be sure, but I’d rather have a friend,” Lena replied. They sat in silence for a while.

“You and Scorpio have to work it out,” Rook suddenly said, looking at her sideways. “You’re acting like two strangers while you’re nothing like that.”

“He built a wall around his heart again,” Lena sighed. “Likely because I married. And I… if I had to choose, either choice would leave a wound that I would not survive… One has my heart, the other has my soul. And my child… yet with another man… I made such a mess of my life…”

“Life is a mess to begin with,” Rook said quietly. “Which is why I married. My time with Benita is short and fragmented, yet those shards of warmth and light will remain with me when she is gone. It is a human tradition to marry, and so I did, to make her life less of a mess. Why did you marry since you could not choose?”

“My child,” Lena paused. “It was a surprise, I never thought it possible. And when it happened… of course I kept it. But what a mess…”

She thought back to that morning when Lucien asked her to marry him. “Whatever for?!” She had exclaimed. “Mara can add nothing to what binds us already!” It was true, but Lucien’s reply had brought her back to reality. Her child. “Marry me so that our child would have both parents,” he had said. Her child, that was or wasn’t his. The child that he had pledged to raise regardless. The child that was now in his care while she was on another world, with another man.

“Scorpio doesn’t want to get hurt again,” she sighed. “He opened up to me once and I married another man. And even though at the time I had thought I’d lost him forever, he was still hurt, of course… At least he came when I called for him in the Rift.”

“Of course he came, he has a piece of your soul,” Rook smiled at her. “Have faith. Your Arisen’s Bond still holds, does it not?” A sliver of golden light wrapped around Lena’s finger. She shot a glance towards the fire, and a sliver of golden light wrapped around Scorpio’s finger as well. He looked up. They would have to work it out, but not on that night which was already turning into dawn.