I gear up before going back to the mountain. By which I mean I finally put to use all those gathered scales and bones from the dragons I've killed. This armor lacks the casual oeuvre of the Nightingales, but it is superior in every other regard.
Alduin's doomed.
But first I have to use the Scroll and find that Shout designed to defeat dragons. The Scroll works as expected, and it's quite the experience.
It's a lot to take in--the Blades did indeed, literally, put Alduin off until later. How very inconsiderate of them. But at least I get to see them using Dragonrend, and just in time.
While Alduin's talking, I realize something. If what Paarthurnax said is true, about me truly having the soul of a dragon, then this has implications I never considered. I've known I'm Dragonborn for a long time, and just assumed it meant I had some powers, some destiny. But if I really have the soul of a dragon, then I don't have anything else. I don't have the soul of an Argonian, because I'm not an Argonian.
I'm a dragon.
Which is why I'm able to fight Alduin. I wrest him to the ground, just as Paarthurnax lands. The two dragons fight it out in equal force; I can't even get a shot in.
Alduin fights free of the magic and takes to the skies again, where he changes the weather to something I've never seen. He's powerful and there's no denying it. He's a dragon, after all. But so am I, and I don't need any wings or fancy Shouts.
And Alduin doesn't understand this, because, like Paarthurnax said, he's too consumed by his own pride. He's like Ulfric--he thinks his physical form and his heritage are all that matters. Ulfric placed Nords above all else and thought that was a mandate for domination, just like Alduin did the same with the dragons thousands of years ago.
And for what? So he can be bested and humiliated by a flightless little lizard? I wanted to respect Alduin as an enemy, and wanted to gain his respect in turn. We are both dragons, after all, but more than that, dragons in a world that doesn't understand us. He's out of his rightful time, and I'm out of my rightful body. Both of us, misplaced.
So when he suddenly breaks off the fight and flees, I almost have to admire him for admitting he's beaten. But as long as he continues to threaten this world, my world, the one I'm meant to shape, I'm not going to let my admiration stand in the way of doing what has to be done.
In the wake of the fight, Paarthurnax tells me that only one of Alduin's allies can help me find him now. And to get one of them, we'll need to trap it in Dragonsreach.
I head down the mountain to Whiterun, but it's early morning when I arrive and the Jarl isn't up yet. That's okay; I'll wait.
This chair is comfier than the one in Riften.
When the Jarl arrives for breakfast, I get his permission to use the palace for its original purpose.
Having gotten the name of the target dragon, Odahviing, from Paarthurnax, I head upstairs.
I take a moment to calm the attendant guards, readying them for what's about to happen. As easy as Alduin was to defeat, I'm sure one of his lackeys should be no trouble, so here goes.
At first there's nothing, just silence overlaid with the last echoes of my voice. And then suddenly, Odahviing dives in from behind the palace roof, and takes the nearest guard with him.
I'm not going to waste time. I let off a flurry of arrows at him, goading him into the palace, where he foolishly overplays and falls right into the trap.
Frankly, I can't understand why it worked. Or why it ever did. The interior is mostly wood, so why doesn't he just start scorching everything? Moreover, since Olaf One-Eye captured Numinex a long time ago, why haven't the other dragons learned to stay away? Granted, they've all been dead for a long time, but you'd think one of them would have thought to do some research.
But Odahviing is quite reasonable, and I'm glad to count him among the dragons who are willing to work with me. We strike a deal--he gets me to Alduin, I kill Alduin. Simple.
Although my forgetting to get off the trap brace makes for an awkward descent after the guards opens it up.
Odahviing tells me that not only will he have to fly me to Skuldafn, Alduin's actually in Sovngarde. I hadn't considered that Sovngarde was a real place, and finding that Alduin is there is dispiriting. Isn't it supposed to be heaven...for Noses? I'm probably responsible for half its inhabitants.
But I do know one person who'll probably want to see it, so I tell Odahviing to wait a day while I go back to Riften.
To my surprise, Lisin declines my offer to have her join me. She tells me that she's done her part by getting me to realize my destiny. Defeating Alduin is all my own. "But don't you want to see Sovngarde?" I ask, confused.
"Yes," she says. "But in my own time."
I return to Odahviing alone. But not so lost that I can't appreciate the sheer awe of riding a dragon.
So I take back what I said about wings. I definitely need to get some.
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