The Dawnguard

Chapter 7: Beyond Death

"Are you sure?" Serana asked, after she grabbed my hand; "I'm willing to do it, but you need to think it through. You'll remain mortal, but you'll find yourself weakened within the Soul Cairn." I put my other hand on hers, and answered;

"I'm ready."

"I know this is difficult for you. I hope you trust me." She looked down, and finished; "I'd never do anything that could hurt you." I lifted her head back up with my finger, and said;

"I trust you completely." I she then lent in, and kissed me. I closed my eyes, and I was all of a sudden so... complete. She meant a lot to me, and now it seemed that we were something. I opened my eyes, and she still had hers closed. I then slowly pulled away, and when she opened her eyes, we smiled.

"Thank you." She said. But then she straightened up, and finished; "Let's not waste any more time then." Then, after she pulled out a soul gem from her bag, she said;

"I'll try to make this as painless as possible. Hold still." She then opened her right hand, and black and purple shades were circling. She then pressed her hand against me, and they all of a sudden shot out and drained a part of me. I felt weaker, more than what the portal had done, but I held my stance, as if nothing had happened.

"Let's go." She said; "My mother must be waiting on the other side of that thing."

Before I took the first step, I turned to Bran and Sceolang, and said;

"Stay." They both then sat down. I then stepped down the stairs. But when I stepped on the first step, I froze, but nothing happened. I then attempted for the second, and there was the same result. I relaxed, realising that Serana's idea had worked, and I walked down into the portal.

The Soul Cairn was so dark, and felt wrong. The sky was black, yet the ground was clearly visible. There were stone circle laying around the terrain, purple light firing out and dead plants littered the terrain too. Even Serana said;

"The air, the ground... this is all wrong. You'd think a vampire would be right at home in this place. You'd be wrong. Let's just find my mother and get out of here, quickly." I stepped onto the ground, and though it felt wrong, it also felt like natural earth. As we were walking I asked Serana;

"What do you know of this place?"

"Just what my mother told me." She answered; "I've also studied a little bit on my own, but there's not much. When something is trapped inside a soul gem, and then the energy is used for powering an enchantment, the remnants are sent here."

"Any type of soul gem?" I asked, and she replied;

"Well, I think it's specifically the black ones. I don't know if the Soul Cairn takes just any leftovers." I looked around at the landscape, and asked;

"Does anything live here?"

"Look at this place. Do you think anything would want to live here? The only things that can survive here are the Ideal Masters, the undead and the souls themselves. Well, if you can call that 'living'.

"Do you think we'll meet the Ideal Masters?" I asked. She thought for a moment, and responded;

"I don't think anyone's ever met the Ideal Masters. I'm not even sure if anyone knows what they look like. They could be underground, flying above us... They might be the ground. I have no idea."

"Why are they collecting these souls?" I asked after a moment. She thought about it, and said;

"Lots of theories. Some say they feed on them like I feed on blood. Others think they use them as payment to an even higher power... almost like a currency. A very strange currency. Whatever they're doing with them, they've been harvesting for millennia. No telling how many souls are trapped here."