The Traveler

Chapter 29

Maxine traced her finger along the curve of the dragon's jaw, past its sharp teeth, and around the swirls of fire which exploded out its maw.
Beneath the powerful, snarling behemoth, a warrior held a shield against the onslaught. Behind him scores of men marched onto battle.
She could feel the pressure of Delphine's gaze on her back as she stood there but she didn't care. She was Dragonborn and so was Crystal thus the carvings on this wall depicted everything her sister was supposed to do and by extension everything which she needed to accomplish.

In front of her was the most compelling and astonishing structure Maxine had ever seen.
Alduin's Wall as it was called was a huge mural carved along one of the walls of the inner sanctum of Sky Haven Temple.
As soon as they entered Esbern pushed her towards it, clearly wanting her to see it but not giving her any context... not that much was needed as the wall spoke for itself.
It was a testimony to the talent and craftsmanship of the Akaviri.
Depicted on the stone canvas was highlights in the history of the continent of Tamriel beginning on the far left with the Dragon Wars. This piece of the wall displayed the mighty dragons of old terrorizing men with their Thu'ums and ravaging towns. Some of the carved men appeared to be joining the dragons but those who did not perished in their firestorm.
"This," Maxine asked, touching a large dragon which presided over the carnage, "is this Alduin?"
"Yes." Esbern answered, "That is Alduin. The World-Eater himself."
"World Eater?"
"Hmm. Indeed. And here," he pointed to the next section of the wall on which the dragon, Alduin, was seen being drawn into a swirling portal. Three warriors surrounded him, two on his sides and one beneath him who held in his hands a small cylinder. "Here is his banishment at the hands of the Champions of Men whom Kyne took pity on and granted the ability to speak and shout in dragon tongue."
The next half of the wall showed series of events which had occurred in Tamriel over the past couple of centuries and that Maxine had some loose knowledge of.
The first was a carving of a broken staff, the Staff of Chaos, that the sorcerer Jagar Tharn used to banish emperor Uriel Septim VII in the tormentous afterlife plane of Oblivion. According to legend, after casting him away Jagar broke the artifact into eight pieces and spread them all across Tamriel.
"When misrule takes place at the eight corners of the world..." Esbern muttered as he watched her studying the wall.
the next portion was of a massive robot looking machine Maxine believed was called Numindium. The machine was built by the Dwarves and along its lifetime managed to warp time and force simultaneous occurrences. The whole story was a mess and perplexed her greatly, but she understood enough to recognize the image.
"When the Brass Tower walks, and time is reshaped..."
Next was a picture of a huge volcano erupting and spewing magma and ash into the sky. This must've been referring to the disaster of the Red Mountain which was believed to be caused by the downfall of the trio of dark elf gods known as the Dunmer Tribunal. The story goes that a moonlet called Baar Dau crashed into the god Vivec, therefore erupting the mount.
"When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles..."
Floating just above the mountain was a symbol used by the gods of the plane of Oblivion for the letter O. It represented the Oblivion Crisis and how Martin Septim sealed the gates of Oblivion but in the process left the Septim line without an heir, thus ending their reign over Tamriel as well as the bloodline of Dragonborn emperors. Also seen in this half was the White-Gold Tower, which was sacked by elves during the siege on the Imperial city in the Great War.
"When the Dragonborn ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls."
Lastly, the furthest right and last piece of the wall showed a scene Maxine knew all too well.
Stone soldiers marched towards and crashed against each other before a tall mountain which had been split open. It was Skyrim's civil war which had barely just ended and had separated the whole nation.
"When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding; The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the last Dragonborn."

Suddenly his words registered with Maxine as they were what she had just seen.
"The last Dragonborn? What's that supposed to mean?"
"That is you. Everything that this wall has prophesized, everything that it has said has come to pass and now you have come to fulfill your destiny."
"Woah. Woah. Destiny? No, you've got it all wrong. I am here by accident. I'm just here to act in Crystal's place and eventually return home."
"See Esbern!" Delphine exclaimed as she pushed herself off the large table whose corner she had been sitting on. "She's not Crystal and admits that she's here by accident. There's no way she's Dragonborn. I'm telling you your wasting your time."
"Patience Delphine. Though she may not know her destiny she will come to terms with it eventually. She has too."
"And what is my destiny?"
Esbern ignored Delphine's scoff. "Your destiny my dear is as the wall predicts." He gestured to the part of the wall which she had traced earlier. "You are the Savior of Men. You are Alduin's doom."
Maxine knew she had to kill Alduin, or at least attempt to, but this talk of destiny and Savior of Men sounded a bit above her paygrade. "No, no I think that's supposed to be Crystal."
"Exactly!" Delphine chimed.
"That is where you are wrong. Tell me, do you still believe your presence here is the result of an accident?"
She had never thought of it as anything else because it was. There was no other reason for it. The watches were broken and must've malfunctioned thus resulting in her being brought here. "Yes. What else could it be?"
"Fate. Destiny. Purpose."
That was preposterous and yet Maxine found herself second guessing. Look at all she had discovered about herself upon arriving. She was Dragonborn, she was leader of the Companions, she was slowly mastering the voice every day, she had a special connection to Skyrim itself along with the animals and people who inhabited it.
Esbern watched as she slowly realized that what he said was true.
"So... I'm here for a reason?"
"Yes and you know it, you've known it for a while now but haven't accepted it and that's okay. Sometimes it's easier to live life as it's a mistake rather than as something meaningful. Now it is time for you to take your next step and begin to become that which you must."
"And that is...?"
"That is what you must discover yourself. I can only help you along the way, but you must travel the path yourself. And that path starts with this." His finger brushed the small cylinder in the part of the wall that described Alduin's banishment. "The Elder Scroll which the Champions used to imprison Alduin in time. If you find this, then you can defeat him once and for all and save the world from total destruction."
"T-total destruction?" She stuttered.
"Yes. Alduin's coming foretells the apocalypse. If he succeeds in his plans, then he will consume the world and end life as we know it."
Crystal would definitely kill Maxine if she let her world be devoured while on her watch.
"I was told I must find this Elder Scroll and that you would know where it is."
He almost choked. "I- why I haven't a clue where it is."
Maxine peered back at Brynjolf who mirrored her disappointed and slightly panicked gaze. If he didn't know where it was then they'd wasted days getting here all for nothing.

At his uncertainty Delphine suddenly lit up and said, "That's where my plan comes into play."
Whatever her plan was it forced a groan from Esbern. "Don't start Delphine. We've been over this many times. It is far too risky to try the same trick twice. Besides, last time we tried it our agent was almost killed."
"Well the way I see it if she truly is Dragonborn why not give her a chance to prove it? If it's part of her destiny then she can handle it. Send her into the Embassy to retrieve information regarding the scroll. I have no doubts the Thalmor know where it is. Plus, I've already thought it through. Since the Stormcloaks won the war they've been losing their hold. Slipping in would- "
"Proving herself to be Dragonborn doesn't mean subjecting herself to suicide! I know she's Dragonborn and she knows so why don't you? I've never seen you so... stubborn!"
Realizing that she wouldn't win, she stomped off to her quarters and slammed the door like an angsty teenager.
Esbern sighed and fell into a seat at the table. He suddenly looked so feeble and exhausted. "Forgive her please. It's been a rough couple of weeks, and she hasn't been sleeping well... none of us have."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's okay. I think our luck is about to change."

His weariness must've rubbed off on Maxine as she yawned and stretched her sore legs. Guess the hike up the mountain had worn her out more than she thought.
"It's late." He said, standing. "Why don't we all try to get some rest. We can discuss ways to find the scroll in the morning."
He led them upstairs to a stretch of rooms which sat on a plateau above the wall.
They each took a room of their own, with Weylyn following Maxine into hers.
Once she had removed her armor, she laid in the bed with him pressed against her side.
The stone bed wasn't very comfortable, but it didn't matter as Maxine found her thoughts troubling enough to keep her awake.
She was Dragonborn, that much was true, but now she had a destiny to live out and people depending on her. Suddenly Skyrim had become a lot more stressful and frankly she didn't like it. Especially as she had her whole other life to get back to.
Sleep came very slowly to her but after hours of lying there she finally found her head drifting beneath its waves and into the peaceful silence.