The Heart of the Vampires

Dear Kiya,

It's been a few days since we reached Volkihar Castle, and I am still shaken by what I saw there. I cannot possibly know what you felt then, as you looked so calm and collected (and I tried my best to do so, too), but I am certain that you felt as scared as I was. We thought that bringing Lady Serana to the castle was not going to be easy, but it was more than that. It all started so well, so serene: We walked from Solitude to the west towards the shore without much strenuous killing. We needed our strength for the encounter, and we have had enough rest upon reaching the shore. Apparently, though, arm strength was not what we needed then.

I don't think even your arrows reach that far, Kiya.

I... I have to row?

It was quite a short trip towards the looming castle. I was the one who rowed the boat, which is not to say that I have stronger arms than you do, but because I wanted us to be prepared when ambushed in the middle of the river. I would be useless in those fights. You, on the other hand, have a repertoire of ranged spells and arrows you can use from the boat. Fortunately, we did not encounter any enemy threat. Surprising, given that I felt an eerie feeling in that area, as if several eyes were watching us.

What are those things on the bridge?

If I did not know that Castle Volkihar was the heart of the vampire threat, I would have called it beautiful and majestic. It is a structure fit for a king, with its large, thick walls, high-reaching towers, and a location far from the mainland, making it hard to siege with proper lookouts in the towers. It looked peaceful and serene from the shore, didn't it? Forgive me for thinking so far out from the severity of the situation, I knew I needed to focus for any ambush. Fortunately, as with the ride we did not encounter any of our enemies. Moving forward, we noticed that there were statues of the same gargoyles we encountered at Lady Serana's resting place. We proceeded a lot slowly this time, in case those statues made of stone come to life again. 

...Uh oh. Not them again.

The vampires at the foot of the castle recognized Lady Serana at once and said, "Serana has returned!" If Lady Serana has lived for quite a long time, I would think that these vampires who recognized her have lived far longer than that. It is a good thing they die to swords and spells. 

They let us enter the castle immediately, and we were greeted by a courtroom full of vampires eating human meat and drinking blood. It was disgusting and intensely disturbing at the same time. All of them, feasting and drinking on a human body. This is why we need to destroy them, Kiya. They are a menace to the people of Skyrim, killing innocent people in order to sustain their infinite hunger. 

Lady Serana and her apparent father exchanged words, and he gave us an audience. He wanted to give us a reward for bringing his daughter back to her, as well as the Elder Scroll that was with her. At first I thought it was a cruel joke, to make us think of a reward before he lets loose his 'court' of vampires on us. We knew better than to let our guards down at that point, but we might as well have. He offered us the power of the vampires, the ability to live forever. I know we did not prepare for this. "What if we refuse?" ran through my mind.

Please don't eat us.

...Then you spoke up. I froze in my place, unable to move nor speak. The same words I had thought of a few moments ago came out of your mouth, in a more defiant tone. You did not flinch nor moved one step back in fear as Lady Serana's father transformed himself into a monster, to show us the power of their immortal blood. He was fearsome, and for a moment there I was grateful that we have not encountered vampires such as he. Another thought immediately came to mind: What if the rest of them are like that? Some of the vampires we've encountered are immensely difficult to kill without transforming (such as Ancient Vampires), so what if they transform into that? 

Fortunately, the Lord of Volkihar did not punish us for refusing his offer then and there. He banished us from the castle, sending us to the shore oustide Volkihar castle. That might be the last time we get out of there alive, for all I know.

Harkon, you mad?

We immediately traveled to the other end of Skyrim, towards Fort Dawnguard. We only made a few stops before reaching our destination, one where you had to exchange your robe with a better one. Time was of the essence. 

Upon reaching Dawnguard, I immediately noticed that it was quiet. Too quiet. I sensed that something was wrong. I could tell that you had noticed it, too, as you were quickening your steps towards the fort. Turning a corner, we were immediately ambushed by a group of vampires, all of which were already wielding deadly weapons or readying their spells. I immediately covered you with my shield and let you take a much safer ground and cast your spells from there, like we always do. There was so much of them that it made me doubt Fort Dawnguard's safety.

We were able to defeat them all, fortunately. I gave the ones bitten by the vampires Cure Disease potion to prevent Vampirism from spreading, and you healed those that were wounded. Later, Isran immediately sent us on a mission to recruit his old friends into Dawnguard. I was reluctant on agreeing with you when you told me we had to split up in order to find these people faster, but it was a sound decision. It felt weird to see you turn and go, but it had to be done, for the sake of Skyrim.

Even your beard might fall off with all the worrying you do, Isran.

Please do write to me as soon as you can. I intend on reaching Gunmar within the next few days. Be careful, as these vampires, as we now know, are getting harder and harder to kill.

Regards,

Kousei