Late Sun's Dusk?

I meant to ask Erandur when he was in here what day it was, but I forgot.  My head is still thick, but the Jarl's wizard says that I am healing well.  According to him I am afflicted with some sort of sickness caused by my brief time in Sovngarde.  I do not know why however.  Was it because I am not a Nord?  Or is it simply because I traveled to a plane of existence that only the dead are supposed to roam free in?  I do not know.

There is so much to tell.  I was able to use the Elder Scroll to travel back in time, or at least view the past.  It was a strange feeling indeed, seeing with my mind's eye events which happened hundreds of years ago.  The colors were all so vibrant, they made me miss my eyesight once again.  But the vision was brief.  I saw the Nord hero's bring down Alduin with the Dragonrend shout, I inscribed the shout in my mind so that I would not forget.  Then I saw them use the Elder Scroll which I was holding to send Alduin forward in time.  I do not believe that they had any idea where Alduin went however, they simply knew that he was gone.  That was all.  After I observed them use the elder scroll the vision abruptly ended.  But my time at the throat of the world was far from over.

Alduin himself must have felt me using the scroll, for he came flying through the sky, a streak of black in the pale blue heavens.  The fight lasted hours, long into the night, the only thing that kept me from freezing to death was the fiery breath of the two dragons who were clashing above me.  Paarthurnax proved a valuable alley, although Alduin was an even more powerful foe.  If it would not have been for the fact that it was three against one, I surely would have died on that mountain.  Erandur was the one who shot the telling arrow that finally drove Alduin to the ground permanently   But Alduin's revenge was swift, he lunged forward at my companion, his long, black neck writhing, snake-like through the air.  Although his attack did not fully connect, his ivory teeth came close enough to slash two long furrows through Erandur's back.  I knew in the frigid weather it would not be long before Erandur succumbed to either blood loss, shock or freezing.  I had to finish the battle quickly.  Erandur tried to get up to help in the fight, but Alduin was still after him, enraged I assume that the Dunmer's arrow had been the one which grounded him.  Paarthurnax distracted the black dragon momentarily with a bone rattling shout while I ran to my comrade's side.  He was resistant to my help, but I left him no choice.  I dragged him behind a large outcropping, telling him if he moved he would have my wrath to deal with.  He held my hand tightly before I left, and I could feel his eyes on me, imploring me to survive although he said not a word.  The moment left me with a strange, foreign lump swelling up in my throat.  Perhaps it was a sign of weakness  but it was the weakness I needed to win.  The thought of leaving this world at the jaws of the beast who may have sentenced my friend to death gave me the drive I needed to summon spells powerful enough to blast apart a cave troll.  Alduin's strength was quickly depleting, victory hung in the air.  And then the bastard ran, the coward leapt from the mountain top, used the momentum from his fall to find air under his wings, and he fled into the night sky.

I was furious.  His life had been but moments from ending under the power of my Thu'um.  I managed to get Erandur down the mountain to High Hrothgar where the Greybeards immediately set about tending to his wounds.  I was torn at that point.  I did not want to leave his side, yet I knew I had to track down Alduin and finish him while he was still weakened from our battle.  Yet there was another battle going on inside my very soul as I struggled to lay low feelings which I have not felt for many years towards another individual.  In the end it was Erandur himself who told me in a rather spiteful tone that if I did not leave and find Alduin, we were both going to die when the World-Eater came back, better prepared, for revenge.  It was this statement that decided me.  I spoke to the Greybeards briefly  asking them where they thought Alduin had gone.  There answers were unanimous:  Sovngarde.  Alduin traveled to Sovngarde when he was weakened to consume the souls of the dead and thus regain his strength.  But the way into Sovngarde was a secret only the Dov knew.  The answer was clear, I had to capture a dragon, one of Alduin's loyal followers, and make him pledge his allegiance to me and my Thu'um, make him show me the way into Sovngarde.

After a final goodbye to Erandur for the time being, I traveled to Whiterun to speak to the Jarl.  Many years ago the Great Porch of Jarl Balgruuf's castle was used to capture the great dragon Numinex by Olaf One-Eye.  It was my intention to repeat the trickery.  Dragon's are vain creatures, I was sure I'd be able to get one to fall for the same trap if I could only lure it in.  The difficult part was convincing the Jarl.  He would not allow me to use his palace in such a compromising way while Ulfric Stormcloak threatened to attack.  This made perfect sense to me, however it did make my job more difficult.  Long story short, after many hastened carriage rides between Solitude, Windhelm, and Whiterun  I was finally able to arrange for General Tulius, Ulfric Stormcloak, and Jarl Balgruuf to convene for a temporary peace conference at High Hrothgar.  It was the only place I could convince them to meet at.  The Greybeards are unanimously respected both by the Empire and the Nords of Skyrim, so it seemed best anyways that they hold the conference.

The conference was long, filled with prideful speeches by Ulfric whom I believe just loves the sound of his own voice, and a bit tedious.  But in the end the Empire agreed to hand Markarth over to the Stormcloaks in exchange for Riften and monetary compensation for the massacre at Karthwasten.  These were the terms of the peace until I was able to deal with the Dragon crisis.  I'm sure as I write this both sides are already gathering up arms again to dive into the foray.

Regardless, Jarl Balgruuf was satisfied and he opened his palace up to my use.  Thanks to Esbern and Delphine, who somehow heard that there were peace talks going on at High Hrothgar and decided to show up, I was able to learn the name of an Ancient Dragon who had been buried near Whiterun.

Standing on the edge of the Great Porch of Dragonsreach I inclined my face to the heavens and shouted with all my might.  For several seconds there was silence, I could hear the Whiterun guards shifting uneasily behind me in their bulky armor.  And then the roar of a dragon.  When the dragon came closer I could sense that it truly was a mighty beast.  However I had faced Alduin in battle just a few days ago, I felt no fear for this creature.  I shouted taunts at it from the porch drawing it in closer.  Finally it was within range, it came within mere meters of me, it's leathery wings beating the sky, making the banners of the castle whip wildly about in the artificial wind.  I leapt down from my perch, and I shouted Dragonrend with all my might.  The beast let out an unnatural howl of pain as the concept of mortality was pressed into its mind, it came crashing down into the great porch, it's tail smacking the stone work, causing mortar to fly everywhere.

The guards were ready with the great harness, they dropped it down upon the beast, clamping it to the ground.  Then began a great verbal debate between me and Odaving, the captured Dov.  He was naturally very resistant to answer my questions, but at the same time, he was my prisoner, and it was my Thu'um which had knocked him from the sky.  Finally we arrived at an impasse.  He told me he knew where Alduin's entrance to Sovngarde was, but there was no way for me to get there other than allowing him to carry me there.  Meaning that I would have to free him from the harness.  Both the guards and the Jarl bawked at this suggestion, all feared that the dragon would wreak havoc upon the castle if released.  Perhaps I would have been skeptical as well, if it would not have been for the fact that I have dealt with Paarthurnax, he is a very powerful dragon, he is also honest, loyal, and true to his word.  He has told me that this is how most Dov are, it is their lofty sense of honor which keeps them so.  Because of this knowledge, I decided to take my chances and let Odaving out of the harness.

I took a chance, yes, but it payed off.  Odaving did not leave me, nor did he attack the castle.  He waited for me to join him, crouched down low to allow me to mount him, and then, with a great beating of wings, he took to the sky.

I wish that I had eyesight, if only just for the time when I flew threw the air on a dragon.  What wonders and sights I must have missed because of my accursed blindness.

We made it to the mythical entrance of Sovngarde within an hour.  After Odaving left me there followed many hours of constant battle against every undead atrocity Alduin had ordered to guard his doorway.  It took every ounce of energy I had to keep carrying on.  At least my tenacity proved enough, and I reached the final challenge:  holding the key to the land of heroes was a Dragon Priest   At this point I was in no mood to be toyed with, as the priest seemed to want to do.  I evaded his energy bolts easily, constantly aware of my position on the high stone roof we fought on.  I slammed him with a barrage of fireballs, knocking him off balance, I charged in closer, another barrage of fireballs hit him, knocking him back further.  I continued my unwavering attacks, never giving him enough time to recover from one before I hit him with another.  At long last his empty corpse dropped to the ground  the silver staff, the key to Sovngarde fell from his bony hand.

Although I was tired beyond exhaust I could not stop yet, not when I was so close.  Grasping the staff in both hands I fitted it into the large lock in the floor beneath me.  I could hear the ground moving, feel the temple around me reshaping itself.  And then a hot breeze shot up an out of the floor, a nose like a great tornado came from just ahead of me, pulling me towards it.  I did not resist, the wind sucked my body off the temple floor.  Disoriented, I fell, down down into a silent void.

And then I stood upon firm ground again.  The air was hot and humid.  It was absolutely still and silent.  That was my first taste of Sovngarde.

There is more to tell but my head aches and my fingers are numb.  I must rest again.