Turdas, 2:04 AM, 4th of Evening Star

I'm camped out on the road to Riften from Whiterun tonight.  Erandur is no longer with me.  Although I see the sense in his decision to return to Dawnstar and continue to serve the people as a priest of Mara, I do not agree with his choice.  But then my opinion is probably biased for I had grown close to him as he had to me. Before we parted ways outside Whiterun he grasped my hand tightly, I could feel that their was emotion surging within him, yet we Dunmer are a stoic people, and he even more so for he is a priest who has sworn his life to a divine.  He said nothing else except the parting words of, 'May Azura smile upon you, and if your road leads to Dawnstar Nightcaller temple will always welcome you.'  I found it interesting that he invoked Azura's name in his parting words, and not Mara's.  But perhaps he knows that I find more comfort still in the traditional Deity of my people.

I miss him greatly, yet I am trying to help myself come to terms with the fact that he did what he must.  Had we stayed together much longer his conviction to Mara would have certainly been shaken, he said so himself.    He also told me that he had already abandoned one god, and he was not going to do it again.

I got attacked a few hours ago by a khajiit assassin   She had a note on her body from the Dark Brotherhood. Seems someone wants me dead.  I hope that Erandur does not also have evil stalking him, although he is a proficient fighter, he is not a warrior, he is a priest and he will not be prepared to defend himself against a trained killer.

I dropped off the inscribed lexicon to Septimus North of Winterhold College two days ago.  After examining it for what seemed like hours he finally yelped in glee.  It seems that the lockbox he is guarding can only be opened by Dwemer blood.  I found this to be a conundrum but Sigmus was not deterred.  He seems convinced that the blood of the Elven races can be mingled to form a similar blood type to the Dwemer.  He gave me a vial and asked me to collect the blood for him.  I was skeptical at first, as I have no intention of killing innocents to further his plans, but it may be easier to fill than I was expecting.  I have already been attacked by bandits once since then and have been able to collect both Orc blood and Altmer.

I suppose I should at least summarize my experiences in Sovngarde, and how I came to defeat Alduin in his own realm.  Perhaps posterity will one day find this little book and read its many cryptic notes and laugh in amazement that their ancestors were ever worried about such trivial things as mythical 'dragons'.

After I arrived in Sovngarde it took me a few moments to get my bearings.  I was very hesitant about moving at more than a snails crawl for with the utter silence that surrounded me I was unable to use my usual tactics of noting sounds and their echoes for scouting my terrain.  After what seemed like hours I finally arrived at what seemed to be a great chasm.  A huge Nord man approached me then and introduced himself as Tsun, the gaurdian of Sovngarde.  He told me in order to enter the hall of champions I would have to prove to him in battle that I was worthy.  I swear he must have gone easy on me, for it was not a very difficult fight.  Either way he allowed me to pass.  He must have been laughing to himself as he watched me creep across the great bridge of bone that connected the two land masses.  But I would much rather have a champion of Sovngarde mock me then fall to my death in the land of the afterlife...that poses an interesting theological question of what would happen next...but not interesting enough for me to get into at this time.

In the hall of Valor I was introduced to the original three Nord champions who brought down Alduin the first time.  They offered me their unwavering support.  Together we exited the warm feasting hall and crossed back over to the mainland.  By combining our Thu'um we were able to finally clear the mist and drive Alduin out of his hiding place.  He came swooping down in a cloak of fire, shouting curses at the four of us as he swept down.

This time the battle was so much easier than the first.  Although Alduin had already regained some of his strength, this time I had three Nord champions fighting with me who have done nothing but spar and feast and think of the glory of battle for thousands of years.  They were ready to kill a dragon, they knew his strengths and weaknesses already.  It was a glorious battle, and in the end, as Alduin screamed in pain as I ripped his very soul from his body I felt as if I really was a champion.

After the battle Tsun, the massive gaurdian shouted at me, and the world faded.  I'm assuming it was his shout which brought me back to the throat of the world.  My legs were weak when I finally was able to stand on the snowy mountain top.  Parthurnax was not the only mighty dragon who was waiting for me there.  All around the mighty mountain black dragons swarmed.  They all were shouting 'dragonborn' pledging me their allegiance.  Although not all dragons have recognized me as the vanquisher of Alduin, the true Dragonborn, many many have, and they told me that they would help me to search out the rebels and thus end the attacks on civilians.  It is a strange feeling to be revered by such mighty beasts, and one that I am sure I am unworthy of.  I certainly didn't feel the part of mighty dragon slayer as I stood wobbling on the mountain, fresh out of Sovngarde.

Regardless, although there are still a few dragons who wish to bring Skyrim harm, the vast majority of them seem to have moved higher up into the mountains and will not be a problem to the common folk anymore.  I believe that it is safe to say the dragon crisis is finally coming to an end.