A day after the events of the prophecy night, almost every faction was rushing its preparations.
On one side, there was Serana, who accompanied Jon in her hopes to eradicate her parents, Harkon and Valerica.
On the other side, there were Hilda and Nurina, who answered Sybille's summons, only for Hilda to brutally murder the Moth Priest who foretold the Night Heir Prophecy, and capture Sybille to keep her mouth shut.
Aside from those, there were Harkon and Valerica, whose plans included sacrificing a large number of people to create a supply of powerful Vampire-Hybrid Clones. This idea was inspired by the process Serana went through to get herself pregnant.
Finally, there was the side that remained passive yet knowledgeable about this whole situation. That side was Lamae Bal, the Blood Matron, who resided in Winterhold for the time being in hopes of securing an alliance with Jon Dare and his house.
These four sides were all threatened by one another, but the biggest threat to them all was the factor whom they all equally feared: Jon Dare, wildest of the wild cards, and Father of the Night Heir. Considered a walking disaster with unpredictable behaviour, if left to take matters into his own hands, he would have a big reaction that no one could afford.
Serana feared Jon in general, but she realised that a goddess like the Blood Matron may have been working behind the scenes for this prophecy to emerge. If that were the case, then Serana would start growing doubts against her own matron, the only one who should have had her back in the world.
Hilda and Nurina, being Jon's mothers, were in a spot as tight as Serana, as this matter concerned their family. Jon had always wanted a child, and the fact that he was having one was something joyous in the House, even if it was not from his First or Second wives. While Alina and Jullanar may have been upset, they could be easily pacified, since Jon, in the past, was not really about keeping it in his pants. The fact that no love child appeared after no less than six years of screwing around was a miracle on its own, but all miracles had to end at some point.
Now, with that child being involved in yet another disturbing prophecy, Hilda feared for her family to be hunted not only by all the powers of the world, but also by every human who would deny a half-vampire child the chance to build an empire under which no vampire is harmed by sunlight. This could lead to a tragedy of unprecedented magnitude for the House of Dare and the Firemane Clan. Jon's hand may be forced to get rid of the child, since he himself would not want to see his child building an empire for the vampires whom he does not particularly like.
As for the front on which Jon was focused the most, the Volkihar Vampires knew that Jon was a far greater threat than what they could handle. Harkon may have been able to underestimate and even kidnap Jon once in the past, but he knew that Jon had a great influence on Serana and made her slip off his fingers so easily. The problem was that Jon always lived in a bastion that even the dragons failed at invading, and whenever he moved around the world, he always used the means of fast-travelling via teleportation or other arcane means.
Valerica had never understood how Harkon could actually fear someone that much, as she was never aware of the "Jon Dare" concept quite yet, but from the rumours she could gather circulating around the remaining vampires, she realised that Jon, having been offended by Harkon, was a much worse foe than Harkon could ever handle, and with him being the father of the Night Heir, Harkon's struggle to restore Serana and her child would need so much effort and sacrifice, enough for Harkon to ditch his own castle and the greater part of the Volkihar army.
At first, Valerica wanted to seek help from the Glenmoril Wyrd of witches, of whom she was a part, but learning that the Wyrd was destroyed by this generation of Companions was bad news for her. With her list of allies shrunk almost to none, she followed suit with Harkon and prepared for a clash with Jon Dare, all for the sake of the prophecy that could one day elevate all the vampires of the world.
Everyone needed to secure their position in this first round, and the fastest to do so would have the best hand to deal in the following round of this high-stakes race against time.
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At the end of the first day, Hilda and Nurina raced back to Winterhold and were the first to arrive at the port, yet news of the sacking of Castle Volkihar and the escape of its lord was faster than they had hoped.
Along with them, they had Sybille Stentor detained aboard Hilda's ship, as they could not afford for her to speak. Hilda requested her sister Skadi to guard the prisoner and sped towards the Dare Tower along with Nurina to meet Lamae Bal.
Once they reached the chamber where the Blood Matron resided, they found a strange woman in place, cleaning the room and pouring the finest Argonian Blood Wine from Jon's cellars into three goblets.
Once the woman saw them looking at her with frowning gazes, she calmly finished what she was doing, put the bottle aside, and turned away to the nearest standing mirror. Then, with a light touch on her face, a complete transformation took place, and the woman became Lamae.
"That is the fastest makeup transformation I've seen in a while," Nurina commented as she stepped inside the room, carefully checking all its corners.
Lamae silently smiled and gracefully walked to the nearest seat, swaying like a swan in her light dress that could barely hide her seductive curves, before inviting Nurina and Hilda to join her with a gesture.
"Hmph!" Hilda gave Lamae a hateful look. "Look at that woman and how shameful she is! Do these tricks on men! Tricks like these won't work on women, you vixen."
"They won't?" Lamae asked, her broad, beaming smile revealing her vampiric fangs, evidently satisfied by the women's reactions.
"They totally work!" With a thumbs-up, Nurina turned to Hilda with two trails of blood dripping from her nose.
"…"
Hilda barely resisted the urge to slap her own forehead, so she slammed the door behind her shut and marched at Lamae with big steps, clenched fists, and piercing eyes.
"YOU! You knew from the start, didn't you? The Night Heir!" Hilda asked as she slammed the table, making everything almost jump off it, without fearing a figure as powerful as the Blood Matron.
"Hmm… I wonder."
With a single finger raised, Lamae performed a feat of rewinding time so effortlessly, preventing all the mess Hilda caused from ever happening right in front of their eyes, but with an effect only limited to the table—a feat not a single mortal mage can casually achieve.
Even Hilda recognised the power of such a feat and took a step back, let alone Nurina, who became fully alert and wiped the blood from under her nose with her sleeve.
"You!" Hilda gritted her teeth, trying to suppress all urges from doing anything she may regret, and only asked, "What do you want from us? Why are you after Jon's child?"
"Jon's child?" Lamae raised a brow and shook her head as if finding their question ridiculous. She still gestured for the two of them to join her, this time making the chairs move on their own for the two to sit. "It is good I have prepared for a long meeting in advance; it seems that the three of us, as mothers, need to have a serious talk."
"You don't tell…"
As Hilda was fully agitated by Lamae's behaviour, Nurina held her back without lifting an eye from Lamae, and quietly took the seat Lamae offered.
"We were expected. At least let's hear her till the end," Nurina spoke the wisest words for the day. "Blood Matron, I see you are trying to sell the impression that you don't have the slightest interest in Jon's child."
Hilda sat down, trusting Nurina's calm thinking, but still agitated by all that was happening.
"A flat and quick answer will be that I do not… not directly, in any case," Lamae said before lifting her goblet and stirring it a few times, watching her reflection on the red liquid, before looking up at the two women whose patience was stretched thin.
"We're listening," Nurina urged her to continue.
"My blood runs through Serana, the mother. Naturally, my blood runs in her child. Part of that child's fate is my fate. Just like how you, Hilda, are its paternal grandmother, I have some blood tying me to the child. So, I am not after the child; I don't care what fate it holds, even if it is something as interesting as the Night Heir."
Lamae's confession was casual and nonchalant, conveying her disinterest in the matter, as she calmly sipped some wine after speaking.
"Lies!" Hilda was the first to react as she leaned forward to face Lamae. "An empire for vampires! How can you resist such a thing?"
As it seemed like she had cornered Lamae, Hilda's grin was wide, but Nurina seemed cautious about that approach.
"Which vampires?" Lamae asked.
Hilda frowned at the question she was faced with and pointed with her hand, trying to salvage her point:
"You… all of you vampires, I mean."
"An empire for all vampires?" Lamae was taken aback with a face distorted with disgust. "You really know how to ruin a good wine, don't you?"
"What do you mean?" Hilda asked, almost losing her composure.
"Forgive me if I must answer your question with another." Lamae handled Hilda calmly before pointing at Nurina. "Would it be okay for your people to share an empire with hers?"
Lamae's question made Hilda look at Nurina, before shrugging and nodding:
"Yes. Nurina is alright."
"What I am asking is if it is okay for Nords and Dunmer to harmoniously form the same empire and live as equals?" Lamae asked, but with the visible hesitation on Hilda, she pressured her with a tougher example. "How about Nords and Altmer? Is that okay? Nords and Argonians, would your people accept it?"
"URGH! Alright. No! They won't," Hilda said and averted her face in frustration.
"Then it is the same with vampires, my dear," Lamae rested her back and explained casually. "My people are of the Noxiphilic Sanguivoria strain, my own line. Most vampires in Skyrim are of the unimpressive Sanguinare Vampiris strain, and in other parts, you have the Porphyric Hemophilia strain. We are like different races altogether."
"So you don't work together?" Hilda asked.
"Humans and their shortsightedness. Just because one Khajiit looks like another doesn't mean that the two are Cathay," Lamae reacted dismissively and turned to Nurina before pursing her lips in a smile. "You have been silent, Nurina. I assume you are listening and analyzing."
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