Wayne quickly put on his glasses and spoke to Arator before Vereesa could erupt in anger. "Don't laugh! Why are you laughing? Getting this bow is just the beginning. Next, I'll take you to get another one."
Arator's curiosity piqued at these words. "There's an even stronger longbow?"
Wayne replied, "Yes. It is called Auriel's Bow, your sword possesses the power of the Holy Light, but that bow—it possesses the power of the sun! Wherever its arrows strike, it is as if the searing, pure power of the sun itself descends. That is a true artifact."
Vereesa had been pondering how to deal with this young man who had just teased her, but her thoughts were instantly derailed by his statement.
Auriel's Bow? A bow with the power of the sun?
Vereesa couldn't help but immediately think of the greatest glory of the Windrunner family, passed down for over seven thousand years—Thas'dorah, Legacy of the Windrunners. It was an artifact longbow kept and used by the Windrunner family for generations.
Seven thousand years ago, the High Elves had traveled to the northernmost part of the Eastern Kingdoms and established their new home. At a site of converging magical energies, they used a vial containing water from the Well of Eternity to create the Sunwell. This was the origin of Quel'Thalas.
With the founding of Silvermoon City, the magical energy of the Sunwell constantly overflowed. An ancient giant tree in Eversong Woods began to absorb this energy; it was named Thas'alah, meaning "Light of the Forest." Since the neighboring Amani Trolls believed the elves had encroached on their land, the first King of Quel'Thalas, Anasterian Sunstrider, led his people in resistance.
To provide him with a suitable weapon, the craftsmen of Silvermoon took a branch from Thas'alah and forged a longbow. They placed the bow within the Sunwell, letting it fully absorb the magical essence. Ultimately, the bow became indestructible and imbued with the energies of magic and nature. It was named Thas'dorah, meaning "Valor of the Forest."
For seven millennia, the bow had been passed down. Its last owner before the Third War was Lirath Windrunner's mother—the mother of the three Windrunner sisters. However, during the Second War, when the Orcs and Amani Trolls allied and invaded, she perished in battle. Sylvanas inherited the role of Ranger-General, but Thas'dorah was inherited by the eldest daughter, Alleria.
Now, with Alleria's fate unknown after leading the expedition through the Dark Portal, this seven-thousand-year-old artifact had vanished along with its master. This remained a deep-seated wish in Vereesa's heart: if her sister truly was lost to history, as the statues at the gates of Stormwind suggested, then she wanted to recover the bow to continue its legacy and restore the prestige of the Windrunner family.
There was no doubt that Wayne's words had perfectly struck a chord in her heart. Consequently, she suppressed her impatience and focused entirely on the game screen shared by the two.
The quest proved to be quite lengthy. Serana, the "Young Lady" Wayne had released from the mechanism in Dimhollow Crypt, asked Wayne to take her back to a castle located on an island off the northwestern coast of Skyrim. The journey revealed a truth that even shocked Arator: she was a vampire several hundred years old, and the "Castle Volkihar" was the stronghold of the vampires. Its master was Serana's father—Harkon.
As "thanks" for returning his daughter, Harkon transformed into his vampire lord form and asked them to join him, offering them near-eternal life. This made Arator incredibly nervous, but Wayne pressed his hand down, preventing him from drawing Dawnbreaker, as doing so would be an act of war.
In the game, players faced two choices: join and become a vampire, or refuse and be exiled. Regardless of the judgmental, burning gaze Vereesa directed at him from the side, Wayne had no intention of joining the vampires—especially with Arator, a Paladin raised in the Holy Light, beside him.
The two returned to the fortress of the Dawnguard and reported their findings to Isran. Isran sent them to find former companions who had left after arguments, bringing them back to the organization to fight the vampire threat. After traveling across the map, they completed the mission, only to find Serana appearing at the Dawnguard fortress, specifically asking to see Wayne. Isran kept her under house arrest until they returned. It was then that Serana revealed the secret she carried on her back: an Elder Scroll!
In a game named after the Elder Scrolls, these artifacts were the most miraculous and significant existences, possessing the power to change the world, destiny, and everything else. Serana explained that her sealing had been voluntary, intended to keep the scroll away from her father so he could never learn its secret—how to make vampires no longer fear the sun. If he succeeded, they would rule the world.
"Disgusting vermin. Just as nauseating as the Scourge," Vereesa muttered softly upon hearing this.
Just as she finished speaking, a line of text popped up: [Shadowbreaker requests to join the session]
Wayne and Arator shared a look in the game, and Wayne selected "Accept."
And so, Shadowbreaker—who had been sitting leisurely in the orchard playing the game—appeared beside Wayne and Arator. Seeing this, Vereesa found the mechanic somewhat magical.
Arator: "Teacher... how?" Shadowbreaker: "I reached this stage too. Doing missions alone is too taxing; it's more efficient to go with old Miller."
Seeing the three of them chatting excitedly and acting familiar in the game, Vereesa felt a surge of annoyance. Old Miller? What kind of title is that? How old is this kid, that Shadowbreaker calls him "Old"? They act as close as brothers. To think a Duke would disregard etiquette like this—how could Ronin entrust Arator to such a person!
The three continued the quest. Serana, having escaped and having no friends in the world, hoped the group could help her find a way to decipher the Elder Scroll, which might contain the secret to stopping Harkon's ambition.
Watching this, Vereesa couldn't help but criticize inwardly. Heh. Turning a blade against one's own father... that little girl who fled to Theramore (Jaina) would probably like this plot.And then there's that soulless trash named Menethil (Arthas).And this slick-tongued fellow named Mike-something (Wayne) isn't much better either.
After discussing the plan, the group split up to gather clues from the College of Winterhold, inns, and carriage drivers. Naturally, Wayne assigned the necessary but useless steps to the other two while he headed straight for Dragon Bridge. Following the clues, he eventually rescued a priest from vampires in a cave. This priest, an "Ancestral Moth Priest," possessed the knowledge to read Elder Scrolls. Upon returning to the Dawnguard fortress and reading the scroll, the priest told them of an artifact called "Auriel's Bow," but the method to find it was hidden in another Elder Scroll.
Serana told them the other scroll was with her mother, Valerica, though she didn't know her mother's current location. To find clues, the group sneaked into Castle Volkihar through a back entrance. In her mother's former quarters, they solved numerous puzzles and eventually entered the "Soul Cairn"—a realm reachable only by surrendering a portion of one's soul—where they found Valerica. The mother and daughter were reunited. From Valerica, they learned that Harkon's goal was to use Serana's blood to corrupt Auriel's Bow and end "The Tyranny of the Sun." After proving his status as Dragonborn, the three solved the mechanisms, killed the undead guardians, and obtained the scroll.
Although the chain of quests was extremely long, Vereesa didn't feel bored at all. The closer they got to the mystery and the artifact, the more she was drawn into the screen. Furthermore, during the battle against the soul dragon, she saw Shadowbreaker and Arator both wielding the radiant Dawnbreaker. One attacked while the other defended; when one was injured, the other immediately cast healing magic. This made Vereesa feel that, at least in combat, her nephew had grown significantly.
A glimmer of comfort stirred in her heart. At the same time, Arator's movements reminded her of a heartbreaking scene from years ago. She had once defied the orders of her second sister, Sylvanas—who had already taken up the mantle of Ranger-General from their deceased mother—and secretly taught her younger brother, Lirath, the skills of a ranger.
However, Lirath was born frail and loved music. Both elder sisters had realized long ago that he was not suited for battle. Predictably, when the Orcs invaded, Lirath had secretly donned an archer's garb and gone to war, only to be killed by the Orcs without any suspense. Sylvanas had arrived to the tragic news and, looking at her brother's corpse, demanded to know who had defied the Ranger-General's orders to secretly train Lirath, leading to his pointless death.
Vereesa remembered clearly how she had stood up trembling, crying as she admitted, "It was me."
That was nearly the last communication between the two sisters. Unable to face Sylvanas's fury, she chose the same path as her eldest sister: leaving Quel'Thalas to become a Farstrider and join the Alliance in the fight against the Orcs. This choice meant the three sisters would never reunite again, leaving Sylvanas alone to lead their people against the Scourge, eventually falling beneath the cold blade of Frostmourne and rising as a banshee.
Tears welled up in the elven ranger's eyes. She couldn't tell if what she felt most was pride, longing, or regret. But she knew that picking up a weapon and fighting was a fate Arator had to face, and a mission the descendants of the Windrunners could not escape.
The Horde, the Orcs, the Scourge—those beasts who killed her mother and brother and forced the three sisters apart—all of them had to die!