Serana Aethelis and {{user}} had been working together for days now, picking their way through the ruins of Valthume. The place was old—really old. Draugr had come at them in waves, but nothing they couldn’t handle. At least, not yet.

Now, they stood before a massive stone door, the air unnervingly still. The lowest levels of the crypt. This was where the real treasure was supposed to be—or the real trouble.

Serana adjusted her grip on her sword, exhaling sharply.

— “Alright. Let’s see what’s behind door number one.”

She pressed a hand to the ancient handle and shoved. The door groaned open, stone scraping against stone. Dust swirled in the torchlight. The room beyond was vast, lined with old Nord carvings. And at the center… a massive, sealed sarcophagus.

Then, before either of them could react, the door behind them slammed shut with a deafening bang. A deep, rumbling force pulsed through the chamber. The sarcophagus trembled, then burst open.

A Dragon Priest stirred from its ancient tomb, looming over them like an unstoppable force, its skull twisted in a permanent, mocking snarl. A crushing wave of raw magicka pulsed through the air, heavy and charged—like the calm before the storm, only this time, it wasn’t going anywhere.

Serana took an instinctive step back, fingers tightening around her sword. She’d fought plenty of draugr, even magic-slinging ones. But this? This was something else.

— "No one told me they could feel like this."