I couldn't believe it - I had survived!

I felt weak from Dagoth Ur's spells, but that would soon be fixed by several restore spells. First, however, I had to tell Laurenna the good news. I just hoped she hadn't left for Ghostgate yet.

As I approached the door, a light appeared in front of it. As I drew closer, the light took humanoid form.

I had seen this before.

Then I realized what this was.

It was Azura herself.

You no longer bear the burden of prophecy.

You have achieved your destiny.

You are free.

The doomed Dwemer's folly, Lord Dagoth's temptation, the Tribunal's seduction, the god's heart freed, the prophecy fulfilled.

All fates sealed and sins redeemed.

If you have pity, mourn the loss, but let the weeping cease.

The Blight is gone, and the sun's golden honey gilds the land.

Hail savior, Hortator, and Nerevarine.

Your people look to you for protection.

Monster and villains great and small still threaten the people of Vvardenfell.

Enemies and evils abound, yet indomitable will might rid Morrowind of all its ills.

For you, our thanks and blessings; our gift and token given.

Come; take this thing from the hand of god.

With that, she made a gesture with her hands, and an object appeared in front of her.

She vanished from sight as suddenly as she came.

I moved closer - it was a ring; Azura's Ring.

As it touched it, I could feel a lifting of something off of my shoulders, as if the very burden she had spoken of was being removed from me right then and there.

I thought about things for just a moment. I had been in the Emperor's prison for so long, then dumped here to be his personal spy.

I accidentally became a vampire, solved that unsolvable problem of changing back to a normal person again, became head of House Telvanni, Mages Guild, Fighters Guild, and had received the most unlikely title of Hortator, something not seen in centuries.

I had united four Ashlander tribes - again, something not seen in countless years.

I possessed the Moon-and-Star ring, something that would kill the wrong person, should they try to wear it.

I had stood up to a mad god, with the idea of ruling the world, and had beaten him down.

And had just received a personal thank-you from a real Goddess.

All in all, not bad for an old guy.  

I performed the restore spells, bringing my strength, intelligence, willpower, and agility back to normal.

In seconds, I felt better.

Now, to tell Laurenna the good news.

As soon as I stepped through the door, Laurenna ran and gave me a huge, Nordic bearhug.

"Oh, Eldorf," she shouted, "I was nearly ready to leave. I was so afraid you had been killed. I heard the sound of something blasting itself apart. I thought you had been killed!"

I told her what had happened; the conversation with Dagoth Ur, his attempt to kill me, my battle in the Heart chamber, the destruction of his new god, and the appearance of Azura.

I showed her the ring. The look on her face was priceless.

"Come on." I said. "Let's get out of this place."

She gave me absolutely no argument.

We made our way past the chambers and dead monsters we had killed on our way down to the Heart chamber.

We finally made it to the exit to Red Mountain.

We braced ourselves for the ashstorm.

"Well, this is different." said Laurenna.

She was right.

No ashstorm, no blightstorm, no nothing.

For the first time in countless centuries,
Red Mountain was finally at peace.

We made our way back to Ghostgate, encountering a few left-over creatures from when the Heart was still creating them.

We did have a shock, though, once we arrived back at Ghostgate: the Ghostfence was dead.

"But why?" asked Laurenna.

"The Tribunal was keeping the fence powered, using their own connection to the Heart." I explained. "Now that the Heart has been destroyed, they don't have enough power to keep the fence operating. Of course, now that Dagoth Ur is no longer a threat to Vvardenfell, Ordinators and such will be able to keep monsters in check."

We headed to the Tower of Dusk to stay the night. It had been an exhausting day for both of us, and I figured we should sleep here for the night and go home in the morning.

After purchasing a room for the night, I saw a Buoyant Armiger standing guard.

"Er, excuse me, sera. But... well... you're the Nerevarine, and a big hero, and I don't really know how to talk to important folk like you. Except to say... thank you, sera. For everything."

"What about the Ghostfence?" I asked.

"Dagoth Ur is dead, Nerevarine. We don't need the Ghostfence. But its bare pylons will remain as a tribute to Almsivi, to all the Ordinators and Buoyant Armigers who died, to the victims of the Sixth House, and to you, Nerevar-Born-Again."

"Do you think they'll tear down Ghostgate?" I asked.

"I hope they maintain it has a stronghold for the Ordinators and Buoyant Armigers," he replied, "and as a hostel for pilgrims. You know, Nerevarine, in years to come, they will make pilgrimages to Ghostgate and Red Mountain. We won't forget what you've done."

I smiled, gave him a pat on the shoulder, then Laurenna and I headed to our room.

We slammed the door shut. I turned to Laurenna and said "Ok, who do you think has the better war story to tell."

Laurenna took off her helmet, and said "Tell you what: I'll tell you mine, if you tell me how easy it was for you to defeat Dagoth Ur!"

I smiled. "It's gonna be a long story." I warned her.

"I'm not worried." she said. "We have all night."