A complete Dragon Shout consists of three Dragon words. The Fus that Simon learned is the first part of the Dragon Shout: Unrelenting Force. Next are Lo, meaning "balance," and Dah, meaning "push." These are three frequencies that interfere and superimpose to enhance power.
Using a Dragon Shout does not consume the quantity of Heartforce, but it changes the state of Heartforce. Specifically, Heartforce is not consumed, but a part of it becomes uncontrollable, sluggish, and inert until it naturally regains its activity, or its recovery is accelerated through prayer.
It is said that wearing an Akatosh Charm can accelerate the recovery process after a Dragon Shout. Simon plans to get one when he has time.
Arngeir taught Lo and Dah to Simon the next day. By then, he had mastered a complete Shout.
Among the three who came to study, Dilo was the worst. He was merely a mortal, and Arngeir clearly stated that he would learn nothing without several years of practice.
Dilo was stubborn and did not believe the old man's judgment. He insisted on sitting in meditation with the Greybeards for a week. The result, naturally, was that he comprehended nothing; instead, his body became much thinner. The once tall and slender young man now looked pitifully gaunt. Jonas stopped him from continuing to meditate, and in his haste, a remark of "You really can't do it" shattered Dilo's spirit.
The young man from Whiterun now sits by the courtyard every day, gazing at his hometown. On the distant plains, vast farmlands are worked by diligent farmers, and the widespread crops have changed the plains' original color. Regular fields are etched with profound words of order and civilization.
This center of human habitation is Whiterun City, built against the mountains. At the highest point, the Cloud District, stands the magnificent Dragonsreach. Legend has it that One-Eye Olaf, the First Era Jarl of Whiterun, built it after defeating the Dragon Numinex on Mount Anthor with his Shout and skill, burying the Dragon's body beneath the palace and hanging its skull on the great hall's wall.
Skyrim's most prosperous city, a vibrant land full of miracles and legends, where the aroma of mead and food fills the streets, and people throng like weaving threads. In contrast, the Monastery, apart from four taciturn old men, only has endless wind and snow.
Jonas once thought his friend was about to give up and leave the Monastery. Unexpectedly, after gazing at his home for a few days, Dilo was full of energy again. This time, he gave up the fruitless meditation and pestered Simon every day, wanting him to teach him combat skills.
Simon had also believed that a delicate child like Dilo would not be able to withstand setbacks, but he turned out to have some resilience. After all, he was a sixteen-year-old man; it was time for him to be more sensible. When Dilo asked him to teach him martial arts, he said he thought of his parents growing old at home and that he couldn't always bother them. He had to solve problems himself, and now he just wanted to learn skills so as not to disappoint his family.
When he said this, there was so much childishness and lonely courage in Dilo's eyes, which might seem ridiculous to adults and even be scorned by young people who consider themselves mature.
Simon was touched by these words and responded with a calm, embracing smile, "You want to learn skills? I'll teach you."
It was the mid-year of 4E185. In the courtyard of High Hrothgar Monastery, two more boys were practicing standing stakes.
Kung fu, or fighting techniques, at its core, is about time. Without spending time and without experience, there will be no kung fu. Humans have limits, but the Dao has none. Simon made the two boys focus their energy on the right path, not stray, and save time; that was his responsibility.
Now, the Monastery eats five meals a day, each meal extremely lavish, just to ensure they get enough nutrition while practicing martial arts. The two boys are growing, and as a result, the four Masters have also gained weight, their originally lean faces showing a tendency to resemble Santa Claus.
Dilo asked Simon where he got so much food. Simon only said he grew it himself, and if he pressed further, he would be punished by standing in a horse stance.
Jonas never spoke of the Pure Land to outsiders. Dilo inquired around without success, leading him to suspect Simon was a mage—something mysterious and spooky. Nords had almost demonized mages.
Simon had no intention of correcting the barbarians' long-held stubborn views. He was recently immersed in the relationship between Heartforce and Dragon Shouts, unable to extricate himself, and intended to thoroughly analyze their connection.
Heartforce is a power that surges in the gaps between body and mind, a combination of faith, life force, and mental energy. Changing one of these three can affect the properties of Heartforce. Emotions, in turn, are the main influencing factor for Heartforce fluctuations.
A Dragon Shout is a type of word magic, transforming one's tone into a frequency of magical resonance. It relies on the fluctuation of Heartforce. In this process, Heartforce plays a mysterious transformative role, specifically the transformation from tone to resonance. Is it governed by rules, or is it subjective and chaotic?
Heartforce is not consumed, so it is similar to a catalyst. As for the laws of the reaction itself, they remain shrouded in mystery.
Simon forcibly disturbed the magical energy with his mental power, synchronizing its frequency with the Dragon Shout's frequency. The results were quite similar, only with some differences in expression and efficiency. Therefore, word magic is not an inherent pattern; it can be analyzed.
This discovery also means that Simon doesn't actually need to use Dragon words to cast a Dragon Shout. Once he understands the pattern, he could even use word magic by telling jokes or singing folk songs.
Simon doesn't need to delve into the essence of magic. What he needs to do now is simply understand the laws of word magic, which is not too difficult. If he truly succeeds, he would be a master figure capable of writing books and establishing theories.
Typically, using a Dragon Shout is inseparable from emotion. Simon and the four Greybeards cannot achieve a state of complete freedom, but one person is an exception—the Dragonborn Jonas.
He is like the ultimate state of the Way of the Shout that Simon inferred, a unity of man and god, embracing everything, able to use a Dragon Shout regardless of his state or mood.
Dragonborn, in the Dragon language, is Dovahkiin. Dovah means Dragon, and Kiin means kin. Though mortal, they possess the soul and blood of a Dragon; their essence is that of a Dragon.
In the world of the elder scrolls, Dragons represent time. All Dragons are fragments of time, inherently immortal and indestructible. Even if killed, they can be resurrected unless their souls dissipate. The Dragonborn, as the savior, is precisely because they have the ability to devour Dragon souls.
According to historical records and scholarly research, there should be two types of Dragonborn. One type is Dragonborn granted Dragon blood by the Dragon God Akatosh, which can be inherited through procreation. The other type is like Jonas, endowed with a Dragon soul, which cannot be passed down through bloodlines.
The former type is represented by the Imperial Royal Family throughout history, starting from the First Era when the slave queen Alessia signed the Dragonfire Covenant with Akatosh. Every potential Dragonblood, by wearing the covenant's token—the Amulet of Kings—became a true Dragonborn. Unfortunately, this line of Dragonborn is believed to have ended, with the last Dragonborn Emperor Martin Septim sacrificing himself to prevent the Oblivion Crisis. The current Empire is the Mede Dynasty, usurped by the Colovian warlord Titus Mede.
As for those with Dragon souls, these individuals can be seen as demigods from Greek mythology, incarnations of a god. The earliest one should be Miraak, and the current Jonas is the Last Dragonborn.
Simon has always been worried about Jonas's fate because, as the Last Dragonborn, after he saves the world, no one will remember his epic. People will only see him as the reincarnation of the War God Talos, sent specifically to resolve the world's destruction—living like a puppet.
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