Alix woke up on a cold, hard floor. She slowly got to her feet as her vision cleared up. A large, tall man in brownish-green robes with bits of armor on the shoulders and forearms stood with his back to her. His voice was deep and slightly mechanical.

"The time comes soon when- What?!"

He seemed to notice her presence and whirled around, firing electricity from his hands. Lightning arced through the air and struck her in the stomach, forcing Alix onto her knees. The tall man stepped towards her. His face was covered by a mask.

"Who are you to dare set foot here?"

"I-" she looked up, wincing in pain. "I... where... ?"

"Ah... You are Dragonborn. And yet... you have never slain a single dragon."

"Wha... What?!"

"I said, you are Dragonborn. To be fair, I did not expect you to be so... diminutive in stature. You have no idea of the true power a Dragonborn can wield. Mul Qah Diiv!"

Suddenly, he too was shrouded in the ethereal armor that covered her whenever she Shouted those very Words of Power.

"This realm is beyond you. You have no power here. And it is only a matter of time before Paris is also mine. The Miraculous holders will be a bit of a nuisance, admittedly, but it will not be long before they too bow to the power of my Thu'um."

"Alix!" cried a familiar voice. "Alix! Stay away from him!"

"D-Dad?" Alix croaked.

"Yes," the masked man drawled. "That is your father. I have your brother as well."

Anger boiled inside Alix. The dragon blood rushed through her veins and she could feel fire build in the back of her throat. Pain was blocked out by rage.

"Let my family go!" she shouted, her Thu'um melding with her regular voice.

The masked man seemed unmoved. "If you wish for the freedom of your father and brother, then you must return in three months' time and face me in battle. You must come alone, though you may bring a single dragon to aid you and hold off my dragons, if you can succeed in controlling one. Kill me, and they will be imprisoned no more. Break either of these rules, and the cages your father and brother are imprisoned in shall instantly kill them. Sahrotaar! Come to me!"

A large dragon with blueish-gray scales, a serpentine head, and a large underbite landed near the masked man, who motioned for a pair of large, floating, tentacle covered creatures. They came forward until they were right in from of her.

"Send her back from whence she came. Remember, three months' time if you want your family back. Or you can await my return with the rest of Nirn, if you wish."

The masked man walked up to the dragon and mounted it.

"Wait! Who are you?" Alix demanded.

He turned his head in her direction and was silent for a moment, as if unsure whether to answer her or not.

"I... am Miraak."

With that, he flew off on his dragon, while the two tentacled creatures began to seemingly cast some sort of spell on her over and over. She felt her strength drain away, until her vision went dark.