Alduin is defeated.

The heroes of Sovngard have retired to their hall to celebrate...they'll have no lack of ale or mead to drink, judging by the massive vats in the hall.

My orc is transported to the throat of the world and uses 'Clear Skies' to better see the dragons circling around the mountain. She approaches grounded dragons, seeking out Paarthurnax: none attack her. Odahviing and the old boy remain on the ground while the others take to the air, wheeling and crying out. Are they mourning? Are they anguished? Are they simply honouring the passing of one who was once great? Who knows? They may even be celebrating his greatness, whilst acknowledging the need for his demise.

Odahviing offers his loyalty despite the maelstrom of emotions that he must be feeling. Paarthurnax is full of melancholy but offers wisdom to the dragonborn, regardless of his grief for his brother.

Yes, melancholy is an easy trap for a Dovah. To be melancholy requires age, wisdom and long understanding: dragons have all of these things in abundance.

My characters have never killed the old dragon and never will. Surely to be dragonborn you must at least empathise with the Dovah. As Arngeir always tells you, to learn the words of a shout means feeling them as a part of you. 'Dragonrend' is paradoxical because to use it, you must understand dragons yet the act of uttering the shout shows that you do not.

My orc stayed with the old dragon for some time, out of respect.

She shared his melancholy.

I've only had one character finish the MQ and she let Paarthy live. My latest character who went through but died before the end was going to kill him however. I'm interested by the effects of Dragonrend, think the greybeard says something along the lines of it fills you with a hatred of dragons. So although she talked to Parthaanux once she learnt the shout she would get filled with a desire to purge all the dragons. I guess you could argue an actual dragonborn could resist this hatred or it would probably result in a downward spiral of self hatred...which I guess is not a bad roleplay idea haha

The second time I completed the MQ.... that was when I decided I was NOT doing it again. I hated the whole thing, it made me very sad and very angry by turns. And that's a plus to Beth for getting it right - that it can cause such feelings means they did their job....

And of course, now I have to do it again, because Veri is going to RP it so I can write it.... hmph.

I thought the dragons were speaking/ shouting, in respectful homage to the victor of two dragons battling it out Alduin and Dovahkiin. I thought according to the main quest along the way, you learn that dragons like to duel with their shouts sort of like a verbal debate, no different than a Nordic brawl in a tavern. The only difference being a fight to the death

Wasn't the dragonrend shout invented by humans specifically to take down dragons? If so, then you likely don't have to "understand dragons" in order to use it.