THAWED FROZEN

The view was magnificent, I thought as I took a second to relax. It was a clear day. No clouds or snow in the sky. Rare for the area of Skyrim we were in. We could see for miles from our position. The green valley below us looked like a painting. I tried to locate the area we had slept the night before but everything looked so similar from so far up. And there was still quite a climb in front of us. "Rhew! is this really the easiest route?" Basilio asked out of breath.

Basilio stood in the snow a few feet below me. He frowned up at me as he shielded his eyes from the sun. "There is no direct route to the top. Would you rather climb a snow field or the rocky cliffs on the other side?" I asked smiling.

He frowned, "Neither! This wasn't what I had in mind when I started following you."

"I never asked you to follow me." I teased him. "What's the matter? Is the air too thin for your Imperial lungs?" The climb wasn't as difficult for me for I am a Falmer. A snow elf as the Nords had come to call us. Although I was quite unique looking for a Falmer. Hair as red as fire and blue eyes like the ocean. I was also abnormally short for an elf as well. Almost everyone towered over me. Many of my friends had poked fun at me.

The Nords were brutal to my people. They scorched my village and killed my family in front of my eyes. I was lucky to escape. Basilio had rescued me. Many of my kin had gone running to the Dwemer for help. I was not one of them. The Dwemer seemed too willing to help us. It gave me an uneasy feeling. Instead I have been jumping from one town to the next. I'm not sure where I'll end up. I just hope it's safe.

I met Basilio when a group of Nords attacked me a few years ago. Basilio is an Imperial from Cyrodiil. For some reason he decided to leave the army to stay with me. He claimed it was to protect the Dragonborn. Other soldiers claimed it was because he found me attractive. I never thought of myself as attractive with my blindingly pale Falmer skin.

Oh, and yes, I am dragonborn as well. Something the Nords were really happy to find out about. Of course the Nords attacks became more frequent after it became clear who I was. They claimed that no one except a Nord could be Dragonborn and claimed I was a false dragonborn. Why I was dragonborn is unknown. The only thing I really knew I needed to do was find word walls and learn the shouts. This was what we were doing now. There were rumors of a word wall at the top of the mountain.

Having Basilio around really was nice. He has saved my life more than once. He's also not so bad looking. Tall with tan skin. His eyes the color of honey. His hair dark like the night. He still wore his Imperial armor even though he wasn't part of the army anymore. It comforts him he said.

A hand rested on my shoulder taking me out of my head. "I lost you for a moment." Basilio smiled. "Where did you go?"

I shook my head. "No where important. I was just enjoying the sight. Come on! We have to get to the top before night fall." I began climbing up the snow field that seemed to go on forever in every direction. We were only half way to the top. Climbing probably isn't the right word to use. Every step we took our legs sunk into the snow to our waists. We hobbled up the snow field.

As we climbed higher I could hear Basilio behind me struggling to breath. It made me chuckle. How lucky was I to grow up in a mountainous area. Basilio and I froze when we heard the sound. A roar. It was distant but distinct. A dragon. We must be close to the top! I thought. I looked up and my heart sank. No, we aren't. We were maybe a little more than half way up the snow field. The dragon roared a second time. Much louder. Much closer. I glanced at Basilio. We couldn't fight here. We were sinking into the snow up to our waists. If the dragon showed up now we couldn't defend ourselves.

As if it could read my mind the dragon appeared over the mountain and made it's way toward us. "Fus Ro Dah!" the dragon shouted at the top of the snow field. The force caused the field to shift. A wall of snow began to fall towards us at a terrifying speed.

"Rhew!" Basilio yelled. He grabbed my arm and started pulling me down the mountain. The sound of the rushing snow sounded like an earthquake. It was gaining on us. It was hopeless. We would never get to safety. We could barely walk. I had to think fast.

"Basilio." I stopped him and made him face me. "Do you trust me?"

His face contorted into confusion. "I will always trust you."

"We will survive this! I promise!" I had to act fast. The avalanche was gaining speed.

"Rhew. I don't understand."

The avalanche would swallow us in seconds! No time to explain! "Iiss Slen Nus!" I shouted. A wall of ice surrounded us as the avalanche crashed into us. I'm sorry for bringing you into this, Basilio. I hope we will be found and survive being frozen. I'm sorry. My last thoughts as consciousness was taken from me.

Basilio and I sprinted across the cracked earth of the Rift. Steam from the hot springs rose around us. The thundering steps of giants behind us became louder. Oh what luck we have waking up in the middle of a giant's camp. How we ended up in the middle of the Rift is still a mystery. The mountain we climbed was no where near here. We were both weak from being frozen. Which was to be expected but we were a lot weaker than I thought we would be. I spun around toward the giants "Fus Ro Dah!" I shouted. The giants stumbled for a few seconds before continuing after us. My shout should throw them off their feet. How long have we been frozen?

My legs felt as if poison pumped through them. Basilio looked worse than I felt. But I had it slightly better than he did with all that metal armor he wore. I, being a mage, didn't wear armor. A club slammed to the ground at our feet sending us crashing to the ground. I skidded across the cracked dirt. My whole body ached. "Rhew! Get up!" Basilio pulled me to my feet and pulled me along. This was the worst place to be attacked by giants. There was no where to hide.

A second club caught Basilio in his ribs. He flew a few feet and landed on the ground with a thud. My heart sank. How could he survive that. I was too tired to run anymore but I kept running. I turned towards the broken body of Basilio determined to get to him. I don't know if it would help but I was going to try some restoration magic on him. I spun toward the giants to shout at them. "Fu-" A club connected to my head.

A groan slipped past my lips. I slowly pushed myself to my knees with trembling arms. There was a pool of blood where I had laid. I pressed my hand gingerly against my head. The side of my face and my hair was caked in blood. How did I survive? Wait. What did I survive? I was puzzled. I couldn't remember what happened. I tried to think. I couldn't remember anything! My name. My name is. My name is Rhew. Rhew is my name. Ok. At least I remember my name.

A few feet in front of me was a man n a soldiers uniform unconscious. Basilio. The name popped into my head. That must be his name. But who was he? I couldn't remember yet I felt we were friendly. Is he even alive? I stood up causing a rush of pain to my head. My hand went to my temple. The touch made me wince. I slowly made my way to Basilio and kneeled next to him. His chest slowly rose and fell. Relief washed over me. Oh, he's alive! But hurt. So hurt. How could I help him? We had no items.

Magic? I. I could use magic. Yes. That is why I don't have any weapons. Thinking too hard made my head throb more but I was determined to help him. Soon a ball of light energy floated just above my palm. Please let this help. "Stop what you are doing this instant!" A deep voice behind me called out. I was concentrating so much on my magic I didn't even hear the horse carriages show up. In fact, I was surrounded by soldiers that were wearing similar armor to Basilio.

"He's injured badly. Can you help him please?" I asked. The way they were watching me was unnerving. They were looking at me like I was a killer. Am I a killer?

The man that acted as the captain unsheathed his sword and took a few steps closer to me. "Step away from him or you will regret it." the other soldiers drew their weapons as well although a couple of them seemed uneasy at this. I was surrounded and I didn't understand what was happening.

"ok. Ok." I replied with a shaky voice as I stood up and took a couple of steps back. A couple of the soldiers grabbed my shoulders and pushed me to my knees. They began to bind my arms together. "Wait! What are you doing?" I cried out.

"You're under arrest for attempting the murder of an imperial soldier. You will be sent to Helgen with the others."

"Helgen? What?" I struggled to get out of their grip but I felt so weak. "I didn't do anything wrong!" I cried.

"If you don't calm down I will force you to." the captain exclaimed. I heard his words but I couldn't calm down. I struggled to be free from their grips. I cried that I was innocent. A blunt object connected with the back of my head.