So, imma gonna try this out.
First, some warnings:
This story is going off the basis of the main storyline, nothing too different. I might change a few bits here in there to help the plot, but there should only be one major change…hopefully.
The characters I create for said story are basic, possibly completely horrible interpretations of friends I talk to far too much on my Xbox. Take from that what you will, but I promise that they won't be completely arbitrary and ridiculous. I want to at least make this readable.
Finally, and this is mostly to friends mentioned earlier, I am not responsible for: Slaughtering of description, favoritism, OOC reactions, or an excessive amount of injury to one of you. Again, got to have that substance.
To anyone else, hope you like it. Last thing, I'm serious. The names of my characters are gonna be a bit strange, but they are shortened versions of Xbox usernames. Take from THAT what you will as well.
OH! And I don't own Skyrim or any of that other junk.
Chapter 1
The chilled breeze carried ash from the burning buildings of Helgen, the smell of fiery oak and brimstone accenting the air. The great beast that caused the destruction flies overhead, screaming into the contrasting blue sky with fury and triumph of his desolation. Beneath his expansive shadow, two wood elves emerge from behind a small cluster of boulders, watching with awe as the beast disappears into the distance.
"I think it's gone," The shorter of the two says, standing straight and shielding her eyes from the sun as she looks across the sky, "A dragon…I can't believe it."
"I'm just happy we aren't firewood," The other says, brushing bits of ash off her bronze skin. She looked ahead to her sister, "Two days in this blasted territory and we were already almost killed twice. Spirit, we have the worst luck,"
Spirit dropped her arm, shrugging with an unusually casual nature, "I couldn't really expect anything less. Although, that was a bit of overkill for our third day on our own."
Something suddenly occurs to Spirit's elf companion, who frowns at its appearance and asks her sister with a course worry in her voice, "Do you think the others got out alright?"
This question seems to erase whatever relief the two shared after the disaster that befell the Imperial Helgen. For, unfortunately, they had not been alone on their journey through the unknown lands. They were with a party of four childhood friends, all of whom were captured with the two elves in a sudden ambush of soldiers. All were carted with a group of strangers to Helgen, where they were to be unfairly executed. Then, in an experience that will probably never be repeated, the dragon came, snarling and foreboding, laying waste to the town and all its inhabitants. The sisters managed to escape with a couple soldiers wearing blue, but their friends had scattered. There was no way of knowing if they were safe, or met the same grim fate as many in the town.
Spirit continues indignantly down the dirt path present near them, and tries to keep a sense of levity in her tone, "I'm sure they got out. You know them; they can't die that easily."
The sister, Aura as she was called, hurries after her sister, easily sensing her struggle to keep the situation in the light, but ignores it, "Yeah, you're right. I'm sure they are fine. We just have to find them. They couldn't have gotten that much farther than us."
The duo walk side by side, exchanging a few words here and there about the frosted air of the forest. When they had been captured, all the material they had brought from their homeland was taken, leaving them only with burlap rags. Spirit had managed to take a simple longbow and iron arrows off a corpse, but that was all. To retain the measure of hope, Spirit decided not to reveal her immense displeasure she felt about having such little to their names. She knew, however, the Aura was always aware of how she was feeling, and felt no regret in not expressing it directly. It was abundantly clear to herself that Aura felt a similar irritation. Mutually, they felt weak and alone.
After a few minutes of silent walking, the sisters come across a circular platform half-ravaged by thick tree roots. On three different sides stood smooth, tall stones. Deep grooves in their faces showing intricate designs. One portrayed a hooded man wielding two daggers, another was what looked like a mage holding a staff, the last a heavily armored man gripping a sword. The three stones glisten in the sun with a strange power.
"Oh!" Aura exclaims, moving closer to the formations with a smile, "The Guardian Stones, these are the things dad told us to find before we left town. They are supposed to help you."
"Really?" Spirit says with minor curiosity, crossing her arms as she examines the stone depicting the hooded man. She felt an attraction to the power that it reflected, "So, you just touch it, right?"
"Yeah," Aura affirmed with a nod of her head, "I think they help you develop skills faster…like magic or…how to swing a sword properly."
"There is a 'proper' way to swing a sword?"
"Apparently."
Spirit looks back at the stone, and reaches out to touch the smooth surface when a shout suddenly reverberates from among the trees. The sisters' ears perk, and both turn to the origin of the sound, that seems to be beyond on of the many hills.
"Sounds like a fight," Aura says, "Bandits?"
"We better hope so," Spirit says back, pulling the bow from her back, "We need some things before we continue on."
Aura wasn't surprised to this. She is certainly aware of the danger they are both in, but they also learned as a young age the importance of material value. Especially, other people's materials and their value. Although, Aura was not one to steal unless it be absolutely necessary. Her sister, on the other hand, took it upon herself to take anything she deemed 'necessary'. Some may call that as immoral, but Aura knows from experience that Spirit is far more willing to delve into a task she would never be able to accomplish, and be successful. Sometimes, morality could get in the way when they needed to survive.
Spirit begins to walk up the hill, looking back at Aura, who remembers the task at hand and follows her. With one look at Spirit's peculated bow, Aura raised her hands, concentrating. He fingers are wrapped into a thick web of black and purple, until the ethereal image of a bow appears. With a sigh, the elf grins at her sister, "Bet you with you had learned Conjuration now."
Spirit rolls her eyes, "You know what happened when I tried. You can keep that magic to yourself. I prefer things that are actually tangible."
"So you smashed up a few windows, it wasn't that bad!" Aura tries in vain to capture her sister's interest in the Arcane Arts even with her full understanding that she would never be hooked. She even prefers to be even slightly different from her sister, especially when she could so something better than her.
"Come on, and be quiet. Whatever is going on back there is getting worse," Spirit says in a lower voice, and crouches down, creeping the rest of the way up the hill with minimal noise.
On the crest of the hill the two stand, looking down at a small encampment littered with leather tents and recently suppressed bonfire. On the edge of the camp, a mass of figures tousled around, swinging swords and axes. One large figure stood out immediately to the elves with a heat of excitement, one wielding a half-charred broadsword.
"Caliber!" Aura shouts, not being able to help herself. Luckily, the bandits were still engaging in a fight with Caliber, one of their lost friends. The companion seemed to notice though, looking up at the sisters with a sudden, horribly ill-timed grin. He shoves passed the group of bandits with noticeable ease toward them. One bandit gets himself up quickly, and charges at Caliber.
"Behind you!" Spirit yells, swiftly pulling back an arrow and firing. The iron easily pierces through the bandit's fur armor, leaving him to crumble onto the dirt. Aura is quick to react, dispatching another enemy with a blue-grey arrow. Caliber turns, swinging the heavy sword with crushing efficiency, finishing off the last two in splattered blood.
"By the Nine," Spirit sighs, setting down her bow, "That was a bit scary."
Aura turns to agree with her sister, but her eyes widen suddenly, "Spirit!"
A Nord bandit appears from behind a tree, darting to Spirit with a cry of rage. The elf jumps back, instinctively throwing up her arms as if they could shield her from the oncoming steel. However, in a split second there was a thump, and silence. She looked up, seeing a new figure between them, with a dagger digging deep into the Nord's chest.
"Oh!" Caliber shouts from down the hill with unrealistic cheerfulness, "There you are, Zed! I thought you ran!"
Zed. Another one of the sisters' four friends. Spirit could see that now, as the young man ripped the dagger away and let the corpse fall on the ground unceremoniously. He turns to the sisters with a sheepish, but happy smile, "Glad to see you two still alive."
"You too," Spirit says, still flustered as she glances at the body, "Thanks…"
"Oh, no problem," Zed shrugs, walking past them and sliding down the hill to Caliber who quickly lifted both elves off the ground in a happy embrace.
"I knew you two weren't dead yet!" He says with a large, joyful grin.
Caliber is a large, broad shouldered young man whose height and massive shadow intimidated many from a simple glance. However, he held the very definition of a gentle giant, carrying kindness and an unbreakable sense of loud cheerfulness. He was always the one to keep the party in a good mood. Currently, a most-likely stolen helmet covered his mop of shaggy brown hair any round face. The most they saw was happy blue eyes and a goofy grin.
Zed, on the other hand, was far more concealed. He was a similar age to Caliber, but lean and athletic in structure. His skin and hair were a few shades darker and a thin beard spotted his face. Opposite to Caliber, Zed tended to be a quiet sort, only making place in a conversation to speak something witty or important. Other than that, he keeps to himself.
"How did you two get out?" Aura asks.
"Caliber smashed through a collapsed part of the wall. We got into the forest and waited till all the noise stopped," Zed explains, pointing up the hills in the distance, "We saw smoke while we were wondering around there and got to this camp."
"Then you guys showed up," Caliber finishes, a smile still resonating. He thinks of something, and asks, "Hey, did you see Grim and Owl at all?"
The sisters frown, shaking their heads. That means there is still a possibility that the four have lost dear friends. But, no one spoke again about it.
Spirit wanders away from them, looking through the tents for something valuable. A chest sat in one of the tents that the elf took no time to flip open. A small coin purse and an amethyst lay among extra blankets, arrows, and bits of armor. The others began snooping about the dead and their belongings. When they were through, they found around five hundred in gold coins and armor for one and a half of them.
"Well, that's disappointing," Aura says with a sigh, "But we can at least survive the next few days."
"We think there is a small town down the path, a signpost we found said 'Riverwood'," Caliber informs helpfully.
"Then lets head down there, hopefully there is an inn we can stay at," Spirit says, looking dismally at the pitiful earnings they had acquired. With a new objective, the four begin their trek to Riverwood.
As the party returns to the path, however, Aura spots the formation of rocks they had seen before. "Oh, we haven't done this yet."
Caliber bounds over to the stones first, "Right! These are those Guardian things, the ones in that book." In an instant, the large man turned and slammed his palm on the stone depicting the armored soldier. The stone comes to life, the grooves lighting up in a soft white-blue glow and shooting a beam into the sky. The four watch with a brief awe before the stone became dormant again.
Spirit, who walks up next, touches the stone of the hooded man gently, letting the same process happen again. Her sister, briefly trying to decide, chose the stone of the mage. Zed, looks at all three stones with an expression of indecision. He walks to the armored man stone, touching it. As the stone glows, Spirit looks at Zed with surprise.
"I was pretty sure you'd choose the thief," She says. Zed was quiet, he could easily become a thief like her but he never seemed interested.
Zed shrugged, "I don't need help with that."
With their new-found guardians, the four continue down the cobblestone path, the frosted wind blowing gently in their wake.