Prologue

Tamriel dawn's beauty in the language of the Altmer, or Taazokaan in the dragon's tongue is the continent upon which many legends have been born. Home to many diverse races and even more conflicts. Tamriel has been home to many adventures.

Behold the northern province of Skyrim cold and rugged, climb anyone of its icy peaks and you'll quickly realize why this old kingdom is considered the throat of the world. Skyrim's spine covered peaks holds four out of the 5 highest mountains in all Tamriel making it a land kissed by sky. To the uninformed outsider Skyrim conjures up only images of snow and mud and while there is truth in this its citizens know Skyrim as a land of breath taking vistas mighty rivers and above all a place of proving. It is a place where heroes are made, crafted in the harshness of the lands embrace to know Skyrim is to know its people.

A tall and sturdy race well suited for the cold climates of the northernmost province the Nords. The Nords can tolerate the cold like no one else if they're fair skin and yellow hair does not give them away then their thick muscles and large frames surely will. The Nordic people have been taming Skyrim's harsh interior for generations and it shows they are no strangers to hardship whether it be farming the land or defending it against the occasional sabre cat the Nords have been strengthened through their need for survival and they've done more than just survive. Throughout history the Nords have proven themselves to be some of the most skilled melee fighters in the realm, violence is an accepted aspect of life their people face battle with a ferocity that shocks and even appalls their enemies. When he passes from this world a Nord isn't remembered for how he lived but for how he died, his tireless quest for honor and glory has made the Nords a force to be reckoned with make no mistake this is a race of conquerors. On the battlefield, Nordic warriors are arguably the hardest fighters Tamriel has ever seen when the ancient Nords attacked a city they had no need for siege engines or cavalry the elite among them speak in the dragon's tongue equipped with only their voice they could force down the doors of an enemy keep. A strong Nord can instill bravery in his men with his battle cry or stop a charging warrior with his chilling roar a Nords voice is his strongest weapon and he attributes this to the Aedra.

Most Nords acknowledge the Divine's as their gods but unlike the rest of the Empire the Nords see the Divine's as notably more warlike. Just ask the nearest Nord what he thinks about life and death and you'll have a brief glance into their culture a Nord will tell you. "There exists a place so magnificent so honored that the entrance lies hidden from view." Sovngarde it is called, built by the god Shor to honor those Nords who have proven their metal in war, Nords who die sword in hand are rewarded with a feast that never ends. Within this Hall of Valor time as we know it has no meaning the, concepts of life and death are left on the doorstep and those within exist free of pain and suffering a Nordic afterlife free of pain of suffering, this is a pretty ironic thing isn't it considering pain and suffering is the price of admittance the hall of Sovngarde is littered with the bodies of the fallen this unique belief system in where only the strong prosper in this life and the next is the very thing that mas made the Nords a damned near unstoppable force throughout Tamriel's history.

The history of the Nords is one of migration and retribution before they took the name Nords this race of men called themselves Atmorans denizens of the continent known as Atmora. Long ago Atmora had erupted into a great Civil War that had left the continent drowning in its own blood. In the midst of this chaos a visionary gathered all who would follow him and set sail to the south in an effort build a new life for his people, after perilous journey across the sea of ghosts their ship touched ground in modern-day Skyrim finding the land already occupied by Mer who they called snow elves the Atmorans named the land Mereth in honor of their elven friends. The Atmorans and snow elves lived in relative peace for many years which today would be unheard of for any place where Elves and Men reside this was until one fateful night when the treacherous snow elves pillaged and slaughtered the Atmorian people, that night an entire city burned its people murdered without warning without mercy the snow elves or Falmer as they called themselves had to a decision. Apparently, the race men were growing too quickly for their comfort they did not wish to see men's culture surpass their own feeling threatened the snow elves turned to genocide a sin they would one day pay greatly for. According to legend not every Atmoran was killed that tragic night out of the ashes came one visionary and his two sons they returned to Atmora and spread the news of what the honor less elves had done to them 500 companions heard their stories and joined Ysgramor to an event that would lead to the birth of the Nordic race. But that is a story for another time for you dear reader will delve deep into the future and see the story of one who was chosen to play a role in Skyrim's history and the world's fate.

The Dawn Rises 1

4th Era, year 201 Last Seed

As a new born the dragon god Akatosh blessed him with the blood and soul of dragons giving him the ability to use the Thu'um but the blood that ran through his veins didn't belong to an ordinary dovah, it belonged to Akatosh himself. The child grew to be strong and a great warrior, a master of the sword he battled the Nordic god of destruction Alduin and slew him riding Tamriel of his evil, he faced the Daedric prince Molag Bal and beat him in single combat he even mastered the ability of using the eternal Thu'um. Warrior. Revolutionary. Hero. Nord. His name Marius Hjalteus descendant of Ysgramor and protector of Skyrim this is his story.

Hjalti gazed around him, his breath misting slightly in the cool morning air. He had heard a group pf Windhelm guards talking about a group of vampire hunters reforming called the Dawnguard and his curiosity getting the best of him, he had decided to take a look for himself, see if they worth helping, or if they were just another group of amateurs, but he had noticed an increase in vampire attacks though each time the blood suckers attacked one of the holds they were quickly put down. From he heard the order was just reforming, so he had been expecting an old fort rotting away like Whiterun's walls not unlike what he has seen throughout his homeland.

He had found the entrance easily enough, an opening in a cliff near Riften. When he had entered and emerged, he found himself at the far end of a hidden canyon, which opened before him. From where he stood he could see a lake as blue as the night sky fed by a glacial waterfall to his right. To the left he could see where the path twisted amongst some trees before disappearing from his sight. He guessed that would be where the fort was.

Hjalti kept moving forward along the path, his akatosh armor making slight clanking as he walked (yes I used the gift of akatosh mod). As the young Nord drew closer to the lake he noticed another person standing there, as he drew closer he saw it was a Nord about the same age as him admiring the view. The Nord turned towards Hjalti as he approached.

"Oh, hey there! You here to join the Dawnguard?" The Nord asked. Hjalti nodded.

"Yeah, my name is Hjalti." Hjalti said as he held out his hands. The nord shook his hand with a slight smile. "A pleasure to meet you." He said in friendly tone. "My name is Agmaer." He replied. The two starts walking up the as they engaged in conversation.

"To be honest I'm a little nervous. I've never done anything like this before. I hope you don't mind if I walked up with."

Hjalti nodded and said. "I don't mind at all. It's nice to have company." He glanced at Agmaer as they walked, he looked to be only a five years younger than Hjalti, he had light blonde hair and the beginnings of a beard were visible.

"You said your name was Hjalti right as in the dragonborn?"

Hjalti laughed ruefully. He knew that Agmaer would make that connection. Hjalti was the original name of the Nordic hero Talos, and often people would call him Talos before realizing who he really was. "Yeah that's me mighty dragonborn slayer of dragons." He said with a chuckle.

"It is an honor the meet you dragonborn sir." Agmaer quickly said looking overawed at the realization at who he was talking to.

"No need for any formalism just call me Hjalti." Agmaer hurriedly nodded in agreement. The two continued on their path and Agmaer noticed a steel blade sheathed at his left side and another blade greatsword made of dragon bone hanging on his back which looked sharpened enough to make clean cuts through his foes. "You've probably killed a lot of vampires during your travels, huh? I'm sure Isran will sign you right up, the man who defeated the world eater. Not sure if he'll take me though. I hope so."

Hjalti couldn't help but chuckle at Agmaer's attitude always switching from hope to worry rinse, lather, repeat. He wasn't sure if Agmaer was hoping Isran would accept him or turn him away, but before he could say anything about it Agmaer spoke again.

"That must be it. Fort Dawnguard… It's bigger than I expected." Hjalti could hear the awe in his voice and looked up. And he was well surprised is a bit of an understatement, the fort was a lot bigger than any other he had seen in Skyrim, even those he had seen during some of his adventures. The place looked as if it was built only a year ago with no signs of decay or damage done to the walls it was in excellent conditions. It was hard to believe that this place had been supposedly abandoned for years.

The two Nords passed through the gates of a wooden barricade set up at the base of the hill. As the two kept moving the past an Orc who was practicing with his axe, Hjalti was no stranger to Orcs but he had seen very few practice with their weapons some believed because they're master fighters they do not need to practice once they mastered their weapons. However, the Orc ignored them as they passed by, as they climbed the hill Agmaer turned and looked at Hjalti.

"Well I guess this is it." He said nervous as always. "Wish me luck."

The two approached the twin doors of the fort. A tall Breton stood at the top of the steps, watching them approach. "New recruits eh?" He laughed. "Isran will decide whether you got what it takes. Go on, he's right inside." He stepped to the side to let Hjalti and Agmaer pass.

As they entered the fort, the first thing they saw were two men standing in the middle of the large space, facing each other. There was very visible tension in the air,

"Why are you here Tolan?" One of them, a Redguard, asked the other, his voice gruff. His head was shaved and he had a narrowly trimmed beard. He was wear the same armor as the orc and Breton outside but instead of a crossbow or axe he had a Warhammer hanging on his back. "The Vigilantes and I were finished with each other a long time ago."

The man with his back turned to the young Nords, Tolan, spoke up then. Hjalti couldn't see his face, but he looked to be a balding Nord in his late 30s, dressed in the grab that was common amongst the Vigilants, a style of robes of the kind often worn by the students at the college of Winterhold. The Redguard he also carried a Warhammer, although his seemed to be less intricate than the Redguard's. "You know why I'm here." He said. "The Vigilants are under attack everywhere. The vampires are much more dangerous than we believed."

"And now you want to coming running to safety with the Dawnguard, is that it?" The man Hjalti guessed to be Isran sneered.

"I remember Keeper Carcette telling me repeatedly that Fort Dawnguard is a crumbling ruin, not worth the expense or the manpower to repair. And now that you've stirred the vampires against you, you come begging for my protection?" Hjalti could hear disgust dripping from the man's voice.

"Isran, Carcette is dead." Tolan said mournfully. "The Hall of the Vigilants… Everyone… They're all dead slaughtered like animals. You were right, we were wrong. Isn't that enough for you?" He asked bitterly.

Hjalti inhaled sharply. The Vigilants of the god Stendarr dead? He hadn't known about that. If the vampires had attacked the Vigilants and defeated them, then the threat of vampires really is getting worse.

Isran was even affected by the news. "Yes, well… I never wanted this to happen." He haltingly, shaking his head. "I tried to warn all of you… I am sorry, you know. He looked past Tolan at that point, noticing Hjalti and Agmaer. He stepped around the Vigilant and walked towards them. He stopped a few feet away.

"So, who are? What do you want?" He asked Hjalti, sizing him up. Hjalti decided to get straight to the point.

"Name's Hjalti, and I am here to join the Dawnguard." He said Isran's eyes widened at Hjalti's name, but he said nothing, something Hjalti appreciated. Too often people would see him as someone larger than life or a god among men as soon as they found out who he was.

"Got a fire in your belly to kill vampires, eh?" The Dawnguard leader asked gruffly. "Good for you. We could use someone like you in our ranks. But look around." he gestured at the fort around them. There were crates and supplies lying everywhere and the entire place was covered in dust and cobwebs. "There's not much to join yet. I've only now just started rebuilding the order. As this place stands now a vampire could simply walk in here undetected if it wanted to."

"I don't care about that." Hjalti said shaking his head. "From what I've heard during my adventures and now, it seems that the vampires are growing bolder. And you're gonna need all the help you can get."

"That eager to help are you?" Isran said in amusement. "Well, I suppose you could help train the rookies, but what I need is someone in field, taking the fight to those blood suckers, while we're getting everything back together… Tolan was telling me about some cave the Vigilants were poking around in. Seemed to think it was related to the recent vampire attack. He turned back to where Tolan was still standing.

"Tolan, tell him about, what was it, Dimhollow?"

"Yes, that's it." Tolan's voice was heavy with sorrow. "Dimhollow Crypt. Brother Adalvald was sure it held some sort of long lost vampiric artifact of some kind." He shook his head. "We didn't listen to him ant more than we did Isran. He was at the hall when it was attacked…" He stopped, overcome by grief.

"That's good enough for me." Isran said. "Go see what those Vampires were looking for in this Dimhollow Crypt. With any luck, they'll still be there." He reached and grabbed something. "Here take this crossbow." He said, handing Hjalti the crossbow. "Good for out those Daedra servants before they get close."

Hjalti accepted the crossbow, hefting its weight in his hands before holding it up into firing position, and aiming it down. He smiled before slinging it on his back. "I'm going to enjoy using this is."

Isran nodded. "Feel free to poke around the fort before you leave. Take whatever you need. There isn't much yet, but you're welcome to take anything you can use."

Tolan looked up then. "I'll meet you at Dimhollow. It's the least I can do to avenge my fallen comrades."

"Tolan I don't think that's a good idea." Isran said. "You Vigilants were never trained for…" Tolan cut him off.

"I know what you think of us Isran!" He said in a bitter voice. "You think we're soft, that we're cowards. You think our deaths proved our weakness." He glared at Isran and his voice was filled with loathing. "Stendarr grant that you never have to face the same test and be found wanting." Tolan look back at Hjalti. "I'm going to Dimhollow Crypt. Perhaps I can be of some assistance to you." He turned and left never looking back at Isran.

Isran snorted and muttered under his breath. "Fool." He look over to where Agmaer was still standing. "You there, boy. Stop skulking around step up here. What's your name?"

Agmaer nervously stepped forward, practically sweating a river. "I'm, uh…my name is Agmaer, sir."

"Do I look like a 'sir' to you boy?" Isran said sarcastically, walking over to get a better look at the boy. "I'm not a soldier, and you're not here to join the army."

"Yes si…Isran." Agmaer said, nodding frantically.

"Didn't I tell you to step forward? Isran said gruffly. He looked Agmaer up and down critically. "Hmm…farm boy, eh? What's your weapon?"

Agmaer blinked. "Uh, my weapon? I mostly use my Da's axe, when wolves are attacking the goats or something."

Isran laughed. "My Da's axe, Stendarr help me. He laughed again. "Don't worry." He said looking at Agmaer again. "I think we can make a Dawnguard out of you. Here take this crossbow and let's see how you shoot. He hand the young nord a crossbow.

The boy grabbed a quiver of bolts, Hjalti watched as Agmaer took a few shots, Isran coaching him and offering tips, before he turned, and left the fort. He had a long way to go to reach Dimhollow Crypt, and he best get started as early as he could. Hopefully he could catch up to Tolan before he gets to the crypt. This new adventure would grow and change his life forever.

End

AIG: HEY YO ITS ME AIG CHECK THIS OUT FELLAS

Me: AIG GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE THIS IS MY BULLSH*T I'll do the dirty work after a chapter.

AIG: No wait 6 I got this I'll do this one.

Me: Fine.

AIG: All right to those of you who do or do not own a Skyrim video game. Hjalti is J6's dragonborn. Who this story revolves around, he is 25 years old and has long black hair and two parted bags at the front of his hair and a long braid at the back. He is the Harbinger of Companions as well as leader of the thieves' guild, yes he uses a dragon bone and great sword and a gift of Akatosh sword, and he wears the gift of Akatosh armor. he wiped out the Dark Brotherhood and refused to kill Parrthurnax when the Blades demanded he kill him. He has refused to fight in the civil war because he feels that it is pointless. He has ties to Cyrodiil as well history there. Was that good enough 6.

Me: AAAAAAH fine yes it was good now let's get on with the chapter. You know the funny thing is I typed this while i was blindfolded.