Blades of Revenge
By: DarkKnightwing
-Chapter 1-
A dull pain pulsed in the dark elf's forehead. He slowly opened his jet black eyes and took in the atmosphere around him. He was on a carriage, moving through a forested area, his hair moving slightly from the carriages movement. Mountains rose up behind the trees, making the landscape picturesque and breathtaking. The dunmer moved to lift a hand to his forehead, and felt bindings around his wrists.
"You, you're finally awake," a voice said. The dunmer looked up and saw a nord with shoulder length blonde hair in a blue cuirass sitting across from him in the carriage. "You were trying to cross the border, right? Got caught in that imperial ambush, same as us, and that horse thief over there." The dunmer looked to the side and saw a Nord with short brown hair sitting in the carriage.
"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy," said the second nord, "If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell."
"You there," said the second Nord, looking at the dunmer, "You and me, we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."
The dunmer looked away from the nords in the carriage and stared off into the forest. Why was he here? He had been attempting to cross the border into Cyrodiil when he was cornered by imperial soldiers and hit on the head by a mace, knocking him unconscious. Who knows how long ago that was now? The carriage had left the serenity of the forest and had entered a city.
"This is Helgen." the dunmer heard the blonde nord said.
"Helgen?" Thought the dunmer, "That's not too far from the border. It must not have been very long since they captured me."
"Why are we stopping?" asked the dark haired nord in a nervous voice.
"Why do you think?" responded the blond nord, "End of the line. Let's go, we shouldn't keep the gods waiting." The group in the carriage stood up and shuffled out onto the cobblestone street. A nord in imperial armor was calling names of other prisoners to stand in line.
"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." Said the imperial nord. The dunmer looked up with surprise. He had been sitting next to the leader of the rebellion! "Ralof of Riverwood." the imperial nord called. The dunmer saw the blond nord he had shared a carriage with walk forward. "Lokir of Rorikstead." The nord called.
"No! I'm not a rebel, you can't do this!" said the dark haired nord. He began to run down the street.
"Archers!" an imperial captain yelled. Lokirs body crumpled to the street as a volley of arrows punctured his body.
"Wait. You there. Step forward." The imperial nord said to the dunmer. The dark elf stepped forward, his head hanging low. "Who are you?" the imperial nord asked. The dunmer did not speak. He simply stood there, staring at the ground. "Can you tell me your name?" said the imperial nord in a gentler tone, "Mine's Hadvar." The dunmer kept silent. "Another refugee? Gods really have abandoned your people, dark elf. Captain, what should we do? There aren't any dark elves on the list." Asked Hadvar.
"Forget the list, he goes to the block." Said the captain, without emotion.
"By your orders, captain." Said Hadvar, "I'm sorry. We'll have your remains sent back to Morrowind."
Then, the dunmer felt something crop up inside of him. Rage. White-hot rage towards the empire and its agents. He had lived in Skyrim for his entire life! He was trying to leave so he could find his brother who had moved to Cyrodiil years before. The dark elf seethed inside at the fact that the soldiers assumed he was from Morrowind because he was a dunmer. They assumed because of his pale complexion and sharp bone structure that he was not from Skyrim! They were going to send his body away to a land he had never been to, simply because he was a dunmer.
"Next! The dark elf!" called the captain. As the dunmer was about to walk forward, a piercing sound split the air.
"Did you hear that?" inquired Hadvar.
"I said, next prisoner!" yelled the captain. The dunmer walked forward and placed his head on the chopping block. He stared at the mountain past a tower and saw something that made his blood run cold. A dragon.
"What in Oblivion is that?" called out the imperial leader. The dragon landed on top of the tower and roared. A strange aurora appeared in the sky above the dragon.
"Hey! Get up!" yelled Ralof, "The gods won't give us another chance!" The dunmer followed Ralof into a tower on the opposite side of the courtyard. Inside the tower were two Stormcloak soldiers panting heavily from running, along with Ulfric Stormcloak himself.
"Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing? Could the legends be true?" asked Ralof.
"Legends don't burn down villages," answered Ulfric.
"Up through the tower, let's go!" called Ralof. He and the dunmer climbed up the stairs. A soldier beckoned them forward, and as they were about to join him, the dragon broke through the wall and incinerated the soldier with flames.
"See that inn? Jump through the roof, I'll join you" said Ralof. The dunmer complied, leaping across the gap to the inn. A few seconds after landing, he heard a dull thud as Ralof landed next to him. The pair exited the inn through the ruined wall. They ran through the ruined village, avoiding dragon fire and imperials alike. As they moved through the village, an imperial soldier rushed at them, brandishing a war axe. Ralof ran forward to meet him. The imperial swung the axe, and Ralof dodged the swing and deftly knocked the soldier unconscious with a solid hit to the jaw. Ralof grabbed up the axe and gestured to the dunmer to move along. After about one minute of running, the pair found Helgen Keep.
"Ralof, you damn traitor!" yelled a voice. It was Hadvar, who was moving towards the keep from the opposite direction. "Out of my way!" Hadvar yelled.
"We're escaping Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time" Ralof replied.
"Fine, I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde," said Hadvar angrily. He moved towards one side of the keep, and Ralof and the dunmer moved towards the opposite. They pushed the door open and entered.
The keep was dimly lit, and a dead Stormcloak soldier lay next to a table. "Let me see if I can get those bindings off you" said Ralof. The dunmer stretched out his hands, and Ralof sliced through the leather cuffs with a dagger. "Here," Ralof said holding out a war axe, "This was Gunjar's, but I think you need it more that he does now." The dunmer took the axe and swung it experimentally.
"Thank you" the dunmer said in a quiet voice. Suddenly, the sound of arguing and stomping feet came from one of the passages out of the room.
"Get down" said Ralof. The pair crouched down on either side of the doorway, and two imperial soldiers opened the door and entered. "Now!" Ralof yelled. The dunmer and Ralof charged at the imperials. The dunmer swung his axe, slicing the soldier through his armor. Blood began trickling out of the cut caused by the axe. The soldier drew his sword and charged forward himself, swinging wildly. The dunmer chopped at the soldier again as he dodged the swinging sword, this time catching the soldier in his throat. The soldier collapsed as the life drained from his body.
"Not bad" Ralof said, stepping over the body of the second imperial, which he had killed. "Search them, they probably have a key to that locked door over there." The dunmer crouched down and rifled through the pockets of both imperials, finding a key to the keep. He stared at the iron daggers at both soldiers belts, and the boots and bracers they wore, and took each of them. He strapped on the bracers and boots, and belted both daggers onto his waist. The dunmer then placed Gunjar's war axe back into Gunjar's belt.
"I think he would appreciate that," said Ralof, "Come, we need to keep moving."
The dunmer and Ralof walked on through the keep, eventually exiting into a cave. A small river snaked through the rocks of the cave. The pair trudged through the shivering cold water, eventually finding an exit into Skyrim.
-End of Chapter 1-