Hello everyone and welcome to my first Skyrim fic. Just to get some stuff out of the way, there will be some retread of the main quest in this fic, but there will be alterations (some much needed ones, I might add) to certain questlines like the College of Winterhold, Dawnguard, and even Dragonborn (this one not too much, but there will be a few alterations). This first chapter is a bit of an appetizer to see the reception. The next one will for sure have some action.

Also, all listed characters in the tags will be the primary characters in this fic. Serana will be in future chapters, but we'll get there when it's relevant.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Elder Scrolls series. Believe me, it wouldn't be as complex if I did.

I had arrived with my Bosmer companion Faendal at the gates of Whiterun late at night. To think, my first day in Skyrim and I was already running errands. However, Alvor from Riverwood wanted me to deliver a request to send troops to Riverwood. His nephew Hadvar, whom I had helped after finding him unconscious halfway to Riverwood, wrote a detailed report of what happened to Helgen. They did give me some food, supplies, and gold to help me on my journey. I was grateful for that.

The Whiterun guard approached us with a flaming torch. "Hold there, state your business!" the guard demanded.

Not the sort of hospitality I'm accustomed to, I thought. Then again, I'd be suspicious of people wandering outside the city's gates. "Riverwood requests the Jarl's aid. I also have news from Helgen."

The man quickly changed his demeanor and told me where to go. I entered the gate and Whiterun was massive compared to Riverwood. I quickly got over my shock. Remember what you came here for, Carollin, I chided internally. There would be time for sightseeing later.

I handed Faendal some gold and told him to get a couple of rooms at the inn. Making my way to Dragonsreach, I saw some citizens patrolling the residential areas with the guards. Even just before I left Riverwood, there were people who patrolled the streets in that small town. There was a sense of community, something you usually don't see a lot of in this world.

After climbing the stone steps, I finally got a good look at Dragonsreach. It was massive and well-built. I typically never paid attention to architecture, especially Nordic architecture, but it was incredibly made with a combination of stone and lumber. Even if the castle wasn't atop a hill, it would easily dwarf any building in the city.

While walking to the front door, I noticed the guards were a bit tense. It must be the rumors of dragons I heard the guards and people talking amongst each other. It sounds farfetched, but seeing the wreckage at Helgen and the dangers this world has, giant flying lizards returning doesn't seem far off the realm of possibility.

The inside of Dragonsreach was quite massive. I knew the exterior was huge, but being inside made me feel quite insignificant. The beautifully decorated rug sat near the door and I was a bit worried about desecrating it with mud.

As I entered the dining area where the jarl was engaged in conversation with what appeared to be his steward, a Dunmer woman quickly drew her sword and took a fighting stance. She approached me methodically, anticipating hostility or civility. "What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself!" she ordered.

I explained to her about Alvor requesting guards to protect Riverwood. I also told her about a detailed report Hadvar wrote about what happened at Helgen. She seemed to drop all hostility when I mentioned Helgen. She grabbed the document I had in my hand and silently read it to herself. She gave it to the steward and the jarl motioned for me to step forward.

The jarl was an older Nord man, perhaps someone who fought in the Great War. He looked to be in great physical shape, likely most Nords his age are. His gold and ruby circlet that adorned his forehead was exquisite, likely costing a pretty sum of coin. His overall dress sense was a mix between a warrior and a ruler. So this is Jarl Balgruuf.

Jarl Balgruuf read the letter and his expression seemed like one of disbelief. "By Ysmir, a dragon really attacked Helgen." He seemed to also humph at a part he reread. "It figures that Ulfric is factored into this. It seems to happen a lot lately. So, Proventus, shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls against a dragon?"

"My lord, we should send troops to Riverwood at once. They have no means of protection and who knows what dangers they'll face in the future."

Proventus seemed to be urging them to reconsider, "Jarl Siddgeir will see this as an act of inciting violence. He'll assume we'll side with the Stormcloaks. We should-"

"That's enough!" the jarl shouted, his voice booming within the hall. "My people need to be assured that I can protect them. I don't want Riverwood to end up like Helgen. Irileth, send a battalion to Riverwood at once!"

After a brief spat with Proventus, the steward was dismissed and left the hall. "You've done Whiterun a service, traveler. Here, accept some coin on my behalf," he got up from his seat and handed me a nice sized coin purse. I'll wait until after to count it. "There is another thing you could do for me. I need someone reliable and you look like a capable young woman. Come, let's go find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons and anything related to them."

As I walked alongside him, he was whispering to me, "Farengar can be a bit difficult, you know how mages are." I merely nodded my head. Not all the mages I knew back home were very friendly people. "I'm sure he's working on something in his lab right now. Day and night he works on projects. I haven't seen him leave the front door in a while."

The jarl introduced me to Farengar. Farengar came off as socially inept, incapable of having a filter on what he said. He also came across as very condescending, not paying attention to those unworthy of his time. It also seemed like he would insult Balgruuf if he wasn't the jarl.

It seemed like my travels would take me to Bleak Falls Barrow. I had already promised Lucan and Camilla to bring their golden claw back from there so I'll kill two birds with one stone. Supposedly, a dragonstone is housed there that contains a map of dragon burial sites. I'll believe it when I see it.

I asked Farengar if he had any spell books to sell. He got some books out of a chest and laid them out on the table. Before I inspected them, Balgruuf said, "I don't expect you to get the dragonstone tonight, but we need it as soon as possible. Succeed at bringing it back and I'll be in your debt. Get some rest and watch yourself at Bleak Falls Barrow." He left to go to his quarters.

I looked over the books that Farengar had. I knew most of the novice spells he had on display, but illusion was not the class of magic I was good at, only knowing the Courage spell. Thinking over what I might encounter at the barrow, a good apprentice spell would be a valuable investment. I eyed on the Firebolt and Lightning spells. Getting both would be great, but it would be very costly. I decided on the Firebolt spell since undead are vulnerable to fire. I tried to barter for a better price, but I was pretty poor at negotiating. My father would be ashamed if he saw me now. I gave him three hundred gold and got my spell book. He also gave me a vial filled with frost salts to give to Arcadia, the city's apothecary. After that, I went to the Bannered Mare for some food and rest, perhaps a bath as well.

Arriving at the inn, I decided to get some food. I ordered some cooked beef with a Nord mead bottle. I preferred wine, but I had a fondness for that particular brand of mead. After putting down thirty gold coins, I went to go take a bath. It would take awhile for the meat to cook so I might as well kill some time. There was a public bath and a private bath, but the private one required you to pay. So I went to go find Faendal, but he found me not too long after I left the bar.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Take us to our rooms, I'll tell you more there."

"There was only one room left. We'll have to share."

After climbing the wooden ladder, we arrived at our room. It was pretty spacious and had a lot of basic furniture a room would have. Faendal offhandedly told me that the innkeeper disliked elves, which was a surprise to me. She seemed so nice, but I suppose looks can be deceiving. I told him about what the jarl requested me to do. He merely nodded his head and said we were going to need more supplies if we were going to delve into the ruins.

I grabbed a spare tunic and trousers from my knapsack. It was a good thing that Sigrid gave me a spare set of clothes. I left my satchel and novice mage hood in the room. I went down to the public bathing room and saw a Nord woman bathing by herself in the bath. She had shoulder length red-brown hair that was wavy. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of amber. Her skin was pale and looked smooth with no trace of imperfection. She had a strong physique that didn't detract from her feminine beauty.

I realized I must've been staring because she called out to me more than once. "Are you okay?" I blushed in embarrassment and told her I was lost in thought. It was a half-truth, but she smiled, perhaps it was more of a smirk. I quickly took off my novice mage robes, my boots, and undergarments. Compared to her, my body was nothing to boast over. I had shoulder length black hair that I kept straight. There were scars all over my hands from the times I misused a dagger. I tried healing them, but my skin refused to go back to its original state. I guess I was meant to live with them.

Quickly getting into the tub, the water burned me briefly before I adjusted to the heat. I let out a sigh, my muscles relaxed from being submerged in the water. "So what brings you to Skyrim, friend?" she asked. I told her my name and that I was here to study at the College of Winterhold. I told her about my childhood in Daggerfall and that I always wanted to be a mage at a very young age, just like my mother. Well, I omitted some parts about her, but I told her the good parts.

She introduced herself as Ysolda and aspired to be a merchant. She talked about how before her parents died that she would become the best trader in Skyrim. Apparently one of the Khajiit caravan leaders gave her a bit of a test. If she got a mammoth tusk, he would help her to learn more about trading. I offered to help her and she would help me with learning how to barter. I probably should've paid attention to my father about making better deals, but at least Ysolda would teach me.

Unfortunately, Ysolda had to leave because she was tired. She dried herself, not realizing I was staring at her nude form. She looked absolutely divine. I bet the priestesses of Dibella would share my sentiment if they saw her as I did. She quickly put on her undergarments, stitched blue dress, and boots back on. I was honestly disappointed that I couldn't savor this moment. She bid me farewell and I did the same, just briefly snapping out of my hazed lust for her. I missed her already, but I knew I'd be seeing her again in the future.

Shortly after she left, I got out of the bath and dried myself with some linen on a rack. My mage robe and undergarments were still fairly clean so I didn't have them washed. I put on my undergarments, tunic, and trousers on and went to go eat and drink. After my late night supper, I went to get some much needed rest.

So this is my first chapter, my friends. Sorry if there wasn't action in it. This is a test of the waters kind of chapter. Also, there will be items and things that didn't show up in the initial game, but were probably used in mods. It's nothing abstract, but it's just for future reference.

Thanks everyone for reading. Please review and favor or follow to see more. If anything contradicts what's in lore or something that doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll make some corrections.

P.S I've been replaying Skyrim just to make sure I get the landscape and descriptions of dungeons correct. Also been researching on lore and actual history to kind of blend into this story. Yeah, I'm a bit too dedicated for a fanfic.