"You should have acted. They are already here. The Elder Scrolls told of their return. Their defeat was merely delay, until the time after Oblivion opened, when the sons of Skyrim would spill their own blood. But no one wanted to believe, believe they even exist. And when the truth finally dawned, it dawned in fire. But…there is one they fear. In their tongue, he is Dovakiin: Dragonborn!"

"Life can be boring, difficult and tedious. Life can be exhilarating, dangerous and terrifying. Or it could be all of the above. It depends on who you make the journey with and where you go. Let me tell you about the adventures I went on with the Dovahkiin, the Dragonborn. Let me tell you about how I met the savior of Skyrim, your mother." (Eventual Marcurio/F!DB)

The air was thick with ash, and the wind was hot. The fluffy gray stuff covered the ground like a blanket; inches thick here, a few feet there, no matter where you looked, it was all over the place, and it was getting worse. The city was not much father away, and had to get there before nightfall. Seven or eight miles wasn't too bad, right?

Cliff racers soared overhead, and in the distance, the dim blue glow of a betty netch could be seen against the dusty air. Since Red Mountain had erupted, Morrowind had changed. The Grazelands were no longer full of lush green fields and crystal rivers, the Ascadian Isles had dried up and were as ruined and bleak as Foyada Mamaea.

The wastelands in the northern part of Vvardenfell were the same, dark, dry and full of monsters. The lava veins around Red Mountain were unchanged, full of high rocky cliff faces and cave systems. The interior of the crater was full of ruined Citadels from Dagoth Ur's reign from two-hundred years ago. The enchanted fence that once surrounded the volcano was broken, large cracks running through the hard glass, and holes in some places were blight-infected beasts had broken through.

The wind picked up, stinging any skin it came and contact with, and with a curse and a burst of speed, the adventurer was able to duck out from behind a dead silt strider and ran towards the cliffs, eyes locked onto the half broken door built into the side. An abandoned mine, judging from the map, but monsters were better than running the risk of suffocating on ash or falling into one of the lava streams. With a roar of wind, the ash had formed a twister, which split in two, and gathered speed, one headed towards the foyada, the other straight towards Ghostgate.

There is no way I am making it to Ald'Ruhn tonight. Hopefully tomorrow the skies will be clear. I can make it to Vivec by Sundas if I leave as soon as the ash storm lets up.

"Okay, Tédien, you can do this-!" With a mighty leap, hands grappled for purchase on the rocks and a vulgar curse left her mouth. She pulled herself up, a twinge of pain throbbing in her ankle as she stood and ran along the cliff edge towards the door a few meters ahead. The wind was so strong it made her wobble, and Tédien ducked into the rocks and used every ounce of power in her body to get across the small gap in the cliff to get to the door.

As her body slammed painfully into the sharp ground, she swore, "I completely misjudged the height of that jump…" The door was two feet above her, but her ankle was hurting something fierce, and the she was almost blind from the ash. It clung to her armor, her skin, it coated her mouth. She hiked her satchel higher up on her back and dug her steel-covered boot into a small crack in the wall, pulling herself up towards the little rocky platform and grabbing onto the door handle like it would help her.

With a surge of annoyance, Tédien pulled herself up and dipped into the mine with a sigh of relief. The door was off its hinges, but she was able to prop it up and hold it in place with heavy rocks so it wouldn't collapse and let the ash in.

The air was chilly, and sweat bloomed onto her skin as she sat down on the hard dirt floor. It had been a mine at once point, the bowels of which had been a Sixth House base, in honor of Dagoth Ur. She tried to remember the stories her grandparents had told her of Morrowind, when Vvardenfell had been in its prime.

She was exhausted, hungry and filthy, but figured exploring a little would be a good thing. Then she could find somewhere to rest. Tédien rolled her ankle, luckily it wasn't swollen or broken, though it was tender to walk on. Wind howled outside, and the door shook as one of the miniature tornadoes came closer. Tédien walked down the path, looking at the broken lanterns that hung along the ceiling, some newer, but all older than her twenty-three years.

Broken crates and barrels littered the mine, along with old rusted wagons, some still holding chunks of ore. Tédien gave a gasp of delight at the small dirty sack hidden partially beneath a clump of ebony; it was a coin purse. Heavy, and hopefully with enough money to keep her fed for a few days. Maybe she could even splurge and stay at an inn. Not one of the lavish one where the pillows and blankets are filled with feathers like in Cyrodiil, a simple hole-in-the-wall would work.. She hadn't slept on a bed in over three months with all the traveling she'd been doing. But she was on a mission, she had something important to do. And only a short time to do it.

Tédien walked farther down, careful not to hit her head on sharp, low hanging rocks and broken shafts. Empty bottles and food containers were littered here and there, leaving no doubt the place had been used before, either by bandits or someone like herself who simply needed a safe place to spend the night or escape the weather. It was so dark though, and Tédien didn't want to draw attention to herself by using magic, just in case someone or something unfriendly hid within the mine.

She kept going, walking through the cave. There were only two tunnels, and she had explored the left one, which came to a dead end full of bones and animal scraps. There had been mining equipment too, broken and rusted from years of disuse. The air was heavy with the scent of earth, moist and warm, and Tédien sighed, wiping sweat from her face. It wasn't as bad as outside, but she hated heat.

There was a crunching sound, and Tédien abruptly froze, hand going for her dagger. She preferred to avoid conflict if she could, but if she was jumped by bandits, she might not have a choice. Suddenly, she could hear voices, and she frowned.

"An' so I said to 'er, 'bitch, I ain't got no more gold!' And she starts throwin' a fit!"

"What did you do?"

There was a deep laugh, "I put the whore in her place. Taught her how a woman should act with her man." there was another laugh, and a half-hearted moan. "Had a nice little make up session after that."

Tédien frowned. Two thugs. And one was an Orc, she could tell by the accent. The other was definitely a human man, not of the Mer species, but until she saw his face, she couldn't tell. I need to get out of here. Spinning on her heel, she turned to walk back up the path she'd come from, but a nervous jitter went through her and she stumbled, knocking into a cluster of brooms and fishing poles that had been standing against the wall. They fell, and within the silence of the cave, crashed like thunder.

"What was that?"

"Over there!"

Tédien reached for the wooden rafters above her head; maybe if she his above them in the dark, they'd leave and she could escape!

A gasp left her mouth as something latched onto her bruised ankle just as she started to pull herself up, and on instinct she slammed her other, steel covered foot down hard, into the face of the Orc who'd grabbed her. His grip loosened, and she scrambled away, kicking up dirt as she ran. Pain lanced through her ankle and foot, but she ran harder, stopping only when an arrow landed a few feet ahead of her. These bastards were serious!

Vivec, give me strength! Tédien dipped into a small alcove to her left, dagger drawn, crouching low. Footsteps met her ears and as one of her assailants charged past, she swung the blade, the tip slicing into the heel, and the man swore as he stumbled, andTedien chose that moment to kick him in the face, hard enough to knock him out, but the Orc had gone berserk and was thrashing around, axe held high.

Blessing the Nine for making her a bard, Tédien pulled two scrolls from her bag and unleashed their fury, the Storm Atronachs roaring as they charged the Orc. She didn't wait to see how the battle ended, and took off back to towards the entrance, but the boom of thunder and angry cries made her stop. Had her conjurations been beaten? She was too exhausted to fight, didn't want to. She would, but she had something to do-!

"Oh, great."

One of the atronachs blundered up the path, crackling with electricity. It stood there for a few seconds before dissolving. She had to make sure, though, and ran off towards the room the bandits had been in, stopping as she saw the sizzling remains of the Orc, and the unconscious form of the, yep it was an Imperial, like her. Well, half of her. Her mother had been a Nord, her father an Imperial.

She mumbled to herself as the steps suddenly dropped down, her heart racing as she missed two of them. She stopped and sat down, exhaustion getting the better of her. She listened to the wind, the creak of the wooden door, the soft tinkle of water from below-

"Water?" She surged up, thirst gripping her like a vice, and she ran down the corridor, careful not to make too much noise in case someone or something had also sought shelter in the cave. Bones from scavengers were littered everywhere. Rats, a human skull, the horns of a Nix-Hound. But the water was louder now, and Tédien was like a bee who had sensed honey, speed walking through the darkness.

"Ah-ha!" There it was, nestled in the corner. According to her books, the foyada had lots of hidden caches where vegetation grew, and though she didn't see any grass or plants, she had a small reservoir of water. It ran down the wall and dripped off of the smoother rocks, into a crevice in the ground. It was probably full of contaminates, but a good boiling would remedy that, and if she did get sick, Tédien was well equipped with potions.

Pulling out her dagger, she used its light enchantment to create a dim glow for her to see.

Gathering three bottles of water, Tédien stripped, dropping her dirt-crusted chitin armor to the ground and pulling out a bar of sload soap she'd found in an old shack in Gnisis a few days ago. It smelled of jasmine, and she inhaled its perfume before dousing herself in the surprisingly cold water. But given how hot it had been outside, she welcomed the chill, washing the remains of blood and dirt from her skin. It stung at the small cuts, but at least she'd be clean; she never knew how long it would be until she'd bathe again, and though she tried to be as clean as possible, Tédien couldn't help it if she were attacked and got covered in blood, of slipped and fell into the dirt.

She pulled her hair from its bun, allowing the red-brown layers to fall to her shoulders. She soaked her scalp, digging her short blunt nails in and cleaning vigorously. She wasn't a neat freak by any means, but when she needed to be cleaned, she made sure not a single particle of filth touched her. She caught her reflection in the water from her blade, and she sighed.

That damn Scamp got me good. She eyed the claw mark across the left side of her face. It would scar for sure. Three gashes from above her ear to the corner of her mouth. The little bastard had surprised her while she was exploring an old Daedric ruin near Gnisis, jumping from above and landing on her shoulder, raking its claws over her armor and skin. She'd lit it on fire, and it had run off.

Only to return a day later, following her around.

Tédien looked over to the corner, where the small creature stood, hunched and swaying slightly. It hadn't left her alone. He was smaller than other Scamps, a runt, probably a few months old, and big enough to fit inside one of her satchels, and probably had been abandoned. But Tédien didn't have the heart to kill it, and figured it would leave after a while.

Nope.

"Oi, Scamp."

"Haaaa?" the creature swung towards her a little, babbling. "Breflik?"

Tédien rolled her eyes. She hadn't named the creature, hadn't wanted to, but now that it was her forced companion (she'd tried leaving it in a field once, but it had followed her by scent and tracked her two miles away), she felt he needed a name.

I am eighty percent sure it's male, but… Sometimes you just can't tell!

She finished rising the soap from her hair and body, grabbing a soft clean robe from her satchel and wrapping the dark blue fabric around her body. Her brown eyes tracked the scamp as it snuck around the small room, digging into the dirt and pulling grubs into its greedy little mouth.

Tédien threw her armor into the small pool of water, letting it soak, and hoping she could clean it later on. She dug into her bag again, pulling out two shiny red apples, one of which she bit into with a loud crack, the juice dripping off of her hand and rolling down to her elbow.

"Breflik?" the scamp had wandered over to her and began sniffing at her food. Tédien pulled away, frowning.

"No."

"Hawoo!"

Tédien continued to eat her apples, watching as the scamp walked around, digging or yelling at some unseen force in whatever language it was speaking.

"Breflik!" it screeched. "Habawwwga!"

"Is that your name?" Tédien tossed the two cores at it. "Or just a word you know in whatever language you're speaking?"

The scamp turned to face her, head cocked. She called it again, and it responded, creeping towards her in a savage manner but abruptly rubbed its head against her arm affectionately, making strange little noises. The scamp began to creep again, ignoring her and looking for helpless insects to devour. Tédien watched him for a bit, before relaxing against the wooden planks against the wall.

I'll journey to Ald'Ruhn as soon as I wake up, and then I'll head to Vivec…take a ship to Gnaar Mok…go to…Hammerfell from there…She yawned, closing her eyes and allowing the sweet inky void of sleep to claim her.