I love skyrim and I hope I can write a good story to do it justice. I'm not the best writer, but I do what I can. Any sort of review or criticism would be greatly appreciated. I may not write for a living, but I enjoy it and welcome any chance to try and improve. Anyways, I have had some of these characters in my mind for sometime and wanted to share with others. I hope you can enjoy the journey with me. I can't promise to update all the time as I have work and have other responsibilities, but I will do what I can to update at least once a month. Thank you for reading! Update: I messed this up already (face palm). When I initially uploaded this I accidentally uploaded it with all the source code. My apologies to the one person who saw this.
Note: I do not own Skyrim or its characters. I have only thought up my own OCs for this story. This is rated M for a reason and will have mature themes. I will try to remember to put a warning before every chapter but if one is missing or you think something should be added please let me know. Also, here is a small guide to help with my writing style.
Italicized with no quotes is the character's thoughts
"No italics with quotes," is the characters speaking the common tongue.
"Italicized with quotes," is the character speaking another language, most likely falmer.
Hope that helps.
WARNINGS:mild langue, blood, and fighting.
Ysrae runs through a maze-like cave system as fast as she can. She saw her clan's distress signal while she was out hunting and scouting. Ysrae grabs the amulet around her neck and prays. Please let everyone be ok. Please let it be a false alarm. Ysrae stops when she's a few meters from the exit of the caves. She takes deep shuddering breaths. Once she catches her breath, she pauses to listen. Her heart drops, she can hear a commotion. She bursts into the vale to her worst nightmare. The clang of sword on sword rings out. War cries and screams permeate the air.
There's a man and woman in front of Ysrae, guarding what they must think is the only exit. Ysrae silently pulls out her dagger and sneaks up on the woman. She grabs the human and stabs her in the neck. The woman coughs and makes a choking sound. Ysrae lets go of her and she drops to her knees, spluttering. Ysrae pulls out the knife and pushes her backward, staining the snow with red.
"Hey!" the man yells at her.
Ysrae draws her swords. The man bares his teeth and raises his warhammer.
"You'll pay for that," he barks; then sneers, "just like the rest of the elves."
"Bastard!" Ysrae yells in her people's tongue and charges the man in fur armor. He swings high, clearly aiming for her chest. Ysrae slides under the hammer and thrusts one of her swords into his thigh. He yells in surprise and pain. Ysrae rolls away, leaving splatters of red on the snow behind her. She jumps up and faces her opponent.
He grunts and pulls out the weapon, throwing it away. He narrows his eyes at her, "You'll have to do better than that."
"So says the one bleeding out," she shouts back in the common tongue.
He roars and comes at her swinging. Ysrae braces herself and blocks the blow. Her hands sting painfully and she stumbles back. He swings the hammer down. Ysrae rolls to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed. Ysrae launches herself at him, thrusting her sword with both hands. It pierces the man's side, sinking to the hilt. He cries out in pain and grabs her. They topple to the ground, Ysrae yells in surprise and he grunts from the effort of holding onto her struggling form.
"You've killed me harlot," he wheezes out, blood trickling from his mouth, "but I can keep you from helping your friends."
Ysrae struggles harder, but her arms are pinned at her side. "Let go!" she screams. He just smiles and pulls her even closer. Ysrae somehow gets one arm free and punches his face. He curses but doesn't loosen his grip. She pummels him, spraying blood everywhere.
His arms finally go slack. Ysrae scrambles away from him. She slowly stands and avoids looking at him. Ysrae knows she needs to hurry, but this is the first time she's killed someone. She exhales slowly and grabs the hilt of her sword. She pulls as hard as she can. Her sword comes free much easier than she thought it would. She falls on her ass, right next to the man's head. She can't help but look at his battered, broken face. Bile rises in her throat. Ysrae groans and rolls to her hands and knees, vomiting. She spits and sits back on her heels. Tears stream down her face. She stares at the ever-darkening sky; night will be here soon.
"Ysrae," someone whispers and grabs her shoulder.
She whips her head around and see's silver-blue eyes, the mirror image of her own.
"Brother," she sobs and throws her arms around him. Her twin hugs her back. "Why is this happening?" she cries. He murmurs something. Ysrae pulls back and wipes the tears from her face.
"Yrhis," a voice hisses behind him, "we have to get out of here."
He waves his hand forward, "start making your way through the tunnels, we will catch up."
Ysrae stares as Celefani slipes by. She did not even realize there was anyone with her brother. Nirafeah comes next, her baby cradled in her arms. She pauses and manages to give Ysrae a soft smile.
Ysrae gives her a quick hug, "I am so glad the two of you are ok."
Nirafeah's eyes well up with tears, she turns away and follows Celefani. Harbys follows quickly behind her. He looks terrified but Ysrae can't blame him; he is still just a child. Ysrae ruffles his white hair as he passes; she hopes the familiar action will help calm him. He manages a weak smile.
"Sister."
Ysrae turns back to Yrhis. He puts his hands on her shoulders and stares into her eyes, searching for something.
Ysrae wipes away her tears again, "I will be ok. I had to kill them," she gestures at the two bodies in the snow, "right?"
He nods, "They would have killed you, Ysrae."
She nods, but she can't stop more tears from falling.
Yrhis wipes her tears away with his thumb, "I know it is hard sister, especially for you. You are one of the most kind-hearted people in our clan. And you take care of others over yourself, so hear me when I say this. The bastards you killed would have gladly killed me or any one of our people."
Ysrae closes her eyes and nods. Logically, she already knew this, but she needed to hear it out loud.
Ysrae takes a deep breath and opens her eyes, a determined look replacing her tears. "Thank you brother." Ysrae grasps Yrhis's forearm and tips her head forward. He does the same, briefly resting his forehead against hers.
"Let's get out of here," he mumbles and stands.
Ysrae grabs her dropped sword and briefly looks for its mate. She knows with the little light left, it would be near impossible to find it. She joins her brother at the cave entrance. Ysrae stops to take one last look at her home. Before she can turn back, torches emerge from behind homes and trees. Ysrae looks at Yrhis. He hasn't noticed yet.
Ysrae takes a deep breath and shoves her brother as hard as she can into the cave. He yells in surprise, but manages to get a knee down so he does not end up sprawled on the ground. Meanwhile, Ysrae has pulled a large amount of magicka to her hands. She casts her spell at the entrance, creating a green tinted barrier.
Yrhis scrambles to his feet and hits the barrier, "Ysrae!" he yells.
She puts her palm on the barrier and gives her brother a sad smile. "They are coming. Someone needs to stay behind to slow them down."
"I am stronger than you, I should have been the one to stay."
Ysrae shakes her head, some of her onyx hair falling in her face, "no, Brother. Because you are stronger than me, you have to be with them. You and I both know you can protect and lead them better than I ever could."
Yrhis closes his eyes, a pained expression on his face. Ysrae can hear voices behind her now.
"You should get moving," she whispers.
Tears roll down Yrhis's face, "you better do everything you can to survive Ysrae."
She gives him one last teary-eyed smile, "Auri-El go with you brother." Ysrae turns away and walks toward the slowly approaching lights, her sword gripped tightly in her hand. Her foot hits something metal. She looks down and can see the vague form of a sword in the snow. She picks it up, glad to see her missing sword. "Thank Auri-El," she whispers. Hopefully now she can take some of these men out with her.
The group is only a few meters away now. Ysrae straightens her back and holds her head high. She is of a proud and ancient blood line; she is a snow elf and she will not go out groveling. Ysrae looks up at the now completely dark sky. It is a clear night. Millions of stars shine above her, unaware of Ysrae and her people's struggle.
"Look what we have here boys," a cruel voice drawls out.
Ysrae lowers her gaze to the group bathing her in the orange light of torches. She tightens her grip on her blades and gets in a fighting stance. Laughter rumbles through the thirty or so group. Ysrae feels her face redden in anger.
A heavily built Nord takes a step forward, his hand resting on a greatsword strapped to his back, "going to fight us all, eh girl?"
"Afraid to face me yourself?" Ysrae shoots back. Laughter runs through the crowd.
The Nord chuckles, "you have spirit girl. But you are worth more ta me alive than dead. Now," he smiles, "be a good girl an' put down yer weapons." His smile makes Ysrae shiver; it's a cruel one, with the promise of pain later. She shakes her head.
His smile disappears and he speaks in a low voice, "If you don't co-operate, I will make yer life so much worse, girl."
Ysrae drops her arms to her sides and straightens up. "Answer me this," Ysrae speaks loudly and clearly, "did you kill everyone in my clan?"
The Nord's laughter booms out, "no my dear." He waves his hand forward. Movement ripples through the group. Six figures are pushed forward and forced to their knees, "what would be the point in killing all the snow elves? Like I told ya , you are worth more alive than dead."
Ysrae feels equal parts relieved and horrified. She is relieved there are more of her people still alive than just her brother and the other three; she is horrified at the Nord's implication. He could be planning to sell them off or keeping them as slaves. Ysrae keeps her face blank, but her eyes are welling up. Ysrae takes a deep breath and forces back new tears. Sha has to keep it together.
She looks at her clan members, tied up and gagged. Ysrae's heart falls when she doesn't see her father among them. Their eyes are pleading with her. She guesses they want her to co-operate and not be hard headed, but Ysrae needs to stall them. She looks back up at the scraggly brown-haired Nord, a sneer still on his bearded face. Ysrae lets out a breath. She stares at the man, determined.
He smiles cruelly, "Gott something ta say girl?"
"Let us make a deal," she says slowly, formulating a plan.
He scoffs, "What could ya possibly have ta offer? An' I suppose in return ya want me ta release yer friends," he gestures at his captives.
Ysrae snorts, "No. I am not a fool. All I want is for you to let me find my father's body and give him a proper buriel."
He raises an eyebrow, "And in return?"
"In return," Ysrae pauses, not wanting to make any promises she did not plan to keep. "In return I will follow your orders and be your personal healer."
The Nord grunts and crosses his arms, "Care ta demonstrate."
Ysrae sheaths her swords and mock bows, "of course m'lord." She pulls a dagger from her boot and straightens up. She holds her hands up in a non-threatening manner and moves closer to the mob. She's only an arm's length away from the leader, but Ysrae trusts in her reflexes and how slowly big, bulky Nords like this move. She swiftly removes the vambrace from her left arm and cuts deeply into her unmarred pale flesh. Ysrae lets blood run down her arm for effect. Then she pulls magicka to her hand and releases a healing spell, unleashing its comforting golden glow and soft singing. Ysrae's arm is back to its previous untouched state, albeit covered in blood.
The Nord stares at her unimpressed.
She rolls her eyes and suppresses a groan. "If you prefer, I can heal wounds so it leaves a scar. And unless I'm trying, none of your old scars will be erased."
He nods, "good." He waves his hand, "go on then."
Ysrae nods, puts the dagger away, and pulls out one of her swords. The Nord narrows his eyes and puts his hand on his own sword.
Ysrae snorts, "be calm. I am not stupid enough to attack this many people alone."
The Nord opens his mouth, "bu-"
Ysrae holds up her hand and cuts him off, "you'll forgive me if I do not trust the men who destroyed my home."
He snorts and waves Ysrae forward.
Ysrae moves past him but pauses in front of her clanmates. A lump rises in her throat. All of them are injured to various extents and it looks like Ysrae's closest friend did not make it.
"I don't suppose," Ysrae slowly turns back to the Nord, "you would allow them to take care of their families?"
The Nord growls and stalks to his captives. "Do you want to take care of your dead?"
They all nod, tears streaming down some's faces. The Nord waves Ysrae forward, silently telling her to go. Ysrae nods and pushes through the invaders. They jeer at her. She ignores them and passes between two homes in their small village.
It's completely dark now and the cloudy night provides little light. Ysrae sheaths her sword and casts candle light. She covers her mouth in horror. She can already see six mutilated bodies in the small radius of light. She forces back tears and checks all the bodies, two of them, unfortunately, are children. She moves on, hoping she'll find Father soon. Ysrae hears foot falls in the snow. She spins around and sees the remaining living Snow elves and their bandit escorts approaching the bodies. They must have made a deal with the leader. Ysrae returns to her search.
Ysrae cannot find her father's body anywhere outside. She takes a deep breath and heads to the small temple near the center of the village. She thinks if Father wasn't caught off guard, he would have ran to the temple to protect the two priests and village elder. Ysrae pauses just outside the broken door. She can see the dark shapes of at least two bodies. Ysrae squeezes her eyes closed and steps through the threshold.
She opens her eyes and sees the two bodies of the priests, their white and gold robes stained red. Ysrae looks to the side and sees a body clad in identical armor to hers. She swallows hard and starts to roll the body over. It groans. She gasps and rolls them onto her lap. Her father's face greets her. Ysrae chokes down a sob and carefully removes his helm. Snow white hair tumbles out and covers his face.
Ysrae carefully sweeps his hair away and whispers in her people's tongue, "Father."
His eyes flutter open. "Ysrae," he smiles weakly. He coughs, blood staining his lips.
Ysrae send a pulse of healing magic through him. It is too late to save him, but she can ease his suffering. He gives her a grateful nod.
"I'm so sorry I was not here," Ysrae cries.
He shakes his head and reaches up, holding his daughter's face in his hand.
"I am glad you were gone," he wipes her tears away. "You must live on Ysrae. Do whatever it takes."
Ysrae nods, tears streaming down her face now. His hand falls away. Ysrae gently squeezes his hand.
"Is Yrhis alive?"
"Yes. He and three others, including Nirafeah, made it out."
Father softly smiles, his eyes slowly closing. "Thank Auri-El," he breaths out.
Ysrae holds his hand and listens to her father's last labored breaths. His breathing stops and he goes limp. Ysrae holds back a sob and wipes her tears away. She can't mourn yet. She needs to be strong. She stares at his face, memorizing it and the soft smile still upon it. Ysrae genlty wipes the blood off his face. Ysrae chuckles darkly, now more than ever, she wishes she had her father's snow-white hair. Instead she and her twin inherited the coal black hair of their Dunmer ancestor.
Ysrae slides her arms under her father's body and struggles to her feet. It's a good thing she isn't strictly a mage or she most likely would not have been strong enough to carry him. She carefully maneuvers through the door, taking extra care not to hit her father's head on the doorway. Ysrae carries him to the statue of Auri-El at the center of the village. Two of her fellow captives have carried a loved one to the statue as well. Ysrae places her father at the base, her clanmates follow suit. They are both crying. Ysrae looks at them, her face blank. One of them is the beautiful Faiyis, her rival, and the other an attractive male, Athkir, Ysrae had had a fling with.
"Do you two need help finding anyone else?" Ysrae whispers.
Faiyis looks down, her white hair covering her face.
Athkir shakes his head, tears sliding down his cheeks, "We are only allowed to cremate one person."
Ysrae holds her hand out to him, a sympathetic look in her eyes. Athkir clasps her forearm and she returns the gesture, pulling him in for a hug.
"I am so sorry," she whispers. He leans down and buries his face in her black hair, mumbling something.
They part. Faiyis is utterly sobbing now. Ysrae holds her hand out to Faiyis, but she slaps her hand away. Ysrae sighs and turns away just as her candle light fades out. Ysrae can see other survivors searching in the snow, their own light bobbing next to them.
Strong, warm arms wrap around her, embracing her from behind. Ysrae grabs Athkir's hand, squeezing it. "It will be ok," he whispers. A knot forms in her throat.
"Why did this happen?" she manages to choke out.
Athkir pulls her closer, his taller form completely enveloping her. Ysrae closes her eyes and strokes his arm. In turn, he buries his face in her neck. They stay like this, finding comfort in each other's warmth.
"Will you two knock it off," Faiyis hisses, "they're all coming this way."
Ysrae sighs and moves away. She can feel Athkir's reluctance to let her go, but he does. Ysrae casts candle light and turns back to the statue of Auri-El. She grabs her amulet and whispers a prayer for all her people. The last four snow elves place a loved one at the base of the statue, whispering final farewells. The silence that follows is heavy and full of loss.
Their human captors begin to grumble, growing impatient. Ysrae takes a deep breath and breaks the silence among the Snow elves, "who should perform the last rites?"
"You should," Athkir says without hesitation.
Everyone but Faiyis nod or voice their agreement. Ysrae nods. She slips her amulet off and clutches it in her hand. She pulls magicka to her hand. A white flame bursts from her hand. She hears the bandits murmur uneasily. The sound of weapons being unsheathed should bother her, but in this moment she couldn't care less.
Ysrae throws the fire at the base of the statue. The fire explodes with a boom, igniting all the bodies. Ysrae watches Father's long hair burn away. A single tear runs down her face. She ignores it, bringing her amulet to her lips and kissing it. She clasps her hands in front of her face and closes her eyes. Ysrae's voice rings out loud and clear as she says the final rights for her people, perhaps, even for the six other standing around their burning loved ones.