Hey guys, brand new story here from yours truly. For all of you Skyrim lovers out there, this one's for you. What this story will cover is the main story line, the Dawnguard DLC and the Companion faction storyline. I always join the companions in the game so I wanted to try something out. ENJOY! :)

Chapter 1: Homecoming

Long ago in the war torn land known as Skyrim, a young Companion of Whiterun makes her way home from the island of Solstheim. Dressed in armor from head to toe, she stands at the bow of the ship and thinks about returning to her homeland. Being a Nord meant you were firmly held to your homeland. She of course objected to the task that was given to her by the harbinger, both because of her age and because of her tight hold to the land of Skyrim. Rayne Whitemane was the ripe age of 20 when her father and harbinger of the Companions, Kodlak Whitemane asked her to go on a rescue mission in the foreign land.

Kodlak himself knew that his daughter was one of the best in the Companions, a close second behind Aela the Huntress. Even in her young age Kodlak knew his daughter would be able to do right by him in this mission.

With the wind blowing through her short red hair, Rayne closed her green eyes and took a breath of air through her nose. She realized she was coming close to home. Skyrim was just along the horizon and nothing felt sweeter. A Nord could always tell by the smell of the air if her home was close. By the look of the land around her Rayne could tell that the ship and her crew were coming close to the port of Windhelm, home to the Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak. From the letters she had received from her father and others in Whiterun, she knew that the young Jarl was indeed looking for trouble. The girl recently heard of unrest in the land as it was. Stories about dragons were being whispered all around Skyrim. Rayne shook her head at the nonsense.

Her brothers in arms often spoke of the dragons in stories they were told as children. Their grandfathers often told them of the great battle between the dragon Alduin and the Nords of old. No doubt their grandfathers heard it from their grandfathers and it might have went back generations for all she knew. But of course these were just stories. Legends of hero worship throughout the years since this land was discovered.

Rayne felt a nudge at her side moments later. A cold and wet nose bumped her hand and she smiled. She looked down to the creature next to her and smiled widely. "Daemon." She whispered to her canine companion. A large husky with dark black fur, bright blue eyes and pointy ears sat down and looked up at her waiting to be regarded. Rayne knelt down in front of the creature and scratched behind his ears. "Keeping our guest company boy?" Daemon stood and barked only once in affirmation. He twirled around in excitement and when Rayne stood on her two legs, he hopped and put his front paws on the girls' armor covered chest. Rayne laughed loudly as Daemon's playful side came out. Of course this was done outside of Jorrvaskr, she feared that some of the older and wiser Companions - which would be her father, Skjor, and Aela - would have a problem with the energy her dog held.

"We just have to escort her back to Helgen and then we can go home boy." Rayne said with a smile. Daemon panted excitedly and jumped down from his owners chest. He ran over to the stairs leading to the lower deck and she followed him. As the dog went down the stairs, Rayne held on to the rail and slowly went down the steps. They were covered in water and sea weed from the water beneath them. Daemon led the girl to her cabin and nudged the door open with his nose. After he went in, Rayne laughed and shook her head before opening the door with one hand.

Sitting on the bed, was a young girl. No older than 14. Her father, who is a resident of the village of Helgen begged the Companions to rescue her from slavers. The girl was taken while her father was fixing a shoe on his horse on the side of the road. The two were heading to the market in Solitude when a group of Redguard men as well as Orcs grabbed the girl. It took Rayne months to track the gang over to the island, but she made it in time before any real damage was done. The gang had just arrived at Solsthiem and was about to sell the girl to a large barbarian. Rayne could see, from higher ground, the men drag her though massive crowds with nothing but rags on her body and a sack on her head. She became so outraged and when the money and the girl was being passed to one another, shot an arrow through the satchel. Through the confusion, she ordered Daemon to attack the barbarian.

The large man screamed as the dogs sharp teeth went through skin, muscle and bone. The slavers watched in horror as their potential customer was being attacked by a large perhaps feral dog. Rayne had a wicked grin on her face as she garnished her weapon and shield. Her sky forge steel sword gleamed in the sunlight as she attacked these men; or rather worms in her opinion.

It was mere moments before the men were either dead or badly wounded. The ones that left with their lives scurried like rats back to their burrows. As Rayne wiped the blood from her sword, she went to the girl who was on the ground and covered in dirt. She pulled the satchel off of her head and offered the girl her hand. The young girls face was covered in tear tracks and tiny marks from a thin blade. Rayne assumed that she tried to escape before the journey across the water and as punishment, the slavers cut her face. She growled in anger towards these men and wished she had killed all of them, but that was not the mission given to her. Her mission was to return the girl to her father.

Now Rayne was standing in front of the girl who sat on her bed. She was shaking with fear, not really knowing if her savior was just that or another enemy. Rayne slowly moved to sit down next to the girl. She put up no resistance. "You have nothing to fear from me." The Companion said, while looking straight in front of her. "I am a Companion of Whiterun. Your father came to us asking to rescue you." The young girl looked at the armor adorning Rayne's body and relaxed slightly. The wolf armor and the fact that she didn't kill her yet were definite reasons for her to be thankful to this woman for saving her. This made the girl find her voice no matter how light it was. "Thank you." She whispered.

Rayne looked at the girl out of the corner of her eye and nodded. "I couldn't just sit by and let you get sold into slavery, now could I?" She said with a hint of mirth. From hours of crying the girl wiped the tear tracks on her face. She giggled a little at Rayne's joke. "No, I suppose not."

"LAND HO!"

The lookouts' voice was heard all throughout the ship.

Both Rayne and the young girl bolted off of the bed and ran up the stairs to the upper deck. Rayne looked up to the crows nest for verification that there was land near by. The lookout in turn, pointed out to the buildings littering the horizon. She put her fingers to her lips and whistled. Daemon ran up the stairs and to his masters' side.

"We're home boy." She whispered to her companion. Then she ran up to the bow and stood there. She marveled at the scene before her.

Windhelm was just there in the distance. It was almost as if she could reach out and touch it. Rayne could feel herself being pushed by the wind gusting behind her. She grabbed the line that was supporting the sail. At seeing the horizon she slowly reached out with an open hand and once her arm was fully extended, she gripped at the familiar essence of it. "I'm home." She whispered to herself. "Take us into port captain!" Rayne turned to the man standing at the helm of the ship and gave him a dazzling smile. "Nice and easy now."

Rayne took the slight step that lead off of the bow and walked past the captain of the ship. She patted him lightly on the shoulder and gave him a nod.

Heading back down to the lower deck, Rayne thought about how good it felt to be home again. It was like a gigantic weight lifted off of her shoulders; like her breath had suddenly come back to her. She spotted her helmet on the end table next to her bed and picked it up gently. It was in the shape of a wolfs head and made of the best steel in all of Skyrim. There were holes in the eyes of the wolf, but if you fiddled with the jaw of the creatures face, you would find a sliding hatch that would open for Rayne's face would show when she wished it. It gave it a classier look in her opinion.

She smiled at the design of it. The older Companions Vilkas and Farkas came up with it. Rayne wasn't a bit surprised when Eorlund Grey-Mane was able to craft the armor and make a simple-silly-idea into reality. "I am a warrior and I will die as I lived-in glorious battle." She said the Companion creed aloud and bowed her head to the wolf in her hands. Rayne put the helmet back on the end table for a moment to get her weapons and belongings. She tied the sword that was in its scabbard to her waist and placed her long bow on her shoulder. She turned her sights back to the missing piece of her armor and carefully placed it on her head. She slid the hatch up so that her face was showing and she blinked at the sudden change of lighting.

Rayne made her way out of the room, but not before grabbing her satchel. She swung it onto her back and walked up the stairs to the upper deck. The ship was just about to head into port and she smiled widely at the sight of people walking on the deck. They were preparing for the ship to dock. The girl ran to the starboard side of the ship and stood on the rail while holding on to the rigging.

She heard Daemon's happy bark behind her and she looked over to him. The dog was spinning and chasing his tail for a moment before running over to Rayne's side. He stood on his back paws and leaned onto the rail. He panted excitedly as the walls of Windhelm came closer.

"REDUCE SAIL!" The captain yelled to his crew.

Out of the excitement, Rayne jumped off of the rail and helped the crew with the rigging of the sails. As one side flew in the wind, she looked to the other side of the ship and saw the same thing happen with their corner. Rayne looked up and watched the crew located on the mast, roll the large cloth into the beam. The speed of the ship decreased and the villagers on the dock were smiling and waving at them and the crew. "They're welcoming us home boy." Rayne said as she knelt down and scratched the dog's head.

"BETHANY!" A voice yelled to the ship. Rayne looked further down the deck and saw the girl's father running closer to them. She heard light footsteps from the girl come closer to the rail. "Father?!" Bethany yelled to the man. She reached out to him and soon they were docking. The ship was close enough to the platform so that Bethany could grasp her father's hand. Rayne stood by her side and watched the contact. She smiled lightly at the sight and hoped that this would be the welcome she received when she returned home.

Both parties were crying uncontrollably and when the gangplank lowered on to the deck, Rayne touched the girls shoulder and motioned toward the pathway to the deck. Bethany shot forward and hugged Rayne around the neck. The young Companion was surprised but relaxed and reciprocated. She wrapped her arms around the young girl's waist. A few moments passed and then Bethany ran over to the gangplank and into her father's arms.

Rayne ventured down to the deck and heard the pitter patter of Daemons paws not far behind her. They made their way over to the father and daughter pair. When Bethany's father saw them walk up to him, he grasped the girls hand firmly and gave his thanks. "Oh thank you so much Companion. You have no idea what you have done for me." He let go of her hand and hugged her around the waist not minding the uncomfortable feeling of the armor surrounding her body. Once he let her go, he said, "Ever since her mother died, she's been my life. No amount of words will be able to say how grateful I am to you."

Rayne patted the man on the shoulder and said, "Try not to lose her this time alright?" The man chuckled at the joking tone she took and shook his head. "No Companion. Not ever again." He turned to his daughter then. "Come on Bethany. I have the wagon all prepared for your return." He held out his hand for the girl to take; which she did quickly.

Before they got too far, Bethany stopped her father and ran back to the armored Companion.

"I really want to thank you for saving me. If not for you, I don't know where I'd be right now." Rayne slowly took her helmet off and bowed slightly. "It was my pleasure, my lady." Bethany batted her eyelashes and looked shy for a moment. What she did next was definitely surprising. She stepped up on her toes and kissed Rayne lightly on the cheek before running off back to her father. At this point the warrior didn't know what to do, so she just covered the spot on her cheek where the girl's lips were. She stood there for a moment trying to determine the best course of action. When Bethany turned and waved at the stunned Companion, Rayne waved back.

She watched for a few moments longer, making sure they leaved the port unharmed. When they got on to the main road, they walked and she watched until they were out of sight.

Rayne looked down at Daemon and shrugged her shoulders. She sighed and put her helmet back on before saying, "Well boy, let's head home." Daemon barked happily and followed his owner to the stables. The girl rented a painted horse from the stable master and walked to the end of the cobbled road. Then she got on the horse and motioned for the dog to follow. The two made their way into the distance with only one thought on the girls mind. "Home again, home again." A smile made its way onto Rayne's face as she rode. Nothing felt sweeter than being home again. Nothing felt more complete than being home again.