Road to the Dawn 1
Aeros gazed around him, his breath misting slightly in the cool morning air. He had heard some guards talking the day before about a group of vampire hunters reforming somewhere in the Rift called the Dawnguard and, his curiosity getting the better of him, had decided to take a look for himself, see if they were worth helping, or if they were just another group of glorified bandits. He had noticed an increase in the number of vampire attacks lately, and they had even taken to attacking out in the open, even in the cities. From what he had heard, the order was just beginning to reform, so he had been expecting an old rundown fort not unlike what he had seen throughout Skyrim. But this, this was breathtaking.
He managed to find the entrance without too much effort, although if he hadn't known what to look for, he might have missed it completely. The entrance was a narrow opening in the cliff face that ran along the side of the road connecting Skyrim and Cyrodiil. The opening was just barely wide rnough for him to walk through without scraping his shoulders against the walls, although he still had to stoop a little. When he finally emerged from the cramped passageway, he found himself at the far end of a hidden canyon, which opened up before him. From where he stood he could see a lake to his right, fed by what looked like a glacial waterfall. Meanwhile, to his left he could see where the path twisted amongst some trees before disappearing from his sight. He guessed that would be where the fort was.
Returning to bis senses and remembering why he was here, Aeros started walking again, following the path as it meandored, his heavy, dragonplate armor making a slight clanking sound as he walked. As he drew closer to the lake, Aeros noticed what looked like another person standing there. As he drew closer, he saw it was a Nord like himself, admiring the view. The man turned towards him as he approached.
"Oh, hey there! You here to join the Dawnguard too?" the Nord asked. Aeros nodded.
"Yeah, name's Aeros," Aeros said as he held out his hand. The man shook his hand with a slight smile. "Nice to meet you," he said in a friendly manner. "My name's Agmaer," he replied. The two of them started walking up the path again. Agmaer talked as they went.
"Truth is, I'm a little nervous. I've never done anything like this before. I hope you don't mind if I walk up with you."
Aeros shook his head. "No, I don't mind. It's nice to have some company actually." He glanced at Agmaer as they walked. He looked to be only a couple years younger than Aeros, probably just into his twenties, with light blonde hair and the beginnings of a beard.
"Aeros, huh…" Agmaer said thoughtfully. "As in Aeros Dragons-Bane? The Dragonborn?"
Aeros laughed ruefully. He should have known that Agmaer would make the connection. Aeros wasn't exactly a common name in Skyrim. "You guessed it," he said with a chuckle. "Just don't go telling everyone my secret now," he added with a grin.
"I- I won't, Mister Dragonborn sir!" Agmaer said quickly, looking overawed at the realization of who he was walking with.
"And one more thing," Aeros said, fixing the younger Nord with a stern look. "Stop with all the 'Mister Dragonborn' and 'sir' stuff. I mean, I'm only a few years older than you; all that 'sir' stuff makes me feel old. Just Aeros is fine." Agmaer hurriedly nodded in agreement.
"Hey, uh, Mister Dragonbo- I mean Aeros, please don't tell Isran I was afraid to meet him by myself," Agmaer said nervously, looking over at Aeros. "Not the best first impression for a new vampire hunter, I guess."
"Don't worry," Aeros assured him. "I understand where you're coming from all too well. Everyone starts off new at some point. I won't tell anyone."
"Thanks," Agmaer sighed in relief. He looked at Aeros again, this time taking in his armor and the two swords hanging on Aeros's back, all of which looked well-used. "You've probably killed lots of vampires during your adventures, huh? I'm sure Isran will sign you right up, the man who defeated Alduin. Not sure he'll take me though. I hope so."
Aeros couldn't help but shake his head at Agmaer's attitude. The youth kept swinging back and forth between worry and hope from one second to the next. Aeros honestly wasn't sure if the other Nord was actually hoping that Isran would turn him away or not. Before he could say anything about it though, Agmaer spoke up again.
"That must be it. Fort Dawnguard… Wow. Bigger than I expected." Aeros could hear the awe in his voice and looked up. He stumbled and almost lost his footing at what he saw. The fort was a lot bigger than any other he had seen in Skyrim, even those he had seen during some of the sieges he had taken part in during the civil war. The place looked to be in excellent condition with almost no signs of disrepair, and was built on top of a cliff. It was hard to believe that this place had been supposedly abandoned for years.
They passed through the gates of a wooden barricade set up at the base of the hill. As the two of them kept moving, they passed an Orc who was practicing shooting a crossbow, something Aeros had only seen once or twice before, and never in Skyrim. However, the Orc ignored them when they passed and they decided to keep going. As they climbed the hill, Agmaer turned to look at Aeros behind him.
"I guess this is it," he said, nervous all over again. "Wish me luck."
The two of them approached the twin doors of the fort. A large Breton stood at the top of the steps, watching them approach. "New recruits?" he laughed. "Isran will decide if you've got what it takes. Go on, he's right inside." He stepped to the side to let Aeros and Agmaer pass.
As they entered the fort though, the first thing they saw was two men standing in the middle of the large space, facing each other. There was a palpable sense of tension in the air.
"Why are you here, Tolan?" one of them, a Redguard, asked the other, his voice gruff. His head was shaved, although he sported a narrow and well-trimmed beard. He was wearing the same armor as the Orc and Breton outside had been wearing and carried a large warhammer on his back. "The Vigilants and I were finished with each other a long time ago."
The man with his back to them, Tolan, spoke up then. Aeros couldn't see his face, but he looked to be a balding Nord in his late thirties or early fourties, dressed in the garb that was common amongst the Vigilants, a style of robes of the kind often warn by apprentices at the College of Winterhold. Like the Redguard, he also carried a warhammer, although his seemed to be less intricate than the Redguard's. "You know why I'm here," he said. The Vigilants are under attack everywhere. The vampires are much more dangerous than we believed."
"And now you want to come running to safety with the Dawnguard, is that it?" the man Aeros guessed to be Isran sneered.
"I remember Keeper Carcette telling me repeatedly that Fort Dawnguard is a crumbling ruin, not worth the expense or the manpower to repair. And now that you've stirred the vampires against you, you come begging for my protection?" Aeros could practically hear the disgust dripping from the man's voice.
"Isran, Carcette is dead," Tolan said sorrowfully. "The Hall of the Vigilant...everyone...they're all dead. You were right, we were wrong. Isn't that enough for you?" he asked bitterly.
Aeros inhaled sharply. The Hall of the Vigilant, gone? He hadn't known about that. If the vampires had attacked the Vigilants and destroyed the Hall, it seemed the vampire threat really was getting worse. They had never been so bold in the past.
It seemed even Isran was affected by this news. "Yes, well...I never wanted any of this to happen," he said haltingly, shaking his head. "I tried to warn all of you… I am sorry, you know." He looked past Tolan at that point, noticing Aeros and Agmaer for the first time. He stepped around the Vigilant and walked towards them. He stopped a few feet away.
"So who are you? What do you want?" he asked Aeros, sizing him up. Aeros decided to get straight to the point.
"My name is Aeros. I'm here to join the Dawnguard," he said simply. Isran's eyes widened at Aeros's name, but he said nothing, something Aeros appreciated. Too often people began seeing him as someone larger than life as soon as they found out who he was.
"Got a fire in your belly to kill vampires, eh?" the leader of the Dawnguard asked gruffly. "Good for you. We could use someone like you in our ranks. But look around." He gestured at the fort around them. There were crates and supplies lying everywhere, and the entire place was covered in dust and cobwebs. "There's really not much to join yet. I've only just started rebuilding the order. As this place stands right now, a vampire could simply walk right on in if they wanted to."
"I don't care about that," Aeros said, shaking his head. "From what I just overheard, it seems the vampires really are growing worse, and you're going to need all the help you can get."
"That eager to help are you?" Isran said in amusement. "Well, I suppose you could help train the new recruits, but what I really need is someone out in the field, taking the fight to the damn vampires, while we're getting the fort back into shape… Tolan was telling me about some cave the Vigilants were poking around in. Seemed to think it was related to these recent vampire attacks." He turned back towards where Tolan was still standing.
"Tolan, tell him about, what was it, Dimhollow?"
"Yes, that's it," Tolan's voice was heavy with weariness and grief. "Dimhollow Crypt. Brother Adalvald was sure it held some long lost vampire artifact of some kind." He shook his head. "We didn't listen to him any more than we did Isran. He was at the Hall when it was attacked…" He trailed off, overcome with grief.
"That's good enough for me," Isran said. "Go see what those vampires were looking for in this Dimhollow Crypt. With any luck, they'll still be there." He reached behind him and grabbed something. "Here, take this crossbow," he said, offering it to Aeros. "Good for taking out those fiends before they get close."
Aeros accepted the crossbow, hefting its weight in his hand before holding it up in a firing position, aiming down it. He smiled before slinging it on his back. "Thanks. I'll make sure to put it to good use."
Isran nodded. "Feel free to poke around the fort before you leave. Take whatever you need. There isn't much yet, but you're welcome to take anything you can use."
Tolan looked up then. "I'll meet you at Dimhollow. It's the least I can do to avenge my fallen comrades."
"Tolan, I don't think that's a good idea," Isran said slowly. "You Vigilants were never trained for…" Tolan cut him off.
"I know what you think of us, Isran," he said, his voice bitter. "You think we're soft, that we're cowards. You think our deaths proved our weakness." He glared at Isran and his voice filled with loathing. "Stendarr grant that you never have to face the same test and be found wanting." Tolan looked back at Aeros. "I'm going to Dimhollow Crypt. Perhaps I can be of some small assistance to you." He turned to leave, never looking back at Isran.
Isran snorted and muttered under his breath. "Fool." He looked over at where Agmaer was still standing. "You there, boy. Stop skulking in the shadows and step up here. What's your name?"
Agmaer stepped forward nervously, practically sweating buckets. "I'm, uh...my name is Agmaer, sir."
"Do I look like a 'sir' to you, boy?" Isran asked sarcastically, walking over to get a better look at Agmaer. "I'm not a soldier, and you're not joining the army."
"Yes si...Isran," Agmaer said, nodding frantically.
"Didn't I tell you to step forward?" Isran asked gruffly. He looked Agmaer up and down critically. "Hmm...farm boy, eh? What's your weapon?"
Agmaer blinked. "Uh, my weapon? I mostly just use my pa's axe, when wolves are attacking the goats or something."
Isran barked out a laugh. "'My pa's axe,' Stendarr preserve us." He laughed some more. "Don't worry," he said, looking at Agmaer again, "I think we can make a Dawnguard out of you. Here, take this crossbow and let's see how you shoot." He handed Agmaer another crossbow and had him assume a shooting position.
Replenishing his supplies and grabbing a few quivers of bolts, Aeros watched Agmaer take a few shots, Isran coaching him and offering tips, before he turned and left the fort. He had a long way to go to reach Dimhollow Crypt, and he best get started as early as he could. Hopefully he could catch up with Vigilant Tolan before he reached the crypt. Aeros took a deep breath and started off back down the path. Little did he realize just how big this new adventure would grow, or that it would change his life forever.
Author's Notes: Thank you for reading the first chapter of Tales of the Dragonborn. Tales is a series of stories centered around the Dragonborn, Aeros, and his friends and allies. Most of the stories will be multi-chapter arcs, although there may be a few one-shot stories about miscellaneous quests or random ideas that pop into my head. For the most part, the stories will follow a basic chronological order, although this is subject to the whims of the author and the Divines.
This first arc, Road to the Dawn, will feature the first half of the Dawnguard questline, following Aeros and his friends as they attempt to stop Harkon's Tyranny of the Sun. Feel free to leave a review and point out any errors and grammar that you see, since I'll eventually make some sort of mistake and not catch it.
Characters:
Aeros: The Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn, who these stories revolve around. He is somewhere between his mid and upper twenties during these tales. In addition to his status as Dragonborn, he is also the Harbinger of the Companions, as well as the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold. However, he has no connections with the Thieves' Guild, and wiped out the Dark Brotherhood when they tried recruiting him. In addition, after helping rebuild the Blades, he has severed ties with them after they demanded the death of Paarthurnax, refusing to kill the aged dovah who had so often guided and mentored him.
During the course of Skyrim's civil war, he sided with the Imperials, although he was sympathetic to the Stormcloaks' cause. Outside of his adventures in Skyrim though, his past remains shrouded in mystery, even to his closest friends, although it seems that he does have ties of some sort to Cyrodiil.
In D&D terms, Aeros is what could be classified as a Neutral Good sort of person, willing to help others and generally respecting the law, as well as doing what he thinks is right. However, his sense of justice and right and wrong can sometimes lead to conflict with others. He also values his friends above all else, and if they are in danger, he won't hesitate to bend the rules or defy those in authority in order to protect his friends.
Characters:
Agmaer: A young Nord you meet when you first enter Dayspring Canyon. He accompanies you to Fort Dawnguard to speak with Isran about joining the Dawnguard, as he is too nervous to do it by himself.
Isran: A Redguard, and former Vigilant of Stendarr, Isran left the Vigilants because he thought them too soft and reformed the Dawnguard, which he now leads. He hates vampires with a passion, and has an uncompromising view of them as monstrosities. A brusque and inconsiderate individual, he does have his rare moments of compassion.
Tolan: A Vigilant of Stendarr, he survived the attack on the Hall of the Vigilants and came to Isran looking for help. Despite Isran's warnings, he heads off to Dimhollow Crypt ahead of you in an attempt to avenge his fallen friends. Needless to say, it doesn't go well for him.
Dragon Language: None used.