A/N: So I wanted to write two other stories first, but for some reason this one is the only one I could focus on. Hopefully I can get the dialogue right throughout, and keep the outline going. For the few people that have looked into my other story… I apologize for abandoning it like that. My only excuse is that I was a freshman in highschool, and most of us struggle with commitment then. And now, on with the story!
Prologue
The journey through Skuldafn was beyond trying for Carrick. As an Imperial loyal to his emperor he came to Skyrim to join the Legion and help put down the rebellion. When he finally rose in the ranks and received the mission of carrying a message to Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun by General Tulius himself Carrick couldn't be prouder. But Balgruuf needed him to run errands and deal with a dragon before he would accept the message. A Dragon of all things! Never would he have imagined when he boarded the ship from Anvil to Solitude that he would need to fight a live fire-breathing dragon! And of course when he finally kills the damn dragon some freaky light thing happens. The Nords called him Dragonborn, and he could suddenly understand whatever it was the wall in Bleak Falls Barrow transferred to him. Fus reverberated through his mind. Force. To the Imperial all of this mystical Dragonborn shit was terrifying. Carrick did his best to ignore all of it and continued to do what he set out to do, help the Legion reunify Skyrim. After the battle of Windhelm and the death of Ulfric Stormcloak, Carrick could put off the summons of the Greybeards no longer.
Carrick traveled to Ivarstead and climbed the seven-thousand steps to the throat of the world, and met with the crusty old men known as the Greybeards. They taught him about the Voice, the Thu'um, and sent him off to find the horn of Jurgen Windcaller. The note he found was interesting and when he met the mysterious woman who left it for him, Carrick finally knew what he wanted to accomplish as the Dragonborn. Delphine explained the Dragons were coming back to life, and they needed to be stopped. After slaying the dragon at Kynesgrove and absorbing it's soul Delphine revealed she was a Blade, and Carrick then had another objective; to revive the Blades and push back the Thalmor who killed his grandparents and sacked the Imperial city. It didn't help when he was briefly distracted from his goals by a vampire who wished to blot out the sun, but eventually all of the roads Carrick followed lead to here, to this point. To Skuldafn. To the portal to Sovngarde. With a moment of hesitation, checking over his dragonplate armor, Carrick stepped into the Portal.
Xxx
'I really thought Sovngarde would be brighter', Carrick thought to himself as he looked around. The eternal sunset was dim, and the mists were growing thicker with every moment. Following the pathway down Carrick was forced to use the Clear Skies shout multiple times so that he could continue on his way. As he emerged from the mists he encountered the souls of men. Stormcloaks, Imperials, and a few Nords he couldn't identify, all fleeing and from Alduin and shouting warnings as they pass. One Stormcloak soldier begs the Dragonborn to take him to the Hall of Valor where all the greatest heroes of Sovngarde revel and feast. Thinking that some help might be found against the Black Dragon Alduin, Carrick agrees. The path leads to a great bridge, guarded by a giant man with a great axe. He names himself as Tsun, hero of ancient times and brother to Stendarr. To reach the Hall of Valor one must first defeat him. The battle is brief, using the power of the Voice to knock Tsun off balance Carrick uses the time to summon a Dremora Lord. With a yell the dremora unsheathes it's two-handed sword and charges the guardian of the bridge. Tsun recovered from the Shout to block the overhand swing of a flaming great-sword and pushed back the Daedra with a low swipe of his axe. Carrick draws his sword and joins the battle, with a thrust at Tsun's unprotected flank. Spinning out of the way Tsun brings his axe down with a roar at the Dragonborn, forcing him to quickly duck to the side. The dremora lord is not idle and attempts to bury it's sword in Tsun's side. The great warrior must again retreat and block the Daedra, slowly being driven back by the two-sided assault. Carrick, sensing their advantage, sends a bolt of lightening lancing from his off-hand towards Tsun paralyzing the warrior for but a moment; a moment that Carrick uses to bring his blade to Tsun's throat. With that, the battle is ended, and the Dremora Lord fades into Oblivion.
Crossing the bridge quickly Carrick enters the Hall of Valor, hoping to find allies against Alduin and the end of the world. As he walks into the Hall of Valor; Carrick is greeted by Ysgramor himself. Ysgramor instructs him to seek out the ancient heroes Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, Felldir the Old, and Hakon One-Eye whom banished Alduin by using the Elder Scroll upon the Throat of the World. Each enthusiastically greets the Dragonborn, and draw their weapons to rush into battle with their cursed foe. With allies gathered and prepared, the Dragonborn crosses the back across the bridge of bone into the valley below. The thick mists cloud the skies, and the four mortals are forced to use their Clear Skies shout to draw Alduin to battle.
"Lok Vah Koor", their voices rang out in unison, the combined efforts clearing the skies before them. Before they could rejoice in success another voice rang out. Deep, powerful and menacing the voice strikes to their very cores as it shouts; "Ven Mul Riik!" and the skies are once more clouded over with the thick mists that hid their foe. Two more times they must cross Voices with the World-Eater before finally the sky remained clear. Carrick brings him to the ground with the terrible power of the Dragonrend Shout, where Hakon strikes out at the neck of the black dragon. Carrick summons his Dremora and together they rush to remove Alduin's right rear leg. Sensing the immediate danger, Alduin strikes out in an attempt to bite Hakon in half, before twisting himself away from the Imperial and his summon. Feldiir and Gormlaith, who until now had not yet entered the fray, quickly moved to take advantage of their enemies open flank. Feldiir's axe glanced off the thick scales of the dragon, but Gormlaith was able to pierce through with a powerful thrust. Roaring out in fury Alduin retreated and attempted to melt his enemies with his flames. The battle remained fierce; weapons flailing and flames arcing through the sky for over an hour as the Dragon born and his allies fought the end of the world. Carrick was forced to re-summon his Dremora friend multiple times. Feldiir the Old lost his arm to Alduin's jaws and could no longer wield his great-axe shortly into the battle. He kept fighting using his voice where he could, and using what magic he had learned over the many years. Gormlaith lost her shield, and her blade was slightly melted by the end of the battle. Hakon was able to remove a length of Alduin's tail and his axe was left buried in the dragon's flank as the Dragonborn struck the final blow.
"Your end has come, World Eater! I followed you to Sovngarde itself, and here you lie defeated" Carrick stood over Alduin as he prepared to end the threat of the World Eater forever.
"Krosis, Dovahkiin. Your end too, shall come one day" The World-Eater breathed, cursing the Dragonborn, who then drove his sword through the dragon's skull, with his last moment. As he straightened himself the Nords cheered the victory. Hakon One-Eye offered a personal congratulations to the Dragonborn, "A fine battle Dragonborn. The likes of which has not been seen since the glory days of old! A shame you were not born a Nord, for you would bring many tales to the Hall of Valor."
The celebration lasted many hours, Carrick being dragged into the Hall of Valor where he was honoured with much food and drink.; the heroes of old taking this opportunity to rejoice and drink themselves into a stupor. After all, how often do they get to celebrate defeating the end of the world? How often do they get the chance to welcome great heroes to their hall? Carrick enjoyed himself immensely, losing track of time and forgetting for a moment the other worries that draw him back to Skyrim. It was as the celebrations wound down that Tsun approached him.
"It is time Dovahkiin, the living are not meant for this world." The giant man spoke. Quietly; so as not to awake the Nords slumbering from their revels, Carrick and the bridge guardian left the Hall of Valor and crossed the bridge the now renamed Valley of Dragonsbane.
"You have done the world a great service Dovahkiin, Shor himself is surely proud. Return now, and rest. The world of the living may yet have need of you again." Were the last words the young Imperial heard as the world faded to darkness.
Xxx
As the world came back into focus the first thing Carrick noticed was the cold. Even after over a year in Skyrim he had never gotten used to the frigid climate that made up most regions of the country. Without opening his eyes he guessed he was in the Northern reaches, near Winterhold perhaps. It wasn't until he opened his eyes and looked at the world surrounding him that he realized he wasn't even in Skyrim. It unnerved him more than a little that he had no idea where he was. Snow covered everything. The ground was coated in a deep layer, and the trees were bent under its weight. The biting cold would have proved fatal to the Dovahkiin were it not for the thick layer of furs under his sturdy dragon plate armor. Standing there lost in a small clearing in a foot of snow, Carrick found himself with only one thought, "By the Nine… where am I?"
Xxx
A/N: I changed a lot in the prologue, I wasn't really happy with it. I'm not terribly happy with the beginning. I didn't realize that it was so short before.