Note: Hello hello! Welcome to a fanfiction inspired by the 2011 Bethesda game, Skyrim! There will be adventure, love, loss, friendship and anything else you could imagine! I do not own anything, of course, except for the original main character and other originals. So saddle up, kids! It's gonna be a fun ride!
Chapter 1: Of Dawnstar
Eyes open. My body lurches and sways like I'm on a boat, but the crunch and scrape of gravel under hooves and wheels challenge that. The piercing light hurts as my eyes adjust, and a low unexpected groan leaves my mouth.
"You're awake," someone notes, calm and firm. I try to sit up a bit, breathing more quickly as I look around the cart. Three men are scatter around me, their hands bound in rope. Feeling a sinking in my stomach, I look to my own hands which are tied up just as tight.
"Hey! You! You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us and that thief over there." the voice spoke again, and I lift my head. The man across from me is dirty and worn, like he had just run through the dust being kicked up behind us. His blonde hair was tied back a bit and his face was relatively open. When I didn't speak, he made a motion with his hands. That explained the pounding at the base of my head and I cursed internally.
"Damn you Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy...if they hadn't been looking for you I could have stolen that more and been halfway to Hammerfell!" the horse thief looked at me, turning to face me fully. "You there, you and me shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants!" he was a peaky man in rags. He was panting so heavily you would have thought he had just finished being chased by a bear. His narrowed eyes flicked from myself to the man across from me. He was visibly shaking, and the man across from me shook his head with a sad, sour smile.
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." he murmured, turning his head away to watch as we moved slowly over the landscape.
From up at the head of the carriage, a female Guard snapped; "Shut up back there!" I flinched and ducked my head, but a frown crossed my lips. The jumpy man diagonal from me jutted out his wrapped and torn up foot towards the hulking man next to me. For the first time, I really sized him up. He wore expensive-looking furs, extravagant and gray. Probably wolf fur, that in itself impressive. His straw-colored hair was half tied up and the other half down. There was what I assumed to be a gag around his mouth, the cloth tight between his teeth. He was tensed like an injured animal waiting for its striking opportunity. Everything about him was brutish and strong. His hands, though tied, were clutched so tightly the dirty knuckles stood bright white.
"What's wrong with him?" The thief asked curiously, tilting his head sideways as he looked him over. The gagged man didn't even offer him a glance.
"Watch your tongue!" hissed the prisoner across from me. "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak the true High King." I frowned in confusion, not bothering to hide my stare as I observed him. A million thoughts chased each other in my mind. I hadn't been to this providence in months, but his name wasn't that of the king I had know when I had left. What had taken place in the short months I had been away? Stormcloaks..the whispers of rebellion in taverns hadn't just been idle fantasy. Was it really war? Whatever it was, from the captured beast next to me and the spiteful glances the guards around us shot at him, it wasn't good.
"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm?" My heart leapt as the thief turned the color of the pale gray cliffs we passed. "You're the leader of the rebellion. If they captured you? Oh gods, where are they taking us?" I tried to steady myself, but his words had awakened a flutter of panic in my breast. I looked all around us, trying to find an escape. I had run before and I would do it again. But as I plotted catapulting myself out of the side of the unstable cart, we started to pass under the stone arches of a village. Our destination, by the way a crowd was starting to gather.
"I don't know where we're going, but Sovengarde awaits." the prisoner across from me mused, bitter and proud. His mouth was turned up in that same sour expression. He was braver than I. He looked resigned to whatever was coming. Though my body language remained the same, I was certain my eyes betrayed my crushing terror.
The thief started to panic as well, struggling more violently against his binds. It did him no good, his eyes mad with desperation. "No! This can't be happening. This isn't happening!"
"Hey..what village are you from horse thief?" his voice was almost gentle, trying to lull the thief and stop him from his thrashing that shook the cart. He paused briefly, beady eyes narrow.
He stammered; "Why do you care?"
"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home." The blonde prisoner murmured, a touch of sadness in his tone. The thief blanched, then whimpered;
"Rorikstead, I'm...I'm from Rorikstead." He sounded almost peaceful, but it was short-lived. The prisoner murmured something comforting about the village, but was quickly cut off. A short, dark-skinned man in metal armor and red approached the cart with grim triumph etched on his face. Dismounting from the cart, one of the two guards nodded respectfully.
"General Tullius sir, the headsman is waiting." He nodded once in return, only looking at us once and as if loath to do so.
"Good. Let's get this over with!" he said crisply, turning to walk ahead of the cart to wherever it was taking us. The guards on the cart got back up and cracked the reins, the cart slowly picking up again.
"Azura, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh, Divines please help me!" the thief started to wail loudly, almost like a child looking for protection after being caught stealing. Across from me, however, the prisoner sneered.
"Look at him! General Tullius the military governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him! Damn elves! I bet they had something to do with this! Ahhh, this is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Elod is still making that mead with juniper berries? Still...funny, when I was a boy Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe." there again was a strong bitterness in his voice, and I wondered what the Empire had done to make him look so…angry.
Gazing around the village, it looked plain and familiar enough. I had probably traded here before, maybe stopped on the outskirts for protection at night. The name, Helgen. I hadn't spent much time here on my travels. It looked the same as most Skyrim cities, houses and shops made from wood and stone. A little bit of a cobblestone road, tall guard towers and arches that protected the city at either entrance. It wasn't nearly as magnificent as Whiterun or Solitude, but it was familiar.
The group of people who had been curiously trailing behind continued to grow. I noticed one boy standing on the edge of his wooden porch, a huge shaggy dog sitting loyally beside him. His eyes widened and he started to bounce on his heels as he watched us.
"Who are they Pa, where are they going?" the boy's father turned back in surprise then made a shooing motion with his calloused hands.
"You need to go inside." his voice was stern, his mouth set. I blinked in surprise. It was usually encouraged by fathers that their sons watch executions. I remembered passing through villages where most lads were hoisted up on their fathers' shoulders to watch. Bravery they called it.
"Why, I wanna watch the soldiers." he insisted, sticking out a lower lip and huffing. His father pointed to the cracked door.
"Inside the house," there was no arguing, and the boy retreated inside. He patted his thigh, and his mutt trotted after him eagerly.
No sooner had the door swung shut behind him, the cart halted violently, slamming me against the splintering wooden railing. As I righted myself, I looked around nervously, my hands twitching for any kind of weapon. But I had nothing. None of my knives, no bow. I felt naked, exposed.
"Get these prisoners out of the carts." one of the guards called, more of them appearing and encircling the wagon, waiting for us to climb out.
"Why are we stopping?" the horse thief shrilled, he stood then sat, doing this several times until the prisoner across from me sighed in exasperation and nudged hi forward when he stood.
"Why do you think? End of the line. Let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us." his words felt like the icy waterfalls I had stood under on a warm day. So we really were being handed over to die. I shivered once, violently. I had always known death could happen at any time, I had never expected to have to die like this. The thief stumbled down onto the dirt, still babbling.
"No! Wait! We're not rebels!" the prisoner, apparently having exerted all his patience growled;
"Face your death with some courage, thief." still, he protested. His eyes flew widely to mine, and the defeat in his eyes was tangible. When I provided nothing, his eyes flashed back to the prisoner, waiting for us to be unloaded after Ulfric, who was shoved to the side with more of the so-called Stormcloak soldiers from another cart.
"You've got to tell them we weren't with you! This is a mistake!" as he protested, I was moved to stand next to the prisoner. He and the others stood tall, their expressions all holding the same grim determination. I would have admired them perhaps. If I was watching from the safety of my own wooden porch.
"Step toward the block when we call your name one at a time!" the voice cracked like a whip, and I stumbled up between the prisoner and the horse thief, my head swimming with worry. To my left, the prisoner let out an exasperated sigh.
"Empire loves their damn lists!" he muttered, talking to me without meeting my gaze. I looked around, my breath starting to come out in pants. I dug my nails into the bindings around my wrist, trying to loosen them, trying anything. They held fast.
The Imperial who met us as we clambered down from the wagon held a piece parchment, then started to call out our names.
"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." his voice rang clear, and several Stormcloaks behind us started to wail, one sinking to their knees in grief at the sight of their leader walking proudly towards the block. Sucking in a shaky breath, the man to my left said to him;
"It has been an honor...Jarl Ulfric."
Ignoring their despair, the guard spoke again. Keeping things moving.
"Ralof of Riverwood." the man to my left tilted his chin up in defiance and followed the jarl. Standing next to him, these two men were equal. Both were going to die, there were no jarls or would be kings to an execution axe.
"Lokir of Rorikstead." the guard trumpeted loudly, and the thief on my right tumbled forward. His eyes were wild and he was looking to every face before him.
"No! I'm not a rebel. You can't do this!" then, to all of our surprise, the fool took off. He stumbled once but kept running, pushing himself back up. Everyone jumped in surprise, and my heart leapt. It could be my chance to escape, with all the confusion, I could try to sneak off or hide. Or I could run too..but before I had an opening, one guard locked onto me with his eyes. The one who had been reading the names. He eyed me curiously and I cursed, knowing there was no way I could flee now. The captain, who had been standing next to the name-caller snarled;
"Halt!" and Lokir the horse thief screamed over his shoulder that they weren't going to kill him. Several guards had made a move to go and chase him down, but the captain held up her hand.
"Archers!" all around us, several Imperial shoulders whipped out bows with precision. One of them nailing the thief in the back with an arrow. He crumpled to the ground, his face and torso slamming into the stone and dirt. His flight ended before he even reached the gates. If he couldn't make it out..there was no way I could.
Huffing proudly, the captain turned to us. "Anyone else fell like running?" the guard next to her, who had been looking at me glanced down at the parchment, then back up. There was confused frown on his mouth, and beckoned me forward.
"Wait. You there, step forward." tentatively, I approached him, my breathing had picked up to shallow pants again, but I kept my expression level. Everyone had gone quiet for what seemed like ages as they looked me over. Finally, he asked softly.
"Who are you?" for the first time since I had awoken in the back of the cart, I spoke.
"Marina." I paused briefly, then lied. "Of Dawnstar." the captain and guard both exchanged a glance, then looked back at me.
"Captain, what should we do, she is not on the list." I felt a bubble of hope boil up inside my chest. Maybe they would let me go. Or commute my sentence to something else, I could escape from any cell or mine they threw me in to. The captain saw the expectance in my face and sneered;
"Forget the list, she goes to the block." the bubble burst as quickly as it had formed. I felt my head duck down a bit, like she had struck me. I had stopped panting and now barely drew breath at all. The man holding the parchment gave me a sympathetic look.
"By your orders, Captain." he turned to me and gave me a sad nod of his head. "You chose a bad time to come back to Skyrim, kinsman." he sighed, jerking his head to the captain, who had started marching the prisoners ahead of me to the block. "Follow the Captain, prisoner." I looked back to him, daring to hope for a moment that he would give me some kind of sign. But he turned away, looking grim. He didn't want to watch.
Ahead of me, the same short man who had met us at the gate approached again. He was flanked by guards as he stepped towards Ulfric, who watched him with what I could assume was a smirk behind his gag.
"Ulfric Stormcloak.. some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like the voioce to murder his king and usurp his throne." I felt my mouth drop, and a shiver wracked my body. Murder of the high king..no wonder he gave off such an…animalistic feeling. Ulfric grunted through his gag, and I was suddenly immensely grateful he couldn't unleash whatever he had on the king.
General Tullius curled up his lip in disgust. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos and now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace." there was fresh excitement and pride in voice, and the Imperials around him banged on their shields or shouted their support.
Through their cheering, was a sound.
It echoed and bounced off the mountains and down into the valley where Helgen lay. It sent a feeling through me that shook me to the core. The sound was pure power.
The guard who had spoken to me asked quietly; "What was that?" everyone had heard the noise. It continued to echo, longer than any sound I had heard before. General Tullius was not distracted.
"It's nothing, carry on!" and he went to stand by the Thalmor, who waited on horseback to watch our deaths. The captain nodded, inclining her head in respect.
"Yes, General Tulles!" she spun around to a priestess. She was dressed in simple brown robes, her head covered in a hood. She approached us timidly, coming to stand next to the block.
"Give them their last rites." the captain said, and the priestess raised her arms.
"As we commend your souls to Aetherius blessing of the eight Divines upon you.." her words offered little comfort as I looked down at my bindings. I had stopped believing in gods years ago. Apparently others agreed with me. Next to the other cart, one of the Stormcloak prisoners yelled, interrupting her;
"For the love of Talos shut up and let's get this over with!" he was pushed forward to the block. The priestess stopped mid-sentence, looking mildly insulted.
"...Nirn our beloved...as you wish!" she muttered something disgruntled and moved back a few paces. The Stormcloak solider who approached the block knelt and placed his head on the bloody wood. I was impressed by his lack of fear..at the same time he was arrogant.
"Come on! I haven't got all morning! My ancestors are smiling at me Imperials, can you say the same?" those were the last words he spoke before the swing of the axe took of his head in one blow. My stomach bottomed out and I flinched, but I remained even in my expression. From behind me, one of the soldiers fell to the ground.
"You Imperial bastards!" she cried, being flung back up to her feet by the guards around her. The crowd onlookers jeered at the solider as his body was removed from the block and shoved into another small cart.
"Justice!" one Nord roared. Another cried, "Death to the Stormclaoks!" they continued to cheer their approval as the block was re-adjusted for the next unlucky soul. Next to me, Ralof murmured;
"As fearless in death as he was in life." he ducked his head, his lips moving in a silent farewell to his comrade. The captain looked back to us, and slowly raised a hand to point at…me.
"Next, the Nord girl!" all the air left my lungs and I almost let out a whimper. Straightening myself, I figured it would be best to face whatever lay ahead with some dignity. Sadness, not for myself, but for Ahkari, Ra'jhera and the rest of my family.
Again, there was a sound. This time it sounded closer, louder. It reminded me of some kind of animal cry, but unlike anything I had heard before. Yet at the same time, it was strangely…recognizable. It called to my very soul, touching my being and leaving me confused, but it also took away the crippling fear and replaced it with courage.
"There it is again, did you hear that?" my guard said again, crumpling the parchment in his hands as he raised it over his eyes to see better in the light. The captain, trying to break everyone out of the trance the animal call had caused, shouted loudly.
"I said next prisoner!" and she gave me a shove, hurrying me towards the block. I faltered, but didn't fall. Gazing at the block, I started to approach it.
"To the block, Prisoner nice and easy." my guard's voice was almost comforting. I knelt and placed my head agains the sticky wood, my stomach heaving. I laid my head on my side so I face the executioner. He was picking up his axe, still wet with fresh blood. As I braced myself, whispering a final goodbye to my loved ones, I saw it for the first time.
"What in Oblivion is that?" General Tullius roared in awe, the captain shrieked orders to the men.
"Sentries! What do you see?" behind the executioner, a huge shape soared behind the tower at incredible speed. Even at a distance away, it was the largest animal I had ever seen. Larger than the mammoths and giants that roamed the valley near Whiterun. Its color was dark as ebony ore and just as reflective in the sunlight. I watched in a daze as it gracefully spun once and disappeared behind the tall stone watchtower.
"It's in the clouds!" someone yelled, panic starting to ensue around me as guards ran by. The executioner didn't notice them, his arms raising with the axe in hand. I almost closed my eyes. If I had, I would have missed the huge creature that slammed into the top of the watchtower. The force of impact knocked the headsman to the ground in front of me as a shower of crushed rock and dirt fell around us. It leaned back and opened its mouth. Behind me, someone screamed;
"A dragon!" the boom that echoed from the dragon's mouth sent us all flying into fire and power, and I fell into nothingness for a second time that day.
Note: Annnnnndddd that's chapter one! I promise it is going to divulge into a more original story in the next chapter, but you gotta have that original opening that everyone loves. I would really appreciate some feedback, it helps me become a better writer and makes the story more interesting (hopefully) for you all!