The Skyrim Guardian
PROLOUGE: Thirador had his hands on the table in front of him. Leaning on it tiredly, lost in thought. He never aspired to be a leader. Let alone a leader of one of the biggest wars in history, the second war against the Aldmeri Dominion. The tent that was pitched for him was mainly for his maps and other documents. He slept outside underneath the stars with his men, instead of living like a general in a nice warm tent. I'm no damn paper pusher, he thought, I am better at going in and getting the job done. He could hear the flapping of banners in the cold wind. Smell the grass and smoke rising from the camp. The war against the Aldmeri Dominion had been going on for months. His troops had covered very little ground on the elves, and soon the cold weather was coming in. He didn't know if he could raise spirits enough for his men to pull through the winter. It's not like they have much choice anyway. If they give up and go home the damn Thalmor will just slaughter them as soon as they get there. He wished he could do more but he didn't exactly have enough men to assuredly win this war. The empire firmly stayed out of the fighting until a clear winner was decided. They were cowards. What reason does a man need to defend his home from oppression? He face curved into a grim smile. He remembered the general of the Stormcloak rebels saying almost the exact same thing a little over a year ago. So much had happened since then. Life felt simpler way back then. For some reason the men in his camp wanted to follow him. He couldn't even fathom why. He sat down in a nearby chair and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't slept since gods know when. He looked over to the chest weathered in age and opened it. Pulling out his last bottle of Graybuck whiskey, he uncorked it and drank deeply. The burn in his throat was nice and the warmth was also welcome. He heard the rustle of the tent and saw Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas emerge into the room. The Companions looked worn and haggard but still looked fierce enough to best any man or mer in a fight.
"Welcome friends." He said "How are you faring in the weather? Is it starting to get bad?"
Aela spoke for the group "We are fine. Cold does not bother us as it does most people. As for the weather… it is starting to bite deep in the army's bones. With the way the wind is, fires don't help much."
Thirador nodded knowingly. "I'm going to walk amongst them soon. Help where I can with the wounded and try to raise the moral a little. Their hearts might lighten to see their leader care. However, that's not the only reason you came is it?"
Aela shook her head. "Our scouts have reported back. They say a massive Thalmor armor is massing south of here. By the way they are moving, they will be here in three days. We were wondering what you want to do about it."
"Hmmm, it seems the elves decided to snuff out our little act of defiance, and quickly too. I'll have to think on it more before I can give orders about what to do." He said. Aela nodded and with that he rose from his chair and walked out of the tent. Looking over the battered soldiers stuck out in the open. Only a little over two thousand men and women decided to help in the war. The elves main army alone numbered at ten thousand. Gods above don't let this be for nothing. They've come so far in this war to be crushed in a single battle. He closed his eyes and remembered how this all started. A misunderstanding and a fateful day in a prison cart….
The Skyrim Guardian
Chapter 1: Mistaken prisoner
The first thing he felt was the rocking of the wagon. He could smell the horses. Hear the clopping of their feet upon the stony road. He couldn't remember how he got here. To think of it he couldn't remember much of anything. Not why he was there, his agenda, or even his name. As his eyes opened he realized his hands were bound, along with the hands of many other men in the cart. He tried lifting his head off his shoulders but a sudden agonizing pain coursed through him. He didn't cry out though, for some reason he felt like he shouldn't. He started again at a slower pace this time and he continued through the complaints of his abused body. A man across from him, Nord from the shape of his face and build, was staring.
"Hey you're finally awake. Thought we lost you there for a second. The Imperials wouldn't heal you. Though a priestess slipped you a healing tonic. She said it would keep you from dying however; a side effect might be small amnesia. You were trying to cross the border right? Walked straight into that Imperial ambush, same as us." The Nord looked down sadly at his hands. "I'm Ralof by the way".
Imperial ambush? Who are the Imperials? Then he took what the Nord had said about amnesia. I still don't see what I was doing near an ambush sight.
" Damn Stormcloaks, everything was better until you came along. Empire was fat and lazy. I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell by now." Another man at the end said. I looked at the final man in the wagon. He had a noble air around him. For some reason this man had a gag in his mouth. "What's with him?" asked the horse thief.
Ralof snapped" Show some respect boy! That's Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak the true high king of Skyrim."
The thief's eyes went wide and said" Ulfric Stormcloak? You're the leader of the rebellion! But if they have you then….. oh gods where are they taking us?!"
"I don't know where we're going horse thief, but Sovengarde awaits." Said Ralof
"Quiet down back there." An Imperial guard snapped from the front of the wagon.
"What village are you from horse thief?" asked Ralof
"Why do you care!?"
"a Nords last thoughts….. Should be of home..." Said Ralof
The thief seemed to cool down, "Rorikstead, I'm…. I'm from Rorikstead"
As they got into the village, which Ralof said was Helgen; I noticed quite a few wagons of people. A man who was of his 50s and was clad in gilded armor walked towards their group. He must be in charge of these soldiers.
"That would be General Tullius" observed Ralof.
"Ulfric Stormcloak, it's high time you were executed. For all the lives you cost, this will be good to watch." Said the general. Instead of getting mad, Ulfric just stared calmly at the man. I guess he already made his peace.
Soon everyone was called off the wagons and had to step forward when their name was called. The person calling names looked strangely like Ralof. The difference was the eyes, the hair and the beard. Ralof had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a beard while this man had dark brown hair, brown eyes and no beard. The man went through the names and as he called Ralof he was given a look that held back fierce anger from the blonde Nord.
"Lokir of Rorikstead!" the man said
It was the horse thief.
"No you can't do this! I'm not a rebel!" he ran past the guards and got halfway down the street when he was filled with arrows. All archers made their mark. When it came to be his turn to get called, the man, whose name he discovered was Hadvar, said,
"Who are you?"
"I'm not sure..."
A guard then walked to Hadvar and said "He was slipped a magic healing tonic upon picking him up. A priestess slipped it to him after we ambushed the Stormcloaks. The man looked like a group of saber cats got a hold of him sir. She said it might give him amnesia because it was so powerful."
"I see. Well let's see if we can help you remember who you are." Hadvar said patiently "You are of tall height and medium build." Hadvar said as he walked around him "you have long brown hair that has smaller braids holding it back, probably something your mother started doing when you were young. You have a scar across the side of your face that looks to have come from a sword, maybe a dangerous past. You have blue eyes, perhaps dominant from your father along with the height. Your beard is border line stubble so I'm guessing you don't like having a mammoth on your face. You look like a Nord but you also look like a Imperial. Maybe you're a mix. However I have never seen a mix such as you before. Now, let's figure our your name."
He thought long and hard till it finally clicked
"Thirador… my name is Thirador." I said.
"Thirador? That's a strange name." Hadvar looked over his list twice before saying "Captain he's not on the list. What should we do with him?"
"Forget the list he goes to the block" she said angrily.
Hadvar said"I'm sorry prisoner, please step in line with the others"
General Tullius then said "you all get to have your last blessing"
A priestess then walked next to the chopping block and said "may the gods-"
"Let's get this over with Imperials. I haven't got all morning" a Stormcloak soldier said as he walked up and laid his head on the block. The captain then put her foot on his back as the executioner reared back and brought down the axe upon the man's neck. A wet squelch sounded before his head hit the basket.
The captain pushed the remains over with her foot. As she did so, a distant roar sounded off towards the mountains.
"What was that?" asked Hadvar
"Next prisoner. The one to stupid to know his own name"
She meant him. As he walked over, he was forced to his knees and his head was slammed into the block. Thirador saw the axe swinging back when a defining roar pierced the air and a huge black dragon landed on top of a small stone tower.
"What in Oblivion is that!?" general Tullius yelled
The dragon then roared again attacking the soldiers and townspeople foolish enough to be on the street. Ralof grabbed me and helped run to a watchtower across the street. Ulfric and a few other Stormcloaks made it to the building. Ralof looked to Ulfric and asked "Jarl Ulfric could the legends be true?"
"Legends don't burn down villages" Ulfric retorted
Ralof looked to Thirador, "come, up the stairs"
As they we're moving up, the wall exploded inward killing two men while the dragons head snaked in and grabbed another unsuspecting Nord.
"Do you see that building over there?" asked Ralof who was looking out of the hole. "Jump over there and we'll catch up to you"
So Thirador jumped to the other building and as he landed he put one foot slightly in front of the other to roll smoothly. He ran from the burning building so he would not get caught in the torrents of flame that were writhing about. As he exited he saw Hadvar grab a young boy and pull him to safety. He told a man in the street to get the boy to safety. Hadvar turned to see Thirador standing there and asked ," still alive prisoner? Keep with me if you want to stay that way" They ran through the burning building and mauled corpses that were littering the street. As they ran they chanced upon Ralof. Both men drew their weapons towards each other.
"You're not going to stop us this time Hadvar" Ralof shouted angrily
"Do you think I'm going to let you escape, traitor?" Hadvar asked
As the dragon attacked again the two men dispersed and each told Thirador to follow them. He thought for half a second and followed Ralof. The one who hadn't tried to kill him minutes before. they went into a keep and Ralof cut the binds that were still on his wrists. Ralof looked at the Stormcloak who was on the floor bleeding and said "He won't be needing that gear anymore. Go ahead and take It." it was a bit small but Thirador wasn't going to complain. It was better than the dirty ripped tunic he was wearing. The deep blue cuirass was made from thick leather with small metal studs over the shoulders along with leather bracers and boots, the armor offered little protection. However the gear wasn't made for that, it was made for quick strikes and fast movement. He lifted the iron axe off the ground and twirled it lightly a few times. As his memories were slowly coming back he realized that an axe was not his weapon of choice. He thought that a sword might be a better option. His thinking time was over when Ralof hissed "Imperials! Stay quiet!" they moved to the sides of the doorway and waited. As the soldiers walked through he and Ralof were upon them. The imperials armor was much better than the Stormcloaks and took more than one hit to bring down the person wearing it. Unless, of course, you went for the obvious and hit the head. Thirador buried the iron axe into the head of the nearest imperial he then grabbed the man's sword from his sheath as he fell. Ralof was engaging the other soldier while Thirador and the captain circled each other
"I think it would have been wise to put me on the chopping block first." Thirador said.
The captain eyed him for a moment "aye it would have" she said
She attacked with an overhead blow which Thirador caught high. He stuck her in the stomach and she let out a grunt. As she went to strike again, low to the side this time, he kicked sword out of her hands so gracefully it looked practiced. He held the point of the sword towards her neck as she closed her eyes. He ran her through to finish the job. Ralof had finally got the better of the other soldier and he looked upon what Thirador had done.
"How did you manage this?" Ralof asked wide eyed
"I have absolutely no idea" Thirador said honestly. "It's like my body took over for me."
"Still having trouble remembering?"
Thirador nodded" Something's have come back but it's fuzzy"
"Well, let's just focus on getting out of here." Ralof said
As they made their way through the keep the chanced upon a torture room making short work of the soldiers and freed some of Ralof's fellow Stormcloaks. They collected their gear and moved along through. The keep went deeper till it turned into an escape cave. They heard imperials and Thirador told them to stay put while he listened.
"…. I told you I'm not staying to get eaten by a dragon!" for an imperial soldier he sure is a wimp
"And I told YOU that no one is going through that tunnel until General Tullius arrives or we get different orders. Now are you going to follow command or earn a swift death?" his commander yelled angrily
The man steamed but stayed quiet. Thirador nodded towards the Stormcloaks and they all snuck towards him. On his word they charged the unsuspecting enemy. The Stormcloaks were outnumbered by at least ten men. But that didn't slow them down. They had killed at least that many before the imperials even knew what was going on. As Thirador slashed left and right separating limbs and blood ,the archers had killed three Stormcloaks. Grabbing a shield off a dead imperial he barreled through the soldiers to get to the archers. All of them were dead in a matter of seconds. As he turned to face the last of the enemy all that was behind him was Ralof and the few remaining Stormcloaks. They were battered and bloody but it was nothing serious. Ralof looked at him and said "you're going to have to teach me to fight like that one day." With a grin on his face.
Thirador smiled and caught his breath "Let's keep moving"
The Stormcloaks wanted to stay behind in case Jarl Ulfric came through, so Thirador and Ralof went ahead alone. They killed overgrown spiders that smelt like rotting meat and traveled far through grey rock. As they were going through an open section of cave there was a sleeping cave bear lying under a ray of sun coming through a crack in the caves ceiling. It looked like it was doing that for warmth. Ralof whispered "I'd rather not tangle with it if it's all the same to you. Let's just sneak around and see if we can get by." At first Thirador thought it would be a good idea however he felt something in his mind that wanted the bear as a challenge. He handed Ralof his sword and started toward the bear
"What are you-", but Thirador put a finger to his lips and walked towards the bear. It lifted its head up and growled as he got close. The bear stood upon its hind legs and Thirador realized this was a terrible idea, the bear stood at 7 and a half feet tall. Much larger than it looked lying down. It was about a foot taller than he was so it would have an advantage. The bear roared at him, eyes wild and saliva flying out of its mouth. For some reason he did not feel fear like he thought he should have instead he got a crazy idea… "AAHHHHHHH!" he yelled. The bear was taken aback for a moment at how loud he had just yelled. Thirador saw his opening and jumped upon the bears back wrestling the massive creature back and forth. The bear howled in fury and reached back far enough to grab Thirador and throw him off. A few scratches were all he got and charged back for more. He slid under the bear as it dropped down to swipe at him, narrowly missing his face. He again jumped on the bears back and wrapped his arms around its neck. The bear squirmed and howled and fought but to no avail. Thirador heaved back with one final jerk and the bear's neck snapped. The monster hit the ground with a deafening thud. Gasping for air, Thirador stepped back from the bear with Ralof eyeing him closely as he handed back the sword
"Never in my days have I witnessed anyone wrestle a cave bear. Even if it was a small one"
"Small? This was small?" asked Thirador
Ralof laughed and said" of course. Skyrim cave bears can grow to be fifteen feet for an average height!"
"You're joking?"
Ralof shook his head with a grin and they kept walking.