AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapters 1 - 17 I am now considering Book 1 of Nature and Soul. Any chapters after Chapter 17 will be put under Book 2. Enjoy the story.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -BOOK 1
Dragonborn-Nature and Soul
-Rise of the Warlord of the Soul Cairne-
Windhelm, 11 years ago:
The Thalmor were brutal in their attempts to silence the worship of Talos. The Stormcloaks would not be silenced though. And no more vocal were the parents of a young boy who was named Drak'qur. They worshipped Talos faithfully and believed in the Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn. Ulfric Stormcloak made it known that they would not be silenced and knew well the "Way of the Voice". His defenses were led by Drak'qur's father. The Stormcloaks knew him as "The Warlord", a man who was of sound strategic mind. Drak'qur's mother was a bit of a different woman from most other Nord women. Few of the people of Windhelm ever saw her during the day, but saw much of her at night. She was a vampire and her love, her husband had kept her secret for years. He bested her in battle many years ago and offered her a chance to live, to find an alternative to sate her thirst for blood and prevent her from becoming hunted, and in that she did. She had befriended a farmer who owned a cow farm and allowed her to drink of the blood of the slaughtered cows. Even the priestess of Mara helped when people passed away, giving her skins of blood to drink to help keep her from being hunted. She had given birth to Drak'qur but noticed that he did not look to be a vampire. But he had a deeper connection than she thought. But all the same, the family lived peacefully for many years in Windhelm.
The Thalmor could barely break the Stormcloak defenses and it wasn't until they used their cunning to send an infiltrator. She had worked her way through the ranks of the Warlord's militia. Drak'qur though, even as a young boy, didn't like her. Her story didn't make sense and he tried often to warn his father and mother. But the infiltrator stayed one step ahead of Drak'qur.
It wasn't until the night of an upcoming battle that Drak'qur's warnings of a traitor were realized. The Thalmor had snuck in through a breach in the patrols of the city of Windhelm. The Warlord sounded the alarm when the Thalmor broke into their home. But it was too late when the guards arrived. The Warlord and his wife were killed by the assassins. Drak'qur was the only one left alive. Knowing the risk of him being killed as well, he was moved in the dark of night from Windhelm. Ulfric ordered the boy taken to a town far away where it would have been the last place the Thalmor would look. He was taken to Riverwood to live his life. But what could such a young boy do to earn a living. Much to the surprise of the man who took him to Riverwood, the boy was a very good blacksmith. But there was something different about Drak'qur, a hidden secret that even his parents didn't know about.
For many years, Drak'qur worked alongside Alvor in Riverwood until he was old enough to create another smithy on the other side of town. He wasn't in competition as Drak'qur had proven to have specialties in working with specialized armor and weapons where Alvor was more general in his craft. He worked on a set of armor that rivaled even the Jarls of the land. It was based on plans he bought with what money his parents had left after he bought himself a smithy. But it was a side project he worked on while he continued to make armor and weapons for travelers and soldiers.
-Riverwood, present day-
Today had been a fairly quiet day at the smithy. Drak'qur was in the back and looked over the armor and weapons he had finished making just a few days ago. This was the armor that he had spent making for nearly fifteen years. It was Daedric in design, made with materials that cost a great deal of septims to make because of their rarity. The armor gave off a purplish glow and looked ominous. On the wall alongside of the armor were weapons of the same make, Daedric. He ran his hand along the smooth armor and the flat side of the weapons and shield. He wasn't sure why he would use this armor, but something about making it felt right. As he grabbed the hilt of the greatsword, a purplish wisp of energy circled his hand and the blade. Drak'qur arched an eyebrow and wondered what was going on. It was peculiar but…not unfamiliar to him. He heard the door to his shop open and he shook himself from his thoughts, walking out to see a courier at the counter.
"Good morning, Smithy. I have a letter for you here from the Jarl of Riften." He handed Drak'qur the letter and waited as he read it.
Drak'qur smiled slightly. "It seems my services are needed for the guards out there."
"The word of your work does get around. I'm not surprised that you're called upon." The young man chuckled.
Drak'qur gave the courier twenty septims for his trouble. He gathered what he needed and loaded up his cart and prepared his horse for the trip.
The trip to Riften was uneventful. But as he neared Riften, he was stopped by a Thalmore/Imperial patrol. "Hold there, merchant." An elf raised his hand. The cart came to a stop. "Where are you going?"
"I'm a smithy on the way to The Rift by order of the Jarl." Drak'qur showed the High Elf the letter from the Jarl.
"Ahh, your weapons are of fine make so I hear. I wonder, how much would satisfy you to make weapons and armor for the Aldmeri Dominion?" The elf smiled. A few of the Imperial soldiers chuckled.
Drak'qur narrowed his eyes. "I do not make weapons for murderers. My weapons will never be sellable to you."
The soldiers quickly stopped chuckling hearing that. The Elf, growled. "You dare defy the Empire?"
Drak'qur shook his head. "No, just your Dominion." He smacked the reigns and the cart started for Riften.
The Elf watched as Drak'qur left. "You will suffer for that, Nord. This I swear."
-In Riften, a day later-
The Jarl was pleased as her soldiers received fine weapons and fixed armor. She stood next to Drak'qur and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Fine, fine work, my friend. We have a room set up for you at the Bee and Barb if you'd like to stay a few days before returning home to Riverwood."
Drak'qur bowed. "You are much too kind, my Jarl."
She waved her hand. "Nonsense. Any who help The Rift deserve our gratitude. Stay, drink and be merry. Drink in all that our city has to offer."
Drak'qur did accept the offer. Later that day, he went to the Bee and Barb Inn. As night fell on Riften, and as Drak'qur was speaking with the barmaiden, a young Wood Elf woman walked in. Her dusty blonde hair flowing over her shoulder. Drak'qur was speechless as her beauty took his breath away.
The barkeep chuckled. "She's a wild one, smithy."
"Who…? Who is she?" He asked, unable to take his eyes off her.
"Her name is Anduniel. A Wood Elf with so many dreams. But in Skyrim? How many of them will ever come true?" The Argonian barkeep said sadly.
Anduniel looked over to see Drak'qur looking back at her. She shyly looked away but smiled sweetly. She set her lute down and walked over to him. "You are the smithy visiting Riften, are you not?"
Drak'qur came back to his senses. "Er…yes. Yes I am. How may I be of service?"
Anduniel frowned. "My bow, it was ruined by a rampaging Horker I was trying to help." She held up the bow which was in two pieces.
Drak'qur looked it over. "I can tell this bow was made with great care. I promise you I will fix it and try to strengthen it a bit."
"I…I can't pay much for your services…" She looked away.
Drak'qur gave a warm smile. "For you, my lady, there will be no charge. I do this for free."
This caused Anduniel to smile. "Oh! Thank you!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him.
"It will be my great pleasure." For a few more hours, Drak'qur and Anduniel sat at a table and talked for a bit. He didn't pry into her life. It wasn't his to ask and he didn't want to force her to reveal anything she didn't feel comfortable talking about. So they focused on craft and song.
The next two days, Drak'qur and Anduniel ate meals together and walked around Riften. They stood out by the docks to the lake. When Anduniel looked up at him. "Your name, it's in the Dragon tongue, isn't it?"
Drak'qur quirked a brow. "You know, I never really gave it much thought. It's…just always been my name." He snickered.
Her laugh was melodic in nature. It was so beautiful. "Must you go back to Riverwood already?"
"I have a shop there. And I don't want Alvor getting all my business. He'll think he did a poor job apprenticing me." He smiled. "I would be honored if someday, you came by and I could show you my greatest achievement in armor.
"I would like that." She gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Thank you for a wonderful two days. I will never forget this."
The two walked out of the gates of Riften together. Drak'qur climbed on his cart and Anduniel waved as she headed into the forest. Anduniel only got about a mile into the forest when a cold wind picked up through the forest. She stopped and listened. Her eyes going wide. "Oh no…Drak'qur!" She turned and ran for the road. As she neared she heard fighting.
"You are under arrest, Nord!" The Imperials soldier's shouted.
Drak'qur was fighting their grip. "On what charges?!"
General Tulius walked up. "Supplying weapons to the traitors of the Empire. More specifically, the Stormcloaks." One of the Thalmore stood back a bit.
"Just because I refuse to sell to a bunch of murderers like the Thalmore, that makes me a traitor?! You have a twisted sense of justice, General!" Drak'qur snarled.
"Enough. Take him and put him with the other prisoners. We head for Helgen in two days." The Imperial soliders dragged Drak'qur off.
Anduniel put her hand to her mouth. She had to get to Riverwood and then to Helgen before the Imperials. With the grace of nature itself, Anduniel got to Riverwood in several hours. She had learned of which shop was Drak'qur's and broke into his shop. She felt a very dark chill coming from under a sheet in the back of the shop. She pulled the sheet back reveal Daedric armor and weaponry. This must have been his masterpiece he was talking about. The weapons and armor looked so ominous. She picked up the sword as it glowed purple within its ridges. The feeling of a thousand lost souls rippled through her body. What kind of magic was this? How had it not driving him mad while making this armor and weaponry? She stowed the sword under her cloak and ran from the shop, heading for Helgen.
Two days later, the Stormcloak prisoners arrived. Drak'qur among them. Everyone was offloaded from the carts and placed before the executioner. Drak'qur was standing next to Ulfric Stormcloak. Tulius stood before the both of them.
"Ulfric Stormcloak, they say that you're the next High King. But a King doesn't use a power like The Voice to kill his current king and usurp his throne." Tulius said sternly. Ulfric just grunted.
"You mean like the Thalmore are doing to the Empire now?" Drak'qur growled. Draq'kur was about to say something else when he heard something off in the distance. He looked up. It was…a roar? The wind?
"What was that?" Hadvar, one of the Imperial Soldiers asked.
"It was nothing." Tulius said. Tulius stood in front of Drak'qur, staring him down. In the crowd, Anduniel stood with her hood over her head, covering her face and the weapon she carried under the cloak. "Give them their last rites." Tulius ordered.
The priestess began to speak the last rites when one of the Stormcloaks stepped forward. "For the love of Talos, just shut up and get this over with!" The prisoner was forced down, his head on the block. "My ancestors are smiling down at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" With that, he was beheaded.
"YOU IMPERIAL BASTARDS!" A Nord woman yelled.
"JUSTICE!" A male shouted.
"DEATH TO THE STORMCLOAKS!" Another woman yelled.
"As fearless in death as he was in life." Ralof said solemnly.
"Next prisoner. The Nord." The Legate ordered.
Drak'qur looked up again, hearing the roar. It was even louder this time.
"There it is again. What is that?" Hadvar asked.
"I said, next prisoner." The Legate said angrily.
"To the block prisoner. Nice and slow." Hadvar ordered.
Drak'qur stepped forward. "And you wonder why people hate the Empire." He glared at Hadvar.
The Legate force Drak'qur down. Anduniel was about to do something as the Executioner raised his axe. But she gasped when she saw….
"WHAT IN OBLIVION IS THAT?!" General Tulius yelled in alarm.
"DRAGON!" A Nord woman screamed.
For a few long moments, Alduin, the Death Dragon, glared at Drak'qur. As if it knew something about him. The dragon opened his mouth and let out a massive 'shout'. The sky above turned inferno red as fiery rocks rained down. He 'shouted' again and the force of his shout decimated the home just behind Anduniel. Alduin lifted off and started his constant attacks. Anduniel, seeing the mass panic ran over to Drak'qur and used his sword to cut the binds. He stood seeing her…though through blurry vision due to the voice of Alduin. But it was enough.
"Come on!" She pulled him towards Ralof.
"The gods aren't going to give us another chance at escape! Come on!" Ralof yelled to the two.
All three ran into the tower. As his vision cleared, He watched as Anduniel pulled her hood back and handed him his sword. He smiled at her. "Was the bow really that good?"
She chuckled nervously. More because of the attack than his charm. "What can I say, a good smithy is hard to come by that knows wood."
"Jarl Ulfric, was that…a dragon?!" Ralof asked.
"Legends don't just burn down villages." Ulfric placed his hand on Drak'qur. "It's good to see you again, boy. When everything has settled down, come back to Windhelm and we'll talk." The area shook with the force from Alduin's flight and assault. "We need to get out of here, NOW!"
Ralof called to Drak'qur and Anduniel. "Come on! Let's get to the top of the tower!" But as they made their way up the stairs, Alduin broke his head through, incinerating a Stormcloak soldier. "GET BACK!" Ralof yelled. As Alduin took off, Ralof pointed to the inn on the other side. "Jump through to the other building, we'll catch up when we can!"
Both Drak'qur and Anduniel nodded. They leapt through and landed in the ruin of the inn. After following Hadvar for a bit, they got to Helgen Keep where they met up with Ralof again. All three of them fighting through the lower levels of the keep to freedom. Once back in Riverwood, Drak'qur and Anduniel went to his shop. Drak'qur walked over to a small ebony box and opened it.
Anduniel was curious. "What is that?"
Drak'qur sighed. "Something I was told only to open when things became…a complete mess. And after today, I don't think things are going to get better."
She tilted her head. "I don't understand."
He turned to face her. "I'm not exactly just a smithy, Anduniel. After what I tell you, if you want to leave, I won't stop you." He walked over to the armor he made. "My mother was a vampire. But my father loved her so much he helped to keep her hunger in check. And they were happy together. They were murdered by the Thalmore. At least, my father was. My mother…well…she doesn't die easily. I just don't know where she is. But I use this orb to contact her. Only when things go very wrong. Like now."
Anduniel walked over and placed her hand on his. "We started this little adventure together, let's see it through."
"I don't know where it will lead us." He looked in her eyes.
"That's the fun of adventure. The unknown." She smiled sweetly.
He touched the orb. The face of his mother appeared. "Drak'qur, my son. Has the time come?"
"I guess so. Everything has gone completely wrong." He said almost ashamed.
"I heard the Death Dragon's roar. But it is not the time to worry. It is time for you to take your place where you belong. Eventually with us. But for now, as you were meant to be. Put on the armor you made, and embrace your destiny." His mother nodded to the armor.
He did. The magic of the armor surrounded him and it filled him with a clarity he had not known since he was a child. "I accept my fate, my charge, and my place as The Warlord. But not just as a warrior, as a guardian over the souls of the damned. Keeping them from harming the innocents of the land of the living. A Warlord of the Soul Cairne." The armor glowed, sealing itself around him to protect him. He could remove it at any time he wished. But to prevent the souls from harming him, it sealed itself with Daedric magic.
Anduniel smiled. This kind of magic he spoke of was against the laws of nature. But at the same time, he was acting as a balance.
"Very good. Soon, we will see each other again. But for now, begin your journey. I love you, Drak'qur." His mother said as she faded.
"And I you, mother." The eyes of his helmet glowing. His voice changed under the helmet. It was darker sounding. But there was still kindness in it. He held his hand out to Anduniel. "Shall we?"
She smiled. "Yes, let us begin our adventure." The two left Riverwood and headed for Whiterun. The Jarl would have to know about this.
A/N: I want to thank the modders of Skyrim Nexus for the great mods (Lookin' at you Anduniel for the great companion mod) and for Bethesda for making such a great game.