An approaching death rose over the skies of Solitude. The glossy wings of twin dragons cast a black shadow over Solitude's residents. The scorching heat of their flames burned all the buildings to a crisp, and reduced the guards to a pile of ashes. Their ferocious bites cracked the bones of even the strongest Nord defenders, and slaughtered their wives. I stood there motionless as all those around me were slaughtered; even the children were not spared. However, I noticed these dragons were not working alone. On their backs were two figures, both dressed in a shiny steel armor, and carrying glass swords in one hand and a rope tied to the neck of the dragon in the other. But even more shockingly, these figures were not men or mer, their top half was much like a man but possessed a serpentine head, but their lower half was of a snake! These figures were controlling the dragons! I ran through the Solitude streets in fear as the world around me was crumbling. But before I could run outside the city, the snake man stopped me in my tracks with a restriction spell. I struggled to break out of my invisible bonds as the snake man slowly walked to me. He drew his glass sword and pointed it to my neck, a vision that I would retain for the rest of my life. He chuckled and said, "I will spare you little one, but only if you tell all of Tamriel that the legions of Akavir have descended upon your land." I nodded in fear of death, and the snake man released his magic and allowed me to run outside the city. After I had escaped the burning flames of Solitude, I looked back on the city and knew that my life would never be the same.
"No!" I shouted as I awoke. Looking around, I noticed I wasn't in Solitude anymore, thank god. It had been close to twenty years since the Akaviri invasion, and at their attack on Solitude. I was only five or six years old, but that event had scarred me for the rest of my life. I shook my head and stepped out of the rough tent that I had slept in, and took in a deep breath of The Reach air. As I viewed the stars above the rolling hills of The Reach, my employer, a Khajit trader named Ma'Dran stepped out of his tent and approached me angrily.
"What the hell are you doing Skulzak?" he whispered forcefully. "You could attract Forsworn, or even worse, an Akaviri raid!"
"I know, but it all comes down to whether you want an Orcish Warhammer down your throat or not Ma'Dran," I said threateningly.
Ma'Dran took a step backward, clearly frightened by my aggressive attitude. "I'll talk to you in the morning Skulzak okay? Don't be angry alright!" he stuttered, and returned to his tent.
I pulled a small wooden chair from near the caravan, which hardly supported my massive frame. I reposed on the chair and took out a small pipe and a satchel from my bag, and poured small bits of skooma powder into the pipe. I struck the match and let the flame catch onto the pipe, witnessing the beautiful contrast of light and dark, and the smoke that seemed to rise into the heavens. I was an Orc mercenary, the one apparent thing that everyone knew when they looked at me. Not my love for literature, history, or the arts, but the fact that I could crack a bandit's skull to pieces before he was even able to render what was happening to him. It was true, but the only reason I became a mercenary was to support myself, not for the enjoyment. An Orc couldn't waste his natural talents. Yet, I could hardly stand the constant bickering of employers, especially Khajit merchants, or the lengthy travels. Unlike most Orcs, I just wanted to sit down and write about the history of Nirn, a book that I had already started on my travels. As the skooma ran out, I tapped the remaining powder out and walked to the caravan, where I took some more from the cargo. The only advantage to working for the Khajit was their seemingly unlimited supply of skooma.
Reaching inside my small bag, I pulled out my copy of The History of Nirn v.1, a book that I had been writing for nearly a year. I gently opened the paperbound book and browsed what I had written the latest. It was titled, "The History of Akavir", something the residents of Tamriel had learned far too much about in the past two decades of war. Still, Akavir was a part of Nirn, something I had to include in my book. I grabbed an ink pot and gently dipped my quill inside it, and swirled it around so just the correct amount would remain on the tip of quill. I glanced down at my work and began to write.
Akavir, the continent far east of Tamriel, had been elusive to the citizens of the nine provinces for millennia. That is until the Akaviri invasion of Tamriel in 4E 205, which revealed details previously unknown. It is encompassed of four provinces that are all under one flag, the Akaviri Legion. It is a diverse place, much like Tamriel, consisting of deserts, jungles, tundra, and plains. There are six primary races that inhabit it, the Tsaesci, Kamal, Tang Mo, Ka'Po'Tun, Men of Akavir, and Dragons. The Tsaesci are a snake like people that excel in magic, combat and most notably, diplomacy. The Kamal are brutish snow demons that stand over three meters tall, and are covered in a thick white fur. They excel in combat, making up the bulk of heavy forces in the Legion army. The Tang Mo are a race that most resembles monkeys, but are far larger and civilized. They excel as scouts, and light footed infantry, but don't make good diplomats or leaders. The Ka'Po'Tun are the most fierce of the Akaviri races, and most resemble Khajit that are striped like tigers, but are far larger and stronger. They excel in all forms of combat, and make excellent military leaders. The Men of Akavir are the most oppressed of all the races, and the most numerous. They make up the large slave population in Akavir, but are also present in large numbers in the army. Possessing wide eyes, sharp cheekbones, and smaller frames than the men of Tamriel, they have had a large cultural influence on the Empire since the First Era. Dragons, the last race, are enslaved and used as mounts by Akaviri soldiers. How the Akaviri managed to enslave the dragons is still unknown.
"That's enough for tonight," I said to myself, and closed the book. Placing it back in the satchel, I heard a loud noise coming from the hills in the distance. The vociferous screams rang only one enemy in my mind-The Forsworn.