He slowly opened his eyes, first registering the fact he was in a carriage, bound by chain with three other men. He took in the scenery, as he scoffed. Caught in his own homeland. The green trees and the land covered in snow, he knew he was in Skyrim. His slight scoff alerted the blonde soldier in front of him. "Hey, you. You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into the Imperial ambush, same as us. And that thief over there!" He looked over to the right, seeing a man in rags. "Damn you, Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I would've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell. You there!," he looks at the quiet man, "We shouldn't be here! It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."
Both men were quiet. The man to his right was bound by shackles and gagged with cloth. His attire was suited for a king, not a prisoner. Eventually the man in rags asked, "What's wrong with him, huh?" They both stared at each other until the soldier replied, "Ulfric?"
"The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the Rebellion. If they've captured you..Oh gods..Where are they taking us?"
"I don't know where, but Sovngarde awaits us."
"No..this can't be happening. This isn't happening!"
"Aye. What village are you from, horse thief?"
"Why do you care?"
"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home."
"Rorikstead..I'm..I'm from Rorikstead."
Their conversation came with an abrupt stop when a man yelled, "The headsman is waiting!" The man leading the carriage replied with agitation, "Good. Let's get this over with."
The man in rags chants, "Shor. Mara. Dibella. Kynareth. Akatosh. Divines, help me!"
The blonde soldier spits with detest, "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." The silent man listens as the man recalls his memories of Helgen.
"Why are we stopping?" asked the man in rags.
The Imperial soldier drags out the man in rags as he thrashes in the hold.
"Come out when we call your name!" One by one, people make a line, waiting at Death's door.
"Lokir of Rorikstead!" an Imperial soldier reads off the list.
"No! I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" The man in rags sprinted off, attempting to run away. His attempt was in vain as an archer shot him down with only one arrow.
"Wait.. You there. Step forward," The man with list orders. With no complaints, the silent man steps up. "Who..are you?" he questions.
"Icarus of Whiterun," the brown haired, blue eyed Nord states.
"Oh..At least you will be in your homeland. Welcome home to Skyrim," The Imperial soldier consoles as Icarus follows the Captain. General Tullius walks up to Jarl Ulfric. "Ulfric Stormcloak, some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder the High King. You started this war, put Skyrim into chaos. Now the Empire is going to put you down!" A horrible sound stops Tullius. Some question what it is, yet the Priestess continues. As she chants, a Stormcloak soldier abruptly stops her and places his head onto the block, sealing his fate. The headsman raises his massive axe and in one, clean motion, the head of the soldier rolls into the box. "The next prisoner!," the Captain calls. Icarus's feet start moving forwards, his neck placed into the curve of the block. Icarus looks at the sky one last time, a bright sky blue. He hears the horrible sound once again, but closer. The headsman stalls, searching for the source of the sound.
"What was that?" "Did you hear that?" "There it is, again!"
Icarus waits as he stares at the tower until he notices something massive flying in the air. Slowly descending, his mind could not process the shock. The dragon lands on top of the tower, mouth open, ready for the kill. The horrible screech comes again as the dragon sets aflame everything in sight. Icarus, dazed, follows the Stormcloaks into shelter of a guard tower. Not paying attention to the others, he hurries up the stairs until he was knocked off his feet by the dragon jutting his head into the tower and breathing fire. The stairs were now inaccessible and his only option was to jump out of the hole. He jumps and lands into a destroyed house, hurting himself in the process. He comes out to see Helgen in havoc. The dragon was destroying and setting aflame everything in its sight. "You! Come with me if you want to live!" Icarus recognizes the voice of the man who read the names. He follows the man as they successfully dodged the dragon's feet and fire. "Icarus, come with me!" the blonde soldier, Ralof, yells. "No, Icarus! Follow me!" The Imperial soldier, Hadvar, yells. With no time, he follows Ralof into the nearest building, the Helgen Keep.
Ralof walks up to a dead Stormcloak soldier, closing his eyes, "We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brother." He turns to Icarus and pants, "Looks like we're the only ones who made it. That thing was a dragon, no doubt. Just like the children's stories and the legends. The harbingers of the End Times. We better get moving. Let me get those bindings off of you." He slices them off, Icarus's hands now free.
Icarus bends down to the dead soldier, Ralof telling him to take his gear. Suited up with decent armor and a weapon, he swings around his sword, testing his arm. They hear muffled voices. "It's the Imperials! Take cover!" Ralof commands.
They hide until Icarus sees the first Imperial and attacks. Sword met sword as clashing and grunting filled the empty Keep. Hadvar slashes Icarus's arm, the Stormcloak uniform now red with his blood. Icarus gives one final blow to Hadvar. In front of him laid two dead Imperials. Ralof searched their bodies for a key. He rises again and jogs towards the barred door. The slight turn of the key sprung the door wide open. They ran downwards as Ralof, in a shocked state, informs, "Troll's blood. It's a torture room!" He rushes in, seeing a fellow Stormcloak in fight with two Imperials. They take them down easily, ushering in Icarus. They talk of Ulfric as Icarus slowly makes his way towards a satchel. He collects the lockpicks and the gold. Looking upon the cages, he spots a deceased mage. Around his body is scattered gold and a spell book. Icarus slowly turns the lock, until he hears the lock breaking. He curses under his breath as he pulls another one out, oblivious to the fact that Ralof and the other soldier left him behind. This time, he unlocks the cage door and collects his prize hurriedly. He catches up with the soldiers who were taking their sweet time. They walked with a weight on their shoulders, wondering where their leader was. Across the hall they see Imperials. Ralof charges, but ceased when the ceiling collapsed and both were blocked access to the other.