13th of Rain's Hand, 4E 188

Valkyrie sat in silence, pouting next to the fireplace she had stoked hours earlier. She was dreading the imminent confrontation with her father that would undoubtedly start as soon as he had finished his shift in the mine. Having returned from a short walk down the road, or rather, being dragged back by her older brother Gronmir, the young girl's father, an old Nord named Skjalund had been waiting, so furious that Valkyrie was shocked there was no steam rushing from his ears. The old man screamed at the top of his lungs at his daughter,

"Gods damn it, girl! How many times have I told you not to wander away from town?"

The young Nord girl, barely into her ninth year, had only hung her head and mumbled in response.

"What was that?"

Finally, she spoke louder. "I said I didn't go far. Just to the end of the road."

"You were alone. Defenseless!" Skjalund bellowed. "If a wandering Forsworn had spotted you, you would be dead right now!"

"But they didn't."

"That doesn't matter, Valkyrie!" The old man was beginning to lose his temper. "I've told you time and time again not to go wandering alone, and you disobeyed me again. I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"Well," Valkyrie muttered, head still hung to avoid her father's gaze, teeth beginning to grit. "Maybe it wouldn't be such a problem if you would teach me how to fight."

"Not this again." Skjalund rested his face in his palm. "You are far too young for any of that. I don't want you getting hurt."

"You can't control everything, papa." The girl responded. "At least if you taught me I'd actually be prepared."

Her father shook his head. "At your age, Valkyrie, no amount of training would prepare you to face a lowly bandit, much less a Forsworn."

"But-"

"I said no!" The man raised his voice once more. "And that is final!"

Her father had ordered her back to their modest hut to do her chores, that he would deal with her when he was done working for the day. That had been several hours ago, the sun finally beginning to dip below the horizon outside, and Valkyrie was dreading the lecture that was surely to come. She understood why her father and brother were so overprotective of her, of course. The girl had been too young to remember, but her mother had been killed in a Forsworn raid when she was but an infant. But despite their objections, Valkyrie only wished they could see that she was miserable in the small mining town of Karthwasten. There were no children her age, and the adults mostly ignored her. The thought of spending her days in this town as a miner repulsed the girl to no end. She knew there was more out there than just a mine and its miserable workers. And she was determined to see it.

"Boo!"

The sudden sensation of a hand on Valkyrie's shoulder, and the booming voice in her ear made her jump from her seat next to the fire, letting out an audible shriek. She turned around, only to find Gronmir, her elder brother having a hearty laugh at her expense. Valkyrie crossed her arms and pouted.

"Very funny, Gron."

"I'm sorry," The older Nord said as his laughter began to settle. "You just make it too easy sometimes."

Gronmir was a Nord of his seventeenth year, finally old enough to work in the mines, his normally bright red hair had patches of black from the ash and soot that permeated throughout the mine. There was a short silence as Valkyrie turned her back away from Gronmir. If he was home, then surely their father would not be far behind. The older Nord wasted no time taking a seat next to Valkyrie at the fire, groaning as he sat down, no doubt relieved to be off of his feet after so many hours.

"Where's papa?" Valkyrie spoke after a short time.

"He'll be here soon. Went to go talk to Einethatch about something." Gronmir said, letting out a short yawn. He turned to the young girl, his expression suddenly taking on a more serious tone. "He was worried sick, you know."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "I don't see why. It wasn't a big deal."

"Not to you, maybe." The older Nord sighed. "Valkyrie, you don't realize how much he worries about you. About both of us."

"But why?" She spat back. "All my life he's never let me go anywhere or do anything. I don't want to grow up and be a miner, Gron!"

Gronmir shook his head. "So then, what do you want to do?"

Valkyrie was silent for a moment. Until now, no one had ever even bothered to ask her what she would rather do than spend the rest of her days in the miserable town. She was surprised, but quickly composed herself. "Honestly, I don't know. But I do know that there's more out there than just Karthwasten." She turned away from her brother, staring intently into the fire, allowing visions of what the future may hold to envelop her mind. "I want to see what the world truly has to offer. I've never even been to Markarth, and it's maybe a day away from here if you go by horse."

Gronmir smirked. "Wanderlust, eh?" He shook his head. "You sound a lot like mother."

Valkyrie was silent for a bit. Her mother. "I wouldn't know." She said, still gazing into the fire.

The older Nord let out a quiet chuckle. "You remind us a lot of her, you know. Me and father."

"Really?" At last the girl turned back to face her brother, being met with a simple nod in response.

"Oh, yeah." Gronmir smiled. "She had the same desire to see all of Tamriel that you do. That's actually how she and father met in the first place."

"Tell me more." Valkyrie turned her whole body away from the fire, giving her brother her undivided attention. "I've never heard this story."

"I thought you'd be interested." The older Nord smiled. "So first off, mother wasn't even born in Skyrim."

"Really?"

"Yup. She grew up in Cyrodiil, in a small town called Kvatch."

Valkyrie's brow furrowed. She could have sworn she had heard the name of that town before. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Anyone ever told you about the Oblivion Crisis?" Gronmir raised an eyebrow, and his sister nodded in response. "That's where it all started. Mother spent her whole childhood with a dormant Oblivion gate a stone's throw away from her house."

"Wow." Less than a minute into the story, and Valkyrie was completely mesmerized. She nodded, giving Gronmir the go ahead to continue, which he gladly obliged.

"Now, from what I hear, Kvatch is home to Cyrodiil's Chapel of Akatosh. And mother's parents were very religious."

"Uh huh."

"They wanted her to grow up and become a priestess at the chapel, but obviously she had other plans." Gronmir laughed and shook his head. "As soon as mother came of age, she was gone. Off to live the life of a wanderer."

"That does sound like me." Valkyrie smiled. She was enjoying these tales of her mother. Gronmir and Skjalund often avoided talking about her, so it was nice to finally hear about the woman for a change.

"It didn't work out like she planned, though." The older Nord raised an eyebrow. "About six months after leaving Kvatch, mother was flat broke and homeless."

The younger Nord crossed her arms, her expression souring. "Way to ruin the mood, Gron."

He chuckled. "I'm not done yet. You see," he leaned forward and continued. "She had been wandering Skyrim's southern border for a few days, almost considering going back to Kvatch with her tail between her legs, when she happened to stumble upon Karthwasten."

Valkyrie was silent, still attempting to pout.

"The rest is history. She somehow convinced Einethatch to give her a job. She met father her first day in the mines, and they were married within a year." Gronmir nodded his head. "Not long after that, they had me."

There was a lengthy silence as the young girl thought about the story she had just been told. Clearly, there were many parallels between her and her mother that she had never realized, but they were enough to evoke feelings of grief and sadness in her father and brother.

"Look, Valkyrie," Gronmir's expression was once again serious and somber. "I know you hate it here. And I'm sure eventually you'll be able to convince father to let you leave." He took a deep breath. "But you have to realize, he loved our mother so much. When she died, it destroyed him." He hung his head. "And now here you are, you look just like her, have the same idealistic dreams." Gronmir took a deep breath, as though her were trying to hold back tears. "If anything were to happen to one of us, father would absolutely fall apart. We are all he has left, Valkyrie. He just wants to keep us safe. You understand?"

For once, what her brother was saying made sense. "Yeah." Valkyrie nodded her head. She finally understood why Gronmir and Skjalund were so overbearing. They had already experienced loss once, and couldn't bear to do so again.

"Listen," the older Nord spoke again, reaching into the pocket on his trousers. "I was going to wait until you came of age, but now seems as good a time as any." He held out his hand, revealing to Valkyrie a small silver locket, which the young girl eagerly accepted. It was fairly plain, no master craftsmanship to be observed, instead the true beauty was what lay inside. Valkyrie opened the locket, revealing a small, yet masterfully painted image of someone who could only be her father, his hair and beard a gleaming blonde, rather than the gray it was now. In front of him, barely up to his hips was a mischievous looking redheaded boy, the one and only Gronmir, looking to be about Valkyrie's age. And standing next to Skjalund, was a nameless, beautiful woman with long dark hair. Her mother. She looked to the other side of the locket's inside, where only two words were written.

For Ellana

"I..." Valkyrie stumbled with her words. "Thank you, Gron."

The touching moment was cut short by the door of the family's hut being kicked in by none other than Skjalund, who looked to be terrified beyond comprehension. "Gronmir!" The man yelled. "Help me block the door!" The younger Nord complied immediately, the both of them grabbing the large wooden table from the center of the room and pressing it against the door. Valkyrie stood up, greatly concerned and scared of whatever was happening.

"What is it, father?" Gronmir asked as the two barricaded their entrance. "Is it the Forsworn?"

"No boy, it's worse." Skjalund answered, giving one final shove. "Much worse." There was a short, almost deafening silence before the old man uttered one final word.

"Vampires."

No sooner had he spoken the word, was the door struck with a massive thud, knocking both Nords away from the barricaded door. "Both of you, into the cellar!" He yelled, getting back up and pressing the table back to the door.

"But what about you?" Gronmir protested.

"Don't argue! Go now!" Skjalund screamed at his son, who immediately grabbed Valkyrie by the arm and dragged her to the edge of the room, where the entrance to their underground cellar lay. Valkyrie was quite literally paralyzed with fear, unable to speak, unable to think, unable to move without force from her brother. The redheaded Nord hastily unlocked the hatched and forced his sister down the ladder, into the near absolute darkness of the cellar as whatever lay outside continued to pound at the door.

Gronmir locked the hatch, before quickly lighting a nearby lantern to give off some semblance of the light in the dark, open space. Valkyrie, overwhelmed by sheer terror, began to sob quietly, unable to comprehend what was happening. Her brother quickly knelled down to her, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Hey, hey now," he spoke in a soft tone. "It's gonna be okay, Valkyrie. I promise."

These proved to be poorly chosen words, because at that moment, the hatch in the floor was busted open, shining down a ray of light from the inside of the hut. Gronmir quickly backed himself and Valkyrie away from the entrance to the cellar, up against the wall, grabbing a rusty war axe from a nearby shelf, ready to defend himself and his sister with his life. After a few moments of complete silence, a menacing figure dropped through the hole in the floor, landing firmly on its feet, its back to the siblings. The figure turned around to face them, still embroiled in shadow, almost unnaturally. In the light of the upstairs, there was only a murderous black shape, all except for the eyes. The creature's eyes glowed like the sun, made Valkyrie's blood run cold. The monster held a hand up, a small fire forming in its hands to light its face. A dark elf vampire, its features twisted and malformed, stared at the two Nords with a devilish grin.

"Ah," the vampire spoke softly. "Fresh meat."

Gronmir charged towards the nightwalker. "Die, monster!"

The undead Dunmer was far too quick for the boy, sidestepping him with the greatest of ease as the Nord fell on his face, only to picked back up by his hair. The vampire shook his head, holding Gronmir's limp body with one hand. "Please, boy. Your kind should know better by now." And with that, the monster promptly snapped the boy's neck, and he fell, dead before he hit the floor.

Valkyrie screamed. The horror was simply overwhelming and the young Nord could not hold in her terror anymore.

The vampire turned his head to her, glaring a hole into the girl. "Silence, worm!" He shouted, the malice in his voice forcing a dead silence to come from Valkyrie. Suddenly, a shadow appeared at the top of the hatch door. For just a brief moment, the young girl had hope. It was her father. It had to be. Papa was going to come and save her from the monster.

Instead, Valkyrie saw something that would haunt her for years to come. Another vampire, equally as menacing and dressed like a noble, descending into the cellar with her father's decapitated head in hand. He paid Valkyrie no attention, quickly turning to the Dunmer vampire. "What in the world was that racket?" The beast spoke so casually, as this were just another day for him.

The other nightwalker sighed. "Nothing of interest I'm afraid, my lord." He looked back at Gronmir's dead body and chuckled. "Just a mortal with more balls than brains."

The lord vampire growled, causing his apparent subordinate to flinch. "Rumaris' information was wrong." The monster spoke with venom. "Again. He will be punished for this." He shook his head, turning towards Valkyrie and sending a shiver down her spine. "We are returning to the castle, Morevar. Kill the girl and be done with it."

"My lord," the vampire named Morevar looked at Valkyrie and began to lick his lips. "If I may, perhaps I could... stay for just a bit longer? It's been ages since I was able to..." He let out a quiet, malicious laugh. "...Indulge myself."

The other beast looked back at Valkyrie and groaned. "I will never understand your fascination with young girls, Morevar." He shook his head. "Very well. But you will return to the castle soon, else you will face consequences."

The Dunmer's smile grew wider. "Of course, my lord. Safe hunting to you."

"You as well."

And with that, the lord vampire rushed up the ladder, closing the hatch behind him, leaving Valkyrie in complete darkness with this monster that had murdered her brother moments ago. Her heart was beating violently, beads of sweat on her forehead and tears in her eyes. She didn't want to die. Dear Gods, she didn't want to die.

"Now then," Valkyrie heard Morevar speak. "There's got to be some sort of light around here. Ah, there we are." A lantern was turned on, bringing a dim light to the room, as the young Nord remained frozen in the presence of this murderous beast. The vampire smiled wide, bearing his fangs as he slowly began to step towards his prey. "Oh, my dear girl." He growled. "You and I are going to have a great deal of fun together." Valkyrie attempted to scoot away from her attacker, but her back was already against the wall. Morevar took notice of this, moving faster than the girl thought possible. He went from standing across the room to towering right over the young Nord in the blink of an eye, and wasted no time grabbing her by the throat, and lifting her to his face.

"What's the matter?" The monster snarled. "You think vampires are scary? Is that it?" His voice sounded more and more inhuman with every word, and Valkyrie had not the strength to respond. "Don't worry, girl. I'll show you just how fucking scary I am." With the greatest of ease, the vampire tossed Valkyrie to the other end of the room, where she landed hard on the stone floor, driving the air from her lungs, as the nightwalker continued to stalk her.

"Pathetic." He said. "I would have hoped you'd put up some sort of fight." He knelled down, and wrapped his hands firmly around Valkyrie's throat, cutting off the flow of air. "No matter," the monster continued with a sadistic smile. "I'm going to enjoy breaking you nonetheless." And so the vampire squeezed harder, the edges of Valkyrie's vision beginning to go dark. This was it. She would be with her father and brother soon. Then suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted none other than Gronmir's rusty old axe. Without thinking, she grabbed the weapon, and swung as hard as she could, planting the iron firmly in the vampire's shoulder.

Morevar squealed in pain, releasing his grip on Valkyrie and rolling over to his back. "You little cunt! You will pay for-"

Valkyrie did not allow him to finish, she ripped the axe from the monster's shoulder, and brought the weapon down again with as much strength as she could muster, this time right in the middle of the vampire's face. She did it again. And again. And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

The vampire named Morevar had likely been dead after the second blow. But Valkyrie didn't care. All the terror, all the fear, all the indescribable emotions she was feeling had been let out through the axe. Every ounce of horror in the girl's system had been turned into vengeance against the bastard who had killed her only brother. With the paralyzing fear gone, the only emotion left was now grief. Valkyrie dropped the axe to the ground, laying down on her side and curling up into a ball.

And she began to cry.

A/N: Salutations, good people of F net! For those of you who are just viewing my work for the first time, allow me to welcome you, and to offer my genuine thanks for checking this story out. For those of you who may have been readers of my old fics, I welcome you back as I once again attempt to finish the saga of my OC Dragonborn, the one and only Valkyrie!

So, way back in 2013, I joined F net, and wrote a story called The Night Slayer. It was complete garbage, but it got a fair bit of attention. I finished that book, and worked on a sequel, Blood, which unfortunately I never completed, because adult life and shit. I've tried a few times to resurrect this series from the ashes, but for a long time, I just couldn't find the right words to put on the screen. But alas, here I am again, attempting to finish the story once and for all.

So here's how this thing will work. This will no longer be a series, but one epic book, detailing essentially the entire life of my Dragonborn Valkyrie (although she won't actually discover she's Dragonborn until much later in the story). The majority of the story will be a re-telling of the Dawnguard DLC, main questline, and Dragonborn DLC, in that order. Dawnguard will remain mostly the same, but the main story and Dragonborn will be undergoing a LOT of changes to the plot. Some heavy inspiration was taken from Zaric Zhakaron's "What If Skyrim Was Good" series, as well as several of my own ideas.

After the events of the Dragonborn DLC, there will be quite a bit of aftermath dealing with the consequences of said questline. And even once all the questlines are covered, I still have more planned, stuff that I don't want to give too much info out on just yet.

Basically, I wanted to write a much tighter, consistent, and lore friendly story, while also refrain from turning the Dragonborn into a hilariously overpowered murder machine. Whether or not I succeeded remains to be seen.

So I hope all of you who took the time to read my writings enjoyed them immensely! And if you did, would it kill ya to leave a review?