Skyrim: The Story of Two
Chapter 1: Beginnings are Feral
Prologue
"It started in a time when all hope seemed to be lost. The Imperial Legion was on the warpath, taking over every kingdom and leaving no opposition behind to regroup. The Stormcloaks were, however, destroyed. A traitor had slipped into the Stormcloaks' main compound and gave the whereabouts of the leader, Ulfric Stormcloak. A great battle ensued, with the Stormcloak Rebellion being the ones on the receiving end of the destruction. After the battle, it seemed that no Stormcloak rebel was left alive, so a new king was placed in what was once Ulfric Stormcloak's throne. A terrible man by the name of Cai Serda, who was from High Rock. Then, once all land that was controlled by the Stormcloaks was taken away and placed under Imperial rule, the infamous General Tullius made a proclamation. "To any who dare defy the might of the Imperial Legion, to any who would dare worship a false idol, let it be known that we will destry you. Thus, by order of the nine Jarls of Tamriel, all leftover rebels, including any Stormcloaks, will be hunted down and executed for all to see. And if there are any who are harboring said rebels, you will also be made example of." This seemed to seal the fate of Tamriel in stone. So we, the few who dare stand up to these tyrants, ask of you, great Talos: please, send heroes to help us save Tamriel."
"Praise Talos." said Doombringer, who was solemnly thinking of home. His family, his wife, son and daughter were probably worrying about him. He stood up and took his stolen Imperial helmet off of his head. Doombringer was a mutt, a mix between a Nord and a Redguard. He was six feet tall, with dark skin, brown eyes, brown hair tied in braids and made into a mohawk. He wore the Imperial armor with pride, but flew the flag of the now-fallen Stormcloak Rebellion. In terms of weapons, Doombringer was known as "The Armory of Talos" by his allies and "The Wolf of Twin Swords" by his enemies. Doombringer put on his helmet, then walked out of the makeshift shrine of Talos that Ulfric had built in times of great distress. Doombringer looked around and saw Soul, a Khaijiit mage with a hot streak for mischief. Soul had fur like a sabretooth cat, but also had piercing green eyes, a black cloak with the hood over his head, black boots, and a dagger on his belt. He was sitting on a rock, pondering what was going on with Tamriel now that the Imperials have taken over.
"What are we going to do? Our homes are in ruins, our friends and families want to kill us, and we're dangerously low on supplies." Soul said, hopeless.
Doombringer stayed silent. He didn't know what they were going to do to stop this brutal occupation. Only Ulfric Stormcloak knew how to handle it, and they didn't even know where he was being held.
Sooner or later, Doombringer, you're going to have to take the reins of the horse. Ulfric had told Doombringer that when Doombringer had said that he wasn't much of a leader. Ulfric, of course, saw things a little differently than Doombringer did. Suddenly, Soul woke him from his daydream.
"Doom, someone's coming. Hide quickly!" Soul warned, then hid in a load of tall grass. Doombringer hid himself in a lone pile of wheat that someone had left. After what seemed like two minutes, the sound of hooves hitting the cobbled road was heard. After that, a man spoke.
"I thought I 'erd someone talkin', Lord Furth." The first man said. It seemed like he had a thick accent, like he was from a village near Riften Hold.
"Well Droshan, whoever was here must have left in a hurry. Search the area." Furth? Doombringer thought. I think I've heard of him. Of course! He used to be a soldier in the Stormcloak Rebellion. But why is he working with the Imperials now?
The man known as Droshan got off of his horse and started searching the area. Doombringer watched him silently. He was holding a rusty dagger, and his stance revealed that he was nervous. Very nervous. After a minute of watching him, he started to come to Doombringer's position. Doombringer drew one of his Ancient Nord Blades out, one that had a reddish aura around it. This was the sword known as Chaos. He only drew it when he was going for an execution technique. So when the nervous wreck known as Droshan came within three feet of Dombringer's blade Chaos, the latter grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him into the mound of wheat, and subsequently ran him through with Chaos. By the time Furth realized that Droshan had disappeared, Droshan was already dead. Furth drew his sword, which was a golden-hilted Imperial blade, jumped off of his horse, and just as he made it halfway to Doombringer's position, Doombringer jumped out and scared Furth halfway to death. Then a furry hand grabbed Furth's armor and prevented him from running for help.
"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Furth said, cowering.
Doombringer took off his helmet and glared at Furth for a moment, then said, "Do you remember me, Furth?"
Furth looked wary for a minute, unsure of who this Redguard scum thought he was addressing, but then he realized who these two were.
"Doombringer...Soul...no. No, it can't be. We killed you both-" Furth said, suddenly very afraid.
"No, what you killed were two of your own soldiers, that were mistaken to be us." Doombringer said, with his signature harshly gruff voice.
"If you kill me, the entire Imperial Legion will come down upon you. Don't you dare kill me!" Furth yelled.
Doombringer simply punched him in the face, causing a tooth to come out.
"You...you hit me...why? What did I ever do to you?" Furth asked, panicking.
"Shut up, you sniveling pack of horse crap. Now, I'm going to ask some questions, and you will give me answers. Sound easy enough, coward?" Doombringer sounded very pissed. Doom, lighten up. Please? Soul thought while holding Furth by the collar of his armor.
"First question: Who was the person who ratted the Stormcloaks out to the Imperials?"
"Um...um..."
"Answer the question, or Soul is going to cook you alive." Soul then creates fire from his free hand and brings it close enough to Furth that he can feel the heat.
"Okay, okay, it was a man named Rovir Blackmoon. He infiltrated the Stormcloaks' main encampment to find the leaders of it and have them executed."
"Good. Now you're starting to cooperate. Next question, where is Ulfric Stormcloak being held?"
"Markarth! He's being held in Markarth!"
"Very good, Furth. Next, why are you working with the Imperials?"
"Because...I...I hated Ulfric for accepting you into the Stormcloaks. He was a foolish man for bringing a half-breed into the Rebellion, and I silently hoped and prayed that you would die in battle one day, and that he would be executed for his treason."
"Great job. You're doing well, for a traitor. Final question, then we'll let you go free. What is Ulfric's sentence?"
"...death..." Furth whispered.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you quite well. My ears must need to be cleansed. Could you speak a little louder?" Doombringer said, curious.
"Death! His sentence is death!" Furth yelled, wanting to be free.
Now let me go, you fools. I'll make sure you don't live to see the next day. Furth thought. Doombringer simply opened his hand, and a purple glow covered the palm.
"Wha...what are you doing? I thought you were going to let me go." Furth cried, snot coming out of his nose. Doombringer blasted him with a soul trap spell, took out his warhammer, and simply said, "I lied." Then, just as Soul let Furth go, Doombringer swung his mighty hammer down and crushed Furth's head like a melon.
"Burn for eternity, coward." Doombringer said bitterly.
Soul simply looked shocked at how ruthless Doombringer was in killing a lieutenant in the Imperial Legion. In fact, it reminded Soul of the first meeting between Doombringer and himself. Soul had first met Doombringer in a tavern in Whiterun. Soul was sitting on a bench, eating a turkey leg, when a fight broke out in the middle of the night outside of the tavern. Soul looked outside and saw a drunkard fighting with what looked like a Redguard in Imperial armor. The drunkard threw a punch, but the Redguard simply knocked the punch away and then delivered his own, immediately breaking the jaw of the drunkard and knocking him out. The Redguard then cracked his knuckles and went inside the tavern. At this point, Soul was stunned at how powerful the Redguard was, so he followed him inside and saw him sitting at a table, drinking something. Soul sat down at the table the Redguard was at, only right across from him.
"What do you want, Cat?" The Redguard said, with a gruff voice that only a General in the Imperial Legion would have.
"Are you an Imperial?" Soul asked, cautious to not get beaten up like the drunkard did.
"No. I'm a Stormcloak. I just wear this armor because it's more comfortable for my body." He answered.
Soul was unprepared for that answer. He thought that the Redguard was part of the Imperial Legion, but right in front of him was a member of the infamous Stormcloak Rebellion, who sees Talos as a deity. Soul wondered what else he could ask, so he asked this:
"What's your name?"
At this point, the Redguard looked suspiciously at Soul, and he wondered if the cat he was sitting across from was working for the Imperial Legion.
"Why do you ask? Do you work for the Imperial scum?" The Redguard said harshly.
"No, I'm just a wanderer. I don't side with anyone." Soul replied.
"Got any proof?"
Soul took out a report relating to top Stormcloak officers in Solitude. The Redguard read the first three pages of the report, then looked at Soul with a shocked look. He saw that the first three people on the report were none other than Ulfric Stormcloak, some person he never knew personally, and himself. He handed the pages back to Soul, then said:
"Come outside with me."
The duo stepped outside and then the Redguard stated his name.
"My name's D'tyola Mnun. But I call myself Doombringer on account that my name literally means "Bringer of Doom".
"Wait, the Doombringer? The very same Doombringer who's dubbed "The Armory of Talos" by his allies and "The Wolf of Twin Swords" by his enemies simply because of his prowess with all types of weaponry? That Doombringer?" Soul said, scared because the one person who could execute an Imperial with one hit was standing right in front of him.
"Great, another fan." Doombringer said, rolling his eyes.
"But wait, you're a Redguard. The Doombringer I've heard of is half Nord." Soul said, wary of the person he was talking to.
"I am half Nord. My father is...was a Nord until he was killed in action fighting against Imperial forces in High Rock while protecting my mother." Doombringer said, feeling miserable.
"I'm...so sorry." Soul said.
"Don't be." Doombringer replied.
Suddenly Soul was woken up from his daydream by Doombringer.
"Soul, we need to go. Chances are that because Furth didn't report back, they're going to be looking for him. Let's move." He sounded panicked. So Soul and Doombringer left for Markarth, hoping to find a way to save their friend Ulfric Stormcloak.