I could hear the hooves of a horse walking slowly on the cobblestone, a distinct sound I remember from home, along with the horse's loud breath and the ruckus of a cart being pulled along. As I opened my eyes I could see the faint silhouettes of people, one driving the cart the rest of us were seated in.
My head was aching and I couldn't remember anything; I didn't know where I was, or what I was doing here. As my vision became clearer I could see a man sitting across from me with his hands bound. I glanced to the side to see the dark horse pulling us down a path. I couldn't see what lay at the bottom of this hill because there was a thick fog lying across the ground.
I could feel the cold nibbling at my arms and as I looked down and saw my own hands bound, I saw dirty rags that didn't fit me properly on my body and I felt a sudden violation. My body ached and I could see purple and blue marks along my arms as if I had been dropped from the Jerall Mountains.
I looked behind us and I saw a faint shadow of what seemed to be a guard on a horse. I could hear more than just the two horses I was aware of, so I assumed we weren't the only carriage.
'Hey, you, you're finally awake,' said the man sitting across from me. He was a Nord, I knew this from his build and his thick accent. I swallowed hard and looked at him and he inquired if I had tried to cross the border and walked into an ambush, like they had. I had no clue so I nodded slightly, assuming that is what had happened to me. He then addressed the man sitting next to him, calling him a thief.
'Damn you Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine, until you came along!' he spat at the Nord. I stayed quiet, too afraid to speak to these strangers. I looked to my right and saw a man much better dressed than myself and the other two, although the Nord was wearing chainmail armor with a blue cloak over it and it appeared to look like a uniform of a city guard. I paid no attention to the ramblings of the thief as he cursed the Stormcloaks for being the reason he was caught.
The man sat forward with his elbows resting on his knees, his hands bound too. His face was slightly hidden behind the fur of his clothing; all I could see was his eyes. His dirty blonde hair fell over his eyes and he caught me staring at him, so I looked away quickly but something caught my eye again, he moved back a fraction and I saw he had a gag around his mouth. I stared for a moment before someone addressed me.
'S-sorry?' I said nervously.
'We shouldn't be here!' the thief stated. I looked down at my feet nervously and stared at the foot wrappings. He rambled about the Stormcloaks being the ones the Empire wants. I was too afraid to agree or disagree; I knew nothing of the Stormcloaks or who they were.
The Nord told him we are all brothers and sisters here and I looked at the three sitting around me. None of them were elves, never mind a Breton.
'Shut up back there!' shouted a croaky voice. I looked to the driver, startled. We hit a small bump in the road and I could feel my body ache. I didn't want to listen to the others talking anymore, and I didn't want to be involved in their conversation, for fear the driver would shout again and perhaps do worse, but they continued to talk and I heard someone raise their voice.
'Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak! The true High King!' said the Nord. The thief identified him as the leader of the rebellion. I sat quietly, confused as to what was going on. I knew nothing of a rebellion or of anyone by the name of Stormcloak, so I suspected that I was no longer in Cyrodiil. I had only ever been to Skyrim when I was moving to Cyrodiil, and it was only for a brief time but I remember Markarth particularly well; my very first time seeing anything Dwemer related. As a child it was a little scary, but thinking back on it now I remember the excitement from my parents.
'Oh gods! Where are they taking us?!' exclaimed the thief, and then my heart began to pound in fear. Where are they taking us?
The Nord then muttered and I heard him saying that Sovngarde awaits them, and I recognised that as where worthy Nords go when they die. I knew death was at the end of this path. The thief began to mutter under his breath, repeating himself, questioning where we were going. I began to feel ill and weak and the thief began to panic even more, exclaiming how we don't belong here and this isn't a fair trial, every few moments repeating that this can't happen to him.
The Nord asked him where he was from, I guessed to try and calm him. I looked to the left, up ahead, the fog was clearing up, but I still felt cold. I could see a village up ahead and then my heart skipped a beat as I heard someone shout.
'General Tullius, Sir! The headsman is waiting!' I swallowed and I couldn't hear anyone anymore. I could faintly hear the thief praying to the gods and the Nord kept his head down. I looked at Ulfric Stormcloak and the rag around his mouth. The braids on each side of his face fell down to cover his eyes, but I could see something dark in his eyes, something incredibly sad.
The cart brought us into the village and the Nord began to speak again, but his voice dripped with poison as he cursed the General. He spat in the cart near his feet and I coiled into myself. The mere mention of elves caught my attention and I tuned in.
'Look at the Thalmor with him, elven scum. I bet they had something to do with this!' he growled. I suddenly felt very conscience of my ears, as they had a slight point from my elven ancestors, but thankfully my hair was covering them. My hair was usually a light shade of blonde, but judging by the dirt on the rest of my body I assumed it didn't look very blonde.
The Nord identified the village as Helgen and then went on about how he loved to come here and how the mead was wonderful. I was too aware of the fact that I was sitting in a cart, about to be put to death in a strange land, with three men, one of which seemed to be slightly racist, the other a thief and the man on my right I could only assume to be someone very sought after if he was really the leader of this rebellion.
I heard a child's voice behind me and I looked back. The child asked his father who the people on the cart were and where were they going. I felt the need to cry because I knew this was it, I was going to die in a public execution and I didn't even know what was going on. As the father ushered his son into his house and the boy whined because he wanted to watch the soldiers but he was told sternly to go inside.
The cart pulled to a stop and the thief began to panic and continuously asked why we were stopping. The Nord looked at me sympathetically.
'Best not keep the gods waiting, eh?' he said to me. We all stood up and the thief began to ramble again, pleading with the Nord and Ulfric to tell the guards that he was innocent. The Nord stood behind me and told him to face his death with some dignity, but he rambled on still.
The thief and Ulfric stood in front of me as an angry woman in Imperial armor ordered us all off the carts. I could recognise the dragon symbol on the chest of each soldier as the Imperial uniform. I looked around and all I could focus on was the headsman standing, waiting.
The woman ordered us to step to the block when they call our name; she shouted and told us to do so one at a time. The Nord behind me made a remark of how the Empire loves their lists. They called Ulfric, and the Nord behind me, but I was too focused on the headsman to even catch his name. They then called the thief and once again he pleaded, telling them he wasn't a rebel.
He sprinted off, running past the guard with the list and the angry woman who intimidated me greatly. His hands still bound, he ran towards where we had come from. The woman yelled for the archers and with one arrow he was shot dead. I felt my knees go weak as I saw the man fall to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his chest. The woman turned to face me and snarled.
'Anyone else feel like running?' she growled. I swallowed hard and I could feel a lump in my throat. The man with the list then told me to step forward. I walked up to the two, feeling small as they were both taller than me, even though growing up as a Breton I was used to being smaller than everyone around me, but this time I felt like I was looking up at the White-Gold Tower. I felt so small, as they dictated my death.
'And who might you be?' he asked me, lowering the list and the quill in his hand.
'I'm L-Lun-'
'Oh please, it doesn't matter, you're next anyway. Step up to the block!' the woman snapped.
'Would you like your remains to be brought back to High Rock?' the man asked. I didn't feel quite as intimidated by him.
'I lived in C-Cyrodiil,' I said, just above a whisper. He nodded kindly and I watched as he wrote something on the list he held. I glanced at the woman and she glared at me, impatiently waiting for me to step to the block. I wanted to tell him where, but I was afraid of the woman who stood beside him.
'Follow the Captain,' he said quietly, continuing to write on the paper. She grabbed hold of my arm and pushed me forward to the block. Her grip on my bruised body made me flinch.
I saw the Imperial General standing in front of Ulfric, his face almost touching Ulfrics. I didn't hear what he said because he was too far away, but I heard Ulfric trying to say something under the gag. But the general just laughed at him and walked away.
I thought my heart was going to break my ribcage as it thumped so fast, I could hear it ringing in my ears. My fingers were numb from the cold, I looked down to them and they were almost a shade of purple. I could feel the dirt stuck to my feet and the cold ground was slightly damp.
Then there was an odd noise echoing, like a roar from some great beast. Everyone looked around, the look of panic on almost everyone's face. Someone asked what it was in a panic, but I was still looking around to notice who said it. The General ordered the executions to continue, disregarding the mystery noise.
Beside the Captain stood a Priestess and when the Captain told her, she began speaking.
'As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you-'
'For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with!' yelled a man in the same uniform as the Nord in the carriage. He stood up to the block and the Priestess stopped and walked away, looking rather insulted. The man stood in front of the block and the Captain pushed him to his knees. The General stood back, smiling at the man at the block. I looked to Ulfric and he was narrowing his eyes at the General. He looked towards me and I quickly looked away.
'My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?' the man at the block challenged. The Captain didn't answer, she pushed his head to the block and with a swift swing the headsman had the soldiers head disconnected from his body. Someone from behind shouted at the Imperials and then people around began yelling.
'Death to the Stormcloaks!' they shouted. I looked around saw the Stormcloak soldiers look at each other and bow their heads. I watched as the body of the Stormcloak fell to the side and his head sat in a basket. And then the Captain called for me.
'The Breton from Cyrodiil, step forward!' she yelled. I heard her, but I stood still, frozen in fear. I couldn't breathe and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
Then the roaring noise came again, echoing in the distance. The Imperial who had the list spoke.
'There it is again. Did you hear that?' he asked. Everyone looked around, searching for the source of the noise. The Captain snapped at me again and this time I moved forward, slowly walking towards the block. She grabbed my arm roughly and I looked back at Ulfric Stormcloak and he looked sympathetically at me. I almost expected him to do something as he watched an innocent woman walk to her death after being accused of being a member of his rebellion. But what could he do? The Stormcloaks standing behind him all looked at me and watched.
I was pushed down to my knees and I looked up at the headsman holding his axe in his hands. She pushed my head onto the block and I could feel the warm blood of the first man. The headsman moved to hold the axe but I looked behind him at the mountains. From the mountains emerged a huge creature that I have never seen before. It had huge wings and a fierce tail and I knew it had to be a dragon.
'What in Oblivion is that?!' yelled the General. The dragon swooped up into the sky and landed on the tower just in front of me, behind the headsman. The ground shook and the headsman fell down. Before me stood a dragon on a tower in a small village in Skyrim. I lay still on the block, tears filling my eyes, I couldn't breathe and I didn't know whether to run or stay put.
People were yelling 'dragon!' behind me and I could hear the chaos unleashing itself. The dragon stood for a moment, its great black wings enveloping the tower. A blast came from the dragon and the headsman was blasted backwards. An Imperial ran in front of me and was knocked backwards as the second blast came and I felt myself being thrown backwards too.
My vision was blurred and I couldn't hear anything but a ringing in my ears and the faint sounds of screaming and shouting all around me. A Stormcloak grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him into the Keep. I stumbled in the door and it was slammed shut behind me. I could hear the screams outside, from the people and the dragon.
The Stormcloak that had helped me inside turned to face Ulfric Stormcloak who had his hands untied and the gag from his mouth removed.
'Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing?! Could the legends be true…,' he asked, I could hear him panting just as heavily as I was. Ulfric turned to him and looked at me then turned back to him.
'Legends don't burn down villages,' Ulfric replied. Suddenly I realized why there was a gag over his mouth…
'How do we get out of here?' I asked. They looked at me and Ulfric ushered forward.
'Up through the tower, quickly,' he said, climbing the spiral staircase. I followed with the other Stormcloak and ran up the stairs.
The wall came crashing through just as I was about to go forward and I jumped back, falling backwards against the wall, almost tumbling down the staircase. The dragons head appeared in the wall and a blast of fire came from its jaws and down the tower. And then he was gone.
'Jump through the roof! To the inn on the other side! You have to keep going!' yelled the man beside me, 'We'll catch up when we can!' I panicked and looked down at my hands still tied and then jumped from the hole down to the inn that had been burned down. I landed and fell over onto my side and scrambled to my feet and ran through the inn, avoiding the flames as the walls around me burned in the fire. I jumped down through a hole in the floor to the bottom floor and ran out the door where I stumbled and fell to my knees.
I looked up and saw the Imperial with the list, but this time he held a sword in his hands. Then the dragon appeared before him and opened its great jaws to unleash terror again. I rolled to the side and kept my head down in the ground. It took off again and I got to my feet and crouched down and hurried over to the Imperial.
'Come with me, I'll help you!' he yelled over the noise, he beckoned me forward and I ran after him, following him down the path, he yelled and told me to stay close to the wall. I ducked to the wall beside him and then the dragon swooped down onto the wall we were hugging. The front of his wing was inches from my face, the wind from his wings knocked the Imperial forward and the dust blinded me for a moment. Yet another burst of fire was released from the beast and then it flew up again.
The Imperial ran out and I followed. My feet were swollen and hurt, the soles bleeding from running across the stones. I wiped my face with my arm and saw blood; I could feel it dripping down from my forehead along the side of my face. I kept running just behind the Imperial.
Running through a burning building, avoiding the scorching flames that surrounded us we ran towards people shooting flames back up at the dragon as it flew over us, its shadow cast along the village. I looked up and fell down on my knees once again and I could feel the skin on my knee tear back and it stung as the dirt on the ground attacked the wound. The Imperial turned back and reached out his hand to me.
'Come on, give me your hand! I'm getting you out of here!' he said above the noise of the dragon. I held up my hands, still tied together and grabbed his hand and he pulled me up. I limped on my leg and followed him through Helgen, watching as everyone who was able was fighting back against this dragon.
The Imperial stopped in front of me and I looked at him and then to where he was staring. I saw the Nord from the cart standing in front of us.
'Ralof! You traitor!' yelled the Imperial. He went to grab him by the throat but Ralof ducked and threw the Imperial over his shoulders. He landed on the ground in a dusty heap. He stood up quickly and then pointed his sword to Ralofs throat. Ralof didn't move he just stared back at the Imperial.
'I should kill you now,' the Imperial growled at him.
'We're escaping Hadvar. You're not going to stop us this time.' Ralof said sternly.
'Fine! I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!' Hadvar shouted at him, lowering his weapon. I stood back, looking at the two. I had been on a cart with one and I had only just learned his name, and I had been sentenced to death and saved by the other and I had only learned his name too. The two looked at me and both called for me to follow them as they ran separate ways. I looked from Ralof to Hadvar, I went to run with Ralof, but a soldier ran in front of me and knocked me back and I could no longer see the Stormcloak uniform. I could feel the sting in my knee and I felt like a child crying over a graze. I turned and I could see Hadvar rushing up to me. He took my hand and helped me up again and helped me over to the Keep.
I looked over my shoulder before entering the door and saw the village smouldering as the dragon continued to reign havoc among the people. I was just glad to be with someone who knew how to wield a sword.