"When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world

When the Brass Tower walks and Time is reshaped

When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles

When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls

When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding

The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn."

- The Prophecy of the Dragonborn

Prologue

"You bitch," the last bandit hissed!

His two allies had already fallen to her sword. She turned to look at him and saw that he had retreated from the fight, due to the quick slice she had made to his leg. He couldn't stand and could only try to crawl to safety. The two others bandits were inexperienced and they fell quickly. They may have been masters at pushing people around but when they actually had to fight their skills were sorely lacking.

Her eyes narrowed in anger and determination at the last bandit. His eyes widened slightly in fear, though he regained his composure almost immediately. She smirked at him half expecting to see him wet himself. She saw him swallow and then he started pleading.

"What do you want? Take anything, everything you want just don't kill me."

She looked back down at the second fallen bandit and pulled her sword out of his chest then turned and started to approach him. When she got close the man tried to swing his blade at her. It was clumsy attempt, he was weak because he had lost a lot of blood, and she easily knocked the blade aside and put her own blade to his throat.

"Do you give the people you steal from the same opportunity at life before you kill them?"

She lowered her eyes from his face to his neck and they widened slightly. She reached down, with her sword still at his throat, and grabbed the amulet around his neck. She straightened and softly, almost a whisper, said "the man you got that amulet from. He was my father you bastard!"

Before he could say anything, she thrust the sword down. She closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall. Justice has been done Father, she thought. She removed her sword from the raider's throat. It was a swift thrust that managed to go completely through his neck severing the spine completely.

She dropped her sword to the side and reached down grabbing the amulet and removing it from around the bandit's neck. She picked up her sword and walked back toward the bandit campsite. She found one of their packs and took a tunic from it to wipe the blood off the amulet. Satisfied with it she put it around her own neck. She grabbed her sword and proceeded to wipe off the blade.

While she was cleaning her sword she heard the rest of the group ride up. She knew that they would probably be angry with her, particularly Thorold, but at this moment she didn't care.

The Fighters Guild had decided to send an escort with her when she left the Guild Hall in Bruma and they rode to nearest town to where the attack took place, Aleswell. It was there that they learned of the bandits that set up a base in the nearby Fingerbowl Cave. They had hit them that morning and while the last surviving bandit told them that a small group was due back later that day.

She had managed to sneak away from the other guild members and went out to find the remaining bandits alone. She found them and attacked but unfortunately it was over too quickly. "There you are." The voice said with what she assumed was anger and a little disgust. She looked at the riders.

Thorold was at the head of the group and was visibly angry but she realized that the voice wasn't from him. She scanned the rest of the riders behind him. There were the two apprentices, Alvius and Torba, who were newly assigned to the Guild Hall in Bruma. But then her eyes settled on the person that was riding at the rear. It was a justicar.

She turned back to the man in front. "So Thorold did you miss me so much you decided to pick up a stray?" Thorold had been the only real friend she had in the guild since she joined. At the moment he looked at her with pleading eyes that begged her to hold her tongue.

"As you well know Warder, the Thalmor have every right to go with the Guild on any mission that may lead to worshippers of Talos." Thorold nearly rolled his eyes as he said it. She snorted her amusement understanding that it was simply an excuse for the Thalmor to poke the noses anywhere they wish in the Empire.

The justicar started to ride toward her and immediately Thorold and the other members straightened, Thorold instinctively reaching for his sword.

"That means you should tread carefully around us, precious, you never know when there could be a….misunderstanding. I would hate to have to explain what happened to your pretty face." The justicar smiled and let his eyes wander over her body.

She glanced up and looked at the justicar. He was still eyeing her with want, not bothering to disguise his intentions, and was in the process of getting off his horse. "No we wouldn't want that would we? I don't want to have to defend the killing of a particularly sorry excuse of a Thalmor," she said.

She wasn't good at trash talking but then again she didn't have to be good at it. If a conversation broke down to the point that swords were drawn it was usually already too late for her opponents. Not that she was invincible she just had great instincts, her father's training, and her own natural-born ability to fall back on. Thorold had also gotten off his horse and moved to put himself between her and the justicar.

"Why did you sneak away Katarin? You should have let us come with you." Thorold said clearly trying to keep the conversation civil and prevent it from straying too far too an area that would only end in bloodshed.

"I needed to finish this myself. Now you tell me why the Thalmor is here." She had felt like a weight had finally been lifted just a few moments ago but now the appearance of the justicar had brought it all back.

Thorold was about to answer but the Thalmor beat him to it. "This is not a contract for your Fighters Guild, you murdered these men, and I am here to see you brought to justice!" The Justicar screamed as he finally approached the two guild members.

She gripped her sword tighter and subtly readjusted the shield on her arm. Thorold turned to the Justicar and explained that the Emperor had officially approved of the fighters guild's mission to hunt down the bandit groups that had established themselves after the war ended. With the Imperial forces too weak to adequately defend the various settlements throughout Cyrodiil, the Fighter's Guild had taken it upon themselves to hunt down the bandit organizations until the Imperial Legions were replenished to the point that they could take care of them.

She noticed that he didn't point out that, now over two decades after the war ended, the Legion once again had significant numbers to occupy the forts that were scattered around Cyrodiil but the Emperor hadn't rescinded his authorization for the Guilds mission so they had seen that as further approval of their actions and they had carried on as usual.

The group they attacked this day was not a major organization but instead merely a collection those men that couldn't make it doing anything else. Today however it was personal for her for these bandits had killed her father.

"Move Aside Nord!" The justicar now looked livid. At that moment the Justicar simultaneously conjured a sword in his right hand and grabbed her arm with his left but before he could strike her, she brought her shield around in an arc and slammed the edge to his arm that was gripping her.

He screamed and she was sure his forearm had broken. Just as she started to bring her sword around to finish him off she heard a soft thump as he went silent and dropped to the ground face first with an arrow sticking out of the back of his head.

She turned to see where it came from and Torba had her bow in hand looking very satisfied with herself. She noticed that she had largely Breton features though her eyes were ever so slightly larger than normal, giving her a very unique look.

"Let me guess is one of your parents a mer?" She asked her with a slight smile. She grinned back at her "Yes ma'am, my da." She nodded her thanks to Torba and turned to face Thorold.

"What happened? Why was he with you?" She asked him.

"He was here for you."

"That much I figured out for myself thanks but why?"

"I don't know he showed up after we were on the road, after you had already left that is. You know how they are, just showing up when they want. Don't worry about it." He looked over the campsite as if just now seeing it. "So I take it you didn't have any trouble?" He smiled at her, obviously trying to lighten the mood a little.

Katarin just nodded and lifted the amulet to show him. His reaction told her he recognized it. "I got it from that one over there." She said pointing to the bandit that was lying well away from the camp. "Considering what the bastards did to my father, they didn't suffer enough." She went silent for a moment. Thorold didn't say anything. "But at least it's done." She finished.

He nodded and then pointed to the justicar. "We will need to get rid of him, before we head back to Bruma. If he told anyone else where he was going we will deny seeing him and just assume that something happened to him on the way to meet up with us."

"Good idea," she agreed, "but I am not going back to Bruma."

Thorold looked up sharply at her. "What do you mean you're not going back?" He asked her.

"The only reason I stayed this long was because I needed to find the ones that killed him." She answered. "Now that it is finally finished, there is nothing left for me here."

He looked slightly hurt when she said it and she immediately regretted saying it. "Thorold I am sorry. I just don't feel like I belong here anymore. I haven't felt like that for a long time now." She turned away from him and walked to the edge of the nearby forest to grab her backpack she had left there before she attacked the bandits.

She picked it up and put the pack over her shoulders and started to walk back to the others. She nodded to Alvius and thanked Torba again. Then she went over to Thorold. As she approached him he shook his head. "I am truly sorry about everything." He told her.

"I know but don't be. Thank you for being there for me through all this. You're a good friend." She told him quietly, almost at a whisper.

"So, uh, where will you go?"

She turned her head and looked to the horizon. "North I think."

She remembered her father talking about wanting to return to his home before he grew old and died and he wanted to show her the city where he was born and everything. She smiled to herself remembering how excited he got when he was talking about his home.

She reached out and hugged Thorold. "Talos guide you, my friend." She told him. She kissed his cheek and pulled back from him.

He smirked "Careful there is a Thalmor in our presence" nodding to the dead Justicar. She smiled fully this time "I don't think he is going to tell anyone to be honest." She paused and then said "Goodbye Thorold"

"Goodbye Katarin." She nodded and walked away from him. When she was at the top of the hill she turned back and in the distance saw them riding away. She turned back and continued north heading to her ancestral homeland of Skyrim.

A/N: This is my first story. I would really like feedback so please review. I would really appreciate it.

All characters, storylines, names, dates...everything in the story belong to Bethesda, without them none of this would be possible.