The sun poured light across the land, drying the nightly dew. Cool breezes pushed through the valley between the Jerall Mountains and Skyrim's largest mountain. In the center was a stone path that was silent, short of the occasional fox or deer. The quietness in the air gave a deceiving feeling of peace. It was broken by the rickety roll of imperial carriages, carrying defeated men and women. And one unconscious traveler.
"Hey, you." She awoke with a sharp pain in her shin from the boot of the man in front of her. She went to wipe her eyes but found her hands bound. "Good, you're alive."
"Hardly." Squinting through the light she was able to sip in her surrounding. "What happened?"
"You were trying to cross the border, right? You walked right into an Imperial ambush, only seconds before we showed up." The scene started to piece together in her mind. Passing through the unguarded entrance to Skyrim, asking herself why in Oblivion there wasn't anyone manning the gates. But that was all she remembered.
She finally opened her eyes enough to take the man in. Strong, broad shoulders held his blue armor. His sunny blonde hair grazing the metal and fabric. War had definitely worn on his dirty, yet handsome, face.
"The horse thief over there made the same mistakes."
"Damn you, Stormcloaks." The thief hissed. He was dressed in rags similar to hers, his face thin and sour. "You and your damned Nordic pride. This is your war. If it wasn't for this rebellion I'd be halfway to Hammerfell by now." The soldier rolled his eyes. "You, girl," The thief turned his look to her. "We shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Imperial's want."
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief."
"Shut up back there." The Imperial guard called behind his shoulders. There was a few minutes of silence before the thief spoke again.
"What's with you?" He turned toward the man beside her. He had been staring at his boots so silently that she didn't even notice him.
"Watch your tongue!" The soldier lashed. "You're speaking to Ulfric, the true High King!" Ulfric's gaze lifted to silently ease the other Stormcloak, but behind his calm demeanor was a man defeated. He was gagged by a dirty rag, stained with sweat and blood. There was something curious about it. His rugged, handsome features tried their best to stay stone like. His golden hair held a lazy braid that was coming undone.
"Ulfric Stormcloak? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of… If they've captured you…" The thief seemed at a loss for words, all the blood drained from his face. "Oh gods, no. Where are they taking up?" His head whipped around trying to find any marker that would reveal their location.
"Sovngarde awaits." A panic washed over the young, female nord. The heaviness of his voice and the Jarl's face set in the reality.
"What?" She gasped. "No, there's no way. I don't even know what rebellion you're talking about." But she was ignored. Instead she caught the Jarl staring at her. Perhaps he felt the same curiosity she felt from him. They stared at each other until the silence was broken again.
"Where are you from, horse thief?"
"What do you care?"
"A nord's last thoughts should be of home." As the two men discussed their home cities she became lost in her own thoughts. Home. There was no such thing to her. In fact she was coming to Skyrim in search of a home where she would fall into place. Any hope of that seemed like it was going to be thrown out at the chopping block.
Finally they were approaching the walls of a city, the gates slowly opening as the carriages in front of them approached.
"General Tulius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" As the carriage slowly passed through she caught a glimpse of the general that sent a short flashback through her. The red and silver gleam of her armor appeared behind her eyelids, just a flash, before she re-felt the bash into her head.
"Are you alright?" The soldier tapped her leg again to grab her attention.
"Yes," She blinked, pulling herself back to reality. "Just putting pieces together." He nodded before turned to see what she had distracted her.
"Look at him, General Tulius." He spat at his name. "The military governor. The Thalmor are with her. Damn elves. I bet they have something to do with this." The elves the general was talking to were long and lean like trees. Their pale golden skin sparkled in the sun, but their faces made her stomach churn. Stern, insincere, hints of evil hiding behind their eyes.
"Where are we?" She asked.
"This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here." It was a small city, more like a village. Bustling citizens stopped to gawk at them as they passed. Brick towers and small wooden building surrounded him. She was surprised that so much could fit into such a small space. "Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries… I can almost smell it." He leaned back with a look of content. "Seems fitting that my end is here. There's a reason for all things."
Their carriage was slowing to a stop when they passed a home with a small child eagerly watching.
"Who are they, Daddy?"
"You need to go inside, Little Cub." His father placed a hand on his shoulders.
"But I want to watch the soldiers."
"Inside the house." A nearby Imperial scoffed as he passed them.
"You should let him watch. Let him see what happens when you betray the Empire." The father ignored the suggestion and nudged his son.
"Go inside. Now."
"Yes, Papa." She felt a pang of fear, but was also relieved that the boy wouldn't have to watch this. The less people that would watch her fail before she even started, the better.
"Positions." The carriage stopped with a jerk with a call from an officer.
"Get those prisoners off the carts, move it!" A stern woman's voice commanded. The thief was praying under his breath as they started pulling them from the wagon, but when it was his turn to climb down he panicked.
"No, you can't do this! We're not rebels! Tell them it was a mistake!" He cried.
"Face your death with some courage." The soldier grunted as his feet planted on the earth. She climbed down after him and heard the Jarl come after her before settling beside her. There wasn't anytime to waste.
"Go to the block when we call your name! One at a time!" The Captain called. A young man with a scroll stood in front of them group.
"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm."
"It has been a honor, Jarl Ulfric." The soldier whispered as his leader brushed passed them.
"Ralof, of Riverwood." He followed the rest of his team towards the block with a brave face, but not without exchanging a look with the young Imperial soldier. As if they knew each other, but had both been betrayed by one another.
"Lokir, of Rorikstead."
"No! I'm not a rebel!" She was getting ready to try and calm him, but her mouth stood open voiceless as he took up running.
"You're not going to kill me!" She half considered following him until an officer whipped his bow out, pulled back an arrow, and sent it zipping through the air and plunging into his back. All without so much as a blink. And just like that the man fell to the ground with a loud cry, and finally laid lifeless.
"You there." An imperial soldier caught her attention. "Step forward." She did as she was told, her legs growing numb with the movement.
"Who are you?"
"Jenison." She croaked. "Please, I've done nothing-" He waved his hand to silence her.
"What do we do, Captain? She's not on the list?"
"Forget the list. She goes to the block." The Imperial soldier let out a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry. At least you'll die here in your homeland." His eyes showed undeniable sympathy, but sympathy wouldn't save her from the executioner. She tried to swallow but her mouth was bone dry. She didn't even feel her body move as she headed toward the rest of the doomed.
"Ulfric Stormcloak." General Tulius stood with a haughty stature in front of him. "Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like The Voice to murder his king." The Jarl grunted in response, fire burning behind his eyes. "You started this war. Plunged Skyrim into chaos! Now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace!"
A rolling cry echoed through the clouds, causing everyone to look to the skies.
"What was that?" The Imperial soldier called.
"Nothing." The General brushed it off. "Carry on."
"Yes, General Tulius!" The Captain responded. "Give them their last rights." A priestess appeared from behind the executioner.
"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the eight divines upon you-"
"Nine divines." A Stormcloak corrected in a bark as he stepped towards the block. "For the love of Talos, shut up. I don't have all morning."
"As you wish." The priestess rolled her eyes as she fell back. The soldier was pushed to his knees and kneeled over, starring the hooded man down.
"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" With a smirk the axe lifted above the man's head, and sliced through the air and the soldier's neck. Jenison stared at the headless body, paralyzed in fear. She wasn't ready to die.
"You Imperial bastards!" A Stormcloak woman cried and tried to run towards the body but was warned by the same archer who struck down Lokir. With tears rolling down her face she stood silently.
"As fearless in death as he was in life." Ralof murmured.
"Next, the Nord in the rags!" The only thing she could hear was her heart ready to burst. She was sure it was visible to anyone looking. Another cry from the sky sent everyone's gaze to the skies again.
"Did you hear that?" The sympathetic Imperial soldier had a strong look of concern.
"I said, next prisoner." He nodded and gestured her towards her fate.
"To the block, prisoner." This is the opposite of how she imagined her end. With the first step she vainly thought of what she was wearing. Her itchy, filthy clothes hung from her body. But they were only her possession besides her pitiful sack of septims. Her old clothes were the last thing she had to sell. The salesman had taken pity on her and gave her the rags to turn into clothes.
Her second step was her lack of a story. She had done nothing, she didn't even have any skills. She grew up in a shack outside the Imperial City, and her mother died when she was only sixteen. So she spent the next ten years working many different jobs but they would never last long since everyone was still recovering from the Great War. She had come to Skyrim to start over, make a new life and maybe even get back on her feet. Now she couldn't feel her feet.
A hand grabbed her arm to hurry her along. The executioner kicked the previous body away like a piece of rubble. A boot pushed her to her knees and kneeled her over the block. She shut her eyes, covered in sweat, and thought of her mother. The smell of her homemade lavender oil. Her smile. At least she would see her again in Sovngarde in just a few moments.
"What in Oblivion is that?!" Jenison's eyes opened in reflex to the General's cry and fell to her side at boom of a monster landing. Eyes wide in fear and confusion she stared at the beast. A dragon, black as coal, yet you could see fire burning red from beneath his scales. He looked as if he was made from stone and was as big as the tower it was perched on. It stared at her with her red, fierce, and violent eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came. Instead he spoke first, causing a boom that changed the whole sky. The once beautiful sky that was painted with a few clouds disappeared. It was twisted and swirled into a pink whirlpool, creating the effect of being in a completely different realm. Meteors fell from the sky, crashing into the city. The dragon sent the sound out again, the force of it sending the executioner and a few other soldiers to the ground, ensuring at least the headsman's death. The dragon took off into the sky again to terrorize a different part of Helgen. Jenison felt forced onto the ground and it took all of her strength to get to her knees.
"Kinsman, get up!" A familiar voice called. When she looked up there was Ralof, somehow unbound, pulling her from the ground. "C'mon, the god's won't give us another chance!" Imperial's and Stormcloaks were running in chaos. Most were trying to escape, others were trying to shoot it down. Families had scooped up their children and were attempting to head towards the gates, but would be stopped by a meteor or the dragon swooping by and catching a man into his mouth, tossing him like a rag doll. "Let's go!" Ralof yelled at her again and she finally willed her legs to move. She followed him into a nearby tower. He closed the door behind them and met the Jarl.
"Are you alright, soldier?" He asked, half-heartedly. His mind was obviously on other matters than Ralof's well-being.
"Fine. Jarl Ulfric, what was that thing? Could the legends be true?"
"Legends don't burn down villages." His low voice was eerily smooth for the situation. "We need to move, now!"
"Up through the tower, let's go!" Before she could even ask to be untied he was pulling her up the stairs. She quickly followed him but her heart sunk when they saw they were trapped.
"We just need to clear some of these rocks."
"Is that a joke?" Jenison scoffed. "It'll take years-" Before she finished her sentence she stumbled back at the force of the dragon bashing through the wall. Fire was casted from his mouth and charred the other soldier to nothing but ash. She swore she could hear words in the roar. "Oh gods!" She cried, holding her bound hands to her mouth. The dragon flew away and she was ready to collapse to her knees. Ralof wasted no time, quickly moving to the new opening and pointing to a building across the way.
"See that inn there?" She went up to him and looked out. "Jump through the roof and keep going!"
"Are you insane?!" She gaped at him.
"Go! We'll follow when we can!" She took a few step backward, sure that it wouldn't work, and took a running start before she lept. She fell onto her knees on the wood floor, hardly keeping herself from falling face first.
"I did it!" She smiled to herself. The roar of the dragon brought her back to her feet. She ran to the other side, jumping down through the hole in the floor. Peeking through a window she saw the destruction the dragon had caused. The entire village was destroyed. There wouldn't be anything usable left. She was apprehensive to continue but she knew she couldn't wait around. She moved through an opening and found the same Imperial soldier she had met before. He was in the path, coaxing a little boy away from his wounded father. The same father and son she had seen earlier.
"Hamming!" The Imperial called to him. "You need to get over here now!" The boy, tears streaming down his face, ran towards another man nearby. The dragon plopped by the father and started to send fire through the air again. "Torolf! Gods, everyone get back!" He cried. The man was burnt alive and before the boy could turn and look, Jenison shielded him and lead him behind a nearby building.
"Are you okay?" She did her best to wipe his tears. He shook his head before whispering.
"Papa…"
"I know, it's okay. It's okay." Her heart tore to shreds for the poor boy.
"Still alive, prisoner?" The Imperial grasped her shoulder. "Stay close if you want to stay that way."
"My name is-"
"Gunnar, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tulius and join their defense." He interrupted her and grabbed her by the arm.
"You know, I'm sick and tired of people just grabbing me."
"God's guide you, Hadvar." Gunnar bowed his head to him before scooping the now sobbing boy and running to safety. Hadvar continued to pull Jenison away towards another building. After he released she followed him hesitantly. He may have felt bad about sending her to death, but that sure didn't stop him.
"Stay close to the wall!" He shouted, pulling her once again but this time close to him. She was startled by this, but was almost comforted by the closeness. Any coziness she felt drained from her body when the dragon landed on the wall above them. He covered her mouth to keep her from screaming. Once the dragon passed they were on the run once again. Through a small maze of destruction they stepped over burnt bodies and injured people. Finally they made it to the General.
"Hadvar! Into the keep, soldier! We're leaving!" The Imperial soldiers were trying futilely to take the dragon down. Shooting arrows and magic without causing any damage.
"Damn it, nothing kills this thing!" Jenison heard a soldier ready to give up.
"Come on, prisoner, let's go." Hadvar ran in front of her and she quickly followed. Up the
path they found Ralof crossing their path. "Ralof! You damned traitor, out of my way!"
"We're escaping Hadvar, you're not stopping us this time!"
"Fine! I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!" Hadvar took off towards a door and Ralof headed towards another.
"You!" Ralof called to Jenison. "Come on! Let's get out of here!" She nodded, running after him and into the last remaining building.