Imprinted

Prologue

The first time the Nord walked upon the earth of Whiterun, she felt a strange zing in the air, as though something were to happen here. She would walk through the street throughout the day for weeks, completing tasks set by the Jarl. She was dragonborn - an ultra-rare type of person. Dragonborn was able to summon dragons, halt dragons and force them to land, travel at unbelievable speeds … almost anything you could imagine that was associated with a dragon. The Nord knew she was different, and all those around her knew she was different, but she didn't know of this special power she had, nor of the dragonborn. She found herself, one day, standing in front of an ancient, tavern-like structure. The building was completely made of wood. Out of curiosity, she crept forward, and set the door ajar. From then on, her life changed completely.

Formerly known from the Dark Brotherhood, The Nord, Lupina, stepped inside the ancient building. She was quickly greeted by an older man. He was taller than the Nord, and had a grey beard framing his face.

"Welcome." He said warmly to Lupina. "Welcome to Jorrvaskr." Lupina hesitated to speak, as she was never used to such a friendly person. A woman walked up to the two, and spoke as well.

"Are you afraid?" She murmured. "There's nothing to be afraid of. My name Is Aela." Lupina nodded.

"My name is Lupina." She hesitated again. "Are you the companions?" The older man laughed.

"You bet we are!" He bellowed. "You thinkin' 'bout joinin' up?" He beamed at her, and Lupina smiled shyly, and nodded hesitantly. The older man lifted his chin up a fraction, acknowledging her in respect. "The names' Kodlak. Follow me, and I'll show you around." He turned, and walked past a large fireplace, with an extraordinary dining table in front of it. They turned down a flight of stairs, Kodlak holding a door open to Lupina. Lupina stepped into the long hallway, glancing at the people lingering in there – A Dark Elf, and a few Nords. Two Nords appeared to be twins, but one of them caught her eye more than the other, which was odd, she thought. They were both sat at a round table, hunched over and looking at a piece of parchment.

"Vilkas." Kodlak murmured. The shorted of the twins looked up at his name being mentioned, and spoke a word or two to his brother who looked up from the parchment straight up at Lupina. Lupina blinked a few times. Was he blind? His eyes were a pale grey, and they appeared to have no pupil, but the corners of his mouth twitched up into a faint smile, before he ducked his head back down. The smaller brother has approached Kodlak and nodded.

"You called?" Vilkas said regally. Kodlak nodded softly again.

"Yes." His eyes shifted to Lupina. "I need you to escort this girl into the courtyard. She wishes to join the Companions." Vilkas's eyebrows rose, and his eyes widened. He looked at Lupina, and then his eyes moved up and down, up and down.

"Her?" He didn't appear to like the look of her. "You can't be seriously considering letting her into-"

"Vilkas." Kodlak murmured. Vilkas sighed, and walked past them both.

"Follow me." He grumbled.

In the courtyard, Vilkas led Lupina down to the bottom, in front of some hay bag dummies.

"Okay." He said plainly and flatly. "Kodlak sent me to see if you're good enough to join our ranks. So here I am. Seeing." He drew his sword out from his hip. "Take a few swings at me. I'll see what you're made of. Don't worry. I can handle it." He almost appeared to mock her. Lupina hesitated, before drawing her own sword and, to Vilkas's surprise, immediately swinging at him ferociously. Her sword hit his armour with a mighty clang, yet she quickly withdrew and swung at him again. This time, Vilkas was better prepared, and quickly blocked her downward attack, before she could injure him. At the final swing, Vilkas jumped back, blocking it again, and dropping his sword, his palms facing her.

"Okay." He said, breathing heavily. "Okay. I get the idea now." Lupina looked at him like she had just been scolded, and sheathed her sword.

"Did I hurt you?" She whispered, as Vilkas picked up his sword and walked back towards Jorrvaskr. He paused, and looked back at her, smiling.

"Nope." He chuckled. "Just surprised me that's all." He left her stood in the courtyard for a few moments, before Lupina started to walk back towards Jorrvaskr herself. As she neared the door, Vilkas's brother opened it, and stared at her slightly bewildered.

"Huh?" He said, sounding slightly dumbfounded. "Oh. Uh." All of a sudden he appeared embarrassed. "Oh. My … my brother said you were good at one-handed weapons." Lupina stared at him like he was mad for a moment, before realising what she was doing.

"What? Oh. Sorry." She laughed nervously. "Yeah … I had a lot of practise. Dragons, see." Vilkas's slightly stupid brother raised an eyebrow.

"Dragons?" He repeated. "I thought that was just a rumour." He glanced over her shoulder for a fraction of a second. "Mind you." He hesitated. "I have been hearing strange noises. Almost like roaring." Lupina nodded slowly. His face appeared to face realisation after a few moments. "My name's Farkas, by the way. People don't think I'm smart. But I have strength. In this world, it's all you need." Lupina smiled at Farkas, and suddenly felt like she had made a friend.

"My name's Lupina." She grinned a little, before ducking her head in embarrassment. "Uh, I'd better find your brother." She hesitated before looking back up at Farkas whose expression had changed, and he looked at her with knowing eyes. "I wouldn't want to keep him waiting if he has any more tasks for him. Nor Kodlak." Farkas smiled at her softly.

"I understand." The corners of his mouth twitched up into that same smile he did earlier, again, when he first saw Lupina. Lupina brushed past Farkas's shoulder before she got ahead of herself, little knowing that Farkas watched her leave, his eyes soft, as was his expression. When she was out of her view, he looked at the floor a moment before looking up at the mountains behind Jorrvaskr. He slowly walked to the wall, and leant on it, breathing in the crisp morning air. A faint roar echoes between the mountains that caught his attention, and he looked up, between two mountains. From there, he spotted a large bird-like being soaring in-between the mountains. So the girl was right. He thought to himself. Dragons are around once more …