The Elder Scrolls in:
Battleground Tamriel:
The Story of
Faasnu Dovahkiir
(Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls franchise or any other fictional work not mentioned in this story. You read this story at your own risk.)
Prologue
The Fourth Era of Tamriel has seen much. And there is much more that it will see. Twenty-two years have passed since the return of Alduin the World-Eater. Twenty-two years since Dovahkiin defeated Alduin, at the heart of Sovngarde. I would know. I am the immortal dragon, Paarthurnax – I have seen these things myself. With Alduin defeated, Dovahkiin spared me, despite the pleas of his allies, Delphine and Esbern – two of the last members of the Order of the Blades. Moreover, many of Alduin's former-followers, including myself, pledged our allegiance to Dovahkiin.
But know that after Dovahkiin's victory over Alduin, he became... disturbed. More and more, he was haunted by visions he beheld in his dreams. Some time after these visions began to haunt him, Esbern died of a mysterious illness. Delphine vanished shortly afterward. Some among Keizaal – you call it Skyrim – suspected the Thalmor were involved in some way. But I saw in Dovahkiin's eyes that he thought otherwise. I saw it when he called his top Dovah allies to a meeting – myself, Odahviing, Ahkrinviingah, and Aldovulom.
In this meeting, he told us of what he saw, told us where he was going. There was a war coming – a war against an enemy we've yet to understand. A horde of warriors alien to this land, brought here by the Thalmor in their effort to cleanse the Empire from this land. Dovahkiin asked us to, no matter what happens, remain loyal to the Empire – even if it means to our deaths.
And most of all, he told us of his son – how his son, a spitting image of our beloved Dovahkiin, would fall from the sky, to Taazokaan... the place you call Tamriel. When he did, Dovahkiin told us that we must find him before the enemy does; "Find him," he said, "And put down the threat posed by the faceless enemy." Then, having told us what he wanted us to hear, Dovahkiin himself, vanished without a trace.
That was twenty-two years ago. And so, for twenty-two years, we waited, holding on to the hope of the arrival of the son of Dovahkiin. The Thalmor and the Aldmeri dominion are on the rise – tensions are high, and war seems all but inevitable. For twenty-two years, we waited for the child to fall from the sky.
And now, after twenty-two years... the wait is over.
BOOOO-DEEET! BOOOO-DEEET! BOOOO-DEEET!
Proximity alert sirens, coupled by the ship bucking in one direction, woke the marine from his sleep.
"Proximity alert," the computer droned. "Translight drive... off-line."
Shit, the warrior grumbled, this better be good. The warrior hurried into his uniform, donned the MASRA battle suit from the locker with a now-illegible name spray-painted on it, and stumbled as the ship bucked again.
"What the hell was that?" he growled to no one in particular. Truth was, he was alone in this ship. The ship bucked again, and it was obvious – something pulled it out of translight speed and was knocking the ship about.
The marine headed to the cockpit of his ship and began going over the logs. Apparently, the ship was pulled out of translight speed by a spatial anomaly – then something knocked it out of the star lane and the ship was now descending toward a planetary body. Hell, it had just cleared the upper atmosphere. The marine worked frantically with the controls, but it was futile – controls were non-responsive. With little left to do, the marine headed back to the cabin to gear up. This was going to be a hell of a survival op...
Paarthurnax rested atop the Throat of the World. For more than a thousand years, this had been his home. His sanctuary. His place of meditation.
But for the past twenty-two years, it had been his observation post, offering a superior view on a clear day of the surrounding land. A perfect lookout spot to look for signs of the imminent arrival of the child of Dovahkiin. The other dragons were in agreement; to honor Dovahkiin, this child would be known to them as Faasnu Dovahkiir – the Fearless Dragon Child. A fitting name for a warrior they knew nothing about, if ever there was one.
In any event, Paarthurnax could feel something stirring. Not the Thalmor, or the Aldmeri Dominion – and certainly not the brewing war. No, this was different. It was something coming, fast.
BANG!
Had Paarthurnax not cast a look up, he'd not have seen what he now saw – an oddly-shaped vessel, trailing smoke and fire, descending from the sky like a meteor. It scraped the top of the mountain, altering it's course, and careened into the land below. Thrusters kicked in, and propelled the craft toward Whiterun. It hit with a loud wham, bounced into the air, tumbling end-over-end until it slid, came to a stop, and rested in what Paarthurnax assumed to be it's upright position. Plumes of smoke trailed upward into the sky.
This had to be Dovahkiir. There was no other explanation for the presence of this ship, a vessel that seemingly fell from the stars. Gathering his breath, Paarthurnax let loose a roar to signify the arrival of the son of Dovahkiin...
Even after Dovahkiin left, Ulfric Stormcloak continued to live in peace with General Tullius. Having convinced the two sides of the civil war to live in peace – and forced Tullius and the Emperor himself to pardon Ulfric from his past crimes – Dovahkiin would be satisfied to know that peace still went strong. With the threat of another war against the Aldmeri Dominion looming over everyone, the empire needed every ally it could get.
So it was no surprise to see Ulfric, Tullius, and the Jarl of Whiterun – Balgruuf the greater – together in the palace of Dragonsreach.
"... I still don't get it," Tullius complained as he paced nervously. "How do we know the Dragonborn's son is coming here?"
"I don't know," Balgruuf admitted. "But the dragon was very specific – Dovahkiin has a son."
"Why didn't he tell us?" Ulfric asked. "That's not like the Dovahkiin I know."
"I wish I knew," Balgruuf sighed. He leaned on the balcony overlooking the land outside. "But... I've never known Paarthurnax to lie. He has been Dovahkiin's ally since the death of Alduin." He turned to face Ulfric and Tullius. "Regardless, if what he said is true, we will need all the allies we can get."
"Okay, let's recap on what we know so far," Tullius said. "The Thalmor have been recruiting an unknown faction for whatever purposes. We don't know who they are, but it's obvious they're not native to this place."
"Apart from their recruiting of these... aliens... the elves have given no indication of attack," Ulfric added. "From what spies have told us, they're holding back for some reason."
"And we know that the dragons are expecting something – a ship, perhaps – to fall from the stars," Balgruuf continued, "Which is supposed to contain the one they call Faasnu Dovahkiir."
"Have the dragons any information on Faasnu?" Ulfric inquired.
"No," Balgruuf answered with the shake of his head. "Not even Paarthurnax knew."
"What about the Dragonborn?" Tullius asked. "Did he ever tell Paarthurnax why he left?"
"No, he didn't," Balgruuf replied, leaning again on the balcony rail. "Just that Dovahkiin was haunted by something... some vision he kept having in his sleep."
"Whatever it was," Ulfric added, "It disturbed him greatly. The innkeepers in Windhelm told me how he had awakened several times screaming about something called 'B'tari.'"
"Could B'tari be a place we don't know about?" Tullius asked.
Balgruuf frowned, looking back at his two high-ranking comrades. "It just might," he responded. "It may explain where – or why – Dovahkiin left."
"How so?" Ulfric queried.
"On the day he left," Balgruuf answered, "Dovahkiin approached me when I was alone, told me that there was something stirring in the galaxy – how he had seen the death of a world by a threat that more than eclipsed Alduin. He told me that where he was going, we could not follow – that whoever was responsible for the death of what he called B'tari was coming here... I think he left to try to stop – or at least delay – whatever it was he perceived."
"Gods," Tullius whispered. "Could that be who the Thalmor recruited?"
Ulfric sighed, "I shudder to think-"
Before this speculation could continue, there was a loud BANG in the sky, and everyone looked up in time to see a vessel, trailing smoke and fire, rocket overhead and crash. The crimson-scaled Odahviing was close behind, and hovered over the balcony.
"Ulfric! Tullius!" he called out to them, "Gather your fastest and strongest men! We must recover Faasnu and his belongings!"
"Are you certain it is him?" Balgruuf called back.
"There is no time!" Odahviing responded. "Hurry!" He then flew over to the crashed ship.
"You two better get going," Balgruuf said. "The elves could already be on their way."
As Ulfric and Tullius left to gather their men, Balgruuf returned his attention to the crashed starship, billowing smoke into the sky. A clear signal to the Thalmor – Faasnu Dovahkiir has arrived. The dragons circled it like vultures circling fresh carrion – their roars could be heard for a distance. It wasn't long before horse-drawn carriages dashed out to the crashed ship, manned by Imperial Legion personnel. Stormcloak warriors were close behind, also on horseback.
So it begins, Balgruuf thought...
Ulfric dismounted from his horse, and drew his blade. The crashed ship looked bigger up close than it did when Ulfric saw it crash. Tullius was nearby, still on his horse.
"Any ideas how to get in?" he asked.
"We'll need to find a way in – or make one – and get Faasnu out before he's burned alive," Ulfric replied.
"Alright, men!" Tullius commanded, "Let's find a way inside! Search for any survivors!"
"Over here!" shouted one of the Stormcloaks. "I think I found our man!" The soldier was standing atop the nose of the craft. Ulfric came up and saw what the soldier indicated: a man, or alien, encased and unmoving in a strange, armored shell.
The armored figure twitched in his seat, and Ulfric knew in that instant the man was still alive. "All of you, get back!" he commanded. Gathering his breath, he let loose a Thu'um that tore the barrier between them off. "Fus... Ro Dah!"
Glass shattered, and the way was clear. The men hurried inside, and dragged the armored alien carefully onto the ground.
"Get those horse carriages over here!" Tullius barked. "Let's get Faasnu's gear out before the Thalmor find us!"
As the legion men hurried to load Faasnu's equipment into the carriages, Ulfric and his men gently set the armored warrior on the ground. Ulfric removed the helmet, and...
Beneath the helmet was the face of a man, no older than his mid-twenties. A human man. Paarthurnax was the first of the dragons to land. He looked over the boy, a single tear leaving his eye as he said, "He... looks just like him." Ulfric didn't say it, but he, too, recognized the resemblance – this boy was a spitting image of Dovahkiin. "Is he alright?" Paarthurnax asked.
A single cough answered that question. A Stormcloak healer put a hand to Faasnu's neck, feeling his pulse. "Well," she said, "He's unconscious – but he's alive. Let's get him someplace safe."
Ulfric returned Faasnu's helmet to his head, and his troops dragged him off. As the legion troops loaded all of Faasnu's gear into the carriages, Ulfric looked to Paarthurnax. "I assume you will watch over him?" he asked.
"Of course," the aging dragon answered. "That goes without saying. As the son of Dovahkiin, Faasnu deserves no less – from both the dov and from the races of man."
"That's the last of it!" one of the legion troops said as a group of men – legion and Stormcloak – dragged a large item to one of the empty carriages.
"Put this stuff in the palace, where the dragons stay," Tullius ordered. "And put Faasnu with it." Tullius looked over to Paarthurnax. "I trust you don't mind?" he asked.
"Truthfully," Paarthurnax answered, "That is where I would prefer Faasnu to be – as one of the dov whose allegiance is sworn to Dovahkiin and his descendants, I will keep an eye on him."
"Very well," Tullius stated. "Alright, men – let's get out of here!"
The horse-drawn carriages dashed off, loaded with equipment alien to everyone save the warrior pulled from the wreckage, followed by men on horseback, all of them headed to Whiterun and the palace of Dragonsreach...
(More will follow.)
