Hello dear readers! NukaGirl here! I decided to write another fanfiction whilst writing "Saviour of The Wastes". Because a Skyrim plot bunny bit me. So here is the first chapter of "Briinah Dovah, Briinah Grohiik", which, in English, means "Sister Dragon, Sister Wolf". I chose that because I named my character after the Norse Goddess of Winter, Skadi, who is often nicknamed the Sister of Wolves.
So sit back and enjoy!
Skadi, Nord by birth and ancestry. Unaware of her Destiny as The Dragonborn, the Bane of Alduin, she enters Skyrim to begin a new life, but as we all know, sometimes the Divines have other plans for us…
Briinah Dovah, Briinah Grohiik.
Chapter One:
The very first thing that Skadi registered when she opened her eyes was pain. A dull, throbbing pain in the back of her head.
"Son of a…" She muttered, moving to rub the back of her skull, only to find her hands bound together.
"Hey, you. You're finally awake" Skadi looked up when she heard someone address her, her icy blue eyes wide with confusion. They fell upon a blonde man before her. He was smiling, almost relieved. A jolt brought her out of the haze of sleep, and suddenly she realised that she was on a cart. She looked to her right, seeing another blonde man. He was bound, like her, but he was also gagged. He looked at her, and she took note of his attire. He was dressed in fine clothes, a fur cloak around his shoulders.
"You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked straight into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there" The other man spoke. Skadi looked back at him. Imperial ambush? So that's what happened…
"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell" Another man, who Skadi assumed was the thief, said. He then looked to her.
"You there, you and me- we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants" He said. The other man scoffed.
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief" He said.
"Shut up back there!" Came the voice of the Imperial Soldier who was driving the cart. Skadi immediately wished she had a warhammer.
"And what's wrong with him, huh?" The thief asked. Skadi looked. He was addressing the man next to her, who was glaring at the thief, almost in a challenging manner.
"Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King of Skyrim" The other man said. Skadi's eyes widened. Ulfric Stormcloak! As if feeling her eyes on him, Ulfric looked at her, his blue eyes meeting hers. She nodded once to him, a sign of respect.
"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you… Oh Gods, where are they taking us?!" The thief despaired. Skadi shared his fear, except she knew where they were going.
"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits" The other man said. Skadi nodded. The cool breeze lifted the ends of Skadi's pale blonde hair, the smell of pine and mountain flowers carried on the wind. This was not how she wanted to die. She wanted to die in battle, fighting the enemy.
"No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening" The thief said. Skadi decided to speak at that point.
"But it is. We're going to die. There's nothing we can do or say to change that. May as well face our deaths with some dignity and honour" She said, glaring at the thief. He glared back at her.
"Hey, what village are you from horse thief?" The other man asked, seemingly trying to lighten the mood.
"Why do you care?" The thief asked almost accusingly. The other man smiled.
"A Nords last thoughts should be of home" He said. The thief faltered.
"Rorikstead. I'm from Rorikstead" The thief said. The man looked at Skadi.
"I was born in Windhelm, years ago. But my family left for Cyrodiil when I was 12" She said. The man nodded.
The scenery changed. They were approaching the walls of a village. Skadi looked down. Somehow she knew this was the end of the line for them.
"General Tullius, Sir. The headsman is waiting" Their Imperial driver called out. She heard the voice of a man, who she assumed to be General Tullius, respond.
"Good, lets get this over with" He said.
"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh , Divines, please help me" She heard the thief mutter over and over again.
"Look at him, General Tullius, the Military Governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this" The other man said in distaste. Skadi was no hater of elves or Imperials, but she didn't exactly consider them to be allies now, not after this…
"Ah, this is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. I wonder if Vilod is still making the mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe…." He continued, looking around wistfully. Skadi felt for him, she really did.
The carriage rolled to a stop. The thief looked up, fear present in his eyes.
"Why are we stopping?" He asked. The other man laughed.
"Why do you think? End of the line" He stood. Skadi followed suit, as did the horse thief and Ulfric.
"Lets go. Shouldn't keep the Gods waiting" He said. One by one they dropped down from the carriage.
"Step towards the block when your name is called. One at a time!" A young Imperial lad called out. Skadi rolled her eyes.
"Damn Imperials love their lists" The man muttered.
"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm!"
Ulfric proceeded, head held high. Fearless. Skadi admired him for this.
"It has been an honour, Jarl Ulfric" The man beside her said.
"Ralof of Riverwood"
The man stepped forwards. Skadi nodded at him, and he nodded back as he made his way to the block.
"Lokir of Rorikstead"
The horse thief stepped forwards.
"You can't do this! I'm not a rebel!" He protested. Then he ran.
"Halt!" The Imperial Captain yelled.
"You won't kill me!" Lokir cried.
"Archers!" Three bolts landed in Lokir's back, and he fell down dead.
"Anyone else feel like running?" The Captain barked. No one spoke.
The young Imperial looked at Skadi, then at the list, then back at Skadi.
"Wait. You there. Step forward" He said. Skadi did so, stopping before him.
"Who are you?" He asked. Skadi lifted her head high.
"Skadi of Windhelm and Cyrodiil" She said proudly.
"You picked a bad time to come home to Skyrim, Kinsman. Captain, what should we do? She's not on this list" He said.
"Forget the list. She goes to the block" The Captain said.
"Bitch" Skadi inwardly muttered. The young Imperial looked at her sadly.
"By your orders, Captain. I'm sorry. At least you'll die here, in your homeland. Follow the Captain, Prisoner" He said. Skadi glared at him, then at the Captain, but followed.
She stopped next to Ralof, to see Ulfric being confronted by who she knew now to be General Tullius.
"Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use the gift of The Voice to murder his King and usurp the throne!" Tullius said. All Ulfric could do was growl at the man.
"You started this war! Plunged Skyrim into chaos! And now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace!" Tullius snarled. At that exact moment, out of the blue skies came a roar. Everyone, Skadi included, looked skywards, looking for the source of the sound. They saw nothing.
"What was that?" The Imperial who had called out their names asked.
"It's nothing. Carry on" Tullius said. But Skadi could not ignore that roar. She got a gut feeling that something big was about to happen. She just hoped it happened before anyone else died.
"Yes, General Tullius!" The Captain said. Skadi threw a dirty look in her direction.
"Give them their last rights" The Captain ordered. The Priestess stepped forwards, raising her hands to the sky.
"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, Blessings of the eight divines upon you-"
"For the love of Talos, shut up and lets get this over with!" A Stormcloak soldier growled, boldly stepping towards the block. The Priestess huffed and glared at him.
"As you wish" She snapped, before stepping back.
The Stormcloak stood before the block.
"Come on, I haven't got all morning" He ordered. The Captain moved him to kneel in front of the block, pushing him so his head rested on it.
"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" He taunted. The headsman grunted and lifted the axe. A swish, and it came down on the Stormcloaks neck. Skadi cringed as his head dropped into the basket. The Captain shoved his body to the ground.
"You Imperial bastards!" Came the cry of a female Stormcloak.
"Justice!"
"Death to the Stormcloaks!"
"As fearless in death as he was in life" Ralof said sadly. The Captain looked to Skadi, and pointed at her.
"Next! The Nord in the rags!" She called. Skadi's pounding heart was drowned out by the sound of another roar. This time it was closer. She looked skywards, uttering a prayer to Akatosh to save her.
"There it is again, did you hear that?" The young Imperial murmured.
"I said, next. Prisoner" The Captain said.
"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy" The Imperial said. Skadi fought back tears as she stepped closer to the block, praying once again to the Divines to save her. She stood before the block, looking down at the blood left by the last prisoner. She swallowed as she was bent to her knees before the block, then pushed. The smell of blood filled her nostrils and she felt sick. She wanted to close her eyes, but something told her to keep them open, to stare death in the face with bravery and laugh at him.
Another roar sounded, a large black creature flying into Skadi's peripheral vision.
The headsman raised his axe once more.
"What in Oblivion is that?!" came the voice of Tullius.
"Sentires! What do you see?" The Captain yelled.
Then Skadi saw it. A big, black dragon. It rested atop the tower behind the headsman. She could feel its steely gaze regard her.
"Dragon!" Someone cried. At that moment, the dragon let loose a shout, one that sounded like thunder. It knocked the headsman over, and all at once the sky turned dark. Fire rained from above. Skadi's vision blurred as she fell sideways. She could feel the dragon looking at her.
"Come on kinsman! The Gods won't give us another chance!" Came the reassuring voice of Ralof. He helped Skadi to her feet, and they ran for their lives….
And that, dear readers, is Chapter one.
This was hard to write because I had to refer to several different sources to find the opening scene dialogue, and that's why I cut it off just as Alduin appears, because it's all game dialogue and I just want to get on with the story. Sorry. I'm lazy, I know.
:p
Please read and review!