((A/N: This story, as I stated, is written as I play Skyrim. I have added a little flavor to Ra'Niir in the form of actual thoughts and opinions, so it isn't so vanilla. Please enjoy the story and make sure to read the Author's Note at the end!))
Ra'Niir came to slowly, the sounds of wagon wheels, not to mention his jouncing seat, stirring him from his unwanted slumber. He tries to rub his sore head with his right hand only to stare dumbly down at his bindings, and then groaned slightly as his head clears enough to remember what had happened.
Implicated in a crime he didn't commit, he'd fled from his caravan where he worked as a scout, running for months from the Empire until he attempted to cross the border between Cyrodiil and Skyrim. He must have made it into the Nord's country, for as he stepped from the bushes he'd come face to face with a large scruffy human in the middle of a fight, who promptly bashed poor Ra'Niir over the head with the pommel of his sword.
Noting the returning life in the Khajiit, a blond Nord wearing armor, and bound as well, addresses him. "Hey, you, you're finally awake! You were trying to cross the border right? You walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there." The Nord nods towards the scruffy dark haired human sitting beside him.
The thief sneers, "damn you Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine until you came along; the Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell!"He turns to address Ra'Niir, "you there! You and me-we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the empire wants."
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." The blond one says to the other human.
"Ra'Niir is confused," the Khajiit confesses, "what does he have to do with fight?" The pleading tone in his voice is clear.
Turning in his seat, the wagon driver calls over his shoulder, "shut up back there!"
Ignoring the Imperial, the horse thief looks at the gagged man sitting across from him and next to Ra'Niir, "and what's wrong with him, huh?"
"Watch your tongue," the blond Nord says sharply, "you're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!"
"Ulfric?" The thief says, taken aback, "the Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion!" Understanding seems to dawn on the man, "but if they've captured you….Oh Gods, where are they taking us?!"
With the tone of one who is at peace with his fate, the blond man responds, "I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits."
Staring blankly, Ra'Niir knows about the Nord's Sovngarde, and he goes numb. This human believes he will be rewarded in death, but the Khajiit just wants to go home.
"No, this can't be happening!" The horse thief exclaims, earning him a dirty look from the driver as he continues, "this isn't happening…"
"Hey," the blond Nord speaks calmly, "what village are you from, Horse Thief?"
"Why do you care?" He responds defensively.
"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home," the blond returns.
The other human pauses for a moment, sitting stiffly, Ra'Niir knows how he feels. On the outside he is scared, but inside his heart hammers and his mind tries to escape. The Khajiit knows there is no escape, and only hopes to be sent to prison instead of the headsman's block. He fears what trouble the crazy human thief might get them into.
"Rorikstead," he says quietly, "I'm…I'm from Rorikstead."
They all stop talking a moment as a town comes into view; a soldier calls out to someone as the wagon passes under the walls, "General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" A chill races down Ra'Niir's spine.
Another human, apparently a leader of the human Imperials, answers the soldier with impatience, "good, let's get this over with."
As the cart they sit in crawls it's way under a large wooden gate into a small village the horse thief begins to shiver and pray, "Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akstosh. Divines, please help me!"
Cold and scared, Ra'Niir lays his ears back at the man's whining, "This one has done nothing..." He mutters to himself, trailing off as he looks desperately about. He only sees more human imperials standing guard, one of them sits astride a horse to their right wearing shiny new armor in the imperial colors.
Following his gaze, the blond prisoner sneers, "look at him, General Tullius the Military Governor." Here he gives pause to look at the fancy-dressed mages in black and gold standing close by, "and it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this!" His voice, at the mention of elves, becomes even more hateful if that is possible.
The Khajiit is confused, what does he care about elves and Imperials? He just wants to go back to the warm jungles he called home, away from this cold terrible place, a shiver runs through him again. It's cause is as much the chill as it is his fear.
The blond human breaks into Ra'Niir's thoughts as he looks around, remembering, "this is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here." His voice is quiet, reserved as he shares a memory from his past, "Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in...Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."
At the mention of mead Ra'Niir feels his mouth water despite his fear, his head ached terribly and he would very much enjoy something wet. Even if it was the humans nasty strong mead drink. With a sigh, he looks at his own feet. He looks around when he hears the voice of a small boy.
"Who are they, daddy? Where are they going?" The boy sits on the steps of a house to the left, wearing a red tunic.
The father leans on the porch railing the right, turning to his son as he answers, "you need to go inside, little cub."
Disappointment in his face, the boy looks to his father, "why? I want to watch the soldiers."
"Inside the house, now!" Comes the man's reply.
The boy heeds it, standing reluctantly, "yes papa."
Almost at the same instant the man driving his cart shouts a command to the horses, "whoa!" As the cart slows to a stop another Imperial, this one a woman, bellows out an order to her men.
"Get these prisoners out of the carts. Move it!"
Horse Thief looks around in a panic, "why are we stopping?" He asks nervously.
In a voice calm and quiet, the blond Nord answers, "why do you think? End of the line." His lips are drawn in a grim line, not quite smiling but much braver than Ra'Niir feels.
They pull to a stop beside a second wagon that had been ahead of us, filled with blue cloaked prisoners with Nordic features and the hardened bodies of warriors. The driver steps down from his seat just as Blond Nord speaks again, "let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."
Shaking his head, Ra'Niir knows he must go to prison. Though he's done nothing wrong, he would rather spend a few days alive in a cell then die surrounded by strangers in a few minutes.
"No! Wait! We're not rebels!" Horse thief shouts, Ra'Niir thinks this human a coward, and he knows the man might well run...Ra'Niir hopes he gets away.
Seemingly annoyed, Blond Nord frowns as they are directed to get off the wagon, "face your death with some courage, thief." This does not hearten the Kahjiit at all.
Near panic, Horse Thief finds anger coloring his words as he spits a reply, "you've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake!"
"Ra'Niir agrees with cowardly human," he mutters. Nobody seems to hear him, so he hangs his head and stays silent.
The Imperial woman speaks, but only the Kahjit's ears perk up to listen, "step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time." Her voice is cold and passionless.
"Empire loves their damn lists," Blond Nord whispers beside him. He is ignored.
An imperial man stands next to the Imperial Officer Woman, "Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm." He adresses the Gagged Nord in the fur cape.
Ulfric steps away as the Blond Nord bows his head in respect, "it has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric."
Ra'Niir wishes he would shut up, at least so Ra'Niir could die in peace! The thought nearly makes his knees turn to Netch jelly.
"Ralof of Rverwood," Imperial Man says, reading off his scroll. Blond Nord steps past Horse Thief silently as the man reads his next name, "Lokir of Rorikstead."
Lokir steps forward desperately, "no, I'm not a rebel. You can't do this!" At the Imperials blank looks he darts past them panting.
"HALT!" Imperial Officer Woman shouts, she is ignored.
"You're not going to kill me!" He says, running for all he is worth.
Even before she shouts her next order the Imperial behind her draws an arrow to his bow, "archers!" The arrow flies true, hitting Lokir in the back. He dies with a cry, mercifully, dead before the sound dies away.
"Anyone else feel like running?" Imperial Officer Woman asks. Ra'Niir doesn't respond, he hangs his head in defeat.
Imperial man looks down at his list, "wait. You there, step forward." The Kahjiit knows he is being spoken to and doesn't look up, he does as he is commanded. "Who are you?" The Imperial Man's question is direct and even.
"This one is called Ra'Niir," he replies. He is terrified but manages to speak without breaking. He had never been very brave but Ra'Niir would not die a coward, if he must die at all.
The Imperial Man writes something on his scroll, speaking without looking up. "You with one of the trade caravans, Kahjiit? Your kind always seems to find trouble." He glances up occasionally, not to judge reaction but to note Ra'Niir's features, he knows this because he had been questioned by Imperials before. Though never for a something as dire as this. The Kahjiit does not respond.
When he finishes with the list he looks up to the Imperial Officer Woman, "Captain. What should we do? He's not on the list." Ra'Niir feels a spark of hope.
"Forget the list," he Captain says coldly, "he goes to the block." The spark is dashed before it catches, the Kahjiit sighs, a hopeless tear threatens the corner of his eye and he wipes it away.
"By your orders, Captain." Imperial Man replies, Ra'Niir believes he catches a not of regret there. "I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Elsweyr." This last part, at least, brings a measure of peace. If nothing else, his spirit would find rest at home rather than this cold place.
The Captain moves away towards the block and the other prisoners, "follow the Captain, prisoner."
Feeling more alone than ever in his life, Ra'Niir nods dumbly, following the Captain in silence. As they reach the block and he stands among the other doomed Stormcloak soldiers the man called General Tullius addresses Ulfric.
"Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne." As Tullius finishes Ulfric's eyes narrow, clearly angered by these words. He grunts and Tullius replies as if they were a rebuke, "you started this war. Plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace."
A strange noise causes everyong to stop, looking about curiously for a moment. "What was that?" Imperial man asks no-one in particular.
"It's nothing. Carry on." Tullius replies as if he hadn't heard it. Ra'Niir does not agree, the noise scares him almost as much as his impending death.
"Yes, General Tullius!" Imperial Captain toadies, stepping forward. She then turns to a human in a yellow robe behind her and commands, "give them their last rights."
As the robed one's voice rings out in prayer it is known to be a woman: "As we command your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved-"
"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with!" One of the Stormcloak soldiers shouts, making Ra'Niir start.
"As you wish," the priestess says tersely.
He is lead to the headsman's block with defiance on his face, "come on, I haven't got all morning!" Ra'Niir silently agrees, none of them do.
As the Imperial Captan shoves him down to rest his head on the block, facing the Headman, he continues. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials, can you say the same?" Nobody answers as the headsman raises his ax, and then lets it fall, cleaving off the stormcloak's head and silencing him forever. Ra'Niir smells the blood, coppery in the air, and even this he savors as a last thing to know.
Captain kicks the corpse over, away from the block as a woman shouts, "you Imperial bastards!" At the same time one of the men says, "justice!" And a woman agrees, "death to the Stormcloaks!." Ra'Niir thinks this is unfair, he is not a part of this war, but he says nothing.
The one called Ralof speaks sadly, "as fearless in death as he was in life." Ra'Niir can only hope he does not soil himself before his head is taken.
"Next, the cat!" The Captain commands, and he almost throws up as his belly clenches painfully. Suddenly the strange cry comes again, making everyone look around nervously, Ra'Niir wishes he could cover his ears.
"There it is again," Imperial Man says, "did you hear that?"
"I said, next prisoner." The Captain grunts, seemingly unaffected by the strange cries.
"To the block, prisoner." Imperial man says, a hand guides Ra'Niir to has last moments. "Nice and easy." He hears the voice but does not respond. He hopes it is as quick as it looked.
He is shoved forward to lay his head on the block, his nose fills with the scent of death and blood as he is forced to turn his face to the headman, who lifts his ax unceremoniously.
Without warning the cry from before rends the air and Ra'Niir sees a dark shape come into view behind the tower in the background briefly. The headsman doesn't seem to notice as his ax arcs higher.
"What in Oblivion is that?!" Tullius cries.
The shape reappears over the tower as the Captains voice rises in alarm, "Sentries! What do you see?" She must not be facing the same way as Ra'Niir, for he can see just fine. His breath will not come to him as he cowers on the block.
A man's voice rises in panic just as the monstrous thing lands atop the tower, "It's in the clouds!" The ground shakes and the headsman stumbles, falling to the earth beside the Kahjiit.
A woman's voice cries out, "DRAGON!" And that is what it is. The Headsman stands up to face the beast, still holding the ax. The dragon roars powerfully enough to make the large man stumble again.
Imperial Man steps before him as he kneels on the ground with his head still on the block, frozen in shock as General Tullius shouts a command, "don't just stand there! Kill that thing!" The dragon lets loose another blast of force. Dizzied, Ra'Niir is knocked away from the block. He is not sure he could stand let alone kill a dragon, he grins at the situation. This is madness.
"Guards! Get the townspeople to safety!" Someone shouts.
A hand grips his shoulder as he blearily stares at the cobbles with scattered thoughts, "Hey, Kahjiit, get up! Come on, the gods won't give up another chance!" It is the voice of the blond man, Ralof, and Ra'Niir stumbles to his feet, running before he even knows which direction he's going. Somewhere off to his left a man shouts, "Fall, damn you!" or somesuch as that, it is difficult to focus but Ra'Niir is pretty sure fire and stones are falling from the sky. He stops just outside a tower as Ralof hurries inside and is spurred on by a small stone clipping his shoulder, he grunts in pain and stumbles inside past a dead imperial lying on the stairs.
A door slams shut behind him, Ra'Niir leans over on his knees and gasps for air, though it is still tinged with blood and the smell of roasting flesh. Screams and shouts are still clear to his sensitive ears eve through the heavy wooden door behind him. To his right Ralof catches his breath, before him a wounded blue-cloak woman is being tended by a man in the same garb.
Turning his head, Ra'Niir looks dumbly at the Jarl of Windhelm who stands close to him on the left. Ralof seems to notice him at the same moment, the cat can hear him straighten hastily to address his leader.
"Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing?! Could the legends be true?" The words tumble from Ralof's mouth as if he could not trust his own eyes.
"Legends don't burn down villages," the Jarl replies in his deep voice. A roar from the creature can be heard close by, Ulfric looks up briefly before shouting a command, "we need to move! Now!"
"Up through the tower," Ralof shouts, "let's go!" Ra'Niir does not need to be told twice.
He darts up the stairs that circle the inside of the tower, fear clearing his eyes and driving his steps, he just about reaches the first landing before any of Ralof's men respond.
"We just need to m-umf!" A man is cut off as the wall just above Ra'Niir implodes inward, pieces of the wall flying past his face. At almost the same instant a bowl-loosening voice says, "Yul-toor-shul!" And Ralof cries, "get back!" Just in time to yank Ra'Niir away from a blast of fire that singes the black hair on his face. The monster takes off again, leaving a moment of peace besides the sounds of licking flames and tumbling stone. The stunned silence allows him to take in the tower stairs ascent blocked by debris and a man-blue-cloak's body, as well as the massive hole where Ra'Niir had been seconds ago.
"See the Inn on the other side?" Ralof asks, Ra'Niir nods mutely. "Jump through the roof and keep going!" He hesitates for a moment as another blast of fire is released from the dragon's maw. "Go!" Ralof gives him a shove, "we'll follow when we can!"
The shove turns into a half leap and partial tumble that never-the-less finds him standing inside the second floor of the Inn. Ra'Niir takes a moment to look at a freshly made bed and a shelf with bric-a-brac strewn around it before he darts to the hole on the opposite side of the room to drop down. He skids to a stop as he is about to exit through a doorway when a terribly large shadow crosses it.
"Get off the road, boy!" Comes he voice of an old man, suddenly, and Ra'Niir is spurred outside to find the source. Not for any heroics but he feels safer in a group than alone, even with humans. As he exits the dragon flies over again and Ra'Niir skids to a stop once more, An older man stands to one side and the Imperial Man with the list from before stands to the other, both facing away to shout at the boy from the porch, who is standing in the middle of the street several yards away looking as terrified as Ra'Niir feels.
"Haming, get over here!" Commands the Imperial Man just as the dragon makes yet another pass, "Haming you need to get over here NOW!" The man's voice does the trick and the boy, Haming, runs past them and into cover beside a blasted building to Ra'Niir's right, "That a boy. You're doing great."
The men turn to run just as the great black dragon lands in the street where the boy was just standing, Imperial man shouts as he runs, "Torolf!" The dragon rears it's head back and Ra'Niir dives for cover beside the boy as the men join them, "Gods...Everyone get back!" They all duck behind the shattered wall, more than happy to oblige as the dragon lets loose a fiery blast.
Imperial man seems to notice Ra'Niir for the first time, "still alive prisoner?" He asks, then continues, not waiting for Ra'Niir's nod, "keep close to me if you want to stay that way. Gunmar, take care of the boy, I have to find General Tullius and join the defense."
Ra'Niir goes to follow the human as the old man, Gunmar, gives his parting words, "Gods guide you Hadvar."
Without time to reflect on finally knowing the human's name, Ra'Niir follows him through the streets choked with burning debris and shattered burning bodies. The stench is horrendous, somewhere a soldier shouts to no-one in particular, "what does it take to kill this monster?"
They dart to the left where a pile of burned wood, once a fence, creates a ramp. The two jump down into an alley between a building on the right and a thick stone wall where Hadvar shouts back, "stay close to the wall!" as he looks around the corner of the building.
Ra'Niir only gets a heartbeat before he hears a man shout, "General Tullius, over here!" He lifts his head a heartbeat before the dragons overshadows the wall and roasts the shouting man, who lets out one brief cry of agony before expiring.
Just as the dragon leaps away again Hadvar surges to his feet, "quickly, follow me!" He is off up the stairs beside the building and gone from Ra'Niir's sight before he has the chance to react. Cursing, the Kahjiit darts into the open to follow. Stringing every invective he knows at Imperials, Stormcloaks, and humans in general.
Dashing past a dead body and through a tumbled building, they hear many voices all talking at once. When they come into the open Ra'Niir sees a woman in Imperial garb holding fire in her hands. He doesn't have time to wonder at this but turns past her just in time to hear her shout, "Move! Move!" As if he wasn't already.
Hadvar circles to the left with the Kahjiit right on his bootheels, "it's you and me, prisoner. Stay close!" He calls over his shoulder.
They pass an Imperial bowman at a dead sprint through an archway as the man fires an arrow at the passing beast overhead, "how in Oblivion do you kill this thing?!"
Without stopping the cat gasps, "Ra'Niir does not know!" He doesn't care if the human hears him but he puts his head down and runs faster, wishing he could get the painful ropes off.
As they enter a courtyard Ralof appears with a few Stormcloaks close behind and Hadvar skids to a stop. "Ralof, you damned traitor, out of my way!" Is the greeting the Imperial gives.
"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time." Ralof shoots back with venom in his words.
"Fine, I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!" As Hadvar says this the dragon swoops low and they all scatter while Ra'Niir ducks and covers his head with his hands, his claws nipping the flesh of his scalp. Hadvar goes left to a large wooden door while Ralof goes right to a different one, both calling for Ra'Niir to join them. Torn, the cat looks wildly at both men, not sure who to trust...
((A/N: I would like to point out that at the end of every chapter I will leave options for you, the readers, to choose from. The first choice was already taken and a second chapter written on another site but due to lack of interest there I have migrated it here. I will be posting a second chapter right away that you can vote on. I hope you liked it and be sure to vote on the options I give in the next chapter!))