The Elder Scrolls
Darkness Screaming

Chapter One

Slowly the sun's rays shone through the window of a small room. In the room's bed lay two humans. It was easy to tell, based on the man's large muscles and her skin tone, they were both Nords. As the rays of light reached their faces they both gave small looks of disgust. The women blocked the sun out with her hand for a moment. Slowly she lowered her hands and her light green eyes adjusted to the bright morning sun.

She sat up on the bed and outstretched her arms, cracking her tired bones and waking herself for the day. She had shoulder-length hair that was bright brown, almost red. Yawning she reached her hand over and gently pushed on the man. "It is morning dear," she said through the yawn.

The man turned over onto his side and looked to her. His eyes were a bright blue, something most Nords didn't have. However he did have the Nord hair, long blonde hair fell to his collarbone. As he looked to her she gave him a weak smile. He returned the smile and slowly sat up on his side of the bed. "Good morning beautiful," he stated. She gave a small chuckle. He stood up and stretched as she did moments before.

Once he finished he moved forward, about three feet from the foot of the bed was a dresser. He opened up the top drawer and started moving his hands through it. He felt warm suddenly as hands slid around his stomach and the women pressed against him. He smiled.

After several minutes, the door of their room opened and the two were fully dressed for the day. She was in a long blue dress and a brown apron. He was in a plain white shirt that was neatly tucked into his long brown work pants. Just outside their room was a small balcony and stairs that lead to the first floor. The two made their way down the stairs.

The main hall was long with a long dinner table in the center. On the other side of the stairs were two doors that lead to a small library filled with books. Just beside the stairs were another set of doors. The Nord made his way to the door and slowly opened it. Inside was a large room with several chests and dressers. At the end were two small beds and in the beds were two children, one a young man and the other a young girl.

The man smiled and quietly closed the door. He slowly made his way to the entryway where his wife was cooking some breakfast over a small fire pit. He smiled as he moved past her, stopping at the front door. He turned to her. "The children are sleeping."

She nodded with a smile. "I'll get you when they wake?"

"Of course," he said. He turned and moved out into the world of Skyrim.

As he closed the door behind him he breathed in as much air as possible as he turned to face the world. The house was build atop a small hill on the edge of the Falkreath Hold. Skyrim had been his home since he was a young boy. It was all he knew really. From around the corner of the house a man leading a horse emerged. He was taking the horse just a few feet up the small hill before the house, to the stables where two more horses were.

The Nord walked up to him and smiled. "Morning Gunjar," he greeted.

Gunjar smiled and looked at him, still having both hands on the horse to keep it steady. "Morning Master Kodiak, how was your night?"

"It was good," Kodiak nodded.

"How is Lady Ysolda?" Gunjar added.

Kodiak chuckled for a moment. "Gunjar," he started, "Just call us by our names. We are not royalty."

Gunjar shrugged. "You pay me a great deal to upkeep the farm and be a carriage driver," he replied.

Kodiak nodded. "Well you work hard keeping up with the horses and other animals."

"Are my services worth that much?"

"To my family, yes."

The day went by slowly. The sun slowly rose and moved through the sky as time went on. For a majority of the day Kodiak was down at the banks of the river just below his house. Every now and then he would bring the days catch, mostly salmon with the occasional Slaughterfish, up to the house for Ysolda to store or cook.

As the sun began to descend the Nord made one last catch before walking back up the small hill to his house. As he neared the entrance he was greeted by Gunjar, as he usually was. He made his way inside and was greeted by a young man's voice. "Father," it said. Kodiak looked before him and saw his son approaching. Although his son was young, sixteen, he was already a spitting image of his father. He had long hair, though it was slightly darker then his fathers. And instead of his father's bright green eyes, instead having his mother's light blue.

"Yes Mekeir?" he asked.

The young boy looked slightly nervous, which was apparent from his hands constantly moving from his front to side. "Well Alorad and a few other friends are going on a trip to Imperial City, to see the Arena Championships..." Kodiak's face grew cautious yet curious. In his gut he knew where this was going. "I was wondering if I could go."

Kodiak looked down in thought for a moment before returning his gaze to his son. He shook his head, "Sorry son, but I am afraid you cannot go."

"What?" Mekeir asked, almost in a yell. "Why not?"

"You are to young to be traveling such great distances by yourself."

Mekeir shook his head in disagreement. "I'm not going alone..."

"Enough!" Kodiak yelled. He breathed in and out for a moment, calming himself down. Before he could say anything else, Ysolda peeked into the small entry room. Sighing, Kodiak looked at Mekeir. "I will talk it over with your mother."

Mekeir sighed and pushed passed him to the front door. Kodiak didn't turn, he just listened as the door shut behind him. It was Kodiak's turn to sigh. Slowly he walked to the hall and stopped to look at Ysolda. "He wants adventure," she said silently.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kodiak replied grimly. He moved past her and felt something jump on his back. He turned his head slightly to see his daughter, Miram, riding on his back. He started laughing. "Riding me like a horse are you?"

"Yes papa!" the little, innocent, voice replied. Kodiak shook his head and laughed some more. Grabbing her feet to ensure she wouldn't fall back, he started running around the house with her. "You are riding a dragon sweet," he told her as he ran. She started laughing and he followed her.

Ysolda, who was cooking dinner in the entry way kitchen, turned and watched. She couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Mekeir walked around the front, pacing back and forth. He was slightly angry that his father wouldn't allow him to travel. He was trying to find a reason why, besides the 'being worried' excuse all parents give their children.

"He is doing it to protect you," spoke up a voice. Gunjar was watching him pace from the stables and decided to speak up. Walking up he sat against the house.

Mekeir shook his head and kept pacing. "Why is he so worried though? Imperial City isn't even that far."

"Let me tell you something boy," he said as his voice became slightly more firm and serious, "Kodiak Tallowhand is one of the wisest individuals I have ever encountered. I have learned a great deal about the world from him, and about how to treat situations. In this case; yes, he may be wrong and there could be no problem. But with what he has faced, he has a reason to not trust traveling that distance."

Mekeir stopped and raised a brow as he spoke. "What has he faced?"

Gunjar shrugged. "As many things as any of us face," he replied. Thinking for a moment he added, "But sometimes the average man is all the world needs to change it."

Before Mekeir could say anything else Gunjar turned and moved back towards the stables. "Have a good evening." Mekeir sighed and returned inside.

The rest of the night, Kodiak didn't speak to Mekeir, who was angry with him. He didn't mind, the two often butted heads every now and then. He had Miram keeping him company, who asked many questions about the world and the many people in it.

After hours of talking and after finishing dinner, Kodiak tucked Miram in. As he stood to leave she stopped him. "Papa?" she asked. "Tell me a story?"

Kodiak gave a silent chuckle, as Mekeir was already sleeping. He thought for a moment and sat at the end of her bed. "Very well," he said.

"Once upon a time there was a Nord," he started; "And this Nord grew up traveling the land of Skyrim. He loved it- loved the adventure. Then, one day, he learned that he was sent here by the Nine Divines themselves, to save the whole world."

As he told her this, Miram's eyes widened and she gave a huge smile. It almost made Kodiak laugh but he didn't want to cause any loud noises. "This Nord knew he couldn't reach his destination without help. So he called for help and a great dragon came to his aid. This dragon took him to an ancient place where he found the greatest dragon of all, Alduin."

His story was heard by two others, however. Mekeir was turned away from them, pretending to sleep. However he was listening to the story and was real interested. Another ear heard, Ysolda, who stood out in the main hall listening. She have a small smile as he told the great story.

"And he had to defeat Alduin, for he wanted to rule the world. And after a long hard fight the Nord stood victorious. Then," Kodiak said, his voice becoming slightly weak, "he disappeared. The great hero was gone."

"I want to be a hero!" Miram said with enthusiasm.

Kodiak smiled. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "You can be if you work hard and fight for what is right," he whispered. Giving her another kiss he stood up and made his way to the door. "Good-night sweet."

"Good-night papa!"

As Kodiak closed the door he turned to see Ysolda smiling. He returned the smile and walked over to her. He took her in his arms and the two embraced. After this they shared a kiss and made their way upstairs to bed.

After a few hours of pretending to sleep, Kodiak opened his eyes and looked over at Ysolda. She was in a deep sleep. He stood up and quietly slipped on some work clothes. Slowly he made his way down stairs and into the back area of the house, past the main hall. This room was almost empty with just a few tables to sit and eat at. The two doors in the room led into a alchemy tower. However he wasn't going there. In the corner of the room was a small hatch that led into the cellar.

He opened it and climbed down into the cellar, closing the hatch as he entered. The room wasn't too large, containing a large wine barrel and a few practice dummies build for kids. Against the wall was a door. Walking up he reached for his necklace, which was tucked beneath his shirt. On it was the room's key. Unlocking it he slowly stepped in.

It was a much larger room. The wall on the right was composed of a large marble-like table that had a shrine to each of the Nine Divines on it. Against the left wall were mannequins, all wearing full suits of armor. Two pillars were in the center of the room and each had a weapons rack on both sides, weapons filled both. Finally against the back wall was a large desk that was littered in papers and books.

Kodiak walked over to the mannequins and started examining them. The first had a full suit of Blades armor. The second with strange black and red robes. The third was bone like armor; he stopped at this one.

He put his hand to the armors breastplate and closed his eyes. "You miss it," Ysolda whispered.

Kodiak turned quickly, startled by her. After a moment of catching himself he sighed. "Sometimes." He turned back and looked at the armor, examining every piece of it.

"You could go back if you wanted," she whispered kindly to him.

Kodiak shook his head. "No," he stated firmly, "I gave it up for us." He turned to her put his hands in hers. "I gave it up for our family."

Ysolda gave a reassuring smile. "You know I used to adventure too," she replied, "It was how we met!" she said with a chuckle. "You know I would understand if you wanted to go back."

"I want to be with you," Kodiak admitted. "No matter where that is, here or adventuring, that is all I want."

Ysolda smiled and the two kissed for a moment. As they broke up Ysolda gazed off momentarily. "You okay?" Kodiak asked.

"Oh, yea," she replied, snapping back to reality. "I was just wondering about Mekeir."

Kodiak sighed and turned away. Walking over to a small work desk he fell lump in a chair. Sitting up a bit he turned his head slightly to Ysolda, who was walking up behind him. "I don't know what to do about him."

"What do you mean?" Ysolda asked as she put her arms around Kodiak.

"For several months now he and I have been fighting." Kodiak rubbed his eyes and closed them in thought.

"He is your son after all," Ysolda sighed. "You can't ignore him wanting to adventure." Kodiak nodded sadly. He knew his son wanted adventure and it worried him deeply. "You can't ignore your past either," she added with a weaker voice.

He turned to her to see her eyes swelling with tears. "The past is in the past," Kodiak said, gently pressing one hand against her cheek. She closed her eyes and took one of her hands and put it atop his.

"The past defines who we are."

Kodiak nodded. Leaning in the two kissed. "Some things, though, should stay in the past." Kodiak turned and began to leave the room. As he exited he turned to Ysolda who was now staring at the armor mantle. "You coming love? I need to lock this room up."

Ysolda nodded and turned. As she walked passed Kodiak she stopped and looked into his eyes. "You can ignore the past, but don't forget who you are."

As she left Kodiak sighed and looked back into the room. Shaking his head he closed the door and locked it.

End of chapter...