Legend of the Dragonborn: Chapter 1 - Awakening
Horse hooves striking a stone path. A cart of some sort creaking from the strain of being used for so long. The scent of horses and blood (that was blood, right?) and so many other things. The feeling of the sun's rays on his bare skin; a worn wooden plank beneath him.
As his senses slowly came back, the Hero of Twilight quickly grew concerned. He was not where he had been last night.
The last thing he clearly remembered was arriving back home to the quaint little village of Ordon, a fortnight after he defeated Ganondorf and thus saved the Kingdom of Hyrule from ultimate ruin. Now...He had no idea where he was.
Not in Hyrule, that was for certain.
As the Hero of Twilight regained his sight, he found himself bound with rope around his wrists, and that he was...What was he wearing?
...Basically rags? Link mentally scoffed at this. He didn't remember a single thing from the time he had returned home last night to now, but he at least hoped that he had put up a fight before he was subdued.
It was then that he noticed a slight golden glow from the back of his left hand. ...Could it be? It was. The Triforce of Courage had somehow returned to him. How could this be? I defeated Ganondorf, I saw Courage disappear with my own eyes, and now...It somehow returned to me.
Link tested the rope around his wrists and found that whoever had bound him knew exactly what they were doing. It was then that he noticed that there was someone else sitting on the wooden bench before him and he lifted his head to find himself looking at an older man with blonde hair, scars, and blue eyes.
When the man saw that he was awake, he spoke.
"Hey, you. You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there."
Link glanced over to his right and found himself looking at a man dressed in fine clothing. For some reason, this man was gagged. Another man, also wearing rags, was seated across from him.
The Hero of Twilight moved his gaze back to the man before him and he must of looked confused, because the man then said:
"You know...I think they hit you too hard. You look as if you've never heard of the Imperials before."
The other man that was seated before the gagged one joined in.
"Did you see them strike him? I swear, he appeared from nowhere, and he got a little too close to one of the guards. I bet getting hit like that hurt."
The blonde man nodded. "Aye. I heard the guards get into an argument as to what to do with him. Maybe he's from the College of Winterhold and was out on an errand for them."
"Maybe. Or maybe he's from somewhere else entirely. I mean, look at him. Was his mother a Nord and his father an Elf of some sort? Or was it the other way around?"
Link moved his gaze between the two men before him
"You mean you haven't seen a Hylian before?"
The blonde man look at the other one.
"Hylian?"
"Never heard of that race before."
The blonde man moved his gaze back to Link. "Where are you from, lad?"
"Hyrule."
The blonde man gazed at Link for a bit before he spoke again.
"Your accent is strange...Very strange...I'm Ralof. The horse thief besides me is Lokir. And the man in fancy clothing over there is Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King."
Lokir stared at Ulfric. "Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they captured you... Oh gods, where are they taking us?"
Ralof leaned his head back against the cart and closed his eyes.
"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits."
Sovngarde? Is that like their Sacred Realm?
"What is this...Sovngarde?"
Ralof's eyes snapped open and he sat up.
"That proves that you're not from here. Sovngarde is where all warriors go when they die. There's a huge mead hall there, and you live forever, feasting with the past heroes."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
Ralof nodded. "Aye. Every Nord is allowed to go there after they die. Now...Since you know our names, what's yours?"
Link shifted a bit before he answered - sitting on a wooden bench for so long was not good for you.
"My name's Link. Link Faremanne. I'm...a bodyguard at Hyrule Castle...Or I was before I ended up here...wherever this is..."
Lokir answered this time.
"You're in Skyrim, one of the many provinces of Tamriel. We're near Helgen now."
Tamriel...Skyrim...I've never even heard of these places...Just how did I get here?