Seventeenth of Last Seed, Two Hundredth and First Year of the Fourth Era

After crossing the border into Skyrim, I was captured by the Empire and taken to a town that was apparently called Helgen; whilst I was on the executioner's block, a dragon attacked! I managed to escape in the ensuing chaos. Perhaps foolishly, I had always assumed dragons to be a myth, or at least an exaggeration. The presence of one would indicate more, and their return cannot be a harbinger of anything promising.

Reached a small village called Riverwood, where I stayed the night.

Eighteenth of Last Seed, Two Hundredth and First Year of the Fourth Era

I left Riverwood for the city of Whiterun, with the intent of informing the Jarl of what I'd seen in Helgen; upon doing so, I was hired by the Jarl to delve into an Nordic barrow and retrieve a "dragon stone" artifact for his court wizard. This should, presumably forward some line of investigation as to the reappearance of the dragons.

I also accepted the offer of work from a redguard by the name of Amren. He wanted me to get his family's sword from a group of bandits; I've done this, but have yet to return to him.

It would seem that my initial concern regarding the return of the dragons was more than was due. I've not encountered any more of them, and were they as large a concern as I had assigned them, I would have. Perhaps it is only one dragon, in which case there should be no real problem. Given that it survived attacking Helgen, it must be a formidable foe, though it cannot be invincible.

Nineteenth of Last Seed, Two Hundredth and First Year of the Fourth Era

I headed up to Bleak Falls Barrow, the road rapidly became treacherous as I made my way up the mountain; snow and ice are harsh masters. I had a little trouble with bandits that had assumed residence of some ruins on the way up to the barrow (perhaps a watchtower?), though they were soon dispatched. Alas, a group of hired thugs approached me as I made my final approach to the barrow, claiming that they were here to "teach me a lesson". Clearly I have angered someone, though I do not know who. These were not your standard mercenaries; I had to flee rather than fight them, it is a shame that so much of my equipment was lost during my capture, I doubt, also, that I will have time to return to Cyrodiil to retrieve more. Even if I did return to Cyrodiil, there's no guarantee that I wouldn't simply get captured on my way back into Skyrim; I doubt very much that a dragon would save me a second time.

Delving further into the barrow, I encountered Nordic dead rising from their crypts. Such a thing is not wholly unknown (arguably common when mages are involved), though they had swordsmanship to rival the bandits I had dispatched earlier. Clearly these are not the same zombies and necromancer-wrought undead as I have encountered elsewhere.

I retrieved the dragon stone, though I shall have to spend the night in the barrow. Hopefully there will be a second way out; there often is in these tombs, though one dreads to ask why there is a way out at all.

Twentieth of Last Seed, Two Hundredth and First Year of the Fourth Era

I've turned the dragon stone in to the Jarl's court wizard, and Amren's sword to him. I was taken into a meeting with the Jarl, and asked to go and assist the city guard with a dragon that had been sighted to the west of the city; upon felling the beast (which was no mean feat, though we did number in the dozens), its skin withered and some form of energy flowed into me. I'm sure I've been imbued with some manner of magic, though I daren't contemplate exactly what. On the way back to Whiterun, the ground shook and a thundering voice shouted "DO-VAH-KIIN". This and the "energy" cannot be unrelated.

I have been currying favor with the Jarl, Balgruuf, and I am now able to buy property in the city, due to my new status as Thane. I doubt very much that I will exercise this ability, however. I don't think I have ever purchased a residence.

Twenty first of Last Seed, Two Hundredth and First Year of the Fourth Era

I met with the Jarl again, and he offered the explanation that I was dragonborn; that the energy flowing into my body from the dragon was me absorbing its soul and that the booming voice that I heard was that of the Greybeards summoning me to their monastery on the peak of a nearby mountain. It would seem that legends of "dragonborn" are fairly common in Skyrim; indeed, they're fairly common elsewhere, I have heard the term used to describe the late Septim Dynasty, and the Nerevarine. That said, these legends seem to be both more like common beliefs than myths here.

The Jarl directed me to their monastery, and I set off for it. It is at the peak of "the Throat of the World", which I have heard to be the tallest mountain in Tamriel.

Twenty Third of Last Seed, Two Hundredth and First Year of the Fourth Era

I arrived at Ivarstead, a town at the base of the "Seven Thousand Steps" (I confess that I'm half tempted to count) up to the Greybeards' monastery. Rather than embark immediately (I have heard it is a trek to be reckoned with), I remained in town and dealt with their "haunted barrow" problem. It was little more than some mage playing trickster, but it paid well enough. The local barkeep gave me a sapphire dragon claw for my trouble; I used a similar one in Bleak Falls Barrow to open a door. This should serve a similar purpose elsewhere.

These claws are curious things. Taking the one I found and used in Bleak Falls as an indicator of the purpose of the rest of them, they seem to be keys, with the solution to a combination locked door that can be found within its corresponding barrow.

Twenty Fourth of Last Seed, Two Hundredth and First Year of the Fourth Era

I made it to High Hrothgar, despite the path being as difficult as could be expected. The weather changed in an instant, forcing me to abandon my (admittedly pathetic) leather armour for a warmer set of robes, which provided protection against nought but the wind, and even then I was chilled to the bone, and I say this as a vampire. As I approached the monastery, a dragon attacked me, the only one I've seen since the Whiterun watchtower. The fight was a hard one, given my utter lack of armour, though I eventually prevailed through use of cover, forcing the beast to land. Alas, I did not fare so well against a troll lurking further up the mountain, from which I had to flee. There's a perverse humour in the notion of a dragon being a less formidable enemy than something as mundane as a troll; but that's just how they are. That said, this troll seemed much stronger than those I encountered in Cyrodiil. I'm sure this is entirely down to its environment, which sadly means I am sure to encounter more of them.

The greybeards were hospitable enough; they explained to me that I am Dragonborn, a mortal with the soul of a dragon, not unlike the Septims of old (divine irony if ever there was such a thing. Was I dragonborn when I was struggling to rescue Martin from Kvatch? If so, I could very easily have simply lit the dragonfires myself and ended the crisis before it began.). As such, I am uniquely gifted at learning to fight as dragons do, with their voices. This is powerful magic indeed, though limited in its uses. They have asked me to retrieve the horn of Jürgen Windcaller from Ustengrav to prove my abilities.

Hopefully the weather will be better as I make my way back down the mountain, though I feel that hoping for good weather in Skyrim is like hoping for Clavicus Vile to honour a deal, the very definition of a fool's hope.