Hello, reader~ Suilebhan here. This is my first Fanfiction, and I'm honestly a bit nervous to post it, though I've been working on it for quite a while. Please read and enjoy it, and feel free to leave reviews so that I can improve my work as I go on! Anyway, I delay you enough! Enjoy~
Disclaimer: The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and all characters from the game belong to Bethesda Softworks. I only own my character, Ellin, as she is my creation.
"Alok nu, kiir." The masked man said, his voice booming throughout the great hall of the temple. "Alok nu, Suleyk." The man spoke again, placing the mask upon the girl. She looked up at him, hoping that behind his mask, she would see some semblance of pride. She saw only the same cold gaze he had always had.
"Geh… in Miraak" The child said, standing from her position bowing before her master.
The young half-elf was jolted awake suddenly as the cart she found herself in hit a rather large bump in the road. Her memory was a bit hazy as to what had exactly happened, but she knew that it didn't really matter, as it wasn't going to change the fact that she was now a prisoner. She didn't know exactly what was going on; just that she had been passing through Darkwater Crossing on her way to Shor's Stone.
"Hey, you. You're finally awake."
The teen looked up to see a golden-haired Nord, perhaps in his mid twenties, addressing her. He was somewhat muscular, and wore chainmail with some light leather, and a blue cloth draped over part of the front. His hands were bound, same as the girl's.
"You were trying to cross the border, right?" The Nord inquired, seeming not to have noticed the girl's lineage. "Walked right into the Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief." He explained. That wasn't quite how the girl remembered it, in her case, she was simply trying to catch a few moments of rest after a rather terrifying race with a Frostbite Spider.
"Damn you Stormcloaks." The thief beside the man said. "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 be halfway to Hammerfell."
"You there." The horse thief said, looking at the woman. "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 blonde Nord replied, prompting the Imperial soldier driving the cart to scold the group for talking.
After a moment, the horse thief looked at the man beside the girl, leading her to do the same. "And what's wrong with him, huh?" The thief asked.
"Watch your tongue. You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!" The blonde man harshly explained. The color drained from the horse thief's face as he realized how grim a situation they were all in now.
"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm?" The thief muttered, "You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you... Oh gods, where are they taking us?"
"I don't know where we're going," The Nord across from the girl said, sorrow in his voice. "But Sovngarde awaits."
"No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening." The thief said, fear and panic in his voice.
After a brief moment, the blonde soldier looked over at the thief. "Hey, what village are you from horse thief?" He asked, curiously, his tone solemn and somewhat morbid.
"Why do you care?"
"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home."
"Rorikstead. I'm... I'm from Rorikstead." The thief said, a slight hint of resignation in his words.
There was another bump, though of smaller size, as the carriage approached the gates of a small walled town, with a few stone towers being the only noticeable landmarks. "General Tullius, sir." One of the Imperials said, addressing a man likely in his early fifties, with short grey hair, and golden armor that looked to be more for aesthetic design that actual protection. "The headsman is waiting."
"Good," the Imperial General replied. "Let's get this over with!"
At the sound of those words, the horse thief's face looked almost pale enough to be snow. "Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me." He said, praying for some kind of miracle to save him. The blonde soldier looked up at the silver-haired girl across from him, and wondered what gods she might be praying to, as her face was showing little to no emotion what so ever.
"Look at him. General Tullius the Military Governor." The man muttered to those in the carriage with him, before noticing those accompanying the General. "And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this."
The carriage stopped, and the horse thief began to protest and plead for the Stormcloaks to say that he wasn't associated with them. First name the Imperials called off to have exit the carriage was Ulfric Stormcloak, the gagged man beside the half-elf. Next was the man across from her, Ralof of Riverwood.
When they called out the thief's name, Lokir, he panicked, and tried to run. His life was ended swiftly by a well fired arrow to his back. The girl walked forward, and the Imperial soldier calling out the names looked at her curiously.
"Who… are you?" The soldier asked after a few moments.
The girl hesitated for a moment. "Ellin," she finally muttered, the first words she had spoken in days. The soldier who had asked for her name pointed out that her name wasn't on the list, yet it seemed as though the captain cared little for details, and ordered that Ellin be put to the headsman's block as well.
The General stood before the group of assembled captives, a rather obnoxious look of pride on his face. ''Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like the voice to murder to king to murder his king and usurp his throne.'' Tullius said, letting Ulfric get out a brief grunt behind the gag before continuing. ''You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down and restore peace.''
Just that moment, as he finished his sentence, a strange echoing noise was heard throughout the town, echoing down from the mountains.
"What was that?" The Imperial with the list inquired, looking up curiously.
"It's nothing. Carry on. Give them their last rites." The General said impatiently, not wanting to be delayed more.
As a priestess of Arkay began to administer the last rites for the prisoners, one of the Stormcloaks advanced. "For the love of Talos, let's get this over with." He said harshly, an unpleasant glare worn upon his face.
"As you wish," the priestess muttered just before the first soldier's head was placed down on the headsman's block.
"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" The Stormcloak inquired just before the Headsman's axe came swiftly down upon his neck. Ellin's eyes widened a little in shock as she saw the gruesome scene unfolding before her. She cringed a little, before looking away as they kicked the body aside.
"Next, the one in rags!" The Imperial captain exclaimed, just before another strange sound echoed through the town, seeming to roll down from the mountain. Just as the man with the list began to speak, the captain cut him off. "I said: next prisoner!"
Ellin was led to the block by the man with the list, and felt the boot of the captain on her back pushing down on her as she fell first to her knees, then landed her head roughly on the stone. Ellin's eyes widened as she saw the black figure pass by through the midday sky, it letting out yet another guttural scream. Just as the headsman lifted up his axe, he fell to the ground as the beast landed on the stone tower Ellin was now facing.
For a moment, it seemed as if time had stopped complete, before Ellin heard a voice shouting at her and she stood up. "Hey, you! Kinsman! Get up, we have to get moving!" The stormcloak who had say across from her, Ralof, she believed, called out to her. "In here. This way! Come on!"
Stumbling up, Ellin ran as quickly as she could, trying to avoid the large chunks of rock falling from the sky after what the dragon had screamed so loudly.
They were in the keep, now, and out of the immediate danger, it seemed. Ellin took a moment to catch her breath as Ralof mourned the loss of another of his many comrades. His time of grief was cut short as they heard the voices of the Imperial captain from earlier. Damn, Ellin thought, I was hoping that beast could have at least taken her from this world.
Ralof motioned for Ellin to take cover and avoid sight, so she moved to the side of the barred door, wondering what they were planning to do. As the door opened and the Imperials began to enter, Ellin watched with almost as much surprise as the Imperials as Ralof's axe came down on the soldier accompanying the captain. Ellin, unsure what to do, froze up for a moment, giving the captain a chance to attempt an attack; the half-elf suddenly ducked out of the way, letting out a slight whelp, before pushing both her hands onto the captain's face and igniting the woman.
Ralof looked at the scene with both a bit of surprise and reluctance. It seemed the while her ability was rather effective, the girl was still inexperienced in combat. This could take a while…
"So," Ralof said to Ellin, "why were you captured, anyway?" The Nord asked the girl as they followed the road to Riverwood from Helgen.
"... I was caught just outside of Darkwater Crossing. All I had done was walk by the Imperials after they had captured you. They decided that I was a traitor as well." The half-elf told the man, a frown on her face. She was dressed in the robes of a dead man that was in a cage of a torture room in the keep of Helgen. It disgusted her more and more when she thought of what she had seen today.
They entered the town, and Ellin followed Ralof to the wood mill that the town was known for. As Ralof spoke to his sister, Ellin stood beside him, looking up again at the ruins that overlooked the town. Bleak Falls Barrow, he called them. She wasn't sure why, but Ellin felt as though something was pulling her toward the place.
"Hey, milk drinker!" Ralof said loudly, nudging her slightly. Ellin looked back toward Ralof, focusing again. "Gerdur wants to know if you can go to Whiterun and asked the Jarl for more guards, with the dragon lurking near here and all."
Ellin nodded a little, and then looked up at the Barrow again. "Eh? The barrow?" Ralof asked, before Ellin nodded again. "What about it?"
"Before I go to Whiterun, I think I'll go there..." Ellin said somewhat quietly. She followed Ralof to his sister's home, and grabbed a few potions, but didn't take anything else.
"Well, good luck, then." Ralof told her. "Just be sure to not die. The Jarl needs to know that there's a dragon around here, okay?"
The girl nodded before she shut the door, and began her trek to the top of the small mountain.
Ellin took a deep breath, panting heavily. Sweat ran down her face, and her hair was now disheveled. Why, of all things, did there have to be a spider. She hated them. "Help me!" She heard the man encased in web scream again, causing her to look up. She ignited the web, cringing a little from the smell as it burned.
The man, a Dunmer, then proceeded to run down the passage that had been previously sealed by the webbing, yelling something about how he'd never share the treasure with anyone. Ellin sighed, following the passage at a slow pace. She might have laughed at the sight of the Dunmer's body when she found him victim of a trap, but she was busy silencing the draugr that the thief had arisen with his careless steps. After she finished torching the walking corpses, Ellin went through the belongings of the bandit. She pocketed the few pieces of gold he had, as well as a lockpick. She then found an ornate golden claw, similar to that of a dragon. Putting the claw in her bag, the half-elf continued through the barrow, a little interested in what this supposed treasure was.
After nearly an hour of running through traps and burning walking corpses, Ellin finally came upon a large circular door, with markings similar to those of the claw, although out of order. Shifting the marks on the door, Ellin reached into her bag and pressed it against the center of the door, the tips of the claw matching small indentations. It moved forward, and Ellin instinctively turned it. The door let out a loud creak as the the symbols all shifted, and the door began to sink into the ground.
Ellin walked into a large cavern, ducking a little as a horde of bats flew over her head. She continued into the cave, stopping for a moment as she looked in awe at a massive curved wall with strange claw marks etched into it. She approached the wall, placing her hand against it as the carvings seemed to burn their way into her mind.
Suddenly, she heard a thud, as the base of the coffin beside the wall suddenly cracked open, and fell to the ground. An armored corpse rose, it's eyes glowing an unnatural blue almost the same color as Ellin's eyes. It opened its mouth to speak, but Ellin instinctively threw herself at it, hitting it with the sword she had grabbed from one of the many Draugr she had encountered earlier. She swung again, but the Draugr parried with it's axe, then swung the the weapon into Ellin's side. She gasped a little, as she felt frost spreading through her body, starting from where the weapon had struck. She swung the sword again, more violently, leaving it cleaved into the corpse's chest, she let flames explode from her hands, enveloping the Draugr. She sat down suddenly then, panting for breath, before laying on the ground and letting out a sigh of relief.
Then she heard the sound. It was as if someone, no, thing, was speaking into her ear.
"Alok Suleyk! Daal Ahzidgaaf. Alok Suleyk! Alok!" The words echoed in her mind, over and over again. Ellin pressed her hands against her pointed ears, trying to make the sound stop. "Kos Nahlot!" She shouted, not sure what the words she spoke meant, nor where she had learned them.
Suddenly, there was silence, and Ellin shut her eyes, exhausted, letting sleep come over her.
Ellin awoke, drenched in sweat, gasping for air. She had been dreaming, though it was not the same as her usual dream. This time, instead of looking up toward the strange masked man, she was fighting him. She was screaming something in the same language she always spoke in her dreams, though it seemed to make a little bit more sense now. She was angry, and sad; the man had betrayed his oath, and the order, though Ellin wasn't certain what this order was. The man laughed, and shouted something, and a sudden chill engulfed the girl. It was just as her vision began to be clouded by a fast growing ice that she awoke.
She was confused for a moment, looking around, before remembering where she was. She looked at the coffin that the Draugr had exited, and found a strange stone placed in it, with symbols similar to that of the wall beside her. Lifting it up, she looked at the stone, and said the first thing that came to mind. "Dovahgolz."
Ellin then blinked, confused, uncertain why she said that. Shaking her head as she decided not to think on it, the half-elf put the stone in her bag, and looked for the exit after taking a small pile of gold and a soul gem from the chest beside the coffin. After a moment, she found a small switch that needed to be pulled beside the obvious stone false wall. The wall sank to the ground, leading to a small passage that exited the mountain.
The girl let out a small sigh of relief as she felt the crisp air biting at her nose, and smiled a little to herself. She climbed down from the face of the mountain she found herself upon, and followed the river back to Riverwood.
The door to the Riverwood Trader opened somewhat silently as Lucan Valerius and his sister argued over her ridiculous plan to go take back the golden claw statue that had been stolen from the shop by bandits just days before.
"Well," Camilla said loudly, frustrated at her brother's unwillingness, "one of us has to do something!"
"We are done talking about this." Lucan ordered his sister, a frown across his face.
"Well what are you going to do then, huh?" His sister asked, "Let's hear it!"
"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!" The man scolded his sister before his eyes shifted to the teen that had just entered his shop. "Oh, a customer. Sorry you had to hear that." Lucan said apologetically.
The girl walked up to the counter, a bag in her left hand. "Did something happen?" She inquired quietly, in a somewhat timid sounding voice.
"Yes," The merchant reluctantly admitted. "We did have a bit of a… break-in." He told the girl, "But we still have plenty to sell. Robbers were only after one thing. An ornament, solid gold. In the shape of a dragon's claw."
The girl then began shuffling through her bag, and pulled out the golden claw in question. "Do you mean this?" She asked, handing it over.
"Haha! There it is. Funny. I remember it being bigger. Haha." The man said, relief covering his face. "Well, here," he told the girl, handing her a somewhat generous amount of gold. "I got this gold from my last shipment, and I feel that you should have it, having aided me and my sister like this."
The girl was a little bit surprised, but wasn't going to turn the reward down. "Th-thank you." She muttered, before exiting the shop.
Ellin sat on the bridge that led across the river, eating part of a loaf of bread slowly. She noticed someone approaching, who she identified as Ralof as he got closer. "Hey," the Nord said, waving, "still haven't gone to Whiterun, eh, milk drinker?" He asked, grinning somewhat at his continued reference to her as a whelp. She shook her head vigorously, her mouth still filled with a bite of the bread. He laughed at her action, and sat done beside her.
"I heard what you did for Lucan and Camilla. I'm impressed, milk drinker. Not only did you brave that place, but you were able to help them out as well." Ralof said, smiling a little as he ruffled her hair. "I guess you could say I'm proud of you." He told Ellin, who looked at him with confusion as to what he meant.
"When we were in the keep in Helgen, you seemed to be frightened and hesitant. I didn't think much of you as a fighter, or even as a mage." He admitted. "To me, it seemed you were just some kind of whelp who was unable to hold her own in combat. It seems that you've proven me wrong, so, I'm going to ask something of you. When you're done telling Jarl Balgruuf that Riverwood needs aid, I want you to go to Windhelm and join with us Stormcloaks."
The girl looked down, thinking for a moment, before looking back at Ralof. "Do you really think they'll accept someone like me?" Ellin inquired, shifting her hair to the side, revealing a pointed ear of elvish heritage.
"Of course! It doesn't matter who you are or what you are!" Ralof insisted. "All that is important is that you can hold your own, and are loyal to Skyrim and her people."
Ellin shrugged, standing up. "I'll think about it... I've heard some bad things about how the Stormcloaks have treated those who are not Nords." She told Ralof as she adjusted the pack of supplies on her back. "Well... I guess I need to go to Whiterun, then."
Ellin walked into the hall of Dragonsreach, somewhat awed by the greatness of the large chamber. She slowly walked up the steps and approached the man who was unmistakably Jarl Balgruuf. He had a certain air of nobility around him, and his voice was one of someone in command. "What's the meaning of this interruption?" A Dunmer woman asked forcefully, approaching Ellin. "The Jarl is not receiving visitors." The woman said, sword drawn, looking at Ellin inquisitively.
Ellin stood for a moment, hesitant again. "I bring a request from Gerdur of Riverwood." The half-elf said nervously, looking at the Dunmer's aggressive stance.
"If you have something to say, then you can say it to me." The elf insisted forcefully.
"B-But I was told to deliver it d-directly to the Jarl..." Ellin told the woman, clearly not feeling comfortable with the way the elf was acting toward her.
"Then you can say it to me. I'm starting to think-" The Dunmer began.
"Irileth, let her be. I want to here what she has to say." Jarl Balgruuf commanded, causing his reluctant housecarl to back down, returning to her place standing beside the Jarl. "So, then, what news do you bring from Riverwood?"
"Gerdur asks that you send more troops to Riverwood because of the Dragon attack at Helgen." Ellin said nervously.
"Helgen? What do you know about Helgen?" The Jarl inquired, crossing his arms somewhat.
"I was there... Just as the Imperials were preparing to execute Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, a great beast came down from the sky, and attacked the village. It was... chaos. Last I saw of it, it was heading in this direction, though that was yesterday." Ellin explained to the man.
"Ha! I should have guessed, that Ulfric would be mixed up in this somewhere!" Balgruuf exclaimed, laughing grimly. "What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust the strength of our walls? Against a Dragon?"
"We should send troops to Riverwood at once. Its in the most immediate danger if there is a Dragon lurking around the mountains." Irileth suggested to the Jarl.
"If we do that, the Jarl of Falkreath will assume we're taking Ulfric's side and preparing to attack him!" Proventus interjected, seemingly opposed to anything other than "caution" and "waiting."
"Enough! I will not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and threatens my people! Irileth, send a detachment of troops to Riverwood at once." Balgruuf commanded, his voice echoing through the hall, his anger clear.
"Yes, my Jarl." Irileth replied, bowing curtly. Ellin moved aside as Irileth walked by, not wanting to bother the Dunmer anymore. "You have done Whiterun a great service, kinsman. I have a task fit for someone of your... particular talents. Come, let us speak with my court wizard, Farengar. He has been looking into these "Dragons" and rumors of Dragons." The Jarl told Ellin, standing up from his throne. Ellin followed behind the Jarl as he led her to the room beside the hall where a hooded man stood, looking over some notes of a sort.
"Farengar, I have found someone to help you in your search for information about dragons." The Jarl told the man, getting his attention, before leaving back to the main room.
"Hmm? Ah, yes. I need you to fetch something for me." Farengar told Ellin, who thought it was a little strange that she would be given such a menial task. "By fetch, I mean delve into a dangerous ruin possibly infected by Draugr and retrieve a certain stone tablet for me. Go to Bleak Falls Barrow, and acquire entrance to the main chamber. There you should find a Tablet known as the dragonstone. Go on, then." He told the girl rudely before returning to his notes.
He look up again after a loud thud, and Ellin pointed at the stone she had grabbed from the Barrow earlier. "Ah! The Dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow! A cut above the average brute the Jarl sends my way, I see." He told her as he began examining the stone. Ellin wasn't sure what he could possibly mean by "brute," as she was only five foot three, and weighed a whopping 117 pounds. She was the very definition of whelp.
She was about to say something, when her stream of thought was interrupted by a somewhat familiar voice. "Farengar! Come quick! A Dragon's been sighted near Whiterun!" Irileth informed him, a slight hint of panic in her voice.
"A Dragon? How exciting! What was it doing, where was it sighted?" The magician asked with an almost childish sound of excitement in his voice.
"I'd take this a little more serious if I were you, if a Dragon attacks Whiterun, I don't know if we'll be able to stop it." Irileth said, grabbing the overly excited man. "You come too, as of now, you're the one with the most experience when it comes to Dragons." The Dunmer told Ellin, who nodded reluctantly, following behind as Irileth led them up the staircase to the Jarl's strategy room.
Well, that was my first chapter~ It's a little long, but hopefully it shouldn't be too hard to get through.