Don't own Kuroko no Basuke or Skyrim.
Don't own the Cover Art.
Kulaankiin – Literally "Prince-born"
Dragon Jarl of Helgen
Chapter I
When Shuuzou went to bed last night, everything had been fine. His brother was obsessively playing some computer game, his sister was busily texting some of her friends (it amuses him just how easily his siblings adapted to America) and Shuuzou was doing his homework and reluctantly answering Tatsuya's constant texts.
When he woke up, he realized instantly that he wasn't where he was supposed to be. First of all, instead of his and his sibling's room he was on what he assumed to be a mountain top, a wall some ways away from him with lines and dots etched all over it.
Second of all, he was what he thinks is a dragon.
Oh yes, when he first tried to get up it had scared the shit out of him to figure out that the wings and claws he saw moving were actually his. And don't get him started about his tail. He had to have spent at least an hour figuring out how everything worked, constantly tripping over his own tail in the process. When he shouted in frustration one time a tongue of fire had come out, along with a word he'd never even heard before.
Following this logic, figuring out flight was admittedly an embarrassing and hilarious endeavor on its own.
And now, as he was gliding slowly over the land, Shuuzou finally had a chance to admire the land below him. While there were large impressive mountains scattered throughout the land, there were also beautiful forests and sparkling lakes that he could see to the bottom of. Scuttling crabs would catch his eye from time to time, as would the foxes and wolves and deer there.
…Did he just see a mammoth?
Landing carefully by one of these lakes, he drank from the water. He saw one of the large crabs approach him with its pincers raised, and swiftly killed it with a smack of his tail. After staring at it blankly for a moment, Shuuzou sighed and began eating it, his sharp teeth tearing the flesh apart with little difficulty. The crabs avoided him after that.
Shuuzou then took off once more, intent on returning to the place he'd woken up. Along the way, he caught sight of what looked like a recently ruined town, and made a note to visit it after he rested for a day or two. Landing at the giant wall, he stared at the scribbles in curiosity. He wasn't as surprised as he kind of wished he was when the translated itself before his eyes into something readable.
Laknir Little-Hammer raised (this) stone in memory of his servant, humble Vakeeza, who swore allegiance to (the) kings of Skyrim and died in Gray Autumn.
…This meant absolutely nothing to him.
The word "allegiance" stood out in particular to Shuuzou though, so he noted it silently then climbed on top of the wall, falling asleep quickly.
In his dream, Shuuzou was floating in a dark landscape, in his human form once more. As he floated there, the land began to form around him, grass beneath his feet and a large incense burner to his right. A large, ghostly white rat ran past him, and the teen stared as the rat jumped into the burner, causing a pillar of fire to blind his vision.
When it faded, a gigantic, serpentine looking dragon was standing before him. It had a rounded crest on its head and actually had forearms as well, its wings skinnier and weaker as a result. When it breathed out, Shuuzou coughed a little in response to the noxious fumes that was its breath. It looked near emaciated, but there was an arrogant demeanor about.
"Human," it rasped out, its voice deep but hoarse as if ill. "Do you know who I am? Or where you are?"
Shuuzou frowned. "Not at all; I was hoping you could answer those questions actually."
The draconic creature laughed, and Shuuzou frowned again as unease slowly overtook him. "Such blunt words. You are fortunate that I am not quick to anger, child, but then I am not too surprised by your insolence. That is part of the reason I brought you here." It gestured with its wings, and Shuuzou had a feeling that he was speaking of more than just this dream.
"You, mortal, are in the land Tamriel, specifically in the Skyrim region. I am Peryite, Daedric Prince of Pestilence and Order." Shuuzou frowned a little at that but, giving it some thought, it did make sense. Overpopulation can easily lead to mass disorder, and pestilence is certainly a way to remedy that. The Prince gave him an approving look, and he suspected that the draconic being had just read his mind.
"You have been brought into this world to see if your actions can bring about a desired balance upon the land. Skyrim is in the midst of a brutal civil war, and its people turn against one another over trivialities such as race. I, and possibly others, will monitor your actions on this land and see what your actions do to change this hunk of rock."
Shuuzou nodded in understanding but froze. "What about my family? My brother, sister, parents? How will they –"
Peryite flicked his tail dismissively. "No matter how long you live here, when your time comes, you will waken back in your old world the day after you had fallen asleep. Time is distorted between this realm and yours. Years, even centuries here, will only pass as hours in your world. So fear not, child, your family will not experience the pain of losing you this soon in your life."
Shuuzou sighed in relief and finally agreed to this plan. He wouldn't really die here, from the sounds of it, and his family will be there when he's done. He doesn't really have anything to lose.
Peryite seemed to approve again and stepped closer, the scent of disease and death on his breath. "You may use your name if you so wish, but if any dragon asks for your true name, tell them that it is…Kulaankiin." He sounded amused. "Do your best, mortal. These may not be your people, but they are in a way mine."
When he awoke, Shuuzou grumbled despondently, somewhat annoyed that this hadn't been more than a bad dream. Climbing down from the wall, the teen-dragon looked at the treasure chest that lay innocently in front of the platform leading up to the wall. He knocked it over with his tail, and stared curiously at the glimmering gold pieces he saw along with some silver jewelry and a warm-looking cloak. Mentally shrugging, he gathered the items and took off, heading toward the ruined town he saw yesterday.
He arrived there easily, and actually sighed in relief as the warmer climate washed over him. He looked around in curiosity, eyeing the scorched tower and the collapsed in houses. Shuuzou felt some remorse as he nosed through the debris of one house only to find skeletons and a toy fit for a young child, and added it to the item stash he was holding between his wing joint and shoulder.
Done scavenging, the teen-dragon swept the flimsy rubble away from what once looked to be a town hall and scattered his loot in the corner, curling up beside it with an amused huff.
Now he was a real dragon.
Ahkari was growing increasingly worried as they travelled on the road. Her caravan had been looking for shelter for some time now, but every town and house they came across turned them away in suspicion. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, they would just sleep in their wagons, but now…
The caravan leader looked at the wagon where a heavily panting Khajiit was sitting. "How close is the cub, Zahrasha?"
Kharjo's mate, who joined them in their caravan after the two got married in Riften, looked at her leader and grimaced faintly. "He is struggling to get out, Ahkari. I will be in labor soon."
Ahkari's ears flattened in indecision, before she saw the edge of a town. It looked damaged, and abandoned, so none should be there to challenge their right to be within its walls. "Let us go there," he said, gesturing to the ruins. "It looks freshly abandoned; we should be able to find comfort there." The others agreed and they were soon within the abandoned town, walking toward the barracks, which seemed the most untouched.
Ahkari gestured the mated pair and Zaynabi on. "I will search through the other ruins with Dro'marash," she told them. "I will join you when it is time." They nodded and continued to the barracks, while Ahkari and Dro'marash moved toward what might've been the meeting place in the town.
As they grew closer, Ahkari's suspicion and paranoia turned into alarm. A large bronze and black form was curled up in the skeleton of the town hall, its body moving in sleep. A dragon?! Here, of all places and times?!
Dro'marash tensed beside her, and drew his weapon, but that only served to wake the beast. It shook its massive head, jaws parting in a yawn that exposed teeth as long as her hand, and turned to them.
"Ah, guests," the dragon said aloud, and Ahkari saw Dro'marash nearly drop his sword in shock. She concurred; hearing the creature speak was quite startling. "You honor me with your presence," it continued. "What can I do to help you on this night?"
Ahkari slowly approached the dragon, attaining its attention easily and spoke to it. "I am Ahkari, of the Khajiit Caravans, and we wish to seek shelter in your town, mighty dragon." She may have laid it on a little thick, but it never hurt to flatter a creature capable of tearing their entire group to shreds.
The dragon cocked its horned head to the side. "Very well, you are welcome to stay as long as you so wish." The caravan leader sighed in relief before tensing again as the dragon moved to no longer be lying on its side. "I will be out hunting; I will return momentarily." With that, it began leaving the town hall, the two Khajiit scrambling to not get crushed beneath it. Outside, it stretched its massive wings out and took to the sky.
Ahkari and Dro'marash stared at the figure as he flew a small distance away, baffled. "That went far better than I could have hoped," Ahkari said quietly, and Dro'marash nodded.
"Indeed. But what does it say that a dragon welcomes us into his nest where the furless ones turn us away?" The question was sincere, if bitter and angry.
Ahkari shrugged and began walking to the barracks, prompting Dro'marash to do the same. "It says that something such as race should not be taken into account in regards to things such as hospitality." Dro'marash grunted in agreement, and they entered the barracks. They found the couple near the entrance moving straw and objects around to make a comfortable nest for the birth, Zaynabi likely looking for anything still good to eat in the attached room.
As Dro'marash began pitching in for building the nest, Ahkari put her fist on her hip. "You wouldn't believe the host we have whilst recuperating in this village."
"Oh?" Zahrasha inquired, sitting in a nearby chair to rest her back. "Who is it? Dunmer? Not Bosmer, surely."
Ahkari shook her head. "Dragon."
The stunned silence that followed that line spoke for itself. Zahrasha shook, and not just in exhaustion. "Truly? A…a dragon…?"
They couldn't think on it for too long, as Zahrasha would be going into labor at any moment and they didn't have time to leave and find other shelter. Ahkari had Dro'marash stand guard outside and settled beside Zahrasha as she lay in the straw, taking a deep breath to fortify herself.
Ahkari hoped they wouldn't regret trusting that dragon.
Shuuzou knows that he probably terrified the cat-people while he was talking to them, but he couldn't help it. They woke him up and in a fit of humor he'd decided to talk all formal and proper like he'd seen on that wall. He might not be able to continue using the voice for long but he'd try to hold on to it for as long as possible.
Snorting, he glided over grassland and caught sight of a stag trying to escape his gaze. He adjusted his wings slightly, and dived towards the beast, his claws outstretched to snatch it up. He felt his claws dig into the creature's flesh and heard its bleat of pain before it went still beneath him. Shuuzou glided the rest of the way onto a hill and threw the corpse onto it, landing beside the deer.
He looked at the carcass distastefully, before getting an idea. He said the word he'd shouted in pain yesterday (it sounded like "Yol", but his mind insisted it was "fire"), and watched in fascination as it his breath transformed into fire the moment the word left his mouth, roasting the deer in the process. It was with less hesitation that Shuuzou began eating.
As he was nosing through the carcass to pull more meat out to cook (and mentally wrinkling his nose at the smell), the dragon-teen heard snarling before something tried to pounce on him. He hit it slightly with his tail and turned his head to see a rather large cat stumbling away, trying to regain its balance to attack him again.
Getting an idea, Shuuzou faced it and said "allegiance", only to hear, "Mir". The sound wave travelled out and hit the cat, causing it to still and relax. It walked toward him, but no longer appeared ready to attack him. Shuuzou nudged the carcass toward it, and the cat nodded to him before sinking its teeth into the deer. They ate in companionable silence, and eventually the cat turned and left, its belly fuller than when it first appeared.
Shuuzou watched it leave and launched himself into the air, beating his wing-arms hard gain an appropriate altitude before turning and flying back to the ruined city. On his way there he faltered for a moment; would the cat people need food? He didn't know how many were with the two he'd seen. As if to answer his indecision, a goat appeared below him, and Shuuzou didn't hesitate to swoop down and pluck the goat off of the ground, killing it in the process. He made a sound of content.
Now they couldn't complain.
Ahkari let Kharjo and Zahrasha coo over their new son, walking outside to wait for their host. She didn't have to wait much longer before she heard the beat of wings in the distance. Soon after the dragon appeared, landing carefully in front of the leader of the caravan group. Carefully maneuvering himself, the dragon deposited a goat in front of the Khajiit, who looked back at him in question.
The dragon moved his head in a way that she interpreted as a shrug. "I wish to be a good host, and so brought you food. If you do not want it, I will happily eat it myself."
Ahkari waved her hand dismissively. "I thank you, master dragon, for your hospitality. One of mine has just given birth, and will benefit greatly from some meat in her stomach."
The dragon blinked slowly at her and finally inclined its head towards her. "I am glad that I could be of some use, then." It cocked its giant head at her. "What is your name, mortal?"
She bowed a little. "This one goes by Ahkari. And what is your name, great dragon?" From what little she knew dragons tend to have three syllable names, but she wasn't sure.
The dragon stared at her unblinkingly for a moment, before a deep chuckle rolled out of it. "I go by many names, Ahkari. Among my kind, I am simply Kulaankiin. But among those who I consider friends and, at times, family, I go by Nijimura and indeed I prefer that name over the other." The dragon let her stew on that for a moment. Dragons had nicknames? And preferences to which name they were called? "Now, on to a more pressing question of mine; what name does your race go by? I have never spoken to another mortal of this world before today."
Ahkari smiled slightly at Nijimura's blatant curiosity. "We are the Khajiit. We come from the desert lands of Elsweyr, and travel in caravans here to try and improve our living conditions." Another head cock urged her to continue. "We are a poor people, and are given a bad reputation due to many of our race's actions. The Men and Mer may hate each other, but they are united in their mutual distrust of the Khajiit."
She said the last part bitterly, recalling all of the towns that turned them away while one of them was heavy with child. The dragon looked at her unblinkingly before bowing his head ever so slightly. "You have my sympathies, then. None should be treated in such a way."
Ahkari was surprised to feel a rush of warmth at Nijimura's words, his genuine remorse more than she'd ever really received from any other being that was not Khajiit. She settled on saying, "You are kind, Master Dragon. I hope you do not mind then if we stay longer in your town."
Again he moved his head in a shrug. "I do not mind at all. Stay as long as you wish. Speak with me if you have any requests or if you merely wish to talk." With that he began to make his way to the town hall building they'd found him in the first time. "Come with me; there are items here that you may find of use."
Ahkari jogged behind Nijimura and moved to the pile of items she could see in the corner. She made a sad sound at the doll that was in the pile but picked it up herself for Zahrasha's cub, and gathered the cloaks and some of the jewels she could see sparkling in the light. Nijimura chuckled at her when she picked up and examined a garnet, but made no move to attack her for it. "I will pay you for these jewels," she insisted to him, and he waved his tail in a dismissive manner.
"Very well, but consider the cloaks and doll gifts. I have no use for cloaks or children's toys. Granted, I have no use for gems or coin either, but they are of more use to me."
Ahkari nodded in agreement, bundling the items up to take to her caravan members. This would be an interesting investment if they and the dragon continued interacting with one another.
It had been weeks since the caravan had left the village Shuuzou had now made his home. He spent most of his time hunting and hoarding some items he found as he flew from place to place. At some point the saber-toothed cat he'd met on his second day there found him and had taken to living in the town along with him.
He wasn't quite sure if that was supposed to happen, but he could live with that.
He'd also, in a fit of boredom, taken to removing debris from the ruined town, pulling away boulders with his claws and melting down smaller stones back into the road with his fire breath. The cat blinked obligingly at him and helped from time to time, mostly taking blankets and sheets that didn't burn to build a nest in the town hall next to Shuuzou. The cat has taken to following the dragon-teen around and eating beside him, his sleeping curled up next to Shuuzou another sign of its trust.
Shuuzou was fairly certain it was a male and didn't hesitate to name him Akashi. That done, he and Akashi slowly figured out their roles in the giant town they'd claimed as their home. What few bandits that tried to stir up trouble were brutally rebuffed by Shuuzou while Akashi handled a portion of the hunting and checked through the narrower parts of the town for intruders or skeevers.
While he was travelling, Shuuzou came across other dragon perched protectively on their own walls. They didn't particularly care if he came close, though that may have been because he was apparently a stronger form of dragon. They called him an Elder Dragon, and they were much smaller and weaker in comparison based on their actions.
He had learned a few more words from the walls, which also improved his breathing abilities. He learned the additional word "Krah" for his frost breath – he'd checked over his mind for additional words and learned he also had the word "Fo" which meant frost, giving him an idea of its abilities – and the words "Zul", "Mey", and "Gut" from a wall near a town that was guarded by a weaker dragon and a floating corpse.
He also learned "Slen" which he saw freeze one of those giant crabs solid and so shattered the creature with a swing of his tail. But those were the only other words he'd learned to shout thus far.
He had just begun looking for another wall to learn from about two months after the Khajiit had left his town when he heard a high-pitched scream coming from nearby. Looking up from his kill, Shuuzou moved from the thicket and climbed up a thick tree to look out toward the cry he'd heard. He then abruptly felt his vision fill with red.
A small child was trying to escape some woman who slapped him soundly on the face and screamed at him about something. When the child began letting out ragged sobs as the woman kept screaming and finally Shuuzou couldn't take it any longer. Letting out a roar of rage, Shuuzou took flight and swooped down, landing talons-first into the woman. He killed her instantly and letting out a somewhat content sound as her breath froze in death.
The dragon turned to look at the child, but froze when he felt tiny arms wrap around his neck. "You saved me from Grelod the Kind!" The tiny boy cried out, relieved beyond all else. "Thank you so much, Mr. Dragon!"
Shuuzou raised his head carefully, detaching the child from him. "Call me Nijimura, kid," he told him gently. "Now then, do you have a place to go? A home, town?"
The child shook his head frantically. "Grelod was taking me back to the orphanage in Riften, but I don't want to go! They'll hurt me, like Grelod did!" The boy came to a realization and steeled his face. "I want to go with you!"
Shuuzou stared at the child in disbelief. "Kid, I'm a dragon. Don't your people tell horror stories about mine? I'm the bogeyman to Men and Mer alike."
"You saved me from Grelod, Mr. Nijimura," the kid said solemnly. "You could never be a bad guy to me."
Shuuzou stared at the child with wide eyes, before eventually lowering his head once more. "Get on, then. We'll find a place for you to stay." He remembered something at the last moment. "You got a name, kid?"
"It's Hroar. My mom, before she left, told me she named me after the sound a lion makes!"
"Interesting. Dragons make that sound too, you know?"
"Really?! Awesome!"
This one has been on my mind since ever since I wrote "If You Steal Something, is it Ever Really Yours?" so let's see how this goes. I have an idea of where it's going, as well as the ending, but that's about it. For example, Hroar wasn't supposed to show up, but he did.
This will also be the opening to one of the weirdest series I've ever thought to write.
Please review.
Ja ne!