The Dragon Within

"We drink to our youth, to days come and gone. For the age of oppression is about done."

Today would be the best day of my life. At last I got the chance for a trip to Solitude, away from the corruption of my homeland. I'd left that swampy province a lifetime ago if I had the chance.

"We'll drive out the Empire, and take back what we own. With our blood and our steel, we'll take back our home."

The Bard's College awaited me. I'll live my life what I would like after this. I was too excited, and can't stop singing on the way to the capital of Skyrim.

"All hail to Ulfric, you are the High King. In your great honor we'll drink and we'll sing."

"Psst, don't sing that song anywhere near Solitude! It is full of Imperials, and you could be arrested if they caught you!" said the Khajiit in the same caravan as me.

Oh, how I liked that song. Wish I could sing it again. Speaking of the Khajiit, he seemed normal enough to me. But, there's a nagging feeling when I saw him. Like he's up to no good.

He said he had some business to do in Solitude when I asked him. It's not my business, but I couldn't help but feel curious. He won't say anything about it, though.

"Hey, get ready. We're almost there." said the carriage driver.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I was so excited. I will officially be a bard. Then I will travel between holds, sing songs in taverns, and most importantly, to hear the good music in my ears everyday. I know this is not a common job for an Argonian, but it's my life. I can do whatever I want.

The carriage stopped and the force that pushed me forwards snapped me out of my thoughts. I jumped out of the carriage and walked with excitement to the gate.

The guards opened the gate for me and the Khajiit, Ak'ari was his name if I was correct. My excitement turned into a curious one when I saw the crowds gathering.

Curiosity won the day, and I found my way to see what the commotion was about. It turns out that it was an execution. The Khajiit was right. If I show just a hint about me supporting the Stormcloaks, they'll be sure to execute me. Roggvir, the man that was going to be executed, opened the gate for Ulfric to run away after his battle with High King Torygg.

I felt like I want to puke when I saw his head rolling to the floor. The crowds cheered at it.

I just left, not wanting the image of a head rolling appear in my mind again. I pushed it with the excitement about the Bard's College.

The Bard's College was near the Jarl's castle. It was a large building. Wonder what's inside. My hand shook when I reached the knob to open the door. Gathering the confidence I had, I opened the door.

The building was big enough. It had many books and many instruments inside. I was instantly greeted by an Altmer.

"Welcome to the Bard's College. I am Viarmo, the headmaster. How may I help you?"

"I-I wanted to join the college." By the Hist, I was too excited.

Viarmo raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, it's not common for an Argonian to be a bard." he said.

"Don't say no. Please, please, please..."

"But I think that's okay. Welcome to the Bard's College."

I can't believe it, I'm inside the college! I'll be a bard soon enough!

"But before you are officially marked as a bard, you have to prove yourself first." he said before I get overexcited.

"Okay! What should I do?" I asked, full of vigor.

Viarmo held his hands as a gesture to slow me down. "Easy there. Well, if you really want to prove yourself, you have to help me finish this verse."

He pulled a folded paper from his pocket and unfolded it. I peeked at it's contents. The title was King Olaf's Verse.

"I hired some men a few days ago to retrieve this from Dead Man's Respite. But unfortunately, it has aged and some of the words are missing. I need it complete to convince Jarl Elisif that the Burning of King Olaf is necessary." he said.

I gave him a nod to indicate that I was ready.

"Here we go."

"O, Olaf, our subjugator, the one-eyed betrayer."

"Death-dealing demon and dragon-killing King."

"Your legend is lies, lurid and false."

"Your cunning capture of Numinex, a con for the ages."

"Then it's blank. What should we fill there?" he asked.

But I couldn't answer him right away. My head ached, like it was hit by something hard. I gripped my head and fell to my knees.

"Hey, you okay?" Viarmo asked, noticing me. But I didn't hear him.

Numinex... why did that name sound familiar?

Then it was gone. I shook my head to get rid of the remaining aches.

"You okay? If you don't want to do this now, it's okay. We can do it later." Viarmo said.

I quickly replied. "No, no, no! I didn't say I'm going to stop!"

"If you say so. Hm, King Olaf was Olaf One-Eye. He famously captured the dragon Numinex and took him to Dragonsreach. What do we say really happened?"

Hmm... what should I fill? An idea entered my mind.

"King Olaf was Numinex!"

Viarmo recoiled a bit after I said that, but after he got a good look of my sure face he nodded. "That's... quite a good idea, actually. I'll write that in."

"Olaf grabbed power, by promise and threat;"

"From Falkreath to Winterhold, they fell to their knees;"

"But Solitude stood strong, Skyrim's truest protectors."

"Olaf's vengeance was instant, inspired and wicked."

"Strange. According to history Solitude attacked Winterhold, but Aesgeir seems to be saying Olaf reacted. What do we say happened?"

Well, I said that Olaf was the dragon itself. So, it won't hurt to continue the story, right?

"Olaf sacked it in dragon form!" I shouted excitedly. I couldn't hold it today.

This time, Viarmo raised an eyebrow and then widened his eyes. "Oh, that's exciting! I'm sure the court and the Jarl will love it! I'm writing it in."

"I-it's done! I should head to the court and present this! You should come!" he said overexcitedly, much like I was. Bards tend to do that.

But after all excitement gone, I felt exhaustion pulling my body into the realm of sleep.

"Can we do that tomorrow? I'm really tired." I said with a yawn. The sun was also going to sink in the horizon anyway.

Viarmo was a bit disappointed, but he escorted me to my room. My room. One day in the college and I got myself my own room already. Viarmo said that there's a big day ahead of me, and told me to sleep well.

It's not that hard to sleep, so I went into the blackness immediately.

•*×*-_-*×*•

Dreaming was like in real life for me. My mind was strong enough for the dream to take form.

I was in a Jarl's castle. It was quite big and well lighted. Several huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling. There was also a huge fireplace in the middle of the room. The Jarl was slouching on his throne, like other Jarls of Skyrim.

But there was something that caught my attention. There was a dragon skull that was mounted on the wall. It felt... very familiar, but I don't know or remember anything that had to do with it.

The castle broke apart, like paper washed away by the rain. Now I was on top of a mountain. It was so high, I would bet that it was the highest mountain in Skyrim.

There were three Nords gathering. They didn't see me. Then a dragon, black as night, landed down. I screamed in my dream when I saw it. The dragon emitted some evil aura that would've made anyone piss in their pants.

Soon the three charged against the dragon, shouting familiar languages at the dragon to keep it down. But the dragon looked like it was winning.

So one of the three pulled a... I can't believe my eyes. An Elder Scroll. And then he said something to banish the dragon. One last time before it faded into nothingness, it glared it's red eyes at me.

Which shocked me like a thunderbolt. I instantly destroyed the dreamworld and woke up. I don't know why was I sweating.

Looking at the window, I noticed that it was still in the night. Realizing that I couldn't sleep anymore, I went down and decided to take some fresh air.

And I saw a furry tail coming out from a room.