A/N: An AU where the Starks are given the Thu'um by the Old Gods.
Chapter 1: Talos and the Gift of the Old Gods
A long, long time ago, when there were no days, only nights, and the sun had not risen for generations, the First Men lived in the North with the Children of the Forest. They were now past the days of warring against each other, and lived together in friendship. However, they did not live in peace, as they were under the constant threat of the Others, and with the Dragon Cult and the Draugr steadily moving south from the Lands of Always Winter, they had no choice but to retreat further south.
Ever since the sky had darkened, they had not been able to farm, and the crops they tried to plant withered and died without the sun to warm them. And so they were forced to hunt and fish in the dark of the night to feed their families, but this was dangerous business - not only were their chances of success diminished by the darkness, but Draugr raids and hostile Dragon Priests made their hunting trips even riskier. But the First Men would not bend to the Cult - they would not abandon their Old Gods to worship the Winter Dragons. They had seen what the Priests had done with their followers - they were killed, embalmed, and brought back as the fearsome Draugr wights.
The men prayed to the old gods, begging for protection against the Others. The gods did not forsake the First Men, and taught them the Thu'um, that they might have the power to save themselves. With this new knowledge, the First Men rose, and Shouted the Others back to the Lands of Always Winter. They reclaimed their lands, and, for a while, peace was restored to the North.
The sun, however, had not come out again. After two years, it had yet to return, and the Children began to suspect that they had not truly won the war against the Others, as the Long Night had yet to end.
They were right. Soon, the dragons that the Dragon Cult had worshipped were among them, breathing frost and snow over their villages. Armed with the Thu'um, the men prepared to fight once more, but alas! the Dragons' Voices were more powerful than theirs, and behind them, their Priests led an army of thousands of Undead. Every man that fell fighting for his home was raised as a wight and made to fight against his friends, and facing such a frightening onslaught, the future was dark for the Men and the Children. Once more, they turned to the gods, and prayed before their trees.
The gods decided that forces of the world were not balanced, and the Dragons and their followers needed to be pushed down from the mighty positions they had placed themselves in. The gods called upon a champion - Talos was his name, dark of hair and grey of eye - and placed into his hands the greatsword Dawnbreaker. It was said that a single cut from the sword would turn any wight into ash, unable to be raised again. He led his men to great victory, with the pommel of his sword burning bright with the light of the gods.
But his sword was not the only gift given by the gods. When they placed the sword in his hands, they also placed a hunger in his belly, a hunger that can only be sated by the soul of a dragon. In his lungs they put the strength of Voice of Man. These three gifts had made him so powerful, the sight of him caused the Winter Dragons to tremble, and to flee back to their lairs in the Lands of Always Winter. But Talos wanted to end the Long Night once and for all, and so he and his army chased them to their lairs. There, he Shouted them into submission, the force of his Voice unrelenting until he had slain all the Winter Dragons and devoured their souls, so that they may no longer rise again. He then sealed away their bones in crypts of ice, and turned back and headed south - headed home.
With the dragons defeated, the Dragon Cult was severely weakened, and eventually, the First Men defeated them and sealed away as well. But it came at a price - their mighty leader Talos was slain in combat with the Dragon Priest Nahkriin, the last of them all. It was with a heavy heart that Brandon, his son took over the leadership of the First Men, swearing vengeance upon the beast that had slain his mighty father.
A/N: Hello, friends! I know that a lot of people are following Attache, and are waiting for updates for that story, but I found myself caught up in the ASoIF and Skyrim fandoms lately. I got plot bunnies, and well, this is how it turns out. Also, I've realized how difficult it really is to post WIPS, so er as of now I think I can only manage a series of one-shots. Tell me what you think!