If you wish to visit my DA page my username is "artemide68", I've got some Fanart over there ;P

This chapter was modified and revised multiple times, in order to adapt to the most recent entries. It still isn't perfect, but it's better than before. If you wish to compare, Deviantart account still holds the unrevised chapter versions ;P

Chapter 1: Bloody Hell

Something was very wrong. I was waking up from a weird torpor and it felt like.. I was standing! I could hear the noise of wheels turning and moldy wood squeaking, I could feel like I was being transported somewhere, and last but not least, I could not move my hands...

I opened my eyes while mentally freaking out….

It….

It can't be real….

What….

How?...

Before I could gather my thoughts a sort of fishy Scandinavian voice said:

"Hey you, You're finally awake!"

That's it, I've snapped, I am probably being locked up in a mental clinic right now and there are nurses taking care of me…

"You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there.."

...Maybe I am just dreaming, I'm just having an EXTREMELY realistic dream, maybe if I close my eyes it'll just go back to normal

"Damn you Stormcloacks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy!"

Oh god what if it's not a dream. OKAY, STOP you need to calm down…

While I was coming to terms with the entire situation the thief and the Stormcloack, as well as Ulfric who could not talk, were introducing the game plot and having quite a gloomy conversation. I tried to observe the surroundings. The nature looked real, just as the faces of those I was sitting with. It was weird to actually see how the 3D characters would turn out to be in real life. They were strong men that seemed to come from another era. Their expressions were fully developed, not half assed like the ones ingame. A number of questions kept pounding my head at an increasing rate...

My dreams have never been this realistic before, so what is this?… Am I.. Inside.. the game...? ... no...nonononono... it can't be... there must be another explanation... I thought, but I had to be interrupted, for as the carriage reached the Helgen city gates, it struck me…

Alduin was coming…..

Ok, it's just a game right?... It's not like the apocalypse is gonna unleash itself over this city in a couple of minutes... it's not like I'm gonna die, am I?

But what if it was more than a game?

And what if the future from that point on was not determined by the ingame script? What if they actually managed to chop my head off… what if I got killed by Alduin or if the Dragonborn was actually in another one of those carriages, and it wasn't me…

As my mind kept racing through gruesome and scary possibilities, it occurred to me that I needed to escape. Things were not looking good, game or not...

But with my hands bound, after remembering what the archers had done to the thief that tried to escape ingame, I really had no choice but to stay still and play along with the current events… I attempted to untie my hands, with a lack of results. As for an escape route, the surveillance was just too tight…

The carriage came to a stop.

"Who are you"

"….Diana" I mutterd, still unbelieving

"Weird name for a Nord.. What should we do, she is not on the list"

"Forget the list, she goes to the block!"

If I remember correctly, this conversation is slightly different from the one ingame. Could this mean this place I have stepped in does not have a precise plot, and anything can happen to me right now? I wondered as I silently proceeded along the path those guards layed down for me, not bothering to protest or even answer, carefully observing the pebbles on the muddy floor...

This was just surreal...

A chopping sound was heard in the distance. I raised my head to see where it came from...

I froze in fear as the first prisoner had his head chopped off by the headsman.

Holy Shit

Back in my reality, some would have considered me a fighter, after learning martial arts and giving a couple punches, but I never saw a head being cut off in my life. I tried not to puke as the guards asked me to walk towards my execution. At this point, I was panicking so much I almost couldn't move. I was roughly shoved upon the chopping block, and forced to bend down

This is not happening...

I lowered my head on the executioner's stone, and squeaked in disgust. Warm, fresh blood from the previous victim was touching my cheeks….

This is it.. I'm dying here... I can't believe this... I've got to get out, dream or not...

But my body was frozen solid. I couldn't move. My heart was beating wildly and I was shaking like an autumn leaf, trying to understand what kept me tied to that awful spot, uncapable of escape.

The executioner raised his murdering axe...

And then, He came.

The first thing I heard was his loud roar crushing my ears and ringing deeply within my skull, sending shivers thoughout my already trembling body. It seemed somehow familiar, more than when I heard it ingame, and way more frightening. As fire began falling from the sky, I felt a rush of adrenaline, and whatever shackles were keeping me down disappeared. I focused all of my energy, stood up, and rushed towards the tower before anything could hit me. Raelof, the blond Stormcloack, made sure I got in safe. Ulfric was in there, as expected, and so where two injured soldiers.

The fiery hell outside, the stench of death…

The saying "be careful what you wish for" could not have been more adequate...

What the hell was going on here!.. was this just a dream of the game? Was I really capable of dreaming this? And If it really was such a silly mind construction, why could I feel my heartbeats up my throat!?

So I guess this place follows a plot after all... I thought in the back of my head. The front was only agitation, confusion, fear, contained by a strong determination to get out of this alive... a determination that pushed away my shivers and constantly rising panic...

A large explosion was heard from outside. I flinched and decided that being confused was not the best way to deal with this

Snapping out of it, I focused on what I had to do. Dream or not, I didn't want to die. Remembering from when I played the game, I could build a path for me to get out unscathed...

Ignoring my growing restlessness and the cacophony of sounds around me, I calmed down a second and focused on every single detail I could muster from my past experience. I finished just in time for Ulfric to mutter:

"Legends don't burn down villages.."

I knew not to follow immediately the soldiers up the tower, and I stopped Raelof from meeting his death. I knew all I had to do, but the problem was doing it.

I stood at a side of the tower hole looking downwards, where I was supposed to land. There was no way I could have jumped without at least breaking a leg…

"Come on, jump!" said Raelof

"I.. I can't.. this is stupid, I might die"

"You have no choice, do it!"

His shouts, even though he was stating the obvious, were giving me a little more courage… I looked downwards and took a deep breath... gathered all of my concentration, and focused on the perception of my body. I had practiced before in martial arts, techniques to fall from big heights without getting hurt, but never from such a height. This was going to end very badly, but…. I jumped..

I landed, managing to release part of the shock through my arms.. my head was hurting but nothing was broken, I noted with incredulous relief.. I felt as if I was slightly stronger in this world... sturdier maybe. I kept on running and hiding, knowing I would meet up with Raelof at the keep, ignoring the fire and bodies and death that was all around me…

After a lot of screaming, dodging, and quelling the tears threatening to come out of my eye sockets, I managed to reach the great rock construction formerly known as the Keep. Raelof, of course, was there. he spotted me, surprised, and motioned for me to come inside.

That was when the worst came.

Taking off various clothes and items from a corpse as soon as we got in was traumatizing enough... I only managed to do it after a push from my sense of survival, and not to look like a weepy girl in front of Raelof, who probably did these kinds of things for a living.

But no... the most disturbing thing was the fact I knew I had to kill someone soon... to fight for my life... A few hours before, I would have never even considered such a situation.

I wasn't sure what this was... a figment of my imagination.. a dream... or maybe something else entirely... but a sinking gut feeling told me it was real, and I could not get over the thought of killing, of murdering for my own survival... There was no way I wanted to add more to the deaths I had already witnessed.

But I knew had to if I wanted to live. It simply wasn't possible for me to get past that mess if I didn't go for the kill. I was not a master of combat, I was just a spoiled city girl. I could not do it without fighting at my full potential, which was already low compared to the Skyrim standards. And I knew I did not have to give up to fear... or guilt.

I silently prayed for this to not be real... for it to all go away...

Raelof had already noticed that I was hesitant, he probably knew I was scared all along.

"You know, you haven't spoken much since we have met"

"…yes, it's just…"

"Not very used to battle are you.. You don't seem to come from here, even though the guard said you're a Nord…"

"I'm not from here… I was.. ehm.. raised .. in other lands"

"You better get used to Skyrim, then, we are going to have to fight again soon"

"I know.. it's just.."

"I know, I am shocked too. I've never seen a dragon in my entire life, and you have never seen a battle either. Look, I know it's tough, but you must hang in there, for the both of us.. ok?"

Those words had my tension slowly unwinding... I almost managed a nervous smile

"I'll do my best"

I felt a warm feeling swarm through my chest. It might have been hell, but I was not alone. Reveling in that new discovery, I took a short sword from the body and started to practice wielding it, trying some of my martial arts techniques. Raelof seemed impressed, and there was a strange twinkle of hope in his eyes...

"You might not have been in a battle before, but you seem to know some curious moves.. mind telling me what those are?"

"Thank you, it's kali... a... uhm... fighting art from back home.."

"You sure come from some weird lands…. Let's hope they are not just pretty to watch… "

Suddenly, Raelof's head perched up to a faint and increasing sound of footsteps. He growled:

"Someone's coming!"

I swallowed down my nervousness for the approaching battle and entered a battle stance, sword crossed in front of me. I took steady, deep breaths while mentally repeating

I am ready... I can do this...

Two imperial guards were charging towards us. I felt adrenaline rush through my veins as my eyes traced a path for my sword to cut through their guard. I raised it up in my right hand and attacked while using my left arm to parry, placing my hand at the soldier's wrist. I aimed for the neck...

The head rolled on the floor, blood dripping from my blade, it's metallic stench flowing through my nostrils. The body collapsed, spreading a pool of the red liquid.

I wasn't ready yet.

I thought of the irony. One shot. I was like a killer yet I was afraid to kill. And after this... I was scared of myself.

But before those thoughs could completely paralyze me, I saw Raelof. He was fighting with all he had against the other guard. The guard was of a bigger build... he might have been overwhelmed...

And I found the strength to pick up my sword again.