Chapter 2: Dragonborn

Cedric tightened his grip around the handle of the ancient Nord war axe in his hand. The new weapon had been scavenged from one of the draugr he had slain while making his way through Bleak Falls Barrow. Running his thumb over the musty old leather that enclosed the grip, he cursed the incompetent blacksmith who had forged his previous weapon. The blasted thing had broken after Cedric had delivered a particularly vicious blow to the helmeted skull of one of the undead. That one had died, but Cedric had received a nasty cut to the arm from the opportunistic bastard who had come at him with the axe he was now carrying. A blast of Flames had dispatched it, and a few moments of a Healing spell had sealed the wound, but Cedric didn't much enjoy winning fights by the skin of his teeth. He had fought through several more of the dead Nords, a giant spider, and then, with a golden claw he'd retrieved from the corpse of an idiotic thief, he'd managed to open one of the famed Nordic puzzle doors to the chamber he was in now.

Cedric could see an elevated area on the far side of the chamber, which looked to be a decent enough place to look for the dragon stone that Farengar Secret-Fire had asked him to retrieve.

As he walked across the cavernous room, Cedric began to hear a faint chanting. He raised his shield, and crept slowly forward, senses alert. There was a sarcophagus on the platform, he noticed. Cedric waited for it to burst open, for the draugr to crawl out, but it remained motionless. With one last suspicious glance at the sarcophagus, Cedric continued toward the sound of the voices, which seemed to be coming from somewhere near a curved wall with strange glyphs carved into it. As he drew closer, Cedric noticed one particular cluster seemed to be emitting a blue glow. That was where the voices where coming from! Cedric moved toward it, and as he did so, he felt a rush of air surge out from the wall, penetrating him, flooding his mind, filling him with the thought of… Force? What Force?

Before he could wonder on what in Oblivion had just happened, Cedric heard a noise. The lid of the sarcophagus had been thrown open, and rising out of it was a massive draugr. Cedric readied himself for its assault. However as the creature's pale glowing eyes fixed on him, instead of charging, it opened its lipless mouth, and from its shriveled throat emerged a bellowing rasp of "Fus…Ro-Da!"

The air between them rippled, as a pulse of power slammed into Cedric and sent him hurtling off the platform and onto the floor below. Cedric felt the breath go whooshing out of him, and he lost his grip on his axe. His shield would have been gone as well, were it not strapped to his arm.

Cedric sat up, his vision going fuzzy. The draugr was coming down the steps, a massive greatsword in its hand, moving straight for him. Rising to one knee, Cedric stretched out his arm and let loose a jet of Flames that caused the draugr's shriveled grey skin to char and blacken. It slowed, but still kept coming, its pale blue eyes burning with malice. If its features had not withered away, Cedric was sure it would be snarling in rage. He raised his shield as it reached him, and the blow it dealt him split his shield and returned him to his back. Cedric rolled out of the way just it attempted to cut him in two. He managed to get to his feet, but he was still dazed. He saw the draugr had gotten its sword stuck in a crack in the stone floor, and was attempting to pull it out. Giving a quick thanks to the gods for his luck, Cedric proceeded to take the fight to the draugr. If he hadn't been mildly stunned at the time, he may have noticed that his axe was only a few feet off to his right. Since he was mildly stunned at the time, he tackled the draugr, which he would later realize was incredibly stupid.

Caught completely off-guard, the draugr went down with an angry snarl. Vorag and Tellyn had each taught him their own particular method of brawling, and this time, Cedric employed the Dunmer's fast and lethal approach. With the speed of an arrow, he drove his fist repeatedly into the draugr's throat. Had this been done on a living opponent, this would have crushed their windpipe, and resulted in them dying of lack of air. However, seeing how the draugr was dead, and had no need to breathe, there was no effect whatsoever. When this attack failed, it was Cedric's turn to be caught off-guard, as the draugr's skeletal hands closed about his throat and slammed him into the floor. The draugr sat upon Cedric's chest, and though it was a bit lighter than a normal man, it made up for weight with its ferocious grip. The draugr snarled and clacked its teeth. Oh gods. Cedric thought. Is it going to eat me?

Unable to bear the idea, he grabbed the draugr by the neck. Flames erupted from his palms, burning away at the creature's throat. Cedric's vision was beginning to dim. Come on! He thought, his mental voice a scream inside his head. He poured every drop of magicka he had into the spell, creating a roaring inferno that seared his eyes, blinding him. He heard a Clang! as something metal and heavy hit the floor. The hands at his throat slackened, and an armored chest fell onto him.

Gasping and blinking away bright afterimages, Cedric pushed the corpse onto the floor. He lay there for several minutes, panting, relieved that he was alive.

His plan had worked. The spell had burned right through the draugr's neck. Had anyone ever used Flames to cut off someone's head? Cedric didn't think so.

He hauled himself up, threw aside his broken shield, and started casting a Healing spell. Now, he thought, where is that stupid rock?

XXXXXX

Fire and rubble surrounded the Western Watchtower of Whiterun.

"No signs of any dragon right now." Observed Irileth, housecarl of Jarl Balgruuf the Greater. The pointed a grey finger towards the flames. "But it sure looks like he's been here." Turning to the Whiterun guards, she raised her voice. "I know it looks bad, but we've got to figure out what happened. And if that dragon is still skulking around somewhere." The guards began to mutter amongst themselves, but Irileth barked "Spread out and look for survivors! We need to know what we're dealing with."

Obeying reluctantly, the men began to fan out, examining the rubble. Cedric made his way toward the tower, and as he climbed the steps, a man burst from the tower, eyes mad with terror. "No! Get back!" he shrieked, running towards Cedric.

Cedric grabbed him by the arms and gave him a shake. "Calm down, you're safe." He assured the man.

The guard shook his head. "It's still here somewhere!" He yelled. His lip began to tremble. "Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!"

Irileth, who had noticed the commotion, ran up the stairs. "Guardsman! What happened here? Where's this dragon? Quickly now!" she barked.

The guardsman shook his head. "I don't know." Then, his eyes locked on something behind Cedric. "Kynareth save us…" He breathed, and Cedric just had time to register the faint scent of urine before the man screamed "Here it comes again!"

A familiar roar filled Cedric's ears, and he felt a cold weight in the pit of his stomach. He whirled, drawing his axe and raising his new shield.

"Here he comes!" shouted Irileth. "Find cover and make every arrow count!"

No one needed to be told twice. The soldiers scattered to the piles of stone, and readied arrows. Cedric followed a group of guards to the cover of a large boulder, where they began firing off arrows at the beast. Not a single one hit their mark. The dragon dived, letting loose a shout, followed by a jet of flame that cooked six of the guards alive. It hovered over its kills, and to Cedric's horror, began to laugh.

"You provide me with fine sport, mortals!" the beast jeered. "Zu fen kipraan! Soon your puny bodies will fill my belly!"

Cedric looked at the guards beside him. He couldn't see their faces beneath their helmets, but they were trembling with terror. His heart was racing too, but they couldn't let fear stop them. "What are you waiting for?!" he shouted. "Shoot it!"

None of them moved. Snarling, Cedric snatched the bow and arrow from the man nearest to him and let off a shot at the beast's head. He must have hit a chink in the dragon's armor, because the arrow lodged in the ridge above its eye. The creature roared in agony, and beat its wings furiously, gaining altitude.

The sight of the dragon in pain snapped the soldiers from their paralysis. They began screaming curses and firing shots, as the dragon circled above them.

Cedric handed the bow back to the man he'd taken it from. "If that oversized lizard wants to try and eat us, let him." He growled. "I personally think the leather from its wings would make a fine cape."

What he did next was equal parts stupidity and bravery. Drawing his axe, Cedric leaped over their cover and ran straight into the open. "Dragon!" he yelled. "Land and face me, you sniveling worm! I challenge you to single combat!"

"No, you gallant fool!" shouted Irileth. "Get back to cover!"

The dragon floated several hundred feet in the air. "I will devour your flesh, joor!" it bellowed. "And when I finish crushing your bones between my teeth, I shall consume the ants who fight beside you, and burn your city to ash. Zu'u Mirmulnir! I shall tear you limb from limb, and send your soul to the World-Eater! I accept!"

Mirmulnir landed in front of Cedric with a crash that sent up a cloud of dust. The guard whose bow Cedric had taken, attempting to help, tried to sneak up behind the dragon, sword raised. "No!" Cedric shouted, but it was too late.

With a contemptuous flick of his tail, Mirmulnir sent the man flying into a pile of rubble, where his skull shattered against an unyielding stone. The guards raised their bows, but Cedric yelled "Hold your fire! This is between him and me!"

Something glinted in Mirmulnir's reptilian eyes. Was it respect? "You are brave, joor." The dragon said. "Balaan hokoron. Your defeat brings me honor."

And with that, he opened his great jaws, and bellowed "Yol…Toor-Shul!" A stream of fire tore from Mirmulnir's maw, even as Cedric was rolling aside, missing him by inches. He was up on his feet in an instant, charging the mighty beast with his axe raised. Mirmulnir lashed out with his clawed wing, a blow that would have pulverized Cedric's insides if it had connected. But Cedric leapt over the strike, bringing his axe down in midair and sinking it into the carpet-thick wing membrane. Mirmulnir roared, and attempted to fling Cedric off. But the axe was sunk deep, and as Cedric held on with all his might, his weight, combined with the motion of Mirmulnir himself, caused Cedric and the axe to slide down the wing, tearing a ragged, fleshy hole into it. The soldiers cheered as the dragon loosed another howl of anguish, and Cedric thought he might have heard Irileth shouting "Get him, you beautiful bastard! Get him!"

Cedric leapt off of Mirmulnir's wounded wing, and ran toward his monstrous head, his gaze locked onto a gap in the armored plating of his throat. Mirmulnir snapped at him, but Cedric dropped to the ground. The chink he had been eying was right above him. Gripping his axe with two hands, Cedric swung with all his might. Despite the fact that he was on his back, Cedric's aim was true. The ancient Nord blade cleaved through the flesh beneath the plate, sending a gout of hot blood pouring down onto Cedric's face. Cedric rolled out from under the dragon's head, just quickly enough to avoid being crushed.

A great cheer rose from the guards as the dragon fell. Mirmulnir was barely alive, but through the wound in his throat, he gargled out a few more breaths. "Hi balaan paal. You are strong, joor. When I return… we shall meet again." The dragon's breath stopped, and it lay still.

The Whiterun guards ran to congratulate Cedric, pounding him on the back and showering him with praise.

"There's a song in this, by the gods!"

"I've never seen anyone fight like that, it was amazing!"

"Wait!" said Irileth, and everyone fell silent. "Something's happening!"

And indeed there was. The dragon's skin was peeling away, rising into the air like pieces of ash. As Cedric watched, the dragon's flesh was consumed in golden flame, before transforming into a whirl of brilliant white energy and flowing directly into… him!

A feeling of warmth spread through Cedric's limbs, energizing his sore muscles and invigorating his mind. The word he had seen in Bleak Falls Barrow surged to the forefront of his consciousness. Force. He understood its meaning now, its true meaning, and that meaning was building up inside him, swelling, pushing its way out. It would burst forth any moment, he couldn't contain it any longer!

With a great gulp of air, Cedric filled his lungs, opened his mouth, and as the power threatened to overtake him… he Shouted.

"Fus!" A surge of energy burst through the space in front of him, sending a titanic ripple through the air.

"Ysmir's beard!" gasped one of the guards. "That was a Dragon Shout!" He stared open-mouthed at Cedric. "You… you're a Dragonborn!"

"What?" asked Cedric.

"You killed that dragon… stole its power." Said the guard. "My grandfather used to tell me stories of people with dragon blood in 'em, like old Tiber Septim."

"I never heard of Tiber Septim killing any dragons." Muttered a different guard.

"That's because there weren't any dragons around then, idiot!" snapped the first guard. "This is the first time they've been seen in… forever."

"What do you think, Irileth?" Cedric asked. The Dunmer was being awfully quiet.

"If you can kill a dragon…" the housecarl said, "that's good enough for me."

Suddenly, Cedric felt a surge of power ripple through him. His entire body tingling, the earth shook, and the air vibrated with the force of one word:
"Dovahkiin."

"Oh gods…" gasped the first guard. "That was the Greybeards! Irileth, they're summoning the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar!"

Irileth remained quiet for a long moment, regarding Cedric with her blood red eyes. Then, speaking loudly, so as to be heard over the muttering of the guards, she said "Let's get back to Whiterun! We need to tell the Jarl what happened here."

XXXXXX

Jarl Balgruuf the Greater remained absolutely silent upon his throne as Irileth delivered the report on what had happened at the watchtower. The way she described Cedric's battle with Mirmulnir, one would never have guessed that Cedric had been completely terrified for the whole duration of the fight. When she was done, he turned to Cedric.

"I never would have guessed it. A boy prettier than any woman I've ever seen, Dragonborn! Did you really absorb the beast's soul?"

"I definitely felt some sort of power rush into me." agreed Cedric. "That, and a whole lot of dragon blood onto my armor." He feigned a sigh. "I'll never be able to get in a battle again. Everyone who sees me will assume I'm sort of lunatic and run away."

The Jarl let out a hearty laugh. "Never fear. I'll have my servants clean your armor for you. It's the least I could give you, after the service you've done me and my city."

Cedric bowed slightly. "It was an honor, my Jarl. Anyone would have done it."

Balgruuf smiled. "No need to be so modest, my boy. You have done a mighty deed, and I will see you rewarded! By my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. It's the greatest honor that's within my power to grant. I assign you Lydia as a personal Housecarl, and a weapon from my armory to serve as your badge of office. I'll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now would we? We are honored to have you as Thane of our city, Dragonborn."

Cedric bowed again, gratitude welling up inside him. "Thank you, my Jarl. I… I don't know what to say."

"Think nothing of it!" Balgruuf said. "Before you journey to High Hrothgar, we shall have a feast in your honor. If there is anything else you would have of me, let it be known. If it is within my power, I shall grant it."

Overwhelmed, Cedric took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Well, my Jarl… there is one thing."

"Yes?"

"I came to the land of Skyrim to find my father. It would mean a great deal to me… if you could have your men search your hold for him. I don't know his name, but I believe he is from Windhelm. If they could ask for any man who knows of Luciele Vettane, my mother… I would be in your debt."

Jarl Balgruuf rose from his throne, and put his hand on Cedric's shoulder. "The debt is mine, and Whiterun's. My men shall scour the hold, my boy. If your father is in my lands, he will be found."

Cedric's vision was getting blurry. Somehow, the smoke from the fire must have reached him. "Thank you, my Jarl."

"No." said Balgruuf. "Thank you. Every man, woman and child in this city owes you their lives. You have proven yourself a hero, Cedric Vettane. We Nords have a long memory, and your deeds will not be forgotten. Proventus!"

The Jarl's steward scurried over. "Yes, my Jarl?"

"See to it that the Dragonborn requests are carried out. Have a room prepared for him upstairs, he shall spend the night here. And give him the deed to that empty house, and have it filled with the necessary furnishings. He and Lydia will need a place to stay when he returns from High Hrothgar. And as for the feast-"

The Imperial blanched. "You wish to give him Breezehome… for free, my Jarl?" he interrupted.

Balgruuf flashed Avenicci a look of irritation. "Yes! We all owe him our lives, he damn well deserves to have a home in the city! See it done!"

Proventus Avenicci bowed low. "Apologies, my Jarl. It shall be as you command."

"Good. And see to it that a feast is prepared immediately."

"At once, my Jarl." The steward bowed once more, and hurried off towards the kitchens.

Balgruuf turned back to Cedric. "I must go speak with Farengar about the cities defenses. I will see you at the feast tonight."

The Jarl walked off, Irileth trailing behind him. As she passed Cedric, Irileth leaned in and whispered in his ear "Nice job out there today." Cedric felt her hand smack against his ass as she walked by.

He went rigid, and was left standing in the hall utterly confused. Irileth didn't seem like the type to be open to such open displays of flirtation, especially with someone who was decades her junior. Granted, that wasn't much time for a Dunmer, but still… First the Stormcloak saying she'd rape him, now this? Cedric hadn't met very many women in his life, but he was reasonably sure from the tales Tellyn had told him that seduction didn't really go the way it seemed to be going for him. Maybe being Dragonborn granted some form of mystical animal magnetism? There were far stranger forms of magic.

Cedric made his way upstairs, and found a few rolls of paper, a quill and ink. He had decided to write a letter to Tellyn and Vorag, who had no idea where he had gone, and possibly thought he was dead.

Where to begin? He had a wondrous tale to tell, and it seemed the adventure was only just beginning. Tonight, he would feast and revel, and tomorrow, he would begin down the road to High Hrothgar. He would meet the Greybeards, and learn what it meant to be Dragonborn.

Author's Note: Aaaand Chapter 2! Ta-dah! First shout is a go. Now, we just need to get a little bit more of the Main Quest done before we can get to the fun stuff. In case any of you are wondering, Cedric's good looks are TOTALLY magical in nature. I'll give you a hint as to what it is. Think Markarth. If you guess right before it gets explained, you'll get an extra special prize. Then again, if you're smart enough to figure it out just from that, you really ought to be writing your own story. Okay, hint outta the way. Any quest(lines) in particular you guys would like to see in the story, you let me know!

Have a good one,

HybridsRule792