Skyrim Modernity AU

Written by:ek-the-origin

Chapter One: Hellfire in Helgen

The story is told in the perspective of Erika, a young Imperial woman who finds herself in Skyrim during a Civil War. Here, in the beginning, she has been taken prisoner and is being transported to the Imperial city of Helgen to be put to death with many other rebel prisoners.

We sat alone in the back of a prison van. It meandered down a mountain path towards the Imperial city of Helgen. Our hands were cuffed and we sat quietly, sharing our tales of how we ended up being on the Imperials' list of who they wanted executed. The man next to me, Ulfric, was the leader of the rebellion that led to the current civil war. He was the Jarl, or governor, of Windhelm and the Hold of Eastmarch. But, he had murdered the late High King Toryyg in an attempt to rise to power and take the throne by force, landing him on the death list of the Imperials.

The man across from me, Ralof, was a Stormcloaks soldier from the town of Riverwood. He had been captured at an Imperial military checkpoint, along with some two dozen other Stormcloaks, who rode in different vans. The man next to him was named Lokir. He was caught at the military checkpoint trying to flee Skyrim in a stolen car.

Then there was me. I was a young Imperial from the province of Cyrodiil. I was also caught at the military checkpoint. I was on my way back from High Rock, where I was visiting relatives, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Suddenly, we came to a stop. There was a great commotion going on outside.

"What's happening?" Lokir questioned. "Why have we stopped?"

Ralof looked at him blankly and replied, "Why do you think? End of the line."

The back doors of the van were thrown open and light flooded into the dimly lit interior of the van. Two Imperial officers stood before the doors and ordered us out of the van. A great fear overcame me, for I knew that if we were here in Helgen, an Imperial prison city, that death certainly awaited us.

We stepped down out of the van, into a large courtyard of the Helgen Imperial Prison, or HIP. The two officers catalogued us, taking our names, other simple personal information and things of that sort as they checked us off their lists one by one. Lokir had tried to escape, and was immediately shot by security turret atop the courtyard walls. Outside the walls stood the beautiful city of Helgen with its glittering lights and clear fresh air, soon to be stained and tainted with the darkness of death. Ulfric, Ralof and I were called and stepped over to join a circle of the other prisoners that were to be executed.

A middle aged, dark skinned man stepped towards Ulfric. Ralof whispered in my ear, incoming me that he was General Tullius, the Imperials' military governor and constant suck up to the Thalmor. A priest entered the yard and began speaking, reading us our last rights. Ralof and I whispered back and forth to each other while she spoke.

"So how did the war really start?" I inquired?

Ralof sighed, and began to explain to me the origin of the civil war that currently engulfed Skyrim. "Okay," he started. " General Tullius, for a long time now, has been kissing up to the Thalmor. The Thalmor wanted to ban the worship of the deity Talos in Skyrim because they disagreed with the teachings of Talosian preachers. Tullius, being who he is, in the position he is in, convinced the Imperials to outlaw Talosian worship. This made many angry. Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak called for a rebellion and he got one. Anyone who disagrees with the Stormcloaks, in his eyes, is not a true Nord. He believes that all who obey the Imperials are weak minded cowards. To show he meant business, he went to pay King Toryyg a visit. He then used the power of the Thu'uum, an ancient art of shouting in the dragon tongue, to murder Toryyg and take the throne. Clearly, that didn't work out very well for him. So now, here we are."

Prisoners were on their way to the wall now. They were to be put to death via firing squad. Five prisoners were lined up, each with an Imperial soldier in front of them holding a pistol to their heads. On cue, the soldiers fired, and all five of their captives fell lifelessly to the ground, blood trickling from their heads. Next, me, Ralof, Ulfric, and two others were ordered to the wall. A low metallic screech was heard in the distance.

"Did you hear that?" Inquired a curious guard.

Tullius quickly retorted, "It's nothing, soldier. Back to business."

The low metallic roar sounded once again as the guards put their pistols to our heads. Suddenly, a great black dragon, plated in metal and screeching in an ear piercing tone, dropped onto the courtyard guard tower in front of us. A great deal of soldiers began to panic, screaming, "It's a dragon, they legends are true!"

The dragon bored into the tower with great sharp claws, ripping and tearing the courtyard to shreds. Ralof had broken his cuffs and ushered me and Ulfric into a nearby tower.

"Gods, is it really a dragon?" Ralof inquired with a time of panic. "Could the legends be true?"

Jarl Ulfric glared at Ralof as he undid his bindings and replied in a deep voice, "Legends don't tear down cities."

Ralof quickly formulated an escape plan and began escorting me up the tower as Ulfric fled to return to Windhelm. Halfway up the tower, the dragon tore open the walls and snatched a fleeing Imperial soldier in its gaping maw of bloodied steel. Ralof and I looked through the gaping hole in the wall and saw the mess hall below us, with its roof caved in. Ralof peered at me and ordered "There's no other way, you're going to have to jump! I'll find another way around. Go!"

I quickly leapt across to the building below and kept running until I came back outside. I came to an Imperial soldier guarding an older man and a young child. We had barely missed being grabbed by the dragon. The soldier, Hadvar, gave the other pair instructions to leave as quick as possible. He turned to me and said in a commanding tone, "Still alive prisoner? Stay close to me if you want to stay that way."

Suddenly, a great feeling of hope washed over me. I'm gonna escape, I thought. I'm gonna make it. I was led into a narrow opening between two buildings, and the dragon smashed down on top of the building to our left. It opened its mouth and spewed forth a great cloud of fire, effectively roasting the small group of men that were unfortunate enough to be in the way. The dragon then flapped it's great wings and soared off and began circling the courtyard once more. Hadvar led me through the carnage and death to the HIP Keep. Ralof appeared before us, bursting through a set of doors into the courtyard, rifle in hand.

Hadvar became tense and screamed out "Ralof, you damn traitor! Get outta my way!" There was a murderous tone in his voice.

Ralof replied, saying "We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not going to to stop us!"

It came my time to make a decision. Should I follow Ralof, or Hadvar? In my panic, I followed Hadvar into the Keep, escaping the burning carnage of the HIP courtyard. I was safe. For now…