Chapter 1

Ashlyn was 10 years old when she first picked up her sword. She watched how the gleams of morning light reflected off the ebony stone. The sword was perfect for her, not too heavy and not too light.

She saw her father, Jorleif, pick up his own while making eye contact with her. Her father always taught her to make eye contact with the opponent, he told her it was easy to detect their next move. He saw the sweat and dirt become more runny down his forehead and watched how his stance along with the position of his weapon.

She stood still trying to analyze her next move. Before she could think anything else, Jorleif did is all to familiar battle cry and leaped at her with the tip pointed straight towards her chest. She quickly blocked at did three back-flips and landed on the soles of her feet. Jorleif quickly came at her again but this time with his bow and arrows active. He shot one Nord arrow at her and surprisingly, she caught it with the full skill and every finger. They both fell into a full sword fight that probably only lasted for 10 minutes until Ashlyn surrendered and fell to the ground in full exhaustion.

"Very well young one," Jorleif said proudly as he leaned down and patted her back and helped her up, "next time, make sure you don't lower your weapon every time you disengage from the opponent, especially if your surrounded from the other unseen."

Ashlyn got up, feeling satisfied with how she practiced that morning, " Thank you father, I will make sure I will stay engaged with the opponent in the near future," she said politely. She was never allowed to talk indifferent with her father, or ele it was a sign of disrespect.

Jorleif lead her inside the house and fixed them a glass of water as she sat behind their old wooden table. Even though it was morning, her mother, Desiree, always fixed things that were much rather preferred to as 'dinner' for breakfast. Ashlyn looked at the thoroughly cooked salmon steak with chicken breast sitting on the table along with the old steel goblets and the highly polished wooden plates. Jorleif came from the Eastmarch, which he gathered up quite a lot of coin while working there. Ulfric Stormcloak, Jorleif's highly respected friend, was Jorleif's source for money. So Ashlyn came from a pretty wealthy family.

"Eat up, you have chores to finish," Desiree said to Ashlyn as she came into the room with Ashlyn's pajama's, "and you need to run down to the blacksmith to retrieve your father's sword, I'm pretty sure Eike said it would be finish today."

Ashlyn saw her father smile a genuine smile at her mother, "It's okay my sweet, I am about to leave for the apothecary, I can arrive at the blacksmith to get my sword, now Ashlyn, I suggest that after your chores are finished, you need to work on your stance and your sword position," Jorleif said as he nagged her on and on about which way and how to polish her sword after she was finished.

It seemed that the only thing that Jorleif wanted for Ashlyn was to become an excellent swordsman. Ulfric requested for Ashlyn to join him in the Storm-cloak army after she was matured. Hopefully, of course the war between the Imperials and the Stormcloaks war in Skyrim would be over after she was to be aged 18.

Ashlyn finished her breakfast and went to her room to reluctantly remove her armor and put on her Bretonage dress and tied her hair into a high ponytail.

Ashlyn went to work outside with the chicken and hens and horses and Desiree talked to Jorleif about Ulfric visiting.

"Now I don't want Ulfric bringing that ridiculous idea about Ashlyn 'looking good' in a Stormcloak armor, I don't want to hear about it, Ashlyn is still far young to think about getting into bloody battles just because she was told to," Desiree said solemnly as she stared out at Ashlyn.

"You have nothing to worry about my sweet, Ulfric has agreed to refrain from the subject, even though the idea is quite n intellectual thought. Ashlyn is far too well in her swordman skills to not fight for what Skyrim really needs, she would be excellent in combat with her opponents."

"Not another word until she is at the right age."

And that was all that was said between them about the subject in matter before Ulfric arrived the next day.