Chapter 2: A Shade in The Snow

The sky began to lighten over the mountains of the border of Skyrim. The air around us had gotten immensely cold. It was the sort of cold that could bite right down through your very bone. I was tired and restless the night before. Even in the shadows of the woods, I still felt very unsafe. I could feel my father's dark spirit still chasing me. Rivett and I traveled up the mount, to where the trees grew sparse and where the snow began to whirl around like a sandstorm in the Alik'r Desert. White washed out the sky. The cold wind beat against us. Moving slowly across the snowfield, I was huddled in a cloak made out of thin, cow hide. It was barely enough to brave the weather; my hands were freezing over and my lips turned a greyish-red. I heaved Rivett's reigns. "Come one, Rivett, move!" I managed to choke out.

The horse moved only a few steps forward, then shook its mane vigorously, neighing. He drummed his front feet on the snow. I continued to yank the ropes even more to get the steed rolling. "Come now! If we don't get out of here we are going to freeze to death!" I said, angered. The stubborn horse would not do a thing. A low flying white cloud mass was fast approaching towards us. The horse began to inch backwards, shaking his head. His harsh breaths steamed into the cold air. He turned his head left and started walking in a wobble. He was steering us off the track. "What's the mattered, you damned horse? Why are you so frightened! Move!"

Rivett was shaken by something. I could not understand him. I directed the horse to the right, and towards the fast-approaching cloud. I look around us and saw nothing but walls of white coming at us now in every direction. "Damn it," I muttered under my breath. I kicked at the horse's body to get it moving. Rivett got off into a quick gallop, moving mindlessly through the blank world. The wind howled terribly.

I directed him towards the fast approaching white cloud. The only way to descend from the mountain was the pass through the ravine the sloped downwards. Now the cloud was slowly eating up the path, and we had to enter it before it had been completely swallowed and hidden by the nebulous giant. The horse hesitated at first, but with a few harsh words thrown at him, he was able to follow through. He galloped through the snow, quickly, taking the fog head on. The ravine dipped into the province of Skyrim. As the descent began to steepen, I had slowed down his pace. The wind and precipitation was now less destructive as we had now entered a passage walled with sharp, irregularly-shaped black stone that block the monstrous wind. This pocket seemed to run down for about a mile or so. Snow here fell down like gentle feathers. At this time, the sun was peeking out over the mountains of Skyrim.

Seeing as the horse could travel no longer, I gave it a good pat and jumped off. Rivett lowered his head to the snow, sniffing the soft, crystalline sand. I huddled myself to keep warm and the blood circulating through my body. If I had stopped moving, I would have frozen over at an instant. It was amazing how Nords could live in this sort of unforgivable weather. In all truth, I would have imagined Skyrim to be much like Cyrodiil—where the sun shined brightly most of the time and weather was overall temperate. But, I was greeted by a snowstorm and my body placed in the state of an ice cube. I looked to the left, and to the right. I could see the path running on both directions into the fog; I had only visibility of half a mile or so. I edged towards the obsidian rock face and pressed my back against the cold wall. I crouched down, hugging my legs. I then rubbed my hands together and blew into them for warmth. "Rivett, come here."

The horse did not seem to hear me. It's head was still bent low and its tail sunk like a sad dog.

"I said Rivett. Rivett, why have you been acting so strangely today?" I called to him.

Just then, there was a bone-chilling roar.

My heart stopped. I had never heard a sound like it in my entire life. The piercing sound resonated through the ravine, and the rocks magnified it even more. The echo of the roar trailed fast behind it: the sound played repeatedly for about half a minute, bouncing through the airspace of the snowy wasteland. I shielded by ears, running to Rivett. The horse went into a frenzy. It stood high on its hind legs, neighing. I tried to calm him down. "Calm, calm!" I hissed, grabbing at his ropes. I looked to the skies, terrified. We were still veiled in a thick, white mist. I could not see anything.

"W-We're just hearing things, Rivett," I said shakily. I even tried to convince myself that I was not afraid. I pulled his ropes to keep him down. "Don't make so much noise. Y-You're awfully strange today…Oh Divines." The noise had suddenly returned, and this time, it was louder than ever.

Suddenly, a shade moved overhead. It was quick. It was flying. I could not tell how large it was, but it certainly casted a long shadow over us. The shadow quickly disappeared into the clouds. My eyes followed the shade as it disappeared and reappeared in different areas of the white-washed sky. I was most definitely certain we were being pursued by that very shade. But what could it have been? A bird, perhaps? Maybe birds were big in Skyrim. Or maybe…no…it couldn't have been…

After some thought, the best decision I could make was to make a run for it. I quickly mounted Rivett and whipped the ropes. "Hiyaa!" I shouted, with an edge sharper than steel. We raced fast down the ravine. The shade suddenly disappeared, and that was when it began to get all too quiet. As the cloud front began to thin out, I could see the province of Skyrim spill out into view before me. Coming down the snowy mountain, I could see far into the land. In the distance, a ring of grey mountain heads jutted out from the earth. The ground started to become less arid and large, towering conifer trees dotted the slope.

"Skyrim!" I shouted. We had emerged out of the belly of the nimbus giant. I turned back, breathless, to look at the place where I had once came. The Jerall Mountains was a titan dividing the two provinces. I could hardly imagine that I had taken such a journey. The Jerall Moutains broke through the heavens, its peaks covered in thick heaps of clouds. I tried to spot the deathly shade that showed itself to us. But I could not find it. There were no large birds in sight, and neither were there any, nay I say it, dragons. Dragons don't exist. They have never existed for many years.

Now we were in Skyrim, the land of the Nords. At the sight of the lush, pine forest, and the cool breeze fingering through my hair, a sort of calm surrounded me. My heart started to flutter with happiness. I had finally made it out, far away from my father's grasp. There was no way he could have followed us all the way through the mountains. He cared too much for his precious life. I cared less about my life, and more so once a part of me had been taken away forever.

With passion burning in my heart, I steered Rivett down a thin dirt path. We moved slowly through the age-old taiga forest. The sound of a gentle, flowing stream and birds chirping enriched our senses. The ground was covered in crisp leaves and mossy boulders. The wet air smelled of fresh mountain flower. In the distance, a large elk pranced and boasted its giant horns. It was serene, and more beautiful than anything one can put down in words.

Rivett and I continued down the dirt path, following the stream. It seemed all too quiet. The birds had ceased chirping and no graceful deer were in sight. We found ourselves on the rim of a tall cliff. In the distant green, spires of smoke rose between the heads of conifer. "Come, Rivett. There are people there. Let's see who they are." Steadily I brought the horse down the steep slope, as the red-brown leaves and moss slipped beneath our feet.

The sight of a camp came before us. At the sight of a few armed men, I stopped the horse. I steered Rivett behind a cluster of mossy boulders. Hidden from their sight, I scaled up the rock to take a peek at the people. Upon further inspection, I saw that they were donned in blue cuirass and steel helmets. They were soldiers. They were seated around a fire, drinking wine from tankards. There was one man that caught my eye. He was not wearing a soldier's uniform, but a grey garb cloaked in thick fur. The man in fur stood up and walked towards a caravan positioned in the far back. Then, one of the soldiers came close to the fire and tore out a piece of skeever that roasted in the pit.

All seemed well, until there was a blast of light from my side. A tongue of fire rolled into the camp, setting the ground ablaze. Rivett neighed, frightened by the flames. The trees caught fire and their branches blackened and fell off. The soldiers got up in a startle. They drew their weapons. Mages started coming out from between the trees. Arrows rained down into the camp.

"AMBUSH!"