Hey guys, I now have a basic outline for a plot for this so if I forget to take down the footnote, disregard it because I am now in production of more entries in the Bloodmoon story.
"So let me get this straight," Anji was staring at the man in front of her, a man who single-handedly killed a dragon by himself, "you are Dragonborn? Dovahkiin of old legends?"
"Well there have been many in the past. There might be many out there today, as well. They just don't know it because they haven't collected the soul of a dragon. But yes, I am Dragonborn. I have the blood of man and dragon flowing through me."
Anji's small squad edged closer to the hybrid dragon-man, fascinated at what they saw and what they were just hearing.
"How did you first find out you were Dovahkiin, kinsman," asked a guard.
"Please, call me Andros." He got up and walked around the large hearth of the inn. "It was earlier this year. I was walking along the ash wastes in Solstheim-" Angi cut him off abruptly.
"Solstheim? You've been there?" The guards were even more interested that the stranger had been to a dark elf- ridden island where a nearby volcano erupted and covered half the island in ash.
Andros laughed a small laugh. "My dear, I grew up in Solstheim. Very beautiful island, just watch out for the Netch. And the Kwama. And the Ash Spawn. Just be careful in that island." The inn was in shock and in wonder. "Anyways, I was walking through the ash wastes, keep in mind I was just taking a stroll with nary a weapon upon me, when I heard a distinct and faint shriek. I looked around, thinking I ran into a Bristleback but nay. What flew over me was a dragon, green as an emerald, but bigger than even the Emperor's naval vessel. It came around at me and breathed its fiery breath. I instinctively dodged the putrid attack and conjured a bow with a quiver full of arrows. Shot after shot I took, desperately trying to bring down the beast before it did me in good. Luckily, however, there was a nearby werebear," Andros pulled up his hands, curled his fingers outward and made a growl, imitating such a creature. Anji noticed the palms of Andro's had scars or tattoos, though she couldn't make out what they were, "and it didn't like the dragon in its territory."
"When the dragon got low enough," he continued, "the werebear pounced from the side of the mountain and landed on the dragon. It clawed and bit the winged creature until the dragon flew high into the sky and spun in the air until the werebear fell off the dragon, plummeting to the floor. By that time, the damage had been done and the dragon fell to the ground in a bloody, tired mess. I walked up to it and stared into its reptilian eye in such awe, before the dragon took its final breath. I felt relieved that I didn't have to face such a creature myself but I felt a bit intrigued as to where it came from. Weren't dragons supposed to be legends?"
"I was given that answer when I saw the dragon break down as you saw it did earlier, and felt the rush of its soul flood into mine. I thought I was going mad, until a nearby Nordic hunter ran up to me and asked me if I was Dragonborn! I knew what a Dragonborn was, but me? Such a thing? I thought I was the sane one and the hunter the one going mad but he was right. Undeniable proof was the dragon corpse. It had scales, skin, and blood when it flew above me but when I looked at it again, it was nothing but bones. Not a single bit of meat was on it, not a drop of blood stained them, and only some of its scales remained on the ground. Its soul left the body and merged with mine, just as a only a Dragonborn can. That, my friends, was how I first learned I was a bearer of dragon blood."
"Did the dragon give you those particular scars on your hand?"Anji asked. At this, everyone around him tried to look at his hands.
"Which scars," he asked, holding up his hands that bore no such thing.
"Hmm," Angi shrugged. "Must've been my imagination." Of course, she still had her suspicions. After all, the Emperor's elite had to be very observant and be confident that what they see was actuality.
Andros looked at her, with a smile across his face. "Imagination is the best thing to have, next to a good weapon. And maybe some mead." Andros picked up his mug and called, "Waitress, get everyone in this inn, including yourself, a bottle of your finest mead-on me!" The people of the inn raised their drinks high and cheered as Andros pulled out a small pouch of coins.
As the innkeeper passed out mead, Anji noticed Andros leaving the inn. Wanting some answers of her own, she followed him outside the inn and followed closely behind him. They went up stairs leading to the cloud district and she watched as he turned the corner behind a moonlit house and she followed. When she turned the corner, however, he was gone. She looked around but he was nowhere to be seen.
She heard a swift step from behind her and she quickly turned around, only to see Andros shoot a paralysis spell at her, immobilizing her. "You're a good tail," he said. "But I don't really like being followed. No hard feelings." He gently laid her on the floor, shaping her in a comfortable pose and ran his hand over her face to close her eyes.
Those are Oblivion signs, she thought. He cast a sleep spell upon her before he turned invisible, vanishing into the night. The last thing she heard was a wolf howl in the distance.
The next morning, her fellow guards awakened Anji from her sleep on the cobblestone steps of Whiterun.
"The mead got to you didn't it, Captain?" a guard asked, holding an empty bottle up.
'By the eight,' she thought. Andros set her up to look like a drunken bum, not a paralyzed rug.
"Yeah," she said, "It got to me real bad."
"I suggest going to rinse yourself. You'll probably smell like a beggar if you don't," and with that, the guard walked away.
Anji washed herself at her home in the city, recounting the events of last night and what she saw before she was put to sleep. She sat in her tub, deep in thought at what the symbol's importance was to Andros, why he tried keeping it secret. Was he some kind of Daedra worshipper? Or was the scar just something that was pure coincidence? Maybe it was a plain scar but it somehow appeared to be an Oblivion gate. If it was, why did he try keeping it a secret last night? The thoughts zoomed back and forth her mind, searching for answers when Andros accidentally walked in on the naked Angi.
Andros walked in, looked at the naked Anji and quickly shut the door as Anji covered her breasts with her arms. "I didn't know this was the restroom," he spoke through the door.
"What do you want," she snapped.
"I wanted to apologize for paralyzing you last night. Since I'm here, I apologize for walking in on you as well."
"What in Oblivion are you doing in my blasted house!" She was starting to think Andros was purposely getting her mad.
"Like I said, I wanted to apologize. I don't like to be followed but it doesn't excuse leaving you in the cold." Andros left a small gift on the table just outside the bathroom door. "I should be going now," he said and walked out of Anji's house.
Anji sat in the warm bath for a few moments until she was sure he was gone. She got out of the tub and peeked out her bathroom door. Nobody. She ran to her front door and dropped the wooden beam across it, locking it from pesky peepers. She walked back to the small table outside the restroom and there lying upon it, was a single red rose in a glass, water-filled vase.
Anji went to work, clad in her hold guard's uniform and shield strapped to her left arm. She had her guard helmet on, and began "patrolling" Whiterun, trying to search for anyone who looked remotely suspicious, namely, Andros.
Searching for Andros, she came up with nothing. Then, a guard came up to her. "There's been another attack, Captain. One of our own this time." Anji followed the guard briskly outside the city to the scene of the crime.
It was beautiful, the tundra of Skyrim. A wide open space for miles, nothing but tall grass and wind. Yet, dangers lurked everywhere. The giants, once a passive race, have now been smashing anything that came too close to them. Sabrecats have been migrating from the forests of the Rift and made their homes in the plains. Trolls have been heard to occupy a cave near the city. And now these gruesome attacks have plagued the once serene tundra.
At the scene of attack, only one word sufficed to describe it: red. The grass, dirt and pieces of cloth were red. The splintered wood, the bent metal helm and the pulp of what once was was all red. "Do we know who it is," asked Anji.
"We took roll this morning," her partner, Thoren, said, " We think we found what's left of Valdus. I am not sure what made him come out here. I-I don't even know what would do such a thing to man."
"I think we're dealing with a werewolf, Thoren."
"Yes, ma'am. I don't even think a Saber Cat is possible of turning a human being into paste. We must be very cautious now, captain. If this creature becomes bold enough, it may try entering the city. Gods' know what will happen if it does."
"Then we lay a trap for it," Anji replied, "If Hircine sends his hounds on us, so be it. As long as we protect Whiterun Hold and its people from his damn lycan pets, we have done our jobs."
"No offense, Anji, but last time you were tasked with protecting someone, he was nearly killed." Anji's face turned red in anger and she nearly threw her dagger at Thoren's face were it not for a certain man looking.
"I hear you have an animal problem," he said. "A certain, special animal too. Werewolves are cunning creatures, you know. Fearless."
"How would you know," she asked. "Have you ever fought one?"
Andros laughed a bit. "'Have I ever fought-' Ha! I fought werewolves, werebears, and the occasional wereboar. Solstheim is riddled with Lycanthropes!"
"Great," she replied dryly. "You can track it for us. You're also going to help us trap it since you're apparently the expert."
"If I refuse?"
Anji looked at Andros with a glare. "There is nothing I could do if you refuse, however your help will not go without reward if we bring this beast down."
"Captain," a guard said, "we should start immediately while the sun is still out."
Andros brushed him off saying, "A lycanthrope during the day could be anyone. The trick to finding the culprit is to wait until the moon forces a transformation."
"Which is when, Andros?"
He looked at Anji right in the eyes and said, "Tonight."
As I said, I am back into production of this, especially with ESO getting my interest back in Tamriel and Skyrim. Stay tuned for more and so you aren't behind, follow the story :D