Dovahkiin Fahliil (Elven Dragonborn)

Part 1

Chapter 4: The First of Many Words of Power

Synopsis:

Lina is an Altmer Warrior Mage and a traitor in the eyes of the Thalmor. After evading them for three years, she is finally caught and sent to Helgen to be executed, but her death sentence is interrupted by the return of the dragons, and more specifically, the World Eater himself. Lina escapes Helgen alive, only be dragged into new dangers and to discover a great secret: She is Dovahkiin and the only one with the power to stop Alduin from causing Nirn's destruction.

Her journey takes place over the course of several years, consisting of a battle against Alduin, Lina's reluctant decision to fight in the Civil War, and learning about a strange connection between her and the World Eater allowing them to see each other in dreams, while at the same time, trying to master her newly discovered powers.

The fanfiction itself is divided into four parts:

Part 1:

Lina travels throughout Skyrim searching for Words of Power and ways to get stronger while learning what it means to be Dovahkiin and prepare for the inevitable battle with Alduin. But at the same time, she starts experiencing reoccurring dreams about the World Eater after the events of Helgen. Then to make things worse, there is increasing turmoil in the Guilds Lina is a member of: the College of Winterhold and the Companions.

Part 1 is heavily based on the Main Quest and the Guild Quests.

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Disclaimer:

I do not own the Elder Scrolls franchise, Skyrim, or any of its characters. The only character I own is Lina

In addition, Alduin's lines spoken in Dragon Tongue were taken directly from the game and his Wiki page

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A/N: I think this chapter is a significant improvement over the previous one, mostly because I actually did something besides rewrite a quest. And I brought back Camilla here, which I have to thank Aroswing on deviantart for. He's the one who gave me the inspiration needed for the flashback in the previous chapter along with Camilla's reappearance in this chapter, along with what her established role will be in the next chapter (sadly, Camilla will not be joining Lina long-term, but I have plans to turn her into a reoccurring character).

Chanting. I heard voices chanting in some incomprehensible language and they were only getting louder as I progressed through the dungeon. I was tempted to run to the source in order to identify it, but fatigue was starting to overcome me.

Until now, the only things that allowed me to keep moving were survival instincts, adrenaline, and stamina potions, but none of those things would keep me moving forever. Besides, a few more draugr ambushed me not long ago and while I survived the fight and was able to heal myself afterwards, I had used my remaining stamina potions almost immediately after the last draugr had been slain.

Now the energy from the potions had long faded and I felt like I might collapse from exhaustion. The only reason I didn't was because I feared another draugr ambush enough to keep myself awake…and I wanted to identify the source of the chanting.

I kept walking until I came to a stone wall. At that point the chanting had grown even louder and almost seemed to be coming from the wall, strange as that sounded. In addition, the wall was covered with what I initially thought were massive claw marks, but they looked far too organized to be from some creature mindlessly clawing at the wall (assuming there was a creature large enough to leave such marks). The marks must have been deliberately carved. Maybe they were a code used by an ancient Nordic cult. Or a language perhaps. But what interested me the most were some marks that were glowing.

I slowly approached the glowing marks and the chanting somehow grew louder, almost as if the wall was…calling for me. That was a strange thought and I wondered how many of the Companions would believe me if I ever made it back to Jorrvaskr and told them what happened here.

Anyways, I was only a few feet from the wall when I heard the sound of a coffin being cracked open. I quickly turned around and saw a draugr climbing out of a black sarcophagus. Had I been paying more attention, I would have noticed it sooner, but the fatigue and my fixation with the wall and glowing marks had made me oblivious.

The draugr stood and I realized that this one looked different from the other ones I fought. It looked…stronger…and more dangerous. The only good thing about this draugr was that it was wielding a greatsword instead of an axe or worse, a bow. If it were an archer, I would have been guaranteed a quick death. A greatsword was so much easier to fend off, but I was still exhausted and in no condition for a prolonged fight. I really should have saved those stamina potions because I would love to have one right now.

"Unslaad Krosis!" the draugr growled. I've heard that twice now and I still did not know what it meant. Maybe it was a battlecry of some kind, although my initial thought of it being an insult or death threat was still as plausible.

"Auri-El smite you," I said for the second time as I drew my sword.

I conjured a fireball in my other hand and threw it at the draugr, hoping to end this quickly. The draugr, of course, refused to give me the luxury of a short fight and it jumped to the side, causing my fireball to miss it completely. Then the draugr quickly charged at me before I could even try to cast another spell. The draugr swung its sword and I barely had time to raise my own sword to block. Deflecting its greatsword took more effort than it should have and after that the draugr seemed determined to keep me on the defensive.

Its first strike was quickly followed by another and another after that. The first of the two strikes I evaded by stepping back, but I was forced to parry the second strike and most of the ones following it. The draugr's attacks were coming so fast that I didn't have a chance to switch to offense. I hated fighting this way since I based my fighting style almost entirely on offense and firepower, not blocking my enemy's attacks until I could find an opening. Not that there was one.

Then to make things worse, the draugr swung its sword at my right side, clearly aiming for my sword arm. I was able to move enough to avoid losing my arm when the blade pierced my flesh, but it still left a fairly deep cut. I cringed from the pain, but then I felt something even more unpleasant. A cold sensation ran through my arm, making me feel as if I had been hit with a frost spell. But the draugr had not used magic, so I did not see how this was possible. Then I got a good look at its greatsword as I jumped back to evade another strike.

The blade had the faint shimmer of a frost enchantment on it, which meant anything it hit would feel the same effects of a frost spell. I should have been watching for enchanted weapons, but frost enchantments were less prominent than the fire ones I preferred, so I rarely noticed them right away.

My arm started to go numb from the cold sensation and I struggled to keep my sword raised. The draugr swung at me again and I took several steps backwards rather than trying to block. Trying to move my arm at all was difficult, so naturally blocking was hard and going on the offensive was out of the question. With my sword hand useless, I tried to raise my other hand a number of times to cast a fire spell, but every time I found myself having to stop to evade the draugr's greatsword before I could make even a small flame.

The draugr and I circled the area in front of the stone wall as the fight turned into a routine. It would attack and I would step backwards or to the side to evade its sword. I periodically tried to move my sword or cast a fire spell, but the cold and numbing sensation refused to leave my right arm and the draugr constantly swung at me when I attempted to use magic.

Then when the effects of the frost enchantment in my arm started to fade, the draugr was able to get a successful strike.

I stepped back to avoid its sword again, but apparently, I didn't move far enough. The draugr slashed downwards at my torso and while I was almost certain the blade missed my vitals, the greatsword left a massive cut that started at my right shoulder and travelled across my chest and stomach. The cold sensation soon followed and I screamed from the pain. Blood ran down my now exposed skin and soaked the remains of my shirt, but despite all of this, I managed to lunge at the dragur for one offensive strike.

I swung my sword at the creature, aiming for its neck. The draugr looked almost surprised to see me on the offensive for the first time since the fight began and was unable to block in time to stop me from beheading it.

The draugr's body fell to the ground, unable to support itself without a head, but only seconds later, I became lightheaded and staggered backwards into the wall, and more specifically, into the glowing marks. I realized the chanting was louder than ever right before I fell to my knees while my vision started to darken and I thought I might pass out from blood loss. I shakily moved into a sitting position with my back pressed against the stone wall before I weakly raised my hand to cast a healing spell.

The glow of the spell engulfed me and my wounds started to close, but even though the bleeding had stopped, it was not enough to keep me from blacking out. My vision continued to darken until I could see nothing but black and collapsed on the hard ground.

But just before I faded into unconsciousness, I felt some strange and unfamiliar magic rush from the glowing marks and into me. And then a word entered my mind:

Fus—Force.

When I eventually regained consciousness, the first thing I registered was pain. Lots of it. The places where I had been cut still hurt, even though the healing spell removed all but slight scratches, and the rest of my body ached from lying on the hard ground for Talos knows how long. I slowly sat up, trying not to cringe from the pain, but then I realized that the dungeon was now silent. The chanting I've been hearing since I entered the chamber had stopped entirely.

I turned to look at the wall and saw that the once-glowing marks were now as dark as the rest of the stone wall. For a second, I wondered if I had only imagined the chanting or the glowing marks. After all, I had never heard of such magic before and there was no evidence that it happened.

Well, that was not entirely true. The word I heard before I blacked out was echoing in my head.

Fus—Force.

That one word was enough to convince me that all of that had been real and not just some hallucination caused by fatigue. The word "Fus" did not exist in any of the languages I could speak (which were actually just the Common Tongue and the Altmeri dialect of Elvish, although I did know some of the Dunmeri and Bosmeri dialects). And while I was looking at the once-glowing marks, I realized that they were actually letters—letters that read "force" or "Fus" in another language…Wait, how did I know this? And why was that the only word on the stone wall that I could read?

I stared at the wall for another minute before I finally decided that this was a question for another time and got up. My legs were shaking and I had to press my hand against the wall to steady myself. Then when I was convinced that I wouldn't collapse, I staggered to the sarcophagus and peered inside. There I saw a stone tablet with claw-like marks carved into it. Marks identical to the ones on the wall. Was this the Dragonstone? I flipped it over and found map-like engravings on the other side.

Even if this wasn't the Dragonstone, it was still an impressive treasure (or at least Onmund would think so if I ever saw him again) and worth offering to the Jarl. And, I just had a feeling the marks—I mean letters—on both the stone tablet and the wall were somehow connected to dragons. So Dragonstone or not, I was taking this tablet with me.

I tore off part of my cloak and wrapped it around the stone tablet before placing it in my bag. I couldn't risk letting it get damaged. After it was secure, I looked around, hoping to find a way out.

I had been fortunate enough to find a tunnel that led outside, but to my surprise, I was then assaulted by blinding sunlight. But…it had been close to sundown when I first entered the dungeon. Had I really been in Bleak Falls Barrow all night? Or longer? I was too tired to think about it, but I still knew that sleeping here would be unwise. I should go back to Riverwood first. Then I would be able to give Camilla the golden claw and maybe find a carriage driver to take me to Whiterun.

I don't remember much about the journey back to Riverwood, but when I arrived at the village, a Bosmer archer approached me and placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him and could see concern in his expression.

"Are you alright, Sister Elf?" he asked, "You look like you just came from the Plains of Oblivion."

"I…I need to see Camilla," I said, "I have something that belongs to her."

"You need a healer first," the Bosmer said.

"Just let me go to Camilla," I said, "Please."

"Alright," the Bosmer said, "But only because I wouldn't mind visiting her as well."

He then led to the Riverwood Trader where we found Camilla sweeping and her brother (who Camilla told me was named Lucan) standing behind the counter. Camilla's gaze was on the floor, but she looked up and dropped her broom in astonishment.

"Lina!" She cried, running to me. After quickly inspecting my condition, Camilla dragged me to the table and had me sit down. After walking for so long, it almost felt luxurious to be seated.

"Faendal, what happened to her?" Camilla asked the Bosmer.

"I cannot say," the Bosmer—who I now knew as Faendal—replied, "She just staggered into the village looking like this and insisted on coming here."

"I found your golden claw," I interrupted as I pulled the claw out of my bag and placed it on the table. Lucan stepped around the counter while both he and Camilla looked at the object with shocked expressions. It took some time for either of them to speak.

"I thought you said you couldn't go looking for the claw right now," Lucan finally said.

"Change of plans," I said.

"Well…Thank you," Lucan said, "Let me reward you."

He picked up the claw and walked back to the counter, where he set it down before grabbing a bag of septims. Lucan then walked back to where I was sitting and placed the bag in front of me. I slowly picked it up and opened the bag. I didn't bother counting the septims, but I could tell that there were at least a few hundred.

"I cannot turn down septims," I said, "But I did not expect any kind of payment."

"Well, if your current condition is anything to go by, you've more than earned every coin," Lucan said.

"Thank you," I said, "But I must leave."

I placed the bag of coins in the pouch on my belt and stood before walking towards the door.

"Already?" Camilla asked.

"Yes," I said, "I need to get to Whiterun immediately."

"But you can't travel in this condition," Faendal said, "You look tired and worn out. Even the weakest bandits could kill you with ease."

"I'll hire a carriage driver," I said, "Bandits seldom attack travellers on the main roads."

"But there is still the risk of an attack," Faendal stated.

"And it wouldn't hurt to rest here," Camilla added.

"No. I must leave now," I insisted, "I've wasted too much time already."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Faendal asked.

I suppose I should just tell them. After all, they had a right to know about the dragon, especially since Helgen was so close to Riverwood. The dragon could easily come here next and the sooner these people knew, the sooner they could take the necessary precautions.

"A dragon attacked Helgen not long ago and I need to inform the Jarl," I said.

My words were met by three expressions of disbelief.

"You cannot be serious," Lucan said, "No one has seen a dragon for centuries."

"But I am," I said, "I was in Helgen and I saw the dragon myself."

"What did it look like?" Camilla asked, unsuccessfully masking her curiosity.

"It had sharp black scales and a massive wingspan," I said, "And eyes that were either golden or red. I couldn't quite tell which."

Camilla looked fascinated and I imagine she was secretly wishing she had gotten to see the dragon as well, but Lucan and Faendal looked concerned.

"I can see why you're in a hurry now," Faendal said, "A dragon flying around Skyrim could pose as a threat to all of us, especially if it leaves Skyrim and goes to our homelands."

I nodded. "So may I take my leave?" I asked.

"I suppose there's nothing we can do to stop you," Faendal said.

"But I'm going to escort you," Camilla suddenly declared.

That surprised all of us, but especially Lucan.

"Camilla—" Lucan started.

"She's in no condition to travel alone!" Camilla insisted, "Besides, I've been wanting to visit Whiterun for some time now."

Lucan looked like he was about to protest, but Faendal interrupted. "Then I'll go as well for Camilla's protection," he said, "And for…Camilla said your name was Lina, right?"

"Yes, but I find this unnecessary," I said, "And we've only just met."

"Consider it a favor to my old friend Camilla then. I know she's been wanting to get out of Riverwood for some time," Faendal said, "Besides, you can't fight in this condition and, as I said before, even if we stay on the main road, there is still a risk of bandits attacking."

"Alright. If you insist," I said. I didn't need an escort, but it was always nice to have someone watching my back.

Faendal and I walked to the door, but Lucan grabbed Camilla's arm before she could follow us.

"I don't like the idea of you leaving the village," Lucan said.

"I'll be fine and it doesn't take long to reach Whiterun by carriage," Camilla insisted, "Besides, I have two fine Elven warriors on my side."

I couldn't stop myself from smirking at the comment, but I think Faendal was blushing.

"I wouldn't call myself a warrior," he said in a barely audible tone. I doubt Camilla heard him since I barely heard him and I was standing the closest to Faendal. But he did seem to be talking more to himself than to any of us. So I pretended to be as oblivious to his comment as the others.

I suppose Camilla was able to convince Lucan that leaving Riverwood for a couple days wouldn't result in her death because they said their goodbyes and Camilla left the shop with Faendal and me. We then walked to the village boarder where we found a carriage driver. I gave him the required payment to get to Whiterun and we climbed in the carriage. As for what happened next…I cannot recall. I fell asleep within the first hour of our departure.

Sometime while I was asleep, the black dragon entered my dreams again.

This time I stood on the roof of a tower, clad in Elven armor with an ebony sword at my hip, as the dragon circled above me. I watched the dragon for perhaps a minute before my gaze shifted away. I looked around and while I could not identify the location, I could see that everything was on fire. At least there weren't any people around (or at least none that I could see). It was just me and the dragon, who my gaze shifted back to. At that moment, he landed on the opposite side of the tower and just stared at me.

"You did this," I said, motioning to the burning fields surrounding us.

The dragon said nothing. All he did was continue to stare at me.

"Why?" I asked, "Why would you destroy my homeland?"

Again, the dragon remained silent, which did not surprise me. Somehow I knew he would refuse to answer, so I tried a new question.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Zu'u Alduin. Zok sahro do naan ko Lein!" the dragon said proudly.

His words made no sense to me, other than "Alduin," which I once again remembered was the dragon's name. Perhaps dragons had their own spoken language and that was what he had been speaking, but of course, I did not know such a language and could not hope to understand it.

"I do not know your language, dragon," I said.

The dragon growled at me, clearly annoyed that I could not understand his language, but he spoke again. And, to my surprise, this time he spoke fluent Elvish, "I am Alduin, firstborn of Akatosh."

Akatosh was the name the humans gave Auri-El, the dragon god of time and chief god in every pantheon he was represented in. This dragon—Alduin—had made a rather bold claim by saying he was not only the son of the chief Divine, but his firstborn as well. I could not say if this claim was true, but I would not have been surprised if it was. Alduin had positioned himself rather far from me, but he still managed to stand over me in an intimidating manner. Son of Auri-El or not, he could easily be a god himself.

Then, without warning, the dragon spread his wings and took flight.

"We shall meet again, Dovahkiin," he said.

"Why do you address me as Dovahkiin?" I asked, "What does it mean?"

Alduin refused to answer. He just turned and flew away, quickly leaving my sight. Then my surroundings started to fade, but right before everything went dark, I heard Alduin's voice again.

"Daar Lein los dii!"

I was brought out of the dream by Camilla calling my name.

"Lina! …Lina wake up!"

My eyes opened and I found myself back on the carriage with Camilla and Faendal. I sat up and stretched. My entire body was sore from sleeping on the wooden bench, but at least I now felt somewhat well rested. Then I realized that both Camilla and Faendal were looking at me with concerned expressions.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"You were talking in your sleep," Faendal said, "You said something about a dragon and fire burning everything. And I think I heard you mention Auri-El once…Twice actually, but you called him Akatosh the second time."

"Are you sure?" I asked. I never talk in my sleep, so it was hard to believe that I had.

Camilla and Faendal both nodded. Great. First I start having reoccurring dreams about the black dragon from Helgen and something is on fire or being destroyed each time. Now I'm talking in my sleep. And the dragon mentioned the word "Dovahkiin" again. I still did not know what the word meant, but this time it sounded like a name. Of course, that still didn't explain why the dragon would address me as such.

"I was dreaming about the dragon that attacked Helgen," I said, "He was burning fields while I was forced to watch helplessly."

That was not entirely true, but I did not need them to know anything else about the strange dream.

"Probably the result of trauma," Faendal said, "Witnessing a dragon attack must have been frightening."

"Most likely," I said, but I had a feeling that these reoccurring dreams were the result of more than just emotional trauma. But I had no desire to talk about it anymore and I was worried that Camilla and Faendal would think I was going mad if I did, which is why I was so willing to accept Faendal's theory.

The rest of the carriage ride was rather uneventful. I told Camilla about Bleak Falls Barrow at her request, although I left out the part about the wall with the glowing markings. She was surprised when I told her that the golden claw was actually some kind of key, but it did explain why those bandits took it. Without the claw, they never would have made it through the dungeon, if I hadn't killed them of course. But then when Camilla realized how close I had come to death fighting the draugr, I could see obvious concern on her face.

We quickly changed the subject.

It didn't take long to reach Whiterun and when we arrived in the city, I said goodbye to Camilla and Faendal and thanked them for accompanying me. I saw them walk towards Belethor's General Goods, planning to browse his merchandise before they went back to Riverwood while I went directly to Dragonsreach to speak with the Jarl.

As I walked up the stairs leading to Dragonsreach, I heard the sound of blades clashing and I glanced at Jorrvaskr where I saw the twins Vilkas and Farkas engaged in a swordfight. I smiled slightly as I recalled getting into plenty of duels with them and the rest of the Companions as well. I made a mental note to go to Jorrvaskr and pay a visit to the Companions after I was done talking to the Jarl. After all, it's been more than three years since I saw any of them.

I continued up the stairs until I reached the massive door to Dragonsreach, but unsurprisingly, the guards blocked my path with their weapons.

"Civilians may not enter Dragonsreach unless they have been summoned by Jarl Balgruuf," one of the guards said.

"Let me pass," I said, "I have urgent news for the Jarl."

"We cannot," the same guard said.

Now I was growing irritated. I could feel magicka flowing through my hands and it took all of my self-control to avoid starting a fire. I did not spend an entire night in Bleak Falls Barrow and risk dying for something that I still could not confirm was the Dragonstone only to be turned away when I finally arrived at Dragonsreach.

"Then how will I let the Jarl know about the dragon that attacked Helgen?" I asked.

That shocked the guards.

"A dragon?" one asked, "Impossible! The dragons disappeared centuries ago!"

"I am not making this up!" I all but shouted, "And the Jarl needs to know what has occurred in his Hold."

"I'm sorry, but your story sounds too unrealistic, Elf," the guard said, "We will have to ask you to leave."

I was about to argue when I heard a familiar voice that I have not heard for more than three years. "Let her pass."

I turned around and the guards looked up, only to come face-to-face with Kodlak, Harbinger of the Companions. Both guards shared a look of annoyance (or at least I think they did. The masks made their faces impossible to read). But it was no secret that the city guards had a strong disliking for the Companions Guild, even though the Jarl had the deepest respect for Kodlak. I suppose they were tired of having to break up drunken brawls outside or Jorrvaskr. Some of the guards were even convinced that we had werewolves hidden in our ranks, but that was likely just from paranoia. I've been part of the Guild for years and have not seen any indication that some of our members could be werewolves. Although I had to admit, Kodlak and the other members of the Circle did seem to be hiding something and all attempts to find out what were futile.

"Harbinger, what are you doing here?" one of the guards asked.

"I was walking back to Jorrvaskr," Kodlak said, "But then I saw you two arguing with a member of my Guild and decided to investigate."

"This High Elf is a Companion?" the guard asked in disbelief. Was it really that hard for him to believe that an Altmer could be a warrior? Or was he convinced that my kind should stick with magic and leave swordfighting to the Nords? I certainly hoped not.

"Yes and she is a fine swordsman as well," Kodlak said, "And I can also tell you that she would have to be a fool to lie about something this serious."

"You mean you believe her?" the second guard asked.

"Yes. I do," Kodlak said, "And I believe the Jarl should listen to what she has to say."

The guards hesitated. I could tell they still did not want to let me pass, but at the same time, they clearly did not want to argue with Kodlak. Especially since Jorrvaskr was so close to Dragonsreach and it would be too easy for the other Companions to rush over here and start a brawl if they felt that the Harbinger was being disrespected. So the guards finally lowered their weapons.

"You may go in, Elf," one of the guards said, "But don't do anything foolish."

"I won't," I said as I walked through the door and into Dragonsreach.